[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7365 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]
H.R.7365
One Hundred Eighteenth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday,
the third day of January, two thousand and twenty-four
An Act
To provide PreCheck to certain severely injured or disabled veterans,
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 ``Veterans Expedited TSA Screening
Safe Travel Act'' or the ``VETS Safe Travel Act''.
SEC. 2. AVAILABILITY OF PRECHECK PROGRAM TO CERTAIN SEVERELY INJURED OR
DISABLED VETERANS.
(a) In General.--Section 44927 of title 49, United States Code, is
amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(g) Availability of PreCheck Program to Certain Severely Injured
or Disabled Veterans.--
``(1) In general.--A veteran described in paragraph (2) is
eligible for security screening under the PreCheck Program under
section 44919 at no cost to the veteran if the veteran is able to
meet the background check and other security requirements for
participation in the Program.
``(2) Veterans described.--A veteran described in this
paragraph is a veteran who--
``(A) is enrolled in the patient enrollment system of the
Department of Veterans Affairs established and operated under
section 1705 of title 38, United States Code;
``(B) has been determined by the Secretary of Veterans
Affairs to have a service-connected disability under section
1110 or 1131 of such title, as the case may be, and such
disability has been determined by such Secretary to have
resulted in--
``(i) loss, or loss use of, an extremity;
``(ii) paralysis or partial paralysis; or
``(iii) permanent blindness; and
``(C) as a result of a loss, paralysis or partial
paralysis, or blindness described in subparagraph (B), requires
the use of a wheelchair, prosthetic limb, or other assistive
device to aid with mobility.
``(3) Limitation.--The Administrator of the Transportation
Security Administration shall carry out this subsection subject to
the availability of appropriations and may not increase fees for
enrollment in the PreCheck Program for such purpose.''.
(b) Coordination on Implementation.--The Administrator of the
Transportation Security Administration and the Secretary of Veterans
Affairs shall jointly--
(1) implement a process under which a veteran described in
paragraph (2) of subsection (g) of section 44927 of title 49,
United States Code, as added by subsection (a), can receive the
benefits under such subsection by not later than one year after the
date of enactment of this Act; and
(2) provide to the Committee on Homeland Security and the
Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives and
the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and the
Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate a briefing on the
status of implementing the process required by paragraph (1) by not
later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act.
(c) Outreach for Disabled Veterans on Availability of
Transportation Security Administration Programs.--
(1) Coordination.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs and the
Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration shall
implement a process under which such Secretary provides to disabled
veterans effective outreach regarding Transportation Security
Administration programs designed to improve the screening process
for passengers with disabilities.
(2) Further enhancements to ease air travel for wounded
warriors and other disabled veterans.--Notwithstanding subchapter I
of chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code (commonly referred to
as the ``Paperwork Reduction Act''), or any other provision of law,
the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in coordination with the
Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration,
shall--
(A) engage appropriate veterans service organizations and
other relevant organizations, as appropriate, to assess the
awareness of veterans of relevant Transportation Security
Administration programs; and
(B) examine the need and feasibility of other measures to
improve travel security procedures for disabled veterans.
(3) Briefing requirement.--Not later than 180 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans
Affairs and the Administrator of the Transportation Security
Administration shall jointly provide to the Committee on Homeland
Security and the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs and the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the
Senate a briefing on the status of the implementation of paragraphs
(1) and (2).
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.