[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 720 Reported in Senate (RS)]

                                                       Calendar No. 163
114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 720

                          [Report No. 114-92]


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 11, 2015

                                Received

                           February 12, 2015

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

                             July 23, 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 improve intergovernmental planning for and communication during 
    security incidents at domestic airports, 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 ``Gerardo Hernandez Airport 
Security Act of 2015''.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.</DELETED>

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

<DELETED>SEC. 3. SECURITY INCIDENT RESPONSE AT AIRPORTS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) In General.--The Assistant Secretary shall, in 
consultation with the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management 
Agency, conduct outreach to all airports in the United States at which 
the Administration performs, or oversees the implementation and 
performance of, security measures, and provide technical assistance as 
necessary, to verify such airports have in place individualized working 
plans for responding to security incidents inside the perimeter of the 
airport, including active shooters, acts of terrorism, and incidents 
that target passenger-screening checkpoints.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Types of Plans.--Such plans may include, but may not 
be limited to, the following:</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) A strategy for evacuating and providing care 
        to persons inside the perimeter of the airport, with 
        consideration given to the needs of persons with 
        disabilities.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) A plan for establishing a unified command, 
        including identification of staging areas for non-airport-
        specific law enforcement and fire response.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) A schedule for regular testing of 
        communications equipment used to receive emergency 
        calls.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) An evaluation of how emergency calls placed by 
        persons inside the perimeter of the airport will reach airport 
        police in an expeditious manner.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (5) A practiced method and plan to communicate 
        with travelers and all other persons inside the perimeter of 
        the airport.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (6) To the extent practicable, a projected maximum 
        timeframe for law enforcement response.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (7) A schedule of joint exercises and training to 
        be conducted by the airport, the Administration, other 
        stakeholders such as airport and airline tenants, and any 
        relevant law enforcement, airport police, fire, and medical 
        personnel.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (8) A schedule for producing after-action joint 
        exercise reports to identify and determine how to improve 
        security incident response capabilities.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (c) Report to Congress.--Not later than 90 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Assistant Secretary shall report 
to the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives 
and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 
Senate on the findings from its outreach to airports under subsection 
(a), including an analysis of the level of preparedness such airports 
have to respond to security incidents, including active shooters, acts 
of terrorism, and incidents that target passenger-screening 
checkpoints.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 4. DISSEMINATING INFORMATION ON BEST PRACTICES.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    The Assistant Secretary shall--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) identify best practices that exist across 
        airports for security incident planning, management, and 
        training; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) establish a mechanism through which to share 
        such best practices with other airport operators 
        nationwide.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 5. CERTIFICATION.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this 
Act, and annually thereafter, the Assistant Secretary shall 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 all screening personnel have 
participated in practical training exercises for active shooter 
scenarios.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 6. REIMBURSABLE AGREEMENTS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    Not later than 90 days after the enactment of this Act, 
the Assistant Secretary shall provide to the Committee on Homeland 
Security of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 
Science, and Transportation of the Senate an analysis of how the 
Administration can use cost savings achieved through efficiencies to 
increase over the next 5 fiscal years the funding available for 
checkpoint screening law enforcement support reimbursable 
agreements.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 7. NO ADDITIONAL AUTHORIZATION OF 
              APPROPRIATIONS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    No additional funds are authorized to be appropriated to 
carry out this Act, and this Act shall be carried out using amounts 
otherwise available for such purpose.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 8. INTEROPERABILITY REVIEW.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Assistant Secretary shall, in consultation 
with the Assistant Secretary of the Office of Cybersecurity and 
Communications, conduct a review of the interoperable communications 
capabilities of the law enforcement, fire, and medical personnel 
responsible for responding to a security incident, including active 
shooter events, acts of terrorism, and incidents that target passenger-
screening checkpoints, at all airports in the United States at which 
the Administration performs, or oversees the implementation and 
performance of, security measures.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Report.--Not later than 30 days after the completion 
of the review, the Assistant Secretary shall report the findings of the 
review to the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation of the Senate.</DELETED>

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Gerardo Hernandez Airport Security 
Act of 2015''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

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

SEC. 3. SECURITY INCIDENT RESPONSE AT AIRPORTS.

