[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1473 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1473

 To amend title 49, United States Code, to provide for the enhancement 
             of security at airports in the United States.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 26, 2001

  Mr. Johnson introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend title 49, United States Code, to provide for the enhancement 
             of security at airports in the United States.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. AIRPORT SECURITY PERSONNEL.

    (a) Screening Personnel.--Section 44901(a) of title 49, United 
States Code, is amended by striking ``employee or agent of an air 
carrier, intrastate air carrier, or foreign air carrier'' in the second 
sentence of subsection (a) and inserting ``employee of the Federal 
Aviation Administration or an employee of any other department or 
agency of the United States''.
    (b) Transition.--The Administrator of the Federal Aviation 
Administration shall achieve full compliance with the requirement to 
use employees of the Federal Aviation Administration or other Federal 
Government employees to perform screening of passengers and property 
under section 44901(a) of title 49, United States Code (as amended by 
subsection (a)), as soon as is practicable. The Administrator may make 
or continue arrangements for using employees or agents of air carriers, 
intrastate air carriers, and foreign air carriers to perform such 
function under that section (as in effect before the date of the 
enactment of this Act) to the extent that the Administrator determines 
necessary for enforcing security in air transportation pending the 
achievement of full compliance with such requirement.

SEC. 2. GRANT PROGRAM FOR SECURITY ENHANCEMENTS AT SMALL AIRPORTS.

    (a) Grant Program.--Subchapter I of chapter 449 of title 49, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``Sec. 44917. Grants for security enhancements: small airports
    ``(a) Authority.--The Secretary of Transportation may make grants 
to operators of small airports (including hub airports and other 
airports) in the United States for the purpose of defraying part or all 
of the costs of enhancing the security of airports under the airport 
security programs, including the costs of procuring metal detectors, 
anti-explosive equipment, x-ray scanning equipment, other security 
devices, and any other items needed to provide security for the 
airport.
    ``(b) Selection Procedures.--The Secretary shall use a competitive 
process prescribed by the Secretary for awarding grants under this 
section.
    ``(c) Selection Criteria.--(1) The Secretary shall prescribe in 
regulations the eligibility and selection criteria to apply in the 
administration of the grant authority under this section.
    ``(2) The eligibility criteria shall include standards for an 
airport to qualify as a small airport.
    ``(d) Definitions.--In this section, the term `airport security 
program' means a program carried out under the regulations prescribed 
pursuant to section 44903 of this title.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
such chapter is amended by adding at the end the following new item:

``44917. Grants for security enhancements: small airports.''.

SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    Funds are hereby authorized to be appropriated to the Department of 
Transportation for fiscal year 2002 for purposes, and in such amounts 
as may be necessary to carry out those purposes, as follows:
            (1) For the Federal Aviation Administration, or for 
        transfer to any other department or agency of the United 
        States, for employing and training--
                    (A) additional personnel for carrying out section 
                44901 of title 49, United States Code; and
                    (B) additional law enforcement personnel to perform 
                law enforcement and other security functions at 
                airports under section 44903 of title 49, United States 
                Code.
            (2) For the grant program under section 44917 of title 49, 
        United States Code (as added by section 2).
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