[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5840 Reported in House (RH)]
<DOC>
Union Calendar No. 725
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5840
[Report No. 118-888]
To require the Transportation Security Administration to streamline the
enrollment processes for individuals applying for a Transportation
Security Administration security threat assessment for certain
programs, including the Transportation Worker Identification Credential
and Hazardous Materials Endorsement Threat Assessment programs of the
Administration, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 29, 2023
Mr. Graves of Louisiana (for himself, Mr. Smith of Washington, Ms.
Titus, Mr. Green of Tennessee, Mr. Carbajal, and Mr. Guest) introduced
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Homeland
Security
December 17, 2024
Additional sponsors: Ms. Brownley, Ms. Van Duyne, Ms. Norton, Mr.
Grijalva, Mr. Veasey, Ms. DelBene, Mrs. Hinson, Mrs. Watson Coleman,
Ms. Craig, Mr. Davis of North Carolina, Mr. Garamendi, Ms. Houlahan,
Mr. Stauber, Mr. Duncan, Mr. Balderson, Mr. Bost, Mr. Johnson of South
Dakota, Mr. Rouzer, Mr. Pappas, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Ezell, Mr. Mast, Mr.
Kean of New Jersey, Mr. Luttrell, Mr. Higgins of Louisiana, Mr.
Courtney, Mr. Simpson, Mr. LaMalfa, Mr. Garbarino, Ms. Slotkin, Mrs.
Rodgers of Washington, Mr. Mann, Mr. Bucshon, Mrs. Peltola, Mr.
Norcross, Mr. Suozzi, Mr. Robert Garcia of California, Mr. Schiff, Ms.
Sanchez, Mr. Reschenthaler, Mr. Collins, Ms. Scholten, Mrs. Miller-
Meeks, Mr. Allred, Mr. Carter of Louisiana, Mr. Calvert, Mr. Ruiz, Mr.
Gimenez, Mr. Trone, Mr. Yakym, Mr. Lawler, Mr. Finstad, Mr. David Scott
of Georgia, Ms. Perez, Ms. Malliotakis, Ms. Caraveo, Mr. Rulli, Ms.
Schrier, and Mr. Hudson
December 17, 2024
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed
in italic]
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on
September 29, 2023]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Transportation Security Administration to streamline the
enrollment processes for individuals applying for a Transportation
Security Administration security threat assessment for certain
programs, including the Transportation Worker Identification Credential
and Hazardous Materials Endorsement Threat Assessment programs of the
Administration, 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 ``Transportation Security Screening
Modernization Act of 2024''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the
Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration.
(2) Hazmat endorsement.--The term ``HAZMAT Endorsement''
means the Hazardous Materials Endorsement Threat Assessment
program authorized under section 5103a of title 49, United
States Code.
(3) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the several
States, the District of Columbia, and the territories and
possessions of the United States.
(4) TSA.--The term ``TSA'' means the Transportation
Security Administration.
(5) TWIC.--The term ``TWIC'' means the Transportation
Worker Identification Credential authorized under section 70105
of title 46, United States Code.
SEC. 3. STREAMLINING OF APPLICATIONS FOR CERTAIN SECURITY THREAT
ASSESSMENT PROGRAMS OF THE TRANSPORTATION SECURITY
ADMINISTRATION.
(a) Streamlining.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 2 years after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall take such
actions as are necessary, including issuance of an interim
final rule if needed, to streamline the procedures for
individuals applying for or renewing enrollment in more than
one TSA security threat assessment program, in particular, the
TWIC and HAZMAT Endorsement programs, and any other
credentialing programs as determined by the Administrator, by--
(A) permitting an individual to enroll at any TSA
authorized enrollment center once for a threat
assessment program endorsement and use the application,
including associated biometric and biographic data, as
well as information generated by TSA's vetting, for one
of such programs to enroll in any other of such
programs;
(B) permitting an individual to visit any TSA
authorized enrollment center and enroll in more than
one TSA security threat assessment program at the same
time for a fee that is less than the cumulative fee
that would otherwise be incurred for each such program
separately;
(C) permitting an individual to undergo a
streamlined and expeditious renewal process;
(D) aligning the expiration of an individual's
successful, valid eligibility determination with the
expiration of that individual's eligibility to
participate in subsequent TSA security threat
assessment programs to which the individual applies;
(E) providing to States the expiration dates for
each individual's TSA security threat assessment to
ensure a commercial driver's license of an individual
who holds a HAZMAT Endorsement does not indicate the
individual is authorized to transport hazardous
materials after the expiration date of the enrollment
of the individual in the HAZMAT Endorsement security
threat assessment program if such commercial driver's
license has an expiration date that is different from
the expiration date of such enrollment; and
(F) enrolling an individual in a subsequent TSA
security threat assessment program at the minimum cost
necessary for the TSA to cover printing, issuance, and
case management costs, costs associated with the
collection of any additional biometric and biographic
data in accordance with paragraph (3), and other costs
that are not duplicative.
(2) State requirements for streamlining.--Not later than 6
months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the States
shall carry out the responsibilities of the States pursuant to
section 5103a of title 49, United States Code.
(3) Special rule.--If an individual under this subsection
is at different times applying for or renewing enrollment in
more than one TSA security threat assessment program, such
individual may be required to revisit a TSA authorized
enrollment center for the collection of additional data, such
as biometrics, necessary for any such program that were not so
collected in connection with any other such program.
