[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1455 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1455

 To prohibit subsidiaries of foreign-owned corporations from obtaining 
    contracts for the performance of passenger and baggage security 
   screening at domestic commercial airports, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 10, 2013

Mr. Thompson of Mississippi (for himself, Mrs. Lowey, and Mr. Richmond) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                           Homeland Security

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To prohibit subsidiaries of foreign-owned corporations from obtaining 
    contracts for the performance of passenger and baggage security 
   screening at domestic commercial airports, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Contract Screener 
Reform and Accountability Act''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
                            TITLE I--REFORM

Sec. 101. Prohibition of screening by subsidiary of a foreign-owned 
                            corporation.
Sec. 102. Competition for private screening contracts.
Sec. 103. Prohibition on certain subcontracting.
Sec. 104. Flexibility in approving airport operator applications.
Sec. 105. Enhanced standards for application assessments.
Sec. 106. Timeline for awarding a contract for screening services.
Sec. 107. Prohibition on bonuses and other awards.
Sec. 108. Cost analysis.
Sec. 109. Customer service.
Sec. 110. Information on transition plans.
                          TITLE II--OVERSIGHT

Sec. 201. Enhanced oversight.
Sec. 202. Security breaches.
Sec. 203. Covert testing of contract screener performance.
Sec. 204. Contracting prohibition for compromising covert security 
                            testing.
Sec. 205. Proper handling of sensitive security information.
                    TITLE III--WORKFORCE PROTECTIONS

Sec. 301. Job and benefit protections.
Sec. 302. Retention and discipline.
Sec. 303. Protections for reporting deficiencies, waste, or 
                            vulnerabilities.

                            TITLE I--REFORM

SEC. 101. PROHIBITION OF SCREENING BY SUBSIDIARY OF A FOREIGN-OWNED 
              CORPORATION.

    Subsection (d) of section 44920 of title 49, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) by striking ``(d)'' and all that follows through ``The 
        Under Secretary may enter'' and inserting the following:
    ``(d) Standards for Private Screening Companies.--The Under 
Secretary may enter'';
            (2) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) and (B) as 
        paragraphs (1) and (2), respectively, and moving such 
        paragraphs two ems to the left; and
            (3) by striking paragraph (2).

SEC. 102. COMPETITION FOR PRIVATE SCREENING CONTRACTS.

    Section 44920 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by 
striking subsection (h).

SEC. 103. PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN SUBCONTRACTING.

    Section 44920 of title 49, United States Code, as amended by 
section 102 of this Act, is further amended by adding at the end the 
following new subsection:
    ``(h) Prohibition on Certain Subcontracting.--The Under Secretary 
is prohibited from entering into any contract for screening services 
under this section that would allow for the screening services to be 
performed by a subcontractor.''.

SEC. 104. FLEXIBILITY IN APPROVING AIRPORT OPERATOR APPLICATIONS.

    Paragraph (2) of section 44920(b) of title 49, United States Code, 
is amended by striking ``shall'' and inserting ``may''.

SEC. 105. ENHANCED STANDARDS FOR APPLICATION ASSESSMENTS.

    Paragraph (2) of section 44920(b) of title 49, United States Code, 
is amended by inserting before the period at the end the following: 
``and at airports nationwide''.

SEC. 106. TIMELINE FOR AWARDING A CONTRACT FOR SCREENING SERVICES.

    Subsection (b) of section 44920 of title 49, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(4) Timeline for awarding a contract for screening 
        services.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Not later than 270 days after 
                approving an application under paragraph (1), the Under 
                Secretary shall award a contract to a qualified private 
                screening company in accordance with subsections (c) 
                and (d).
                    ``(B) Notification.--If the Under Secretary is 
                unable to make an award in accordance with subparagraph 
                (A), the Under Secretary shall notify the airport 
                operator that submitted the application at issue of the 
                determination and the basis for such determination, and 
                about eligibility for reapplication in accordance with 
                subsection (a).''.

