[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 719 Reported in Senate (RS)]

                                                       Calendar No. 191
114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 719

                          [Report No. 114-111]


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 11, 2015

                                Received

                           February 24, 2015

  Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
                             Transportation

                             August 4, 2015

                Reported by Mr. Thune, with an amendment
 [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed 
                               in italic]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
  To require the Transportation Security Administration to conform to 
 existing Federal law and regulations regarding criminal investigator 
                   positions, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

<DELETED>SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    This Act may be cited as the ``TSA Office of Inspection 
Accountability Act of 2015''.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 2. FINDINGS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    Congress makes the following findings:</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) Consistent with Federal law and regulations, 
        for law enforcement officers to qualify for premium pay as 
        criminal investigators, the officers must, in general, spend on 
        average at least 50 percent of their time investigating, 
        apprehending, or detaining individuals suspected or convicted 
        of offenses against the criminal laws of the United 
        States.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) According to the Inspector General of the 
        Department of Homeland Security (DHS IG), the Transportation 
        Security Administration (TSA) does not ensure that its cadre of 
        criminal investigators in the Office of Inspection are meeting 
        this requirement, even though they are considered law 
        enforcement officers under TSA policy and receive premium 
        pay.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) Instead, TSA criminal investigators in the 
        Office of Inspection primarily monitor the results of criminal 
        investigations conducted by other agencies, investigate 
        administrative cases of TSA employee misconduct, and carry out 
        inspections, covert tests, and internal reviews, which the DHS 
        IG asserts could be performed by employees other than criminal 
        investigators at a lower cost.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) The premium pay and other benefits afforded to 
        TSA criminal investigators in the Office of Inspection who are 
        incorrectly classified as such will cost the taxpayer as much 
        as $17 million over 5 years if TSA fails to make any changes to 
        the number of criminal investigators in the Office of 
        Inspection, according to the DHS IG.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (5) This may be a conservative estimate, as it 
        accounts for the cost of Law Enforcement Availability Pay, but 
        not the costs of law enforcement training, statutory early 
        retirement benefits, police vehicles, and weapons.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    In this Act:</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) Administration.--The term ``Administration'' 
        means the Transportation Security Administration.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Assistant secretary.--The term ``Assistant 
        Secretary'' means the Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security 
        (Transportation Security) of the Department of Homeland 
        Security.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) Inspector general.--The term ``Inspector 
        General'' means the Inspector General of the Department of 
        Homeland Security.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 4. INSPECTOR GENERAL REVIEW.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) Review.--Not later than 60 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Inspector General shall analyze the data and 
methods that the Assistant Secretary uses to identify employees of the 
Administration who meet the requirements of sections 8331(20), 
8401(17), and 5545a of title 5, United States Code, and provide the 
relevant findings to the Assistant Secretary, including a finding on 
whether the data and methods are adequate and valid.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Prohibition on Hiring.--If the Inspector General finds 
that such data and methods are inadequate or invalid, the 
Administration may not hire any new employee to work in the Office of 
Inspection of the Administration until--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) the Assistant Secretary makes a certification 
        described in section 5 to the Committee on Homeland Security of 
        the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 
        Science, and Transportation of the Senate; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) the Inspector General submits to such 
        Committees a finding, not later than 30 days after the 
        Assistant Secretary makes such certification, that the 
        Assistant Secretary utilized adequate and valid data and 
        methods to make such certification.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 5. TSA OFFICE OF INSPECTION WORKFORCE 
              CERTIFICATION.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) Certification to Congress.--The Assistant Secretary 
shall, by not later than 90 days after the date the Inspector General 
provides its findings to the Assistant Secretary under section 4(a), 
document and certify in writing to the Committee on Homeland Security 
of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 
and Transportation of the Senate that only those employees of the 
Administration who meet the requirements of sections 8331(20), 
8401(17), and 5545a of title 5, United States Code, are classified as 
criminal investigators and are receiving premium pay and other benefits 
associated with such classification.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Employee Reclassification.--The Assistant Secretary 
shall reclassify criminal investigator positions in the Office of 
Inspection as noncriminal investigator positions or non-law enforcement 
positions if the individuals in those positions do not, or are not 
expected to, spend an average of at least 50 percent of their time 
performing criminal investigative duties.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (c) Projected Cost Savings.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) In general.--The Assistant Secretary shall 
        estimate the total long-term cost savings to the Federal 
        Government resulting from the implementation of subsection (b), 
        and provide such estimate to the Committee on Homeland Security 
        of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 
        Science, and Transportation of the Senate by not later than 180 
        days after the date of enactment of this Act.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Contents.--Such estimate shall identify 
        savings associated with the positions reclassified under 
        subsection (b) and include, among other factors the Assistant 
        Secretary considers appropriate, savings from--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) law enforcement training;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) early retirement benefits;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) law enforcement availability pay; 
                and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (D) weapons, vehicles, and communications 
                devices.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 6. INVESTIGATION OF FEDERAL AIR MARSHAL SERVICE 
              MISCONDUCT.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of 
this Act, or as soon as practicable, the Assistant 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--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) any materials in the possession or control of 
        the Department of Homeland Security associated with the Office 
        of Inspection's review of instances in which Federal Air 
        Marshal Service officials obtained discounted or free firearms 
        for personal use; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) information on specific actions that will be 
        taken to prevent Federal Air Marshal Service officials from 
        using their official positions, or exploiting, in any way, the 
        Service's relationships with private vendors to obtain 
        discounted or free firearms for personal use.</DELETED>