(b) Publication.--The Administrator shall post on a publicly
available website of the TSA information relating to the streamlining
of the enrollment processes for individuals applying for more than one
TSA security threat assessment program described in subsection (a).
(c) Expedited Rulemaking.--Notwithstanding sections 551 through 559
of title 5, United States Code, nothing in this section shall require
notice and comment rulemaking, and to the extent it is necessary to add
additional requirements for which limited rulemaking may be advisable,
the Administrator shall implement such requirements through publication
of an interim final rule.
(d) Briefing.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall brief Congress on
progress made toward the implementation of this section.
SEC. 4. ELIMINATING DUPLICATIVE COSTS.
(a) Audit.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment
of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall audit
the administration of the security threat assessment programs by the
TSA and the States, including the TWIC and HAZMAT Endorsement programs.
(b) Elements.--
(1) TSA audit.--In conducting the audit of the TSA required
by subsection (a), the Comptroller General shall--
(A) identify any redundancies and duplications in
costs and administration of security threat assessment
programs that if eliminated would not impact national
security and any benefits of eliminating such
redundancies and duplications and improving the
experiences for individuals applying for or renewing
enrollment in more than one TSA security threat
assessment program;
(B) review the impacts of the implementation by the
TSA of recommendations from previous studies conducted
by the Comptroller General, including GAO-07-756 and
GAO-17-182, on increasing the efficiency and
effectiveness, and reducing costs, of processing
applications for enrollment and renewal in TSA security
threat assessment programs;
(C) review the findings of the assessment required
by section 1(b) of the Act entitled ``An Act to require
the Secretary of Homeland Security to prepare a
comprehensive security assessment of the transportation
security card program, and for other purposes'',
approved December 16, 2016 (46 U.S.C. 70105 note;
Public Law 114-278) and determine whether the TSA has
implemented any remedies to redundancies and
duplication identified by that assessment and whether
such implementation impacted national security;
(D) determine whether there are unique challenges
rural applicants have with accessing TSA security
threat assessment programs;
(E) assess the numbers and locations of enrollment
centers for meeting the needs of such programs,
including determining the access provided to rural
applicants;
(F) identify potential opportunities that exist to
improve the enrollment center operations of and
customer experience with such programs;
(G) identify potential opportunities to harmonize
the enrollment, vetting, and renewal processes of such
programs in which similar information is collected for
similar security threat assessment processes for
different vetted credentials while not impacting
national security;
(H) identify other ways the TSA can reduce the
costs of the TSA security threat assessment programs
while not impacting national security; and
(I) review the vetting, application, and enrollment
processes of each TSA security threat assessment
program.
(2) State audit.--In conducting the audit of the States
required by subsection (a), the Comptroller General shall
review--
(A) the administration of the HAZMAT Endorsement
program by the States;
(B) methods by which the States could streamline
the HAZMAT Endorsement program; and
(C) any potential barriers States face
administering TSA security threat assessment programs
for individuals applying to TWIC and the HAZMAT
Endorsement program or individuals that already have a
TWIC credential.
(c) Report and Recommendations.--Not later than 180 days after the
date of the completion of the audit required by subsection (a), the
Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to the
Administrator, the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
of the Senate, and the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of
Representatives a report that includes--
(1) a summary and analysis of the costs associated with the
operation and administration of each individual TSA security
threat assessment program;
(2) a summary and analysis of the application and
enrollment costs associated with providing an individual
multiple credentials under TSA security threat assessment
programs;
(3) an identification of any potential duplicative
processes associated with an applicant applying for, or the
vetting or enrollment by the TSA of an individual in, a
subsequent or multiple TSA security threat assessment programs;
(4) a breakdown of costs borne by applicants for current
enrollment and renewal processes of such programs;
(5) ways to improve access to such programs, including for
rural applicants;
(6) any potential recommendations to the TSA for reducing
costs and streamlining the administration and operation of each
TSA security threat assessment program while not impacting
national security;
(7) any potential recommendations for the TSA to administer
such programs in a way that would improve national security;
and
(8) any potential recommendations for ways States can
improve their role in administering the HAZMAT Endorsement
program and streamline the application process or reduce costs
for individuals seeking multiple transportation security
credentials.
(d) Implementation.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
the receipt of the report required by subsection (c), the
Administrator shall--
(A) implement the recommendations from such report;
(B) provide to the Committee on Commerce, Science,
and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on
Homeland Security of the House of Representatives a
written notification detailing--
(i) the timeline for implementation of each
recommendation from the report;
(ii) justifications for any implementation
timeline lasting longer than 2 years; and
(iii) justifications for recommendations
that the Administrator has declined to pursue
or implement.
(2) Briefings.--Not later than 60 days after the date of
the receipt of the report required by subsection (c), and
annually thereafter until the date that the TSA has implemented
each recommendation made in such report, the Administrator
shall brief the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Homeland
Security of the House of Representatives on the implementation
of recommendations from the report.
Union Calendar No. 725
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5840
[Report No. 118-888]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Transportation Security Administration to streamline the
enrollment processes for individuals applying for a Transportation
Security Administration security threat assessment for certain
programs, including the Transportation Worker Identification Credential
and Hazardous Materials Endorsement Threat Assessment programs of the
Administration, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
December 17, 2024
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed