[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4803 Referred in Senate (RFS)]
113th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 4803
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 23, 2014
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To require the Transportation Security Administration to conform to
existing Federal law and regulations regarding criminal investigator
positions, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``TSA Office of Inspection
Accountability Act of 2014''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Consistent with Federal law and regulations, for law
enforcement officers to qualify for premium pay as criminal
investigators, the officers must, in general, spend on average
at least 50 percent of their time investigating, apprehending,
or detaining individuals suspected or convicted of offenses
against the criminal laws of the United States.
(2) According to the Inspector General of the Department of
Homeland Security (DHS IG), the Transportation Security
Administration (TSA) does not ensure that its cadre of criminal
investigators in the Office of Inspection are meeting this
requirement, even though they are considered law enforcement
officers under TSA policy and receive premium pay.
(3) Instead, TSA criminal investigators in the Office of
Inspection primarily monitor the results of criminal
investigations conducted by other agencies, investigate
administrative cases of TSA employee misconduct, and carry out
inspections, covert tests, and internal reviews, which the DHS
IG asserts could be performed by employees other than criminal
investigators at a lower cost.
(4) The premium pay and other benefits afforded to TSA
criminal investigators in the Office of Inspection who are
incorrectly classified as such will cost the taxpayer as much
as $17,000,000 over 5 years if TSA fails to make any changes to
the number of criminal investigators in the Office of
Inspection, according to the DHS IG.
(5) This may be a conservative estimate, as it accounts for
the cost of Law Enforcement Availability Pay, but not the costs
of law enforcement training, statutory early retirement
benefits, police vehicles, and weapons.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Administration.--The term ``Administration'' means the
Transportation Security Administration.
(2) Assistant secretary.--The term ``Assistant Secretary''
means the Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security
(Transportation Security) of the Department of Homeland
Security.
(3) Inspector general.--The term ``Inspector General''
means the Inspector General of the Department of Homeland
Security.
SEC. 4. INSPECTOR GENERAL REVIEW.
(a) Review.--Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment
of this Act, the Inspector General shall analyze the data and methods
that the Assistant Secretary uses to identify employees of the
Administration who meet the requirements of sections 8331(20),
8401(17), and 5545a of title 5, United States Code, and provide the
relevant findings to the Assistant Secretary, including a finding on
whether the data and methods are adequate and valid.
(b) Prohibition on Hiring.--If the Inspector General finds that
such data and methods are inadequate or invalid, the Administration may
not hire any new employee to work in the Office of Inspection of the
Administration until--
(1) the Assistant Secretary makes a certification described
in section 5 to the Committee on Homeland Security of the House
of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation of the Senate; and
(2) the Inspector General submits to such Committees a
finding, not later than 30 days after the Assistant Secretary
makes such certification, that the Assistant Secretary utilized
adequate and valid data and methods to make such certification.
SEC. 5. TSA OFFICE OF INSPECTION WORKFORCE CERTIFICATION.
(a) Certification to Congress.--The Assistant Secretary shall, by
not later than 90 days after the date the Inspector General provides
its findings to the Assistant Secretary under section 4(a), document
and certify in writing to the Committee on Homeland Security of the
House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation of the Senate that only those employees of the
Administration who meet the requirements of sections 8331(20),
8401(17), and 5545a of title 5, United States Code, are classified as
criminal investigators and are receiving premium pay and other benefits
associated with such classification.
(b) Employee Reclassification.--The Assistant Secretary shall
reclassify criminal investigator positions in the Office of Inspection
as noncriminal investigator positions or non-law enforcement positions
if the individuals in those positions do not, or are not expected to,
spend an average of at least 50 percent of their time performing
criminal investigative duties.
(c) Projected Cost Savings.--
(1) In general.--The Assistant Secretary shall estimate the
total long-term cost savings to the Federal Government
resulting from the implementation of subsection (b), and
provide such estimate to the Committee on Homeland Security of
the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation of the Senate by not later than 180
days after the date of enactment of this Act.
(2) Contents.--Such estimate shall identify savings
associated with the positions reclassified under subsection (b)
and include, among other factors the Assistant Secretary
considers appropriate, savings from--
(A) law enforcement training;
(B) early retirement benefits;
(C) law enforcement availability pay; and
(D) weapons, vehicles, and communications devices.
SEC. 6. INVESTIGATION OF FEDERAL AIR MARSHAL SERVICE USE OF FEDERAL
FIREARMS LICENSE.
Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act,
or as soon as practicable, the Assistant Secretary shall submit to the
Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives and the
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate--
(1) any materials in the possession or control of the
Department of Homeland Security associated with the Office of
Inspection's review of the use of a Federal firearms license by
Federal Air Marshal Service officials to obtain discounted or
free firearms for personal use; and
(2) information on specific actions that will be taken to
prevent Federal Air Marshal Service officials from using a
Federal firearms license, or exploiting, in any way, the
Service's relationships with private vendors to obtain
discounted or free firearms for personal use.
Passed the House of Representatives July 22, 2014.
Attest:
KAREN L. HAAS,
Clerk.