[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 101 (Wednesday, June 18, 2008)]
[House]
[Pages H5491-H5496]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
FAIR, ACCURATE, SECURE, AND TIMELY REDRESS ACT OF 2008
Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules
and pass the bill (H.R. 4179) to amend the Homeland Security Act of
2002 to establish an appeal and redress process for individuals wrongly
delayed or prohibited from boarding a flight, and for other purposes,
as amended.
=========================== NOTE ===========================
June 18, 2008--On Page H5491 the following appeared: Mr.
THOMPSON. Mr. Speaker,
The online version should be corrected to read: Mr. THOMPSON of
Mississippi. Mr. Speaker,
========================= END NOTE =========================
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 4179
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 ``Fair, Accurate, Secure, and
Timely Redress Act of 2008'' or the ``FAST Redress Act of
2008''.
SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF APPEAL AND REDRESS PROCESS FOR
INDIVIDUALS WRONGLY DELAYED OR PROHIBITED FROM
BOARDING A FLIGHT, OR DENIED A RIGHT, BENEFIT,
OR PRIVILEGE.
(a) In General.--Subtitle H of title VIII of the Homeland
Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 451 et seq.) is amended by
adding at the end the following new section:
``SEC. 890A. APPEAL AND REDRESS PROCESS FOR PASSENGERS
WRONGLY DELAYED OR PROHIBITED FROM BOARDING A
FLIGHT, OR DENIED A RIGHT, BENEFIT, OR
PRIVILEGE.
``(a) Establishment.--Not later than 30 days after the date
of the enactment of this section, the Secretary shall
establish a timely and fair process for individuals who
believe they were delayed or prohibited from boarding a
commercial aircraft or denied a right, benefit, or privilege
because they were wrongly identified as a threat when
screened against any terrorist watchlist or database used by
the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) or any
office or component of the Department.
``(b) Office of Appeals and Redress.--
``(1) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish in the
Department an Office of Appeals and Redress to implement,
coordinate, and execute the process established by the
Secretary pursuant to subsection (a). The Office shall
include representatives from the TSA and such other offices
and components of the Department as the Secretary determines
appropriate.
``(2) Comprehensive cleared list.--The process established
by the Secretary pursuant to subsection (a) shall include the
establishment of a method by which the Office, under the
direction of the Secretary, will maintain and appropriately
disseminate a comprehensive list, to be known as the
`Comprehensive Cleared List', of individuals who--
``(A) were misidentified as an individual on any terrorist
watchlist or database;
``(B) completed an approved Department of Homeland Security
appeal and redress request and provided such additional
information as required by the Department to verify the
individual's identity; and
``(C) permit the use of their personally identifiable
information to be shared between multiple Departmental
components for purposes of this section.
``(3) Use of comprehensive cleared list.--
``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall--
``(i) except as provided in subparagraph (B), transmit to
the TSA or any other appropriate office or component of the
Department, other Federal, State, local, and tribal entities,
and domestic air carriers and foreign air carriers that use
any terrorist watchlist or database, the Comprehensive
Cleared List and any other information the Secretary
determines necessary to resolve misidentifications and
improve the administration of the advanced passenger
prescreening system and reduce the number of false positives;
and
``(ii) ensure that the Comprehensive Cleared List is taken
into account by all appropriate offices or components of the
Department when assessing the security risk of an individual.
``(B) Termination.--
``(i) In general.--The transmission of the Comprehensive
Cleared List to domestic air carriers and foreign air
carriers under clause (i) of subparagraph (A) shall terminate
on the date on which the Federal Government assumes terrorist
watchlist or database screening functions.
``(ii) Written notification to congress.--Not later than 15
days after the date on which the transmission of the
Comprehensive Cleared List to the air carriers referred to in
clause (i) of this subparagraph terminates in accordance with
such clause, the Secretary shall provide written notification
to the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation and the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs of the Senate of such termination.
``(4) Intergovernmental efforts.--The Secretary may--
``(A) enter into memoranda of understanding with other
Federal, State, local, and tribal agencies or entities, as
necessary, to improve the appeal and redress process and for
other purposes such as to verify an individual's identity and
personally identifiable information; and
[[Page H5492]]
``(B) work with other Federal, State, local, and tribal
agencies or entities that use any terrorist watchlist or
database to ensure, to the greatest extent practicable, that
the Comprehensive Cleared List is considered when assessing
the security risk of an individual.
