[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3202 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3202

      To require the Secretary of Homeland Security to prepare a 
 comprehensive security assessment of the transportation security card 
                    program, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 27, 2013

  Ms. Jackson Lee (for herself, Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, and Mrs. 
 Miller of Michigan) introduced the following bill; which was referred 
                 to the Committee on Homeland Security

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
      To require the Secretary of Homeland Security to prepare a 
 comprehensive security assessment of the transportation security card 
                    program, 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 ``Essential Transportation Worker 
Identification Credential Assessment Act''.

SEC. 2. COMPREHENSIVE SECURITY ASSESSMENT OF THE TRANSPORTATION 
              SECURITY CARD PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--Not later than one year after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall submit 
to the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives, 
the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate, 
and the Comptroller General of the United States a comprehensive 
assessment of the effectiveness of the transportation security card 
program under section 70105 of title 46, United States Code, at 
enhancing security or reducing security risks for facilities and 
vessels regulated pursuant to section 102 of Public Law 107-295, as 
conducted by an independent not-for-profit laboratory with appropriate 
expertise.
    (b) Contents.--The comprehensive assessment shall include--
            (1) an evaluation of the extent to which the program, as 
        implemented, addresses known security risks in the maritime 
        environment;
            (2) an evaluation of the extent to which internal control 
        deficiencies identified by the Comptroller General have been 
        addressed; and
            (3) a cost-benefit analysis of the program, as implemented, 
        and a consideration of alternate biometric technologies that 
        provide the same or greater security effectiveness, including--
                    (A) technologies and programs, including the 
                biometric entry and exit system required by section 
                7208 of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism 
                Prevention Act of 2004 (Public Law 108-458; 8 U.S.C. 
                1365b);
                    (B) technologies and programs operated by United 
                States port facilities and vessels, particularly for 
                purposes of access control to critical infrastructure;
                    (C) international technologies and programs that 
                are operational, particularly for purposes of access 
                control to critical infrastructure; and
                    (D) new and emerging technologies.
    (c) Corrective Action Plan; Program Reforms.--Not later than 60 
days after the Secretary submits the assessment under subsection (a), 
the Secretary shall issue a corrective action plan based on such 
assessment that responds to the findings of the cost-benefit analysis 
under subsection (b)(2) and enhances security or reduces security risk 
for facilities and vessels referred to in subsection (a). The plan may 
include programmatic reforms, revisions to regulations, or proposals 
for legislation.
    (d) Comptroller General Review.--Not later than 120 days after the 
Secretary issues the corrective action plan under subsection (c), the 
Comptroller General shall--
            (1) review the extent to which the submissions implement 
        recommendations issued by the Comptroller General; and
            (2) inform the Committee on Homeland Security of the House 
        of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
        Transportation of the Senate as to the responsiveness of the 
        submission.
    (e) Transportation Security Card Reader Rule.--The Secretary of 
Homeland Security may not issue a final rule requiring the use of 
transportation security card readers until--
            (1) the Comptroller General informs the Committees on 
        Homeland Security of the House of Representatives and Commerce, 
        Science and Transportation of the Senate that the submission 
        under subsection (a) is substantially responsive to the 
        recommendations of the Comptroller General; and
            (2) the Secretary issues an updated list of transportation 
        security card readers that are compatible with active 
        transportation security cards.
                                 <all>