[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3866 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3866

    To standardize training programs of the Transportation Security 
  Administration, to establish an Office of Behavior Analysis in the 
Transportation Security Administration, to enhance partnerships between 
  the Transportation Security Administration and State and local law 
             enforcement agencies, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 29, 2010

Mr. Carper (for himself and Mr. Brown of Massachusetts) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                 Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To standardize training programs of the Transportation Security 
  Administration, to establish an Office of Behavior Analysis in the 
Transportation Security Administration, to enhance partnerships between 
  the Transportation Security Administration and State and local law 
             enforcement agencies, 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 ``Aviation Security Innovation & 
Reform Act of 2010'' or the ``AIR Act of 2010''.

SEC. 2. CONTINUING SECURITY TRAINING.

    Section 44935 of title 49, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by striking ``Under Secretary of Transportation for 
        Security'' each place it appears and inserting ``Assistant 
        Secretary of Homeland Security (Transportation Security 
        Administration)'';
            (2) by striking ``Under Secretary'' each place it appears 
        and inserting ``Assistant Secretary'';
            (3) by amending subsection (g) to read as follows:
    ``(g) Training.--
            ``(1) Training plan.--The Assistant Secretary shall 
        establish and implement a plan for the training of 
        Transportation Security Officers that--
                    ``(A) to the maximum extent practicable, ensures 
                that the training received by Transportation Security 
                Officers is standardized; and
                    ``(B) meets the requirements of this subsection.
            ``(2) General training requirements.--The plan required by 
        paragraph (1) shall require, at a minimum, that an individual 
        employed as a Transportation Security Officer--
                    ``(A) receives, before the individual performs any 
                screening functions as a Transportation Security 
                Officer, training in basic security screening skills 
                and in criminal and antiterrorism awareness;
                    ``(B) completes a program that the Assistant 
                Secretary determines will train individuals to a level 
                of proficiency to adequately perform on the job;
                    ``(C) successfully completes an up-to-date 
                technical training examination prescribed by the 
                Assistant Secretary; and
                    ``(D) in the case of a Transportation Security 
                Officer who will be responsible for verifying travel 
                documents, completes up-to-date technical training in 
                document fraud identification, as considered 
                appropriate by the Assistant Secretary.
            ``(3) Equipment-specific training.--An individual employed 
        as a Transportation Security Officer may not use any security 
        screening device or equipment in the scope of that individual's 
        employment unless the individual has been trained on that 
        device or equipment and has successfully completed a test on 
        the use of the device or equipment.
            ``(4) Continuing education.--The plan required by paragraph 
        (1) shall require an individual employed as a Transportation 
        Security Officer to receive annual training, as considered 
        appropriate by the Assistant Secretary.
            ``(5) Use of other agencies.--The Assistant Secretary may 
        enter into a memorandum of understanding or other arrangement 
        with any other Federal agency or department with appropriate 
        law enforcement responsibilities, to provide personnel, 
        resources, or other forms of assistance in the training of 
        Transportation Security Officers.'';
            (4) by moving subsection (h) 2 ems to the left; and
            (5) by redesignating the second subsection (i) (relating to 
        accessibility of computer-based training facilities) as 
        subsection (k).

SEC. 3. OFFICE OF BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS.

    Section 114 of title 49, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a), by striking ``Department of 
        Transportation'' and inserting ``Department of Homeland 
        Security'';
            (2) by striking ``Under Secretary of Transportation for 
        Security'' each place it appears and inserting ``Assistant 
        Secretary of Homeland Security (Transportation Security 
        Administration)'';
            (3) by striking ``Under Secretary'' each place it appears 
        and inserting ``Assistant Secretary''; and
            (4) by inserting after subsection (s) the following:
    ``(t) Office of Behavior Analysis.--
            ``(1) Establishment.--There is established in the 
        Transportation Security Administration the Office of Behavior 
        Analysis (in this subsection referred to as the `Office').
            ``(2) Location.--The Office of Behavior Analysis shall be 
        within the Office of Security Operations of the Transportation 
        Security Administration in the Department of Homeland Security 
        and shall be headed by a Transportation Security Administration 
        career employee, who shall be appointed by the Assistant 
        Secretary of Homeland Security (Transportation Security 
        Administration).
            ``(3) Duties.--The head of the Office shall be responsible 
        for--
                    ``(A) advising the Transportation Security 
                Administration and other Federal, State, and local 
                government law enforcement agencies on behavior 
                detection methodologies and best practices; and
                    ``(B) providing behavior assessment training to law 
                enforcement personnel to facilitate the prevention of 
                terrorist attacks on aviation and mass transportation 
                systems.''.

