[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 550 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 550

To amend title 49, United States Code, to require the deployment of law 
  enforcement personnel at airport screening locations at very large 
                   airports, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 13, 2017

   Mr. Engel (for himself, Mr. Donovan, Mr. Zeldin, Ms. Sinema, Mr. 
Swalwell of California, Ms. Meng, Mr. Lowenthal, Mr. King of New York, 
Ms. Shea-Porter, and Mr. Pascrell) introduced the following bill; which 
           was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title 49, United States Code, to require the deployment of law 
  enforcement personnel at airport screening locations at very large 
                   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 ``Checkpoint Safety Act of 2017''.

SEC. 2. DEPLOYMENT OF LAW ENFORCEMENT PERSONNEL AT AIRPORT SCREENING 
              LOCATIONS AT VERY LARGE AIRPORTS.

    Section 44901 of title 49, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by striking ``Under Secretary of Transportation for 
        Security'' each place it appears and inserting ``Administrator 
        of the Transportation Security Administration'';
            (2) by striking ``Under Secretary'' each place it appears 
        and inserting ``Administrator''; and
            (3) in subsection (h), by amending paragraph (2) to read as 
        follows:
            ``(2) Minimum requirements.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Except at airports required to 
                enter into agreements under subsection (c), the 
                Administrator shall order the deployment of at least 
                one law enforcement officer authorized to carry 
                firearms within 300 feet of each airport security 
                screening location and within the terminal during 
                operating hours at each airport at which the number of 
                annual enplanements for the most recent calendar year 
                for which data are available is 8 million or more or 
                the number of international enplanements is 1 million 
                or more. The Administrator shall order the deployment 
                of additional law enforcement officers authorized to 
                carry firearms at such airports if the Administrator 
                determines that such additional deployment is necessary 
                to ensure airport security.
                    ``(B) Waiver.--The Administrator may waive the 
                application of all or part of the requirements of 
                subparagraph (A) only if the relevant law enforcement 
                agency with jurisdiction over an airport described in 
                such subparagraph certifies in a written application to 
                the Administrator that adherence to all or part of such 
                requirements would--
                            ``(i) make provision of adequate security 
                        for such airport impossible; and
                            ``(ii) cause extreme hardship to such law 
                        enforcement agency that would severely impair 
                        its ability to perform its duties.''.

SEC. 3. LAW ENFORCEMENT ASSISTANCE IN FEDERAL AIRPORT SECURITY.

    Section 44903 of title 49, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by striking ``Under Secretary of Transportation for 
        Security'' each place it appears and inserting ``Administrator 
        of the Transportation Security Administration'';
            (2) by striking ``Under Secretary'' each place it appears 
        and inserting ``Administrator'';
            (3) in subsection (b), in the matter preceding paragraph 
        (1), by striking ``passengers'' and inserting ``persons''; and
            (4) in subsection (c)(1)--
                    (A) in the first sentence, as amended by paragraph 
                (2)--
                            (i) by striking ``The Administrator'' and 
                        inserting ``(A) The Administrator''; and
                            (ii) by striking ``passengers'' and 
                        inserting ``all persons and property''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following new 
                subparagraph:
    ``(B) Any air transportation security program established pursuant 
to subparagraph (A) shall be adequate to ensure--
            ``(i) close cooperation between all relevant parties in 
        ensuring airport security;
            ``(ii) high training standards for all security and law 
        enforcement personnel;
            ``(iii) prompt notification of and law enforcement response 
        to any security incidents which may arise at the airport, 
        including detention of persons who may attempt to evade 
        transportation security screening; and
            ``(iv) multiple means for Transportation Security Officers 
        or members of the public to request prompt law enforcement 
        assistance in the airport.''.

SEC. 4. STATIONING OF DEPUTIZED LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS.

    Section 44922 of title 49, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a), by striking ``Under Secretary of 
        Transportation for Security'' and inserting ``Administrator of 
        the Transportation Security Administration'';
            (2) by striking ``Under Secretary'' each place it appears 
        and inserting ``Administrator''; and
            (3) by striking subsection (f).
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