[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3318 Referred in Senate (RFS)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3318
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
December 10, 2019
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To require the Transportation Security Administration to establish a
task force to conduct an analysis of emerging and potential future
threats to transportation security, 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 ``Emerging Transportation Security
Threats Act of 2019''.
SEC. 2. EMERGING AND FUTURE THREATS TASK FORCE.
(a) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Transportation Security
Administration, in consultation with the Director of National
Intelligence and the intelligence community (as such term is defined in
section 3(4) of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003(4)))
and the heads of other Federal agencies, as determined appropriate by
the Administrator, shall establish a task force to conduct an analysis
of emerging and potential future threats to transportation security.
(b) Membership.--The task force established under subsection (a)
shall be comprised of employees of the Department of Homeland Security
who, in carrying out the analysis required under such subsection, shall
consult with the Director of National Intelligence and the intelligence
community and the heads of Federal agencies, as determined appropriate
by the Administrator.
(c) Deadline.--Not later than 270 days after the Administrator
establishes the task force under subsection (a), the task force shall
submit to the Administrator the analysis required under such
subsection.
(d) Elements.--The analysis required under subsection (a) shall
include emerging and potential future threats posed by the following:
(1) Evolving tactics by terrorist organizations that may
pose a catastrophic risk to an aviation or surface
transportation entity.
(2) Explosive and explosive devices or attacks involving
the use of explosives that may cause catastrophic damage to an
aviation or surface transportation system.
(3) Chemical or biological agents being released in either
aviation or surface transportation systems.
(4) Cyberthreat actors seeking to undermine confidence in
transportation systems or cause service disruptions that
jeopardize transportation security.
(5) Unmanned aerial systems with the capability of
inflicting harm on transportation targets.
(6) Individuals or groups seeking to attack soft targets,
public areas, or crowded spaces of transportation systems,
including attacks against Transportation Security
Administration employees and other security personnel.
(7) Foreign actors seeking to exploit vulnerabilities posed
by the inconsistent or inadequate security screening protocols
at last point of departure airports with direct flights to the
United States.
(8) Information sharing challenges within the Federal
Government and among partner governments.
(9) Information sharing challenges between the
Administration or other relevant Federal agencies and
transportation stakeholders, including air carriers, airport
operators, surface transportation operators, and State and
local law enforcement.
(10) Growth in passenger volume in both the aviation and
surface transportation sectors.
(e) Mitigation.--Not later than 120 days after the completion of
the analysis required under subsection (a), the Administrator of the
Transportation Security Administration shall develop, as appropriate, a
threat mitigation strategy for each of the threats examined in such
analysis, and--
(1) assign appropriate resources of the Administration to
address such threats, based on calculated risk; or
(2) provide recommendations through the Department of
Homeland Security to the appropriate Federal department or
agency responsible for addressing such threats.
(f) Stakeholder Engagement.--When carrying out the analysis
required under subsection (a), the Administrator of the Transportation
Security Administration shall engage transportation stakeholders
referred to in subsection (b)(9) and account for security concerns of
transportation operators by--
(1) convening not fewer than three industry day events for
such transportation stakeholders to hear from relevant public
and private sector security partners and provide feedback on
threats such transportation stakeholders identify as emerging;
(2) developing strategies to solicit feedback on a
consistent basis from such transportation stakeholders across
all modes of transportation and providing consistent responses
to stakeholder concerns;
(3) improving the quality, timeliness, and relevancy of
information sharing products disseminated by the Administration
to such transportation stakeholders, including classified
information sharing products;
(4) coordinating security incident response and
communications drills, including tabletop exercises, to improve
incident preparedness and response capabilities across
transportation modes and among transportation systems;
(5) encouraging regular communication between Federal
Security Directors, Field Intelligence Officers, Federal Air
Marshal Special Agents in Charge, and such transportation
stakeholders;
(6) establishing regular opportunities for senior
Administration leadership to engage with such transportation
stakeholders regarding changes in the threat environment and
how the Administration can offer security support to address
such changes; and
(7) briefing the Aviation Security Advisory Committee and
the Surface Transportation Security Advisory Committee on the
efforts of the task force established pursuant to subsection
(a).
(g) Briefing to Congress.--The Administrator of the Transportation
Security Administration shall brief the Committee on Homeland Security
of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science,
and Transportation of the Senate on the results of the analysis
required under subsection (a) and relevant mitigation strategies
developed in accordance with subsection (c).
(h) Non-Applicability of FACA and PRA.--The Federal Advisory
Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) and the Paperwork Reduction Act (44
U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) shall not apply to the task force established
under subsection (a).
SEC. 3. COMPTROLLER GENERAL STUDY.
(a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States
shall conduct a review of the feasibility, risks, costs, and potential
threat mitigation benefits of the Transportation Security
Administration deploying the agency's passenger and property screening
assets to conduct screening in areas or facilities prior to passenger
arrival at airport terminals.
(b) Stakeholder Engagement.--In conducting the review required
under subsection (a), the Comptroller General of the United States
shall consult with the Transportation Security Administration, airport
operators, air carriers, businesses that operate in airports, labor
groups representing the Transportation Security Administration and
transportation sector personnel, and other stakeholders.
Passed the House of Representatives December 9, 2019.
Attest:
CHERYL L. JOHNSON,
Clerk.