[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3303 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
112th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3303
To require security screening of passengers at airports to be carried
out by private screening companies, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 14, 2012
Mr. Paul introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require security screening of passengers at airports to be carried
out by private screening companies, 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. REQUIREMENT THAT PASSENGER SECURITY SCREENING BE CONDUCTED
BY PRIVATE SCREENING COMPANIES.
(a) In General.--Section 44901(a) of title 49, United States Code,
is amended in the second sentence by striking ``except as otherwise''
and all that follows through the end period and inserting ``except--
``(1) that screening of passengers shall be conducted by
employees of a private screening company under a contract
entered into pursuant to subsection (m)(1);
``(2) for identifying passengers and baggage for screening
under the CAPPS and known shipper programs and conducting
positive bag-match programs; and
``(3) as otherwise provided in section 44919 or 44920.''.
(b) Requirements.--Section 44901 of such title 49, United States
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(m) Conduct of Passenger Screening by Private Screening
Companies.--
``(1) Contracts.--
``(A) In general.--Except as provided in
subparagraph (B), the Assistant Secretary of Homeland
Security (Transportation Security Administration) shall
enter into a contract with a private screening company
selected by the operator of an airport under which
employees of that company will conduct the screening of
passengers at the airport under subsection (a)(1).
``(B) Companies with unsatisfactory performance
records.--The operator of an airport may not select a
private security screening company for purposes of
subparagraph (A) if the Assistant Secretary determines
that the performance record of the company is
unsatisfactory.
``(2) Employment and termination decisions.--
Notwithstanding section 44903(g)(1)(C), section 44935(e), or
any other provision of this chapter, the operator of an airport
and the private screening company conducting passenger
screening at that airport pursuant to a contract entered into
under paragraph (1)(A) shall have the authority to make final
decisions with respect to the employment and termination of
individuals conducting passenger screening at that airport.''.
(c) Mandatory Approval of Applications Under Security Screening
Opt-Out Program.--Section 44920 of title 49, United States Code, is
amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) by striking ``Under Secretary'' the first place
it appears and inserting ``Assistant Secretary
(Transportation Security Administration) (in this
section referred to as the `Assistant Secretary')'';
and
(B) by striking ``passengers and'';
(2) by striking ``Under Secretary'' each place it appears
and inserting ``Assistant Secretary'';
(3) by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:
``(b) Approval of Applications.--The Assistant Secretary shall
approve all applications submitted under subsection (a).''; and
(4) in subsection (h), by striking ``and passenger''.
(d) Conforming Amendments.--
(1) Enforcement of secured-area access control
requirements.--
(A) In general.--Section 44903(g)(1) of title 49,
United States Code, is amended--
(i) in subparagraph (A), in the first
sentence, by striking ``employees'' and
inserting ``Federal employees''; and
(ii) by adding at the end the following:
``(C) Sanctions for employees of private security
screening companies.--The Under Secretary shall develop
and publish in the Federal Register a list of sanctions
for use as guidelines in the discipline of employees of
private screening companies conducting passenger
screening at airports for infractions of airport access
control requirements in consultation with those
companies.''.
(B) Publication of guidelines.--Not later than 180
days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the
Secretary of Homeland Security shall publish in the
Federal Register--
(i) such revisions to the guidelines under
subparagraph (A) of section 44903(g)(1) of
title 49, United States Code, as are necessary
to implement the amendments made by
subparagraph (A); and
(ii) guidelines under subparagraph (C) of
that section (as added by subparagraph (A)).
(2) Threat and vulnerability assessments.--Section
44904(b)(5) of title 49, United States Code, is amended by
striking ``the United States Customs Service, the Immigration
and Naturalization Service, and air carriers'' and inserting
``U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Immigration and
Customs Enforcement, private screening companies conducting
passenger screening at airports, and air carriers''.
(3) Qualifications of security screeners.--
(A) In general.--Section 44935(e)(2)(A) of title
49, United States Code, is amended in the first
sentence by inserting ``and individuals employed by
private screening companies to conduct screening of
passengers at airports'' after ``personnel''.
(B) Revisions to qualification standards.--Not
later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of
this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall make
such revisions to the qualification standards for
security screening personnel under section
44935(e)(2)(A) of title 49, United States Code, as are
necessary as a result of the amendment made by
subparagraph (A).
(e) Reduction in Employees of Transportation Security
Administration.--The Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security
(Transportation Security Administration) shall decrease the number of
employees of the Transportation Security Administration assigned to an
airport by an amount that is equivalent to the increase in the number
of employees of private screening companies assigned to the airport
pursuant to a contract entered into under subsection (m)(1) of section
44901 of title 49, United States Code, as added by subsection (b) of
this section, as soon as practicable after the contract takes effect.
(f) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall--
(1) take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act;
and
(2) apply with respect to the screening of passengers at
airports on and after the date that is 180 days after such date
of enactment.
SEC. 2. RIGHT TO WORK FOR EMPLOYEES OF PRIVATE PASSENGER SCREENING
COMPANIES.
(a) Amendment to National Labor Relations Act.--Section 8 of the
National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 158) is amended by adding at
the end the following:
``(h) Right To Work for Employees of Private Passenger Screening
Companies.--Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, the first
and second provisos of subsection (a)(3) shall not apply to an employer
that is a private passenger screening company conducting passenger
screening at an airport. In the case of a labor organization
representing the employees of such employer, paragraphs (2) and (5) of
subsection (b) shall be applied without regard to whether there is an
agreement authorized under subsection (a)(3).''.
(b) Amendment to Railway Labor Act.--Title II of the Railway Labor
Act (45 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``SEC. 209. RIGHT TO WORK FOR EMPLOYEES OF PRIVATE PASSENGER SCREENING
COMPANIES.
``Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, paragraph
Eleventh of section 2 shall not apply to any employee of a private
passenger screening company that has entered into a contract with a
carrier by air.''.
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