[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4930 Introduced in House (IH)]

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114th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4930

To ensure appropriate protections and redress for travelers, consistent 
 with the transportation security and national security of the United 
                    States, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 13, 2016

  Mr. Ratcliffe (for himself and Mr. Nunes) introduced the following 
       bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To ensure appropriate protections and redress for travelers, consistent 
 with the transportation security and national security of the United 
                    States, 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 ``Transportation Security and Redress 
Act'' or ``TSARA''.

SEC. 2. JUDICIAL REVIEW PROCEDURES FOR PERSONS DELAYED OR PROHIBITED 
              FROM BOARDING.

    (a) Exclusive Remedy.--Except as provided in subsection (b), no 
court of the United States or of any State or political subdivision 
thereof shall have jurisdiction over any claim, including a 
constitutional claim, related to or arising out of a decision to delay 
or prohibit a person from boarding a commercial aircraft because such 
person has been identified as a threat by the Transportation Security 
Administration or the Terrorist Screening Center. Any petition filed 
under subsection (c) shall be the sole and exclusive judicial remedy 
for any claim described in this section against the United States, any 
United States Government department or agency, or any component or 
official of any such department or agency.
    (b) Exclusive Jurisdiction and Time of Filing.--
            (1) Exclusive jurisdiction of the united states court of 
        appeals.--Any petition for review under subsection (c), as well 
        as any claims arising out of the same facts and circumstances 
        that could have been set out in such petition, including any 
        challenge to an individual's identification as a threat by the 
        Transportation Security Administration or the Terrorist 
        Screening Center, shall be filed only in the United States 
        Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit or in the 
        court of appeals of the United States for the circuit in which 
        the person resides or where such person's principal place of 
        business is located.
            (2) Scope of review.--The court of appeals in which the 
        petition is filed shall have jurisdiction to decide all 
        relevant questions of law. The court of appeals shall have 
        exclusive jurisdiction to affirm, amend, modify, or set aside 
        any part of the final decision under review, and may order the 
        Transportation Security Administration or Terrorist Screening 
        Center to conduct further proceedings.
            (3) Time for filing.--The petition filed under subsection 
        (c), as well as any claims related to such petition, must be 
        filed not later than 60 days after a final order or final 
        decision is issued pursuant to the administrative redress 
        process established by section 44903, 44909, or 44926 of title 
        49, United States Code. The court of appeals may allow the 
        petition to be filed after the 60th day only if good cause is 
        shown for not filing by the 60th day.
    (c) Petition for Review.--A petition for review may be filed by any 
person who challenges a final administrative redress decision by the 
Transportation Security Administration to delay or prohibit such person 
from boarding a commercial aircraft because such person has been 
identified as a threat by the Transportation Security Administration or 
the Terrorist Screening Center. No petition may be filed under this 
subsection unless and until the person filing such petition has 
exhausted the administrative redress process established by section 
44903, 44909, or 44926 of title 49, United States Code.
    (d) Requirement for an Administrative Record and Procedures for 
Judicial Review.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 
following procedures shall apply to a petition filed pursuant to 
subsection (c):
            (1) The United States shall file with the court of appeals 
        an administrative record, which shall consist of the 
        information the United States relied upon in support of the 
        final decision under review, as well as any information the 
        petitioner has submitted pursuant to the administrative redress 
        process established by section 44903, 44909, or 44926 of title 
        49, United States Code.
            (2) All unclassified information contained in the 
        administrative record that is not otherwise privileged or 
        subject to statutory protections shall be provided to the 
        petitioner, and no discovery shall be permitted.
            (3) The administrative record may include unclassified 
        information subject to privilege or statutory protections, 
        which the United States may submit in camera and ex parte.
            (4) Sensitive security information contained in the 
        administrative record may only be provided to petitioner's 
        counsel pursuant to a protective order in accordance with the 
        regulations and orders issued pursuant to section 114(r) of 
        title 49, United States Code.
            (5) The administrative record may also include classified 
        information, which the United States shall submit to the court 
        ex parte and in camera. The United States shall provide an 
        unclassified summary of the classified information to the 
        petitioner's counsel pursuant to a protective order, taking 
        into account the circumstances of the case, including the 
        petitioner's ability to respond to the basis for the final 
        order or final decision, unless the head of the department or 