SEC. 107. PROHIBITION ON BONUSES AND OTHER AWARDS.

    Section 44920 of title 49, United States Code, as amended by 
section 105 of this Act, is further amended by adding at the end the 
following new subsection:
    ``(i) Prohibition on Bonuses and Other Awards.--The Under Secretary 
is prohibited from providing funding to any private screening company 
that provides screening services at an airport in excess of the amount 
required for the performance of such screening services.''.

SEC. 108. COST ANALYSIS.

    Section 44920 of title 49, United States Code, as amended by 
section 107 of this Act, is further amended by adding at the end the 
following new subsection:
    ``(j) Cost Analysis.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date 
        of the enactment of this subsection, the Comptroller General 
        shall provide to the Under Secretary guidance on how to conduct 
        an analysis of the total annual cost incurred by the Federal 
        Government with respect to screening services provided by 
        private screening companies.
            ``(2) Action.--Not later than 180 days after receipt of the 
        guidance described in paragraph (1) and annually thereafter, 
        the Under Secretary shall utilize such guidance to identify 
        costs incurred by the Federal Government as a result of 
        overseeing the performance of private screening companies, 
        compared with costs incurred by the Under Secretary at airports 
        that utilize Federal Government personnel for passenger and 
        baggage screening.''.

SEC. 109. CUSTOMER SERVICE.

    Section 44920 of title 49, United States Code, as amended by 
section 108 of this Act, is further amended by adding at the end the 
following new subsection:
    ``(k) Customer Service.--Each airport operator utilizing contract 
passenger and baggage screeners employed by a private screening company 
shall prominently display signs in the immediate vicinity of the 
passenger screening area notifying the flying public that passenger and 
baggage screening at that airport is conducted by contract screening 
personnel and not by Federal Government personnel. Such signs shall 
also display a contact number and Internet website address maintained 
by such private screening company for a passenger to report complaints 
about his or her screening experience. Each private screening company 
with a contract for screening services at an airport shall track all 
such passenger complaints and regularly report such information to the 
Under Secretary through, to the maximum extent practicable, the 
contracting officer of each such private screening company. The Under 
Secretary shall report such information to the Committee on Homeland 
Security of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 
Science, and Transportation of the Senate upon request.''.

SEC. 110. INFORMATION ON TRANSITION PLANS.

    Subsection (b) of section 44920 of title 49, United States Code, as 
amended by section 106, is further amended by adding at the end the 
following new paragraph:
            ``(5) Transition.--Not later than 90 days after an airport 
        operator provides notice to the Under Secretary of the decision 
        of such airport operator to discontinue the use of screening 
        personnel of a qualified private screening company and use 
        Transportation Security Officers for screening services at the 
        airport operated by such airport operator, the Under Secretary 
        shall provide such airport operator with information on how the 
        Under Secretary intends to carry out the transition of 
        screening services, including an anticipated timeline and key 
        benchmarks.''.

                          TITLE II--OVERSIGHT

SEC. 201. ENHANCED OVERSIGHT.

    Section 44920 of title 49, United States Code, as amended by 
section 109 of this Act, is further amended by adding at the end the 
following new subsection:
    ``(l) Enhanced Oversight.--Not later than 180 days after the date 
of the enactment of this subsection, the Under Secretary shall develop 
and implement a system to be carried out, to the maximum extent 
practicable, by the contracting officer who oversees each respective 
private screening company providing screening services at an airport, 
to enhance monitoring of performance of each such private screening 
company. The system shall, at a minimum, provide year-to-year 
information about performance by each such private screening company, 
and be in a format to provide for comparison with airports in the same 
category whose screening services are provided by Federal Government 
personnel with respect to detection rates of threats and threat image 
tests, recertification pass rates, covert performance assessments, and 
evaluations used to assess screener performance on various elements 
that may affect security and a passenger's overall travel 
experience.''.

SEC. 202. SECURITY BREACHES.

    Section 44920 of title 49, United States Code, as amended by 
section 201 of this Act, is further amended by adding at the end the 
following new subsection:
    ``(m) Security Breaches.--
            ``(1) In general.--A private screening company shall 
        regularly report to the Under Secretary each security breach at 
        an airport where baggage and passenger screening is conducted 
        by such a private screening company. Each such report shall 
        include--
                    ``(A) a detailed description of each security 
                breach;
                    ``(B) information regarding where each such breach 
                occurred;
                    ``(C) information regarding law enforcement 
                notification and response; and
                    ``(D) any corrective action taken in response to 
                each such breach.
            ``(2) Annual reports.--The Under 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 an annual report containing the 
        information required pursuant to paragraph (1), including the 
        definition of `security breach' used by the Under Secretary for 
        purposes of this subsection. To the extent practicable, the 
        report shall be presented in a non-classified format with a 
        classified appendix where necessary.''.

SEC. 203. COVERT TESTING OF CONTRACT SCREENER PERFORMANCE.

    Section 44920 of title 49, United States Code, as amended by 
section 202 of this Act, is further amended by adding at the end the 
following new subsection:
    ``(n) Covert Testing.--The Comptroller General of the United States 
shall conduct annual covert testing of airports where private screening 
companies provide screening services. To the extent practicable, such 
covert testing shall be conducted at one airport with contract screener 
personnel within each airport category that was not the subject of 
covert testing by another Federal entity during the same year. The 
Comptroller General shall submit to the Under Secretary and to the 
Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives and the 
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a 
report that contains the results of such covert testing. To the extent 
practicable, each such report shall be presented in a non-classified 
format with a classified appendix where necessary.''.

SEC. 204. CONTRACTING PROHIBITION FOR COMPROMISING COVERT SECURITY 
              TESTING.

    Subsection (d) of section 44920 of title 49, United States Code, as 
amended by section 101 of this Act is further amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (2) in paragraph (2), by striking the period at the end and 
        inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(3) on or after the date of the enactment of this 
        paragraph, neither the private screening company, nor its 
        parent company, if applicable, has compromised any covert 
        security testing by notifying individuals employed by such 
        private screening company that such covert testing was 
        occurring, or otherwise been found to have knowingly 
        compromised covert testing conducted pursuant to subsection (n) 
        or any other covert test conducted by the Inspector General of 
        the Department of Homeland Security, the Comptroller General of 
        the United States, or the Under Secretary.''.

SEC. 205. PROPER HANDLING OF SENSITIVE SECURITY INFORMATION.

    Section 44920 of title 49, United States Code, as amended by 
section 203 of this Act, is further amended by adding at the end the 
following new subsection:
    ``(o) Proper Handling of Sensitive Security Information.--The Under 
Secretary shall require each private screening company that provides 
screening services at airports to provide all individuals employed by 
such private screening company with annual training for the proper 
handling of all sensitive information, including sensitive security 
information.''.

                    TITLE III--WORKFORCE PROTECTIONS

SEC. 301. JOB AND BENEFIT PROTECTIONS.

    Subsection (c) of section 44920 of title 49, United States Code, is 
amended to read as follows:
    ``(c) Qualified Private Screening Company.--
            ``(1) In general.--Beginning on the date of the enactment 
        of this subsection, a private screening company is qualified to 
        provide screening services at an airport under this section if 
        the company will only employ individuals to provide such 
        services who meet all the requirements of this chapter 
        applicable to Federal Government personnel who perform 
        screening services at airports under this chapter, will provide 
        the right of first refusal to existing Federal Government 
        personnel, and presume that the personnel who perform screening 
        services at airports and are in good standing are qualified 
        under this subsection, and will offer such individuals 
        employment with compensation and other benefits that is equal 
        to or greater than the level of compensation and other benefits 
        that such individuals were provided by the Federal Government 
        at the time the contract was awarded.
            ``(2) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this subsection may 
        be construed to require any private screening company that is a 
        qualified private screening company as of the date that is one 
        day before the date of the enactment of this subsection to 
        implement paragraph (1) with respect to any contract that was 
        entered into with the Under Secretary before the date of the 
        enactment of this subsection.''.

SEC. 302. RETENTION AND DISCIPLINE.

    Section 44920 of title 49, United States Code, as amended by 
section 205 of this Act, is further amended by adding at the end the 
following new subsection:
    ``(p) Retention and Discipline.--Each private screening company 
with a contract for screening services under this section that provides 
screening services at an airport under this section shall, on a monthly 
basis, provide the Under Secretary with information on retention rates 
of screeners and supervisory personnel employed by each such private 
screening company at each such airport, and a detailed description of 
adverse employment actions taken against any of such screeners or 
supervisory personnel at each such airport. The Under 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, upon request by either of such 
Committees, a report containing the information required under this 
subsection.''.

SEC. 303. PROTECTIONS FOR REPORTING DEFICIENCIES, WASTE, OR 
              VULNERABILITIES.

    (a) In General.--Section 44920 of title 49, United States Code, as 
amended by section 302 of this Act, is further amended by adding at the 
end the following new subsection:
    ``(q) Protections for Reporting Deficiencies.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
        the enactment of this subsection, the Under Secretary shall 
        establish a process by which any person may submit to the Under 
        Secretary a report regarding problems, deficiencies, waste, or 
        vulnerabilities with respect to screening services provided at 
        an airport where such services are provided by a private 
        screening company.
            ``(2) Confidentiality.--The Under Secretary shall keep 
        confidential the identity of a person who submits a report 
        under paragraph (1), and any such report shall be treated as 
        protected information.
            ``(3) Acknowledgment of receipt.--If a report submitted 
        under paragraph (1) identifies the person submitting such 
        report, the Under Secretary shall respond promptly to such 
        person to acknowledge receipt of such report.
            ``(4) Steps to address problems.--The Under Secretary shall 
        review and consider the information provided in any report 
        submitted under paragraph (1) and shall, as necessary, take 
        appropriate steps under this title to address any problem, 
        deficiency, waste, or vulnerability identified in such report.
            ``(5) Retaliation prohibited.--
                    ``(A) Prohibition.--No private screening company 
                may discharge any employee or otherwise discriminate 
                against any employee with respect to such employee's 
                compensation, terms, conditions, or other privileges of 
                employment because such employee (or any person acting 
                pursuant to a request of such employee)--
                            ``(i) notified the Under Secretary of any 
                        problem, deficiency, waste, or vulnerability;
                            ``(ii) refused to engage in any practice 
                        made unlawful by this title, if such employee 
                        has identified the alleged illegality to such 
                        employer;
                            ``(iii) testified before or otherwise 
                        provided information relevant for Congress or 
                        for any Federal or State proceeding regarding 
                        any provision (or proposed provision) of this 
                        title;
                            ``(iv) commenced, caused to be commenced, 
                        or is about to commence or cause to be 
                        commenced a proceeding under this title;
                            ``(v) testified or is about to testify in 
                        any such proceeding; or
                            ``(vi) assisted or participated or is about 
                        to assist or participate in any manner in such 
                        a proceeding or in any other manner in such a 
                        proceeding or in any other action to carry out 
                        the purposes of this title.
                    ``(B) Suspension.--If the Under Secretary 
                determines that any private screening company has 
                engaged in retaliation in violation of subparagraph 
                (A), the Under Secretary shall suspend the contract of 
                such private screening company to provide screening 
                services.''.
    (b) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in subsection (q) of section 
44920 of title 49, United States Code, as added by subsection (a) of 
this section, may be construed as in any manner affecting any other 
provision of law relating to protections for the reporting of problems, 
deficiencies, waste, or vulnerabilities, including protections against 
retaliation related thereto.
                                 <all>