    (a) In General.--The Assistant Secretary shall, in consultation 
with other Federal agencies as appropriate, conduct outreach to all 
airports in the United States at which the Administration performs, or 
oversees the implementation and performance of, security measures, and 
provide technical assistance as necessary, to verify such airports have 
in place individualized working plans for responding to security 
incidents inside the perimeter of the airport, including active 
shooters, acts of terrorism, and incidents that target passenger-
screening checkpoints.
    (b) Types of Plans.--Such plans may include, but may not be limited 
to, the following:
            (1) A strategy for evacuating and providing care to persons 
        inside the perimeter of the airport, with consideration given 
        to the needs of persons with disabilities.
            (2) A plan for establishing a unified command, including 
        identification of staging areas for non-airport-specific law 
        enforcement and fire response.
            (3) A schedule for regular testing of communications 
        equipment used to receive emergency calls.
            (4) An evaluation of how emergency calls placed by persons 
        inside the perimeter of the airport will reach airport police 
        in an expeditious manner.
            (5) A practiced method and plan to communicate with 
        travelers and all other persons inside the perimeter of the 
        airport.
            (6) To the extent practicable, a projected maximum 
        timeframe for law enforcement response to active shooters, acts 
        of terrorism, and incidents that target passenger security-
        screening checkpoints.
            (7) A schedule of joint exercises and training to be 
        conducted by the airport, the Administration, other 
        stakeholders such as airport and airline tenants, and any 
        relevant law enforcement, airport police, fire, and medical 
        personnel.
            (8) A schedule for producing after-action joint exercise 
        reports to identify and determine how to improve security 
        incident response capabilities.
            (9) A strategy, where feasible, for providing airport law 
        enforcement with access to airport security video surveillance 
        systems at category X airports where those systems were 
        purchased and installed using Administration funds.
    (c) Report to Congress.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, the Assistant Secretary shall report to the 
Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives and the 
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate on the 
findings from its outreach to airports under subsection (a), including 
an analysis of the level of preparedness such airports have to respond 
to security incidents, including active shooters, acts of terrorism, 
and incidents that target passenger-screening checkpoints.

SEC. 4. DISSEMINATING INFORMATION ON BEST PRACTICES.

    The Assistant Secretary shall--
            (1) identify best practices that exist across airports for 
        security incident planning, management, and training; and
            (2) establish a mechanism through which to share such best 
        practices with other airport operators nationwide.

SEC. 5. CERTIFICATION.

    Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, and 
annually thereafter, the Assistant Secretary shall 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 all screening personnel have participated in practical 
training exercises for active shooter scenarios.

SEC. 6. REIMBURSABLE AGREEMENTS.

    Not later than 90 days after the enactment of this Act, the 
Assistant Secretary shall provide to the Committee on Homeland Security 
of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 
and Transportation of the Senate an analysis of how the Administration 
can use cost savings achieved through efficiencies to increase over the 
next 5 fiscal years the funding available for checkpoint screening law 
enforcement support reimbursable agreements.

SEC. 7. SECURITY INCIDENT RESPONSE FOR SURFACE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS.

    (a) In General.--The Assistant Secretary shall, in consultation 
with the Secretary of Transportation, and other relevant agencies, 
conduct outreach to all passenger transportation agencies and providers 
with high-risk facilities, as identified by the Assistant Secretary, to 
verify such agencies and providers have in place plans to respond to 
active shooters, acts of terrorism, or other security-related incidents 
that target passengers.
    (b) Types of Plans.--As applicable, such plans may include, but may 
not be limited to, the following:
            (1) A strategy for evacuating and providing care to 
        individuals, with consideration given to the needs of persons 
        with disabilities.
            (2) A plan for establishing a unified command.
            (3) A plan for frontline employees to receive active 
        shooter training.
            (4) A schedule for regular testing of communications 
        equipment used to receive emergency calls.
            (5) An evaluation of how emergency calls placed by 
        individuals using the transportation system will reach police 
        in an expeditious manner.
            (6) A practiced method and plan to communicate with 
        individuals using the transportation system.
    (c) Report to Congress.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Assistant Secretary shall report to the 
Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives and the 
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate on the 
findings from its outreach to the agencies and providers under 
subsection (a), including an analysis of the level of preparedness such 
transportation systems have to respond to security incidents.
    (d) Dissemination of Best Practices.--The Assistant Secretary shall 
identify best practices for security incident planning, management, and 
training and establish a mechanism through which to share such 
practices with passenger transportation agencies nationwide.

SEC. 8. NO ADDITIONAL AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    No additional funds are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 
this Act, and this Act shall be carried out using amounts otherwise 
available for such purpose.

SEC. 9. INTEROPERABILITY REVIEW.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Assistant Secretary shall, in consultation with the 
Assistant Secretary of the Office of Cybersecurity and Communications, 
conduct a review of the interoperable communications capabilities of 
the law enforcement, fire, and medical personnel responsible for 
responding to a security incident, including active shooter events, 
acts of terrorism, and incidents that target passenger-screening 
checkpoints, at all airports in the United States at which the 
Administration performs, or oversees the implementation and performance 
of, security measures.
    (b) Report.--Not later than 30 days after the completion of the 
review, the Assistant Secretary shall report the findings of the review 
to the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives 
and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 
Senate.
                                                       Calendar No. 163

114th CONGRESS

  1st Session

                               H. R. 720

                          [Report No. 114-92]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

  To improve intergovernmental planning for and communication during 
    security incidents at domestic airports, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                             July 23, 2015

                       Reported with an amendment