[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3289 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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114th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3289

 To prohibit scheduled passenger air transportation between the United 
  States and Cuba until a study has been completed regarding security 
 measures and equipment at Cuba's airports and certain agreements have 
been established with the Government of Cuba, to amend title 49, United 
States Code, to clarify the role of the Secretary of Homeland Security 
    regarding security standards at foreign airports, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 6, 2016

Mr. Rubio (for himself and Mr. Menendez) introduced the following bill; 
    which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 
                      Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To prohibit scheduled passenger air transportation between the United 
  States and Cuba until a study has been completed regarding security 
 measures and equipment at Cuba's airports and certain agreements have 
been established with the Government of Cuba, to amend title 49, United 
States Code, to clarify the role of the Secretary of Homeland Security 
    regarding security standards at foreign 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.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Cuban Airport Security Act of 
2016''.

SEC. 2. FLIGHTS BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND CUBA.

    (a) In General.--The Administrator of the Transportation Security 
Administration shall submit a report to the Committee on Commerce, 
Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Homeland 
Security of the House of Representatives on the following aspects of 
security measures at all Cuban airports served by United States 
aircraft operators and Cuban airports serving as last point of 
departure locations for foreign air carriers:
            (1) Details about the type of equipment used at screening 
        checkpoints and an analysis of such equipment's capabilities 
        and weaknesses.
            (2) Information about each airport's canine program, if 
        used.
            (3) The frequency of training for screening and security 
        personnel.
            (4) Access controls in place to ensure only credentialed 
        personnel have access to the secure and sterile areas of such 
        airports.
            (5) An assessment of the ability of known or suspected 
        terrorists to use Cuba as a gateway to entering the United 
        States.
            (6) Perimeter security at such airports.
            (7) A mitigation assessment regarding man-portable air 
        defense systems.
            (8) The vetting practices and procedures for airport 
        employees.
            (9) Compliance with United States security standards and 
        procedures.
            (10) Any other information determined relevant to the 
        security practices, procedures, and equipment in place at such 
        airports.
    (b) GAO Audit.--The Comptroller General of the United States shall 
submit an audit of the report required under subsection (a) to the 
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and 
the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives.
    (c) Federal Air Marshal Service.--The Secretary of Homeland 
Security shall seek to enter into an agreement with the Government of 
Cuba allowing the Federal Air Marshal Service to conduct missions on 
regularly scheduled passenger air transportation between a place in the 
United States and a place in Cuba.
    (d) TSA Access to Cuban Last Point of Departure Airports.--The 
Secretary of Homeland Security shall seek to enter into an agreement 
with the Government of Cuba that allows Transportation Security 
Administration inspectors to access all areas of last point of 
departure airports in Cuba for the purposes of security assessments.
    (e) Hiring and Training Requirements.--Scheduled passenger air 
carriers--
            (1) shall be permitted to directly recruit, hire, and train 
        local personnel in Cuba; and
            (2) such recruitment, hiring, or training may not be 
        carried out through entities that are owned, operated, or 
        controlled, in whole or in part, by Cuba's Council of State, 
        Council of Ministers, Communist Party, Ministry of the 
        Revolutionary Armed Forces, or Ministry of the Interior.
    (f) Prohibition.--No agreement dated on or after January 1, 2016, 
to expand regularly scheduled passenger air transportation between a 
place in the United States and a place in Cuba may be permitted until 
after--
            (1) the report and audit described in subsections (a) and 
        (b) have been submitted;
            (2) the Secretary of Homeland Security has entered into the 
        agreements described in subsections (c) and (d); and
            (3) the requirements under subsection (e) have been met.
    (g) Statutory Construction.--Nothing in this section may be 
constructed to affect charter passenger air transportation between a 
place in the United States and a place in Cuba.

SEC. 3. SECURITY STANDARDS AT FOREIGN AIRPORTS.

    Section 44907 of title 49, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in subsections (a) through (d), by striking ``Secretary 
        of Transportation'' each place it appears and inserting 
        ``Secretary of Homeland Security''; and
            (2) in subsection (e), in the matter preceding paragraph 
        (1)--
                    (A) by striking ``the Secretary of Transportation, 
                with the approval of the Secretary of State and without 
                notice or a hearing, shall'' and inserting ``at the 
                request of the Secretary of Homeland Security and with 
                the approval of the Secretary of State and without 
                notice or a hearing, the Secretary of Transportation 
                shall''; and
                    (B) by striking ``when the Secretary of 
                Transportation decides'' and inserting ``when the 
                Secretary of Homeland Security decides''.
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