[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4512 Introduced in House (IH)]







109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4512

To direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to conduct a pilot program 
to evaluate the use of automated systems for the immediate prescreening 
        of passengers on flights in foreign air transportation.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 13, 2005

   Mr. DeFazio (for himself and Mr. Daniel E. Lungren of California) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                           Homeland Security

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to conduct a pilot program 
to evaluate the use of automated systems for the immediate prescreening 
        of passengers on flights in foreign air transportation.

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

SECTION 1. IMMEDIATE INTERNATIONAL PASSENGER PRESCREENING PILOT 
              PROGRAM.

    (a) Pilot Program.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall 
initiate a pilot program to evaluate the use of automated systems for 
the immediate prescreening of passengers on flights in foreign air 
transportation, as defined by section 40102 of title 49, United States 
Code, that are bound for the United States.
    (b) Requirements.--At a minimum, with respect to a passenger on a 
flight described in subsection (a) operated by an air carrier or 
foreign air carrier, the automated systems evaluated under the pilot 
program shall--
            (1) compare the passenger's information against the 
        integrated and consolidated terrorist watchlist maintained by 
        the Federal Government and provide the results of the 
        comparison to the air carrier or foreign air carrier before the 
        passenger is permitted to board the flight;
            (2) provide functions similar to the advanced passenger 
        information system established under section 431 of the Tariff 
        Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1431); and
            (3) make use of machine-readable data elements on passports 
        and other travel and entry documents in a manner consistent 
        with international standards.
    (c) Operation.--The pilot program shall be conducted--
            (1) in not fewer than 2 foreign airports; and
            (2) in collaboration with not fewer than one air carrier at 
        each airport participating in the pilot program.
    (d) Evaluation of Automated Systems.--In conducting the pilot 
program, the Secretary shall evaluate not more than 3 automated 
systems. One or more of such systems shall be commercially available 
and currently in use to prescreen passengers.
    (e) Privacy Protection.--The Secretary shall ensure that the 
passenger data is collected under the pilot program in a manner 
consistent with the standards established under section 552a of title 
5, United States Code.
    (f) Duration.--The Secretary shall conduct the pilot program for 
not fewer than 90 days.
    (g) Passenger Defined.--In this section, the term ``passenger'' 
includes members of the flight crew.
    (h) Report.--Not later than 30 days after the date of completion of 
the pilot program, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on 
Homeland Security of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report containing 
the following:
            (1) An assessment of the technical performance of each of 
        the tested systems, including the system's accuracy, 
        scalability, and effectiveness with respect to measurable 
        factors, including, at a minimum, passenger throughput, the 
        rate of flight diversions, and the rate of false negatives and 
        positives.
            (2) A description of the provisions of each tested system 
        to protect the civil liberties and privacy rights of 
        passengers, as well as a description of the adequacy of an 
        immediate redress or appeals process for passengers denied 
        authorization to travel.
            (3) Cost projections for implementation of each tested 
        system, including--
                    (A) projected costs to the Department of Homeland 
                Security; and
                    (B) projected costs of compliance to air carriers 
                operating flights described in subsection (a).
            (4) A determination as to which tested system is the best-
        performing and most efficient system to ensure immediate 
        prescreening of international passengers. Such determination 
        shall be made after consultation with individuals in the 
        private sector having expertise in airline industry, travel, 
        tourism, privacy, national security, and computer security 
        issues.
            (5) A plan to fully deploy the best-performing and most 
        efficient system tested by not later than January 1, 2007.
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