In a nutshell: The homeland security committee member thinks the screenings are perfectly reasonable, but ultimately ineffective in nabbing would-be terrorists.

"In light of the threats that have come to Metro in recent months and the random nature of the search, it's very hard to come up with a reason why they shouldn’t do more than they're doing now.... I do understand there's a real threat out there, and I don’t see any alternative but what they're doing."

But does she think it will work?

"I have no reason to believe that this will be effective in catching a terrorist. The only purpose is to make someone who may [have] bad intentions think that he might get caught.... I don't have any illusion that we're going to find them this way."