II 112th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 1459 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES August 1, 2011 Mr. Baucus introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation A BILL To prohibit air carriers from charging a fee for the transportation of checked baggage by members of the Armed Forces traveling to or from an overseas contingency operation.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Four Free Bags for Freedom Act.

2.

Baggage fees prohibited

(a)

In general

An air carrier (as defined in section 40102(a) of title 49, United States Code) may not charge any fee for the transport of 4 or fewer items of baggage checked by a member of the Armed Forces if such member— (1)is traveling in scheduled air transportation on official military orders; and (2)is being deployed on, or returning from, an overseas contingency operation. (b)

Limitation

As used in subsection (a), the term item of baggage does not include any item that weighs more than 80 pounds.