``(5) Handling of personally identifiable information.--The
Secretary, in conjunction with the Chief Privacy Officer of
the Department, shall--
``(A) require that Federal employees of the Department
handling personally identifiable information of individuals
(in this paragraph referred to as `PII') complete mandatory
privacy and security training prior to being authorized to
handle PII;
``(B) ensure that the information maintained under this
subsection is secured by encryption, including one-way
hashing, data anonymization techniques, or such other
equivalent technical security protections as the Secretary
determines necessary;
``(C) limit the information collected from misidentified
passengers or other individuals to the minimum amount
necessary to resolve an appeal and redress request;
``(D) ensure that the information maintained under this
subsection is shared or transferred via an encrypted data
network that has been audited to ensure that the anti-hacking
and other security related software functions perform
properly and are updated as necessary;
``(E) ensure that any employee of the Department receiving
the information maintained under this subsection handles such
information in accordance with section 552a of title 5,
United States Code, the Federal Information Security
Management Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-296), and other
applicable laws;
``(F) only retain the information maintained under this
subsection for as long as needed to assist the individual
traveler in the appeal and redress process;
``(G) engage in cooperative agreements with appropriate
Federal agencies and entities, on a reimbursable basis, to
ensure that legal name changes are properly reflected in any
terrorist watchlist or database and the Comprehensive Cleared
List to improve the appeal and redress process and to ensure
the most accurate lists of identifications possible (except
that section 552a of title 5, United States Code, shall not
prohibit the sharing of legal name changes among Federal
agencies and entities for the purposes of this section); and
``(H) conduct and publish a privacy impact assessment of
the appeal and redress process established under this section
and transmit the assessment to the Committee on Homeland
Security of the House of Representatives, and the Committee
on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the Committee on
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate.
``(6) Initiation of appeal and redress process at
airports.--At each airport at which--
``(A) the Department has a presence, the Office shall
provide written information to air carrier passengers to
begin the appeal and redress process established pursuant to
subsection (a); and
``(B) the Department has a significant presence, provide
the written information referred to in subparagraph (A) and
ensure a TSA supervisor who is trained in such appeal and
redress process is available to provide support to air
carrier passengers in need of guidance concerning such
process.
``(7) Report to congress.--Not later than 240 days after
the date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary
shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Security of the
House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation and the Committee on Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate a report on
the status of information sharing among users at the
Department of any terrorist watchlist or database. The report
shall include the following information:
``(A) A description of the processes and the status of the
implementation of this section to share the Comprehensive
Cleared List with other Department offices and components and
other Federal, State, local, and tribal authorities that
utilize any terrorist watchlist or database.
``(B) A description of the extent to which such other
Department offices and components are taking into account the
Comprehensive Cleared List.
``(C) Data on the number of individuals who have sought and
successfully obtained redress through the Office of Appeals
and Redress.
``(D) Data on the number of individuals who have sought and
were denied redress through the Office of Appeals and
Redress.
``(E) An assessment of what impact information sharing of
the Comprehensive Cleared List has had on misidentifications
of individuals who have successfully obtained redress through
the Office of Appeals and Redress.
``(F) An updated privacy impact assessment.
``(c) Terrorist Watchlist or Database Defined.--In this
section, the term `terrorist watchlist or database' means any
terrorist watchlist or database used by the Transportation
Security Administration or any office or component of the
Department of Homeland Security or specified in Homeland
Security Presidential Directive-6, in effect as of the date
of the enactment of this section.''.
(b) Incorporation of Secure Flight.--Section 44903(j)(2) of
title 49, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (C)(iii)--
(A) by redesignating subclauses (II) through (VII) as
subclauses (III) through (VIII), respectively; and
(B) by inserting after subclause (I) the following new
subclause:
``(II) ensure, not later than 30 days after the date of the
enactment of the FAST Redress Act of 2008, that the procedure
established under subclause (I) is incorporated into the
appeals and redress process established under section 890A of
the Homeland Security Act of 2002;'';
(2) in subparagraph (E)(iii), by inserting before the
period at the end the following: ``, in accordance with the
appeals and redress process established under section 890A of
the Homeland Security Act of 2002''; and
(3) in subparagraph (G)--
(A) in clause (i), by adding at the end the following new
sentence: ``The Assistant Secretary shall incorporate the
process established pursuant to this clause into the appeals
and redress process established under section 890A of the
Homeland Security Act of 2002.''; and
(B) in clause (ii), by adding at the end the following new
sentence: ``The Assistant Secretary shall incorporate the
record established and maintained pursuant to this clause
into the Comprehensive Cleared List established and
maintained under such section 890A.''.