SEC. 4. PARTNERSHIPS WITH STATE AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES WITH 
              RESPECT TO BEHAVIOR DETECTION ACTIVITIES.

    (a) In General.--The Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security 
(Transportation Security Administration) (in this Act referred to as 
the ``Assistant Secretary'') shall develop and maintain partnerships 
with State and local law enforcement agencies--
            (1) to improve the coordination of behavior detection 
        activities; and
            (2) to deploy Transportation Security Officers of the 
        Transportation Security Administration that specialize in 
        techniques to identify high-risk individuals based on behavior 
        patterns (in this Act referred to as ``behavior detection 
        officers'') to serve as an additional layer of security and to 
        deter acts of terrorism at train and bus stations and other 
        infrastructure facilities.
    (b) Collaboration in Training and Behavior Detection Activities.--
In implementing partnerships under subsection (a), the Assistant 
Secretary shall--
            (1) coordinate the provision of behavior detection training 
        for State and local law enforcement officers with similar 
        training provided for Transportation Security Officers of the 
        Transportation Security Administration; and
            (2) provide behavior detection officers with the 
        opportunity to cross-train with State and local law enforcement 
        agencies and other Federal law enforcement agencies that are 
        responsible for protecting critical infrastructure facilities 
        and mass transit systems, as the Assistant Secretary considers 
        appropriate.

SEC. 5. ACCESS TO INFORMATION DATABASES.

    The Assistant Secretary shall--
            (1) provide a select group of behavior detection officers 
        at Passengers by Observation Techniques airports with an 
        appropriate level of security clearance to access law 
        enforcement and intelligence databases, to assist in verifying 
        a passenger's identity, and to assist in law enforcement 
        operations;
            (2) require the Transportation Security Administration's 
        Transportation Security Operations Center to utilize all of the 
        law enforcement and intelligence databases available to the 
        Center when checking passengers that are at the law enforcement 
        official referral level; and
            (3) standardize and streamline threat-reporting guidelines 
        to allow behavior detection officers or other designated 
        Transportation Security Administration officials to receive 
        information from the Transportation Security Operations Center 
        in a timely manner.

SEC. 6. STANDARDIZATION OF POLICIES OF THE TRANSPORTATION SECURITY 
              ADMINISTRATION.

    The Assistant Secretary shall, to the maximum extent practicable, 
continue to ensure the standardization of the security and personnel 
procedures of the Transportation Security Administration at airports in 
the United States, including by--
            (1) requiring standard operating procedures to be 
        consistently enforced by the Transportation Security 
        Administration at each airport in the United States;
            (2) standardizing career advancement policies based on 
        merit; and
            (3) establishing timeframes and milestones for 
        systematically conducting evaluations of the Screening of 
        Passengers by Observation Techniques (SPOT) training program, 
        in order to ensure behavior detection officers possess the 
        knowledge and skills needed to perform their duties.

SEC. 7. DEPLOYMENT OF ADDITIONAL SECURITY.

    The Assistant Secretary shall--
            (1) deploy behavior detection officers to events designated 
        as National Special Security Events by the Secretary of 
        Homeland Security; and
            (2) deploy Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response teams 
        at passenger rail facilities to enhance security and cross-
        training opportunities for behavior detection officers.

SEC. 8. EMPLOYEE FEEDBACK.

    The Assistant Secretary shall establish an electronic medium 
through which security screening personnel and behavior detection 
officers of the Transportation Security Administration may anonymously 
submit feedback to the Assistant Secretary regarding--
            (1) the effectiveness of transportation security programs; 
        and
            (2) any management issue that such personnel or any such 
        Transportation Security Officer wish to bring to the attention 
        of the Assistant Secretary.
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