The TSA has been under the microscope for months after a report was leaked showing investigators were able to sneak banned items in airport security past the TSA officials in checkpoints on 96 percent of their attempts.

A federal watchdog told Congress on Tuesday that a recent convert audit of U.S. airports found layers of security were “simply missing.”

A report by the Inspector General for the Department of Homeland Security General John Roth shared information regarding the checkpoints that were monitored at eight undisclosed airports in September.The findings were revealed during a House hearing on TSA problems where new Administrator Peter Neffenger also testified on what he’s doing to fix them.

“The results were consistent across every airport. Our testing was designed to test airports across the country in real world conditions. The failures included failures in the technology, failures in TSA procedures, and human errors,” Roth testified.

Congress has expressed great concern on the problems in security at our nation’s airports.

“In looking at the number of times people got through with guns or bombs in these covert testing exercises it really was pathetic. When I say that I mean pitiful,” said Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.) “… Just thinking about the breaches there, it’s horrific.”

TSA Administrator Neffenger explained in the hearing that the challenges that have been created by more and more people carrying on their luggage instead of checking them due to large baggage fees make it difficult to try to spot potential security threats.

While many at the hearing wondered if the problems were unfixable, General Roth said new TSA leadership has promptly began addressing some of the issues in the reports and he is optimistic about airport security being improved.