        agency whose classified information is at issue, or his 
        designee, determines in his discretion that providing a summary 
        could damage the national security of the United States.
            (6) The administrative record may also include information 
        obtained or derived from orders issued pursuant to the Foreign 
        Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, as amended (50 U.S.C. 
        1801 et seq.), without regard to subsections (c), (e), (f), 
        (g), and (h) of section 106, subsections (d), (f), (g), (h), 
        and (i) of section 305, subsections (c), (e), (f), (g), and (h) 
        of section 405, and section 706, of that Act. Whenever the 
        United States intends to use such information against an 
        aggrieved person, it shall provide an in camera and ex parte 
        notice to the court concerning such use.
            (7) Whenever the court of appeals receives a notice 
        pursuant to subsection (d)(6), the court shall review, in 
        camera and ex parte, the application, order, and any other 
        materials that may be submitted by the United States.
            (8) If the court determines that the order was not lawfully 
        authorized, or the information was not obtained in conformity 
        with the order, it shall exclude such information from 
        consideration as part of the administrative record.
            (9) Any classified information, sensitive security 
        information, law enforcement sensitive information, or 
        information that is otherwise privileged or subject to 
        statutory protections, that is part of the administrative 
        record, or cited by the court in any decision, shall be treated 
        by the court and the parties consistent with the provisions of 
        this subsection, and shall remain under seal and preserved in 
        the records of the court to be made available in the event of 
        further proceedings. In no event shall such information be 
        released as part of the public record.
            (10) After the expiration of the time to seek further 
        review, or the conclusion of further proceedings, the court 
        shall return the administrative record, including any and all 
        copies, to the United States. All privileged information or 
        other information in the possession of petitioner's counsel 
        that was provided by the United States pursuant to a protective 
        order shall be returned to the United States, or the 
        petitioner's counsel shall certify its destruction, including 
        any and all copies.
    (e) Scope of Review.--The court of appeals shall decide any 
petition for review filed under subsection (c) based solely on the 
administrative record submitted by the United States, including any 
information which may have been filed with the court in camera and ex 
parte, and any information submitted by the petitioner during the 
administrative redress process established by section 44903, 44909, or 
44926 of title 49, United States Code. The court shall uphold a final 
decision issued pursuant to the administrative redress process by the 
Transportation Security Administration unless such decision was--
            (1) arbitrary and capricious, an abuse of discretion, or 
        otherwise not in accordance with law;
            (2) contrary to constitutional right, power, privilege, or 
        immunity;
            (3) in excess of statutory jurisdiction, authority, or 
        limitation, or short of statutory right;
            (4) lacking substantial support in the administrative 
        record taken as a whole, including in the classified 
        information submitted to the court; or
            (5) not in accord with procedures required by law.
    (f) Supreme Court Review.--A decision by the court of appeals under 
this section may be reviewed by the Supreme Court under section 1254 of 
title 28, United States Code.
    (g) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be 
construed as limiting, superseding, or preventing the invocation of, 
any privileges or defenses that are otherwise available at law or in 
equity to protect against the disclosure of information.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) The term ``classified information'' means any 
        information or material that has been determined by the United 
        States Government pursuant to an Executive order, statute, or 
        regulation, to require protection against unauthorized 
        disclosure for reasons of national security and any restricted 
        data, as defined in paragraph r. of section 11 of the Atomic 
        Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2014(y)).
            (2) The term ``national security'' means the national 
        defense and foreign relations of the United States.
            (3) The term ``sensitive security information'' shall have 
        the meaning set forth in sections 114(r) and 40119 of title 49, 
        United States Code, and the regulations and orders issued 
        pursuant thereto.
            (4) The term ``aggrieved person'' shall have the meaning 
        set forth in sections 1801(k), 1821(2), and 1841(3) of title 
        50, United States Code.

SEC. 4. APPLICATION TO PROCEEDINGS.

    (a) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this Act shall take 
effect on the date of the enactment of this Act, and shall apply to any 
pending claim by a person who challenges a final decision by the 
Transportation Security Administration to delay or prohibit such person 
from boarding a commercial aircraft because he has been identified as a 
threat by the Transportation Security Administration or the Terrorist 
Screening Center.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--The procedures set forth in section 2(d) 
shall also apply to any petition to review a final order entered 
pursuant to section 46110 of title 49, United States Code.
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