[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 5487 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 5487
To provide PreCheck to certain severely injured or disabled veterans,
and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
December 11, 2024
Mr. Young (for himself, Ms. Duckworth, Mr. Marshall, and Ms. Hassan)
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide PreCheck to certain severely injured or disabled veterans,
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 ``Veterans Expedited TSA Screening
Safe Travel Act'' or the ``VETS Safe Travel Act''.
SEC. 2. AVAILABILITY OF PRECHECK PROGRAM TO CERTAIN SEVERELY INJURED OR
DISABLED VETERANS.
(a) In General.--Section 44927 of title 49, United States Code, is
amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(g) Availability of PreCheck Program to Certain Severely Injured
or Disabled Veterans.--
``(1) In general.--A veteran described in paragraph (2) is
eligible for security screening under the PreCheck Program
under section 44919 at no cost to the veteran if the veteran is
able to meet the background check and other security
requirements for participation in the Program.
``(2) Veterans described.--A veteran described in this
paragraph is a veteran who--
``(A) is enrolled in the patient enrollment system
of the Department of Veterans Affairs established and
operated under section 1705 of title 38, United States
Code;
``(B) has been determined by the Secretary of
Veterans Affairs to have a service-connected disability
under section 1110 or 1131 of such title, as the case
may be, and such disability has been determined by such
Secretary to have resulted in--
``(i) loss, or loss use of, an extremity;
``(ii) paralysis or partial paralysis; or
``(iii) permanent blindness; and
``(C) as a result of a loss, paralysis or partial
paralysis, or blindness described in subparagraph (B),
requires the use of a wheelchair, prosthetic limb, or
other assistive device to aid with mobility.
``(3) Limitation.--The Administrator of the Transportation
Security Administration shall carry out this subsection subject
to the availability of appropriations and may not increase fees
for enrollment in the PreCheck Program for such purpose.''.
(b) Coordination on Implementation.--The Administrator of the
Transportation Security Administration and the Secretary of Veterans
Affairs shall jointly--
(1) implement a process under which a veteran described in
paragraph (2) of subsection (g) of section 44927 of title 49,
United States Code, as added by subsection (a), can receive the
benefits under such subsection by not later than one year after
the date of enactment of this Act; and
(2) provide to the Committee on Homeland Security and the
Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives
and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
and the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate a briefing
on the status of implementing the process required by paragraph
(1) by not later than one year after the date of the enactment
of this Act.
(c) Outreach for Disabled Veterans on Availability of
Transportation Security Administration Programs.--
(1) Coordination.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs and
the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration
shall implement a process under which such Secretary provides
to disabled veterans effective outreach regarding
Transportation Security Administration programs designed to
improve the screening process for passengers with disabilities.
(2) Further enhancements to ease air travel for wounded
warriors and other disabled veterans.--Notwithstanding
subchapter I of chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code
(commonly referred to as the ``Paperwork Reduction Act''), or
any other provision of law, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs,
in coordination with the Administrator of the Transportation
Security Administration, shall--
(A) engage appropriate veterans service
organizations and other relevant organizations, as
appropriate, to assess the awareness of veterans of
relevant Transportation Security Administration
programs; and
(B) examine the need and feasibility of other
measures to improve travel security procedures for
disabled veterans.
(3) Briefing requirement.--Not later than 180 days after
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of
Veterans Affairs and the Administrator of the Transportation
Security Administration shall jointly provide to the Committee
on Homeland Security and the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of
the House of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs and the Committee on
Veterans' Affairs of the Senate a briefing on the status of the
implementation of paragraphs (1) and (2).
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