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``TSA Office of Inspection 
Accountability Act of 2015''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Consistent with Federal law and regulations, for law 
        enforcement officers to qualify for premium pay as criminal 
        investigators, the officers must, in general, spend on average 
        at least 50 percent of their time investigating, apprehending, 
        or detaining individuals suspected or convicted of offenses 
        against the criminal laws of the United States.
            (2) According to the Inspector General of the Department of 
        Homeland Security (DHS IG), the Transportation Security 
        Administration (TSA) does not ensure that its cadre of criminal 
        investigators in the Office of Inspection are meeting this 
        requirement, even though they are considered law enforcement 
        officers under TSA policy and receive premium pay.
            (3) Instead, TSA criminal investigators in the Office of 
        Inspection primarily monitor the results of criminal 
        investigations conducted by other agencies, investigate 
        administrative cases of TSA employee misconduct, and carry out 
        inspections, covert tests, and internal reviews, which the DHS 
        IG asserts could be performed by employees other than criminal 
        investigators at a lower cost.
            (4) The premium pay and other benefits afforded to TSA 
        criminal investigators in the Office of Inspection who are 
        incorrectly classified as such will cost the taxpayer as much 
        as $17 million over 5 years if TSA fails to make any changes to 
        the number of criminal investigators in the Office of 
        Inspection, according to the DHS IG.
            (5) This may be a conservative estimate, as it accounts for 
        the cost of Law Enforcement Availability Pay, but not the costs 
        of law enforcement training, statutory early retirement 
        benefits, police vehicles, and weapons.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Administration.--The term ``Administration'' means the 
        Transportation Security Administration.
            (2) Assistant secretary.--The term ``Assistant Secretary'' 
        means the Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security 
        (Transportation Security) of the Department of Homeland 
        Security.
            (3) Inspector general.--The term ``Inspector General'' 
        means the Inspector General of the Department of Homeland 
        Security.

SEC. 4. INSPECTOR GENERAL AUDIT.

    (a) Audit.--Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, the Inspector General shall analyze the data and methods 
that the Assistant Secretary uses to identify Office of Inspection 
employees of the Administration who meet the requirements of sections 
8331(20), 8401(17), and 5545a of title 5, United States Code, and 
provide the relevant findings to the Assistant Secretary, including a 
finding on whether the data and methods are adequate and valid.
    (b) Prohibition on Hiring.--If the Inspector General finds that 
such data and methods are inadequate or invalid, the Administration 
shall not hire any new employee to work in the Office of Inspection of 
the Administration until--
            (1) the Assistant Secretary makes a certification described 
        in section 5 to the Committee on Homeland Security of the House 
        of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
        Transportation of the Senate; and
            (2) the Inspector General submits to such Committees a 
        finding, not later than 30 days after the Assistant Secretary 
        makes such certification, that the Assistant Secretary utilized 
        adequate and valid data and methods to make such certification.

SEC. 5. TSA OFFICE OF INSPECTION WORKFORCE CERTIFICATION.

    (a) Certification to Congress.--The Assistant Secretary shall, by 
not later than 90 days after the date the Inspector General provides 
its findings to the Assistant Secretary under section 4(a), document 
and certify in writing to the Committee on Homeland Security of the 
House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation of the Senate that only those Office of Inspection 
employees of the Administration who meet the requirements of sections 
8331(20), 8401(17), and 5545a of title 5, United States Code, are 
classified as criminal investigators and are receiving premium pay and 
other benefits associated with such classification.
    (b) Employee Reclassification.--The Assistant Secretary shall 
reclassify criminal investigator positions in the Office of Inspection 
as noncriminal investigator positions or non-law enforcement positions 
if the individuals in those positions do not, or are not expected to, 
spend an average of at least 50 percent of their time performing 
criminal investigative duties.
    (c) Projected Cost Savings.--
            (1) In general.--The Assistant Secretary shall estimate the 
        total long-term cost savings to the Federal Government 
        resulting from the implementation of subsection (b), and 
        provide such estimate to the Committee on Homeland Security of 
        the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 
        Science, and Transportation of the Senate by not later than 180 
        days after the date of enactment of this Act.
            (2) Contents.--Such estimate shall identify savings 
        associated with the positions reclassified under subsection (b) 
        and include, among other factors the Assistant Secretary 
        considers appropriate, savings from--
                    (A) law enforcement training;
                    (B) early retirement benefits;
                    (C) law enforcement availability and other premium 
                pay; and
                    (D) weapons, vehicles, and communications devices.

SEC. 6. INVESTIGATION OF FEDERAL AIR MARSHAL SERVICE MISCONDUCT.

    Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
or as soon as practicable, the Assistant 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--
            (1) materials in the possession or control of the 
        Department of Homeland Security associated with the Office of 
        Inspection's review of instances in which Federal Air Marshal 
        Service officials obtained discounted or free firearms for 
        personal use; and
            (2) information on specific actions that will be taken to 
        prevent Federal Air Marshal Service officials from using their 
        official positions, or exploiting, in any way, the Service's 
        relationships with private vendors to obtain discounted or free 
        firearms for personal use.

SEC. 7. STUDY.

    Not later than 180 days after the date that the Assistant Secretary 
submits the certification to Congress under section 5(a), the Inspector 
General of the Department of Homeland Security shall submit to the 
Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives and the 
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a 
study--
            (1) reviewing the employee requirements, responsibilities, 
        and benefits of criminal investigators in the TSA Office of 
        Inspection with criminal investigators employed at agencies 
        adhering to the Office of Personnel Management employee 
        classification system; and
            (2) identifying any inconsistencies and costs implications 
        for differences between the varying employee requirements, 
        responsibilities, and benefits.
                                                       Calendar No. 191

114th CONGRESS

  1st Session

                               H. R. 719

                          [Report No. 114-111]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

  To require the Transportation Security Administration to conform to 
 existing Federal law and regulations regarding criminal investigator 
                   positions, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                             August 4, 2015

                       Reported with an amendment