(c) Conforming Amendment.--Title 49, United States Code, is
amended by striking section 44926 (and the item relating to
such section in the analysis for chapter 449 of title 49).
(d) Clerical Amendment.--Section 1(b) of the Homeland
Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101(b)) is amended by adding
after the item relating to section 890 the following new
item:
``Sec. 890A. Appeal and redress process for passengers wrongly delayed
or prohibited from boarding a flight, or denied a right,
benefit, or privilege.'.'
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Mississippi (Mr. Thompson) and the gentleman from California (Mr.
Daniel E. Lungren) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Mississippi.
General Leave
Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent
that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and
extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under
consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Mississippi?
There was no objection.
Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of
this bill, and I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4179, the Fair, Accurate, Secure and Timely Redress
Act or FAST Redress Act was introduced last year by a relatively new
member of the Homeland Security Committee, Congresswoman Yvette Clarke.
Representative Clarke is to be commended for the yeoman's job she has
done.
Everyone complains about the lack of sanity in the watch-listing
process, but few have dared to wade into all the ins and outs of the
system. Representative Clarke has done just that, and this legislation
is the product of that thoughtful undertaking.
H.R. 4179 was marked up and approved on a bipartisan basis by the
committees's Transportation Security and Infrastructure Protection
Subcommittee in early May. On May 20, 2008, the bill was marked up and
adopted unanimously by the full committee.
This legislation, like other Homeland Security Committee bills that
will be considered today, builds on the solid provisions in H.R. 1684,
the Department of Homeland Security authorization bill that has been
pending in the Senate since May of 2007.
Certainly, the practice of watch-listing individuals plays an
important role in identifying possible terrorist suspects.
{time} 1045
It is important to keep in mind that the watch list is only as good
as the information on it. Without accurate, complete and reliable
information, the purpose of the watch list is frustrated, the database
becomes unreliable, and misidentifications persist.
Getting the watch list fixed and reducing misidentifications is a
particularly difficult challenge. To do so, all the intelligence and
law enforcement components that populate the list would need to come
together and agree to clean it up. Unfortunately, this has not
happened. Therefore, redress is the only real recourse for an American
who is repeatedly stopped or delayed at airports and border crossings
because one is misidentified as a terrorist threat.
Presently, there is a redress process available at DHS. Since
February 2007, over 32,000 Americans have sought redress through DHS
Traveler and Redress Inquiry Program, also known as DHS TRIP. Each
individual voluntarily provided personal information to establish their
identity. When there is a determination that this person is not a
[[Page H5493]]
threat, their names are placed on a ``cleared list'' that is maintained
by the Transportation Security Administration.
This cleared list is populated with names of individuals who have the
same or similar name as someone on the ``no fly'' or ``selectee''
lists, but have proven that they are not the person on the list. The
cleared list is then shared with only the airlines for screening
purposes.
Under H.R. 4179, it will be shared throughout DHS and with other
Federal agencies that use the terrorist watch list database. This would
assure that individuals that go through the redress process are not
stopped as potential terrorists by other Federal agencies.
Specifically, H.R. 4179 requires the Secretary of Homeland Security
to establish the Office of Appeals and Redress to provide a timely and
fair redress process. The Office of Appeals and Redress is directed to
maintain a ``comprehensive cleared list'' that contains the names of
individuals who have been misidentified and have corrected erroneous
information.
The comprehensive cleared list would be made available to other
Federal, State, local and Tribal authorities and others that use the
terrorist watch list or database to resolve misidentification.
The bill directs TSA, CBP, the Coast Guard and other DHS components
to reference the comprehensive cleared list when assessing the security
risk of an individual. This would assure that individuals like our
esteemed colleague, the gentleman from Georgia, Mr. John Lewis, would
not be repeatedly stopped or delayed or have to seek redress from
components in the same Federal agency.
H.R. 4179 also authorizes the DHS to enter into memoranda of
understanding with other Federal agencies to enhance the redress
process.
Importantly, the measure includes protections to assure that
personally identifiable information is handled in accordance with
privacy laws.
Once enacted, individuals that go through the trouble of clearing
their names will not have to repeat the exercise again and again and
again.
Mr. Speaker, on behalf of every John Lewis and James Smith, I urge
passage of this bill.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. DANIEL E. LUNGREN of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such
time as I may consume.
First of all, I want to thank the chairman of the committee for
granting me the time, and also for the work that he has done in working
on a bipartisan basis with those of us on this side to bring a number
of these bills to the floor.
