[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3959 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]
S.3959
One Hundred Eighteenth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday,
the third day of January, two thousand and twenty four
An Act
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.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.