Summer vacation season creates a travel surge that can bring higher gas prices with more people driving on the highways. Summer travel can also mean more crowds at resorts and state and national parks.

But this summer, the biggest headache for travelers is being seen at major airports, with longer-than-ever security lines.

Even before the peak summer travel season begins, there are reports that thousands of air travelers have missed flights because they were stuck in long security lines staffed by Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screeners. They got to the airport two hours before their flight, as advised, but they could not get through security before their flights took off.

Congress has heard the horror stories of missed flights due to long TSA lines and it has responded by grilling TSA officials and firing the agency’s head of security.

No doubt, the TSA has problems. In addition to the extra long security lines, there have been reports of security failures. National media outlets reported that TSA screeners recently failed to detect banned weapons and fake explosives in 67 out of 70 cases attempted by undercover federal officials testing security screeners.

There has also been a notable failure to adequately screen airport employees, which in one case allowed a gun-running operation at Atlanta’s airport. The gun-smuggling scheme was broken up, but the incident raised concerns about many airports’ “back doors” lacking adequate security screening.

Frustration over long screening lines and TSA security lapses was made worse this week when it was revealed that TSA’s head of security had received $90,000 in performance bonuses during the time that TSA screeners missed nearly all the fake bombs and weapons that were planted to test the system’s effectiveness.

There is little doubt that the TSA is not well-managed. Some of the early rules, such as banning nail clippers, made no sense. The high failure rate in finding fake bombs and weapons supports the view of some TSA critics that the screening process provides the illusion of security, but not real security.

But not all the airport security problems can be blamed on TSA workers on the ground. Current TSA staffing, at 42,500 officers, is down 4,500 screeners from three years ago. Yet, airline traffic has grown over the same time period.

Why would the TSA or Congress reduce manpower when more people are flying?

Travelers frustrated by long security lines should remember that TSA screeners have a thankless job, dealing with often-stressed travelers frustrated by the tedious process and questionable rules. A high turnover rate for TSA screeners suggests the job is tough and does not pay well.

But beyond the well-deserved criticism aimed at the TSA, it’s worth looking at the role Congress might have in the hour-or-more waits for airport screening.

To fund TSA operations, there is a $5.60 fee added to each airline ticket. That money has funded a TSA budget of $7.5 billion.

But in 2014, Congress decided to divert $1.25 billion a year to go toward deficit reduction. If Congress thought TSA was getting too much money, it should have reduced the ticket fee, not stolen the money while growing complaints over airport security were being heard.

TSA’s problems can be seen partly as growing pains of a still-young federal agency created after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. But Congress is only adding to the agency’s challenges by taking money that was intended to fund airport security operations across the country.

There should be greater accountability for TSA security lapses, for the long screening lines, and for high worker turnover. That justifies a management shake-up at the TSA.

But Congress also should restore TSA funding, and it should start by letting every dollar raised from the airline ticket fees go to help TSA become more effective and more efficient.