Every month, Mr. Speaker, that the Federal Government and local law
enforcement officials screen some 270 million individuals against a new
and constantly evolving consolidated terrorist watch list, we actually
are safer as a result of those actions. Since the Terrorist Screening
Center's establishment in December of 2003, front line screeners using
this watch list have encountered known or reasonably suspected
terrorists over 55,000 times.
Now, I grant you that a name-based watch list certainly is not
perfect. The problems are compounded by the fact that, in several
cases, a single individual has over 50 identities on the watch list
and, of course, this would eventually lead to misidentifications
between law-abiding Americans and watch-listed identities.
These misidentifications are not simply persons with Arab names, as
the press would have you believe. Actors, writers, yes, even as the
gentleman from Mississippi mentioned, Congressmen and sometimes even
former Presidential candidates have been inconvenienced by the
terrorist watch list.
However, the bottom line is that the watch list stops would-be
terrorists from entering the United States. According to Customs and
Border Protection, on March 27, 2005, a CBP officer identified an
individual who was a possible match to terrorist-related records. The
ID resulted in a local joint terrorism task force arresting the
passenger, who was later charged with conspiring to provide material
support to terrorism and conspiracy to kill, kidnap, or maim persons.
Similarly, CBP denied entry of a Palestine Liberation Organization
weapons smuggler. The suspect was later charged with conspiracy to
traffic in explosive devices and firearms.
The legislation before us today, introduced by the gentlelady from
New York, is a good bill. It's the result of solid bipartisan
negotiations, and I wish to thank her and her staff, as well as the
chairman of the committee and the chairwoman of the subcommittee and
their staffs, for working with us to develop a reasonable process to
ensure that individuals who are frequently misidentified have an
effective recourse to minimize future travel disruption.
Perhaps one of the most important provisions of the bill is the
requirement that the Department of Homeland Security better advertise
its redress process, known as TRIP, at airports.
When I hear from constituents that they're being misidentified as a
watch-listed individual, I'm concerned they have not heard of the
Department's process to seek redress. This bill requires the Department
to advertise its redress process at each airport, and to have staff on
hand at the largest airports to explain the process and answer
questions from the traveling public.
Again, I thank the gentlelady for working with us and moving this
legislation forward in a bipartisan manner, and look forward to its
quick adoption.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the
author of this legislation, the Congresswoman from New York, Ms. Yvette
Clarke.
Ms. CLARKE. Mr. Speaker, Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Lungren, nearly
everyone in the homeland security community agrees that having a single
comprehensive list of terrorist suspects is an important tool in
keeping America safe.
However, there are flaws in how the terrorist watch list is
maintained and used. Perhaps the biggest problem is that every single
day, countless Americans are misidentified as terrorists. These errors
most commonly occur when an innocent person's name happens to be
similar to one listed in the database. This results in wasted time,
both for law enforcement, because they're using resources investigating
innocent people, and for the general public who face the prospect of
being wrongly detained and possibly altogether prevented from going
about their business.
Most commonly, this affects air travelers who are screened against
the watch list more often than anyone else. Currently, each time a
reservation is made, airlines must determine whether a customer is a
potential match based on information they receive from our government.
Every day, thousands of people are pulled aside, required to go
through special procedures, detained, or even denied boarding
altogether, at great cost to frustrated travelers who miss flights,
which ruins plans, and at great cost to companies which depend on
business travel whose employees miss meetings and lose productivity.
Because of the terrorist watch list that is being used for screening
agencies, many people other than domestic air travelers have also been
impacted by misidentifications. Some of these people include
international travelers delayed or denied entry to the country by CBP;
potential foreign visitors denied visas by the State Department, and
other workers, port workers who have been incorrectly denied a
transportation worker identification card, which is now required to
work at a port facility in the United States. In the future, this will
likely become a greater issue, as more potentially sensitive activities
are tied to screening against the watch list.
In 2007, TSA attempted to address this issue by initiating a redress
process called DHS TRIP. But this program has multiple problems, and
its scope is limited just to air travelers. Because of the program's
limitations, many travelers go through the process only to find they
are again misidentified as terrorists in the future.
The FAST Redress Act solves this problem by granting DHS the tools to
create a department-wide Office of Redress and Appeals, a one-stop shop
for any individual who feels they are being incorrectly identified as a
terrorist
[[Page H5494]]
whenever they have contact with our government.
Using the Office of Redress, people can voluntarily submit to our
government and be put into a single comprehensive cleared list,
ensuring they will avoid future misidentification when dealing with any
Department entity.
This bill also allows the Secretary to enter into intergovernmental
memorandums of understanding so this cleared list can be used by all
government screening entities.
This bill will greatly streamline the process for the countless
people who, just because of their names, are regularly misidentified as
a terrorist, creating a single, high visible office within our
government for everyone who wants to clear their names.
I'm very thankful to Chairman Thompson and Ranking Member King, along
with TS&IP Chairwoman Jackson-Lee and Ranking Member Lungren for
recognizing the importance of this issue and their great bipartisan
efforts pushing the FAST Redress Act forward.
I also thank the staff on both sides of the Homeland Security
Committee for their hard work and the time they put into this bill.
Further, since introduction, this bill has received the strong
support of the National Business Travel Association, who recognize its
benefits for the business travel community. I thank them for their
support which remains instrumental as we continue to make this bill
law.
Finally, I'd like to thank the people of Central Brooklyn that filed
into my district office week after week seeking relief after being
misidentified against the watch list.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman from New York
has expired.
Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional
minute to the gentlelady.
Ms. CLARKE. The challenges that they faced served as the brainchild
for this legislation.
I ask my colleagues to join me in the restoration of civil liberties,
creating a truly fair, accurate, secure and timely redress process. I
ask them to join me in support of the bipartisan bill, H.R. 4179, the
FAST Redress Act of 2008.
Mr. DANIEL E. LUNGREN of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such
time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4179, the FAST Redress Act, is an important bill,
and we should act on it today, and we should try and get concurrence
with the Senate and have this on the President's desk so he can sign it
so that we can take care of the problem of misidentifications on the
terrorist screening list that we use for a legitimate purpose.
Similarly, Mr. Speaker, I would hope that we might have a fast
redress act for the American people who are currently standing in line
waiting to pay for their gasoline at larger and larger and larger
prices. One of the things we need to do, in terms of this bill, is
redress the misinformation that's contained on terrorist screener watch
lists.
We similarly need to get rid of the misidentification that deals with
the issue of Americans' need for energy and what ANWR represents.
Rather than what we've heard on the floor on a number of different
occasions, including today, that somehow ANWR is insignificant with
respect to the great question of energy that currently approaches the
American people, the facts say something very different.
In other words, if we check them against the facts as this bill wants
us to check misidentifications against the factual determinations, we
would find this: According to the United States Geological Survey, the
mean estimate of technically recoverable oil, that's the kind of oil
that we can bring up under already existing technology in the coastal
plain of ANWR, is 10.4 billion barrels, all of which is now
economically recoverable.
{time} 1100
Now, what is 10.4 billion barrels? More than twice the proven oil
reserves in all of the State of Texas. And you know how Texans like to
brag about what they got and how big it is. This would be twice the
proven oil reserves that are now found in all of Texas. That's almost
half of the total U.S. proven reserve at 21 billion barrels. That
represents a possible 50 percent increase in total U.S. proven
reserves. That has been categorized on this floor as being
insignificant and of having no impact on the current energy scene. I
think checking it against the facts, we see that's wrong.
Based on the USGS mean estimate, ANWR would provide one million
barrels per day for 30 years. That's one million barrels per day for 30
years. Now what would that represent? Some insignificant figure? No.
That's a 20 percent increase in domestic, or as we would like to call
it, American production. That's equivalent to what the entire State of
Texas produces daily. And listen to this. That is the equivalent to 30
years' worth of imports from Hugo Chavez.
The coastal plain of ANWR, known as the 1002 area, is neither
wilderness nor refuge. In fact, when I was here in this House
privileged to serve in 1980, it was set aside by this Congress and
then-President Carter specifically for future oil development.
Now, do we ever hear about that? That's as much as a
misidentification of what the reality is of what we're talking about in
this bill. Development would be limited to the 2,000 acres of the
coastal plain. That would be 0.01 percent of the entire 19.6 million
acre refuge.
So Mr. Speaker, as I said, I rise in support of this bill, H.R. 4179,
which would correct misinformation contained in official documents that
thereby inconveniences the American people. Similarly, if we took
action on a Redress Act for energy on the American people, they would
be less inconvenienced and we would be on our way to energy
independence.
With that, I would reserve my time.
Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the
gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Perlmutter).
Mr. PERLMUTTER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for this
opportunity to speak on an excellent bill, and I want to commend my
friend from New York for bringing this bill to the House of
Representatives and bringing it through our committee.
So I rise today to express my strong support for the Fair, Accurate,
Secure and Timely Redress Act or the FAST Redress Act.
At Denver International Airport, the Nation's fourth busiest airport,
tens of thousands of passengers go through security each day. For most,
the screening process is straightforward and is as efficient a policy
as possible. But for some, like the John Thompsons of Colorado