[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2309 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2309

   To enhance the security operations of the Transportation Security 
 Administration and stability of the transportation security workforce 
    by applying the personnel system of title 5 of the U.S. Code to 
  employees of the Transportation Security Administration who provide 
   screening of all passengers and property, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 3, 2017

Mr. Thompson of Mississippi (for himself and Mrs. Lowey) introduced the 
    following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Homeland 
Security, and in addition to the Committee on Oversight and Government 
 Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 
   each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the 
                jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To enhance the security operations of the Transportation Security 
 Administration and stability of the transportation security workforce 
    by applying the personnel system of title 5 of the U.S. Code to 
  employees of the Transportation Security Administration who provide 
   screening of all passengers and property, 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 ``Rights for Transportation Security 
Officers Act of 2017''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) On September 11, 2001, nineteen terrorists, who 
        underwent airport security screening prior to boarding domestic 
        flights, were able to commandeer four airplanes and use those 
        airplanes to perpetrate the most deadly terrorist attack ever 
        to be executed on United States soil.
            (2) In the aftermath of those attacks, Congress passed the 
        Aviation and Transportation Security Act (ATSA), enacted by 
        President George W. Bush on November 19, 2001 (Public Law 107-
        71), to enhance the level of security screening throughout our 
        aviation system and transfer responsibility for such screening 
        from the private sector to a new Federal agency, the 
        Transportation Security Administration (TSA).
            (3) By establishing TSA, Congress and the American public 
        recognized that the highest level of screener performance was 
        directly linked to employment and training standards, pay and 
        benefits, and the creation of an experienced, committed 
        screening workforce.
            (4) The ATSA included a statutory footnote allowing the TSA 
        Administrator to ``employ, appoint, discipline, terminate, and 
        fix the compensation'', including the ``terms, and conditions 
        of employment of Federal Service for such a number of 
        individuals as the Under Secretary determines to be necessary 
        to carry out the screening functions of the Under Secretary 
        under section 44901 of title 49, United States Code''.
            (5) TSA has interpreted the ATSA footnote as applying to 
        the Transportation Security Officer workforce performing 
        screening functions, while all other Transportation Security 
        Administration employees, including managers, are subject to 
        title 5, United States Code, as incorporated in title 49 of 
        such Code.
            (6) In November 2006, the International Labor Organization 
        ruled that the Bush administration violated international labor 
        law when it prohibited Transportation Security Officers from 
        engaging in collective bargaining.
            (7) After the Federal Labor Relations Board approved a 
        petition for the election of an exclusive representative, on 
        February 4, 2011, then-TSA Administrator John Pistole issued a 
        binding determination stating in part ``it is critical that 
        every TSA employee feels that he or she has a voice and feels 
        safe raising issues and concerns of all kinds. This is 
        important not just for morale; engagement of every employee is 
        critically important for security''.
            (8) Subsequently, in 2014, then-Administrator Pistole 
        issued a second determination, which was superseded by a 2016 
        determination, which changed the previous guidelines for 
        collective bargaining and limited the subjects that can be 
        bargained as well as issues in dispute that may be raised to an 
        independent, third-party neutral decisionmaker.
            (9) The 2011, 2014, and 2016 determinations cited TSA's 
        authority under section 44935 note of title 59, United States 
        Code, to create a personnel system that denies the 
        Transportation Security Officer workforce the same title 5 
        rights as other Federal workers, including the right to present 
        grievances to a neutral third party, fair pay under the General 
        Services wage system, including access to overtime pay and 
        earned leave, application of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 
        1938, fair performance appraisals under chapter 73 of title 5, 
        United States Code, and direct protections against employment 
        discrimination found in title 7, United States Code.
            (10) The Transportation Security Officer workforce is an 
        integral component of the security framework in place since the 
        terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, and responsible for 
        screening more than 738 million passengers annually. In the 
        course of their work, Transportation Security Officers not only 
        identify aviation security threats but also identify kidnapping 
        and trafficking victims and prevent firearms from being brought 
        on planes in carry-on bags. In 2016 alone, 3,391 firearms were 
        discovered by Transportation Security Officers at aviation 
        security checkpoints.
            (11) Every day, Transportation Security Officers put their 
        safety on the line to protect the flying public and on November 
        1, 2013, a Transportation Security Officer, Gerardo Hernandez, 
        gave his life to protect the flying public when he was killed 
        by a gunman who attacked the Los Angeles International Airport.
    (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that the 
personnel system utilized by the Transportation Security Administration 
pursuant to the authority of section 44935 note of title 49, United 
States Code, provides insufficient workplace protections for the 
Transportation Security Officer workforce, the frontline personnel who 
secure our Nation's aviation system and that such personnel should be 
provided protections under title 5, United States Code.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    For purposes of this Act--
            (1) the term ``covered position'' means--
                    (A) a position within the Transportation Security 
                Administration; and
                    (B) any position within the Department of Homeland 
                Security, not described in subparagraph (A), the duties 
                and responsibilities of which involve providing 
                transportation security in furtherance of the purposes 
                of the Aviation and Transportation Security Act (Public 
                Law 107-71), as determined by the Secretary;
            (2) the term ``covered employee'' means an employee who 
        holds a covered position;
            (3) the term ``employee'' has the meaning given such term 
        by section 2105 of title 5, United States Code;
            (4) the term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of Homeland 
        Security;
            (5) the term ``Administrator'' means the official within 
        the Department of Homeland Security who is responsible for 
        overseeing and implementing transportation security pursuant to 
        the Aviation and Transportation Security Act, whether 
        designated as the Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security 
        (Transportation Security Administration), the Administrator of 
        the Transportation Security Administration, the Undersecretary 
        of Transportation for Security, or otherwise;
            (6) the term ``TSA personnel management system'' means any 
        personnel management system, as established or modified under--
                    (A) section 111(d) of the Aviation and 
                Transportation Security Act; or
                    (B) section 114(n) of title 49, United States Code;
            (7) the term ``agency'' means an Executive agency, as 
        defined by section 105 of title 5, United States Code; and
            (8) the term ``conversion date'' means the date as of which 
        paragraphs (1) through (3) of section 4(b) take effect.

SEC. 4. CONVERSION OF SCREENING PERSONNEL.

    (a) Termination of Certain Personnel Authorities.--Effective as of 
the date of the enactment of this Act--
            (1) each provision of law cited in section 2(6) is 
        repealed, and any authority to establish or modify a TSA 
        personnel management system under either such provision of law 
        shall terminate;
            (2) all authority to establish or adjust a human resources 
        management system under chapter 97 of title 5, United States 
        Code, shall terminate with respect to covered employees and 
        covered positions; and
            (3) section 44935 note of title 49, United States Code, is 
        repealed.
    (b) Covered Employees and Positions Made Subject to Same Personnel 
Management System as Applies to Civil Service Employees Generally.--
Effective as of the date determined by the Secretary, but in no event 
later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act--
            (1) all TSA personnel management policies, letters, 
        guidelines, and directives, including the August 2016 
        Determination, shall cease to be effective;
            (2) any human resources management system established or 
        adjusted under chapter 97 of title 5, United States Code, to 
        the extent otherwise applicable with respect to covered 
        employees or covered positions, shall cease to be effective; 
        and
            (3) covered employees and covered positions shall become 
        subject to the provisions of title 5, United States Code.

SEC. 5. TRANSITION RULES.

    (a) Nonreduction in Rate of Pay.--Any conversion of an employee 
from a TSA personnel management system to the provisions of law made 
applicable with respect to such employee by section 4(b)(3) shall be 
effected, under pay conversion rules prescribed by the Secretary, 
without any reduction in the rate of basic pay payable to such 
employee.
    (b) Preservation of Other Rights.--In the case of each individual 
who is a covered employee as of the conversion date, the Secretary 
shall take any actions which may be necessary to ensure that--
            (1) all TSA personnel management policies, letters, 
        guidelines, and directives, including the August 2016 
        Determination, shall cease to be effective;
            (2) all annual leave, sick leave, or other paid leave 
        accrued, accumulated, or otherwise available to a covered 
        employee immediately before the conversion date shall remain 
        available to the employee, until used, so long as such 
        individual remains continuously employed by the Department of 
        Homeland Security; and
            (3) the Government share of any premiums or other periodic 
        charges under the provisions of law governing group health 
        insurance shall remain the same as was the case immediately 
        before the conversion date, so long as such individual remains 
        continuously employed by the Department of Homeland Security.

SEC. 6. CONSULTATION REQUIREMENT.

    (a) Exclusive Representative.--The labor organization certified by 
the Federal Labor Relations Authority on June 29, 2011, or successor 
shall be treated as the exclusive representative of full- and part-time 
non-supervisory personnel carrying out screening functions under 
section 44901 of title 49, United States Code, as that term is used in 
section 111(d) of the Aviation and Transportation Security Act and 
shall be the exclusive representative for the employees under chapter 
71 of title 5, United States Code, with full rights under such chapter 
71. Any collective bargaining agreement on the effective date of this 
legislation shall remain in effect.
    (b) Consultation Rights.--Within 14 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall consult with the exclusive 
representative for employees under chapter 71 of title 5, United States 
Code, on the formulation of plans and deadlines to carry out the 
conversion of covered employees and covered positions under this Act. 
The Secretary shall provide in writing to the exclusive representative 
the final plans in accordance with which the Secretary intends to carry 
out the conversion of covered employees and covered positions under 
this Act, including with respect to such matters as--
            (1) the proposed conversion date; and
            (2) measures to ensure compliance with section 5.
    (c) Required Agency Response.--If any views or recommendations are 
presented under subsection (b)(2) by the exclusive representative, the 
Secretary shall consider the views or recommendations before taking 
final action on any matter with respect to which the views or 
recommendations are presented and provide the exclusive representative 
a written statement of the reasons for the final actions to be taken.
    (d) Sunset Provision.--The provisions of this section shall cease 
to be effective as of the conversion date.

SEC. 7. NO RIGHT TO STRIKE.

    Nothing in this Act shall be considered--
            (1) to repeal or otherwise affect--
                    (A) section 1918 of title 18, United States Code 
                (relating to disloyalty and asserting the right to 
                strike against the Government); or
                    (B) section 7311 of title 5, United States Code 
                (relating to loyalty and striking); or
            (2) to otherwise authorize any activity which is not 
        permitted under either provision of law cited in paragraph (1).

SEC. 8. REGULATIONS.

    The Secretary may prescribe any regulations necessary to carry out 
this Act.

SEC. 9. DELEGATIONS TO ADMINISTRATOR.

    The Secretary may, with respect to any authority or function vested 
in the Secretary under any of the preceding provisions of this Act, 
delegate any such authority or function to the Administrator of the 
Transportation Security Administration under such terms, conditions, 
and limitations, including the power of redelegation, as the Secretary 
considers appropriate.

SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 
necessary to carry out this Act.
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