[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 890 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 890
To improve the program providing for private screening companies to
conduct security screening at airports, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 21, 2023
Mr. Lee introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To improve the program providing for private screening companies to
conduct security screening at airports, 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 ``Screening Partnership Reform Act''.
SEC. 2. SCREENING PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM.
(a) In General.--Section 44920 of title 49, United States Code, is
amended--
(1) by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:
``(b) Selection of Qualified Private Screening Companies.--
``(1) List of qualified private screening companies.--Not
later than 30 days after receiving an application from the
operator of an airport under subsection (a), the Administrator
shall provide the operator of such airport with an
opportunity--
``(A) for the operator to select a qualified
private screening company with which the operator
prefers the Administrator enter into a contract for
screening services at such airport; or
``(B) to request that the Administrator select a
qualified private screening company with which to enter
into such a contract.
``(2) Entry into contract.--
``(A) In general.--Subject to subsections (c) and
(d), not later than 60 days after the date on which the
operator of an airport selects a qualified private
screening company under paragraph (1)(A) or clause (ii)
or requests the Administrator to select such a company
under paragraph (1)(B)--
``(i) the Administrator shall enter into a
contract for screening services at that airport
with the qualified private screening company
selected by the airport or the company selected
by the Administrator, as the case may be; or
``(ii) in the case of a company selected by
the operator of the airport, if the
Administrator rejects the bid from that
company, or is otherwise unable to enter into a
contract with that company, the Administrator
shall provide the operator of the airport
another 60 days to select another qualified
private screening company.
``(B) Rejection of bids.--If the Administrator
rejects a bid from a private screening company selected
by the operator of an airport under paragraph (1)(A) or
subparagraph (A)(ii), the Administrator shall, not
later than 30 days after rejecting such bid, submit a
report to the operator, the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation of the Senate, and the
Committee on Homeland Security of the House of
Representatives that includes--
``(i) the findings that served as the basis
for rejecting such bid;
``(ii) the results of any cost or security
analyses conducted in relation to such bid; and
``(iii) recommendations for how the
operator of the airport can address the reasons
the Administrator rejected such bid.'';
(2) in subsection (c), by striking ``and will provide'' and
all that follows through ``with this chapter'';
(3) in subsection (d)--
(A) by striking paragraph (1);
(B) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as
paragraphs (1) and (2), respectively;
(C) in paragraph (1), as redesignated--
(i) in the matter preceding subparagraph
(A), by striking ``The Administrator'' and all
that follows and inserting ``The Administrator
shall enter into a contract with a qualified
private screening company only if--'';
(ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking
``and'' at the end; and
(iii) by striking subparagraph (C) and
inserting the following:
``(C) the cost of providing screening services at
the airport under the contract is equal to or less than
the cost to the Federal Government of providing
screening services at that airport during the term of
the contract; and
``(D) entering into the contract would not
compromise aviation security or the effectiveness of
the screening of passengers or property at the
airport.'';
(D) in paragraph (2), as redesignated, by striking
the second sentence; and
(E) by adding at the end the following:
``(3) Training and certification.--
``(A) In general.--A private screening company may
fulfill the requirement under paragraph (1)(A) by using
screening supervisors who have been trained and
certified at a Federal Law Enforcement Training Center
to administer comparable on-site training and
certification to private security screeners at an
airport that is participating in the screening
partnership program.
``(B) Authorized trainers.--If a private screening
company elects to conduct on-site training and
certification in accordance with subparagraph (A), such
training shall be conducted by--
``(i) a Federal employer or contractor who
is authorized to train and certify security
screeners; or
``(ii) an employee of a private screening
company who has successfully completed security
supervisor training at a Federal Law
Enforcement Training Center.
``(C) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this
paragraph may be construed to require security
screeners employed by a private screening company who
have received on-site training and certification in
accordance with subparagraph (A) to receive any
additional training at a Federal Law Enforcement
Training Center.
``(4) Part-time positions.--None of the standards required
to be a qualified private screening company may be construed to
prohibit a private screening company from employing screeners
for part-time positions.
``(5) Calculation of federal costs.--For purpose of the
comparison of costs required under paragraph (1)(C), the
Administrator shall incorporate a cost estimate that reflects
the total cost to the Federal Government, including all costs
incurred by all Federal agencies and not only by the
Transportation Security Administration, of providing screening
services at an airport.'';
(4) by striking subsection (i) (as added by section
1946(a)(7) of the TSA Modernization Act (division K of Public
Law 115-254)); and
(5) by striking subsection (i) (as added by section
1991(d)(17)(B) of the TSA Modernization Act (division K of
Public Law 115-254)) and inserting the following:
``(i) Consideration of Recommendations by Private Screening
Companies for Improving Aviation Security.--
``(1) Recommendations.--The Administrator shall request
each qualified private screening company that enters into a
contract with the Transportation Security Administration under
this section to provide screening services at an airport to
submit to the Administrator an annual report that includes
recommendations for--
``(A) new approaches to prioritize and streamline
requirements for aviation security;
``(B) new or more efficient processes for the
screening of all passengers and property at the airport
under section 44901;
``(C) processes and procedures that would enhance
the screening of passengers and property at the
airport; or
``(D) screening processes and procedures that would
better enable the Administrator and the private
screening company to respond to threats and emerging
threats to aviation security.
``(2) Testing.--The Administrator shall conduct a field
demonstration at an airport of each recommendation submitted
under paragraph (1) to determine the effectiveness of the
approach, process, or procedure recommended, unless the
Administrator determines that conducting such a demonstration
would compromise aviation security.
``(3) Consideration of adoption.--
``(A) In general.--After conducting a field
demonstration under paragraph (2) with respect to a
recommendation submitted under paragraph (1) by a
private screening company, the Administrator--
``(i) shall consider adopting the
recommendation; and
``(ii) may adopt the recommendation at all
or some airports.
``(B) Report.--If the Administrator does not adopt
a recommendation submitted under paragraph (1) by a
private screening company, the Administrator shall
submit a report to Congress and the private screening
company that includes--
``(i) a description of the specific reasons
the Administrator chose not to adopt the
recommendation; and
``(ii) recommendations for how the private
screening company could improve the approach,
process, or procedure recommended.
``(j) Restrictions on Relocation Payments.--
``(1) In general.--A security screener employed by the
Transportation Security Administration who accepts an offer of
employment from a private screening company under this section
may not receive any amount of relocation compensation from the
Transportation Security Administration.
``(2) Coordination and disclosures.--The Administrator
shall--
``(A) coordinate with the selected qualified
private screening company regarding the terms of the
airport transition; and
``(B) publicly disclose compensation and relocation
or transfer benefits made available to security
screeners that remain employees of the Transportation
Security Administration after transferring to an
airport that is not participating in the screening
partnership program.
``(3) Standard hiring process.--Any security screener
employed by a private screening company under this section who
is a former employee of the Transportation Security
Administration shall be subject to the standard hiring process
for security screeners employed by the Transportation Security
Administration if he or she seeks to transition back to such
employment.''.
(b) Conforming Amendments.--Section 44920 of title 49, United
States Code, is amended--
(1) in subsection (a), by inserting ``(referred to in this
section as the `Administrator')'' after ``of the Transportation
Security Administration''; and
(2) in subsection (g)--
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``Secretary of
Homeland Security'' and inserting ``Administrator'';
and
(B) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking ``Secretary of
Homeland Security or the Secretary's'' and inserting
``Administrator or the Administrator's''.
(c) Federal Law Enforcement Training Center.--Section 884(c) of the
Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 464(c)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (9), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(2) in paragraph (10), by striking the period at the end
and inserting ``; and''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(11) create and maintain a FLETC training program to
certify private security screening supervisors to administer
on-site security screening training and certification for the
participants in the Screening Partnership Program in accordance
with section 44920(d)(3) of title 49, United States Code.''.
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