WASHINGTON, April 8: The agency created to oversee airport security after the Sept 11 attacks is losing its third director in as many years, after the White House requested his resignation, officials said on Friday.

David Stone will step down within months as head of the Transportation Security Administration, a target of congressional and other critics who question its relevance and recoil at its spending. The TSA’s proposed budget for fiscal 2006 is $5.6 billion.

Brian Roehrkasse, Homeland Security Department spokesman, said Stone announced his intention to leave but has been asked to stay for a few months.

Shortly after he took office in February, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff ordered a complete review of homeland security functions to see what type of restructuring may be necessary.

“TSA, like all of the department’s components, is included in the review,” Roehrkasse said.

Stone is a former Navy rear admiral who oversaw TSA security at Los Angeles International Airport before being named the agency’s acting administrator in December 2003. He was confirmed by the Senate last July.

The TSA has experienced its share of turmoil after impressive early successes.

In addition to the changes at the top and criticism of its effectiveness and budget, the agency’s attempt to upgrade a much-anticipated computerized passenger pre-screening system has been wracked with problems.

Congress created TSA in the aftermath of the Sept 11, 2001, attacks to coordinate security over a broad area of transportation sectors. This includes oversight of the federal work force of nearly 50,000 airport passenger and bag screeners.

TSA was part of the Transportation Department before moving to homeland security in 2003. But its responsibilities have diminished as the Homeland Security Department has evolved.

Officials said Chertoff’s homeland security review could result in TSA losing more authority — as in maritime security. Or the agency could win new oversight duties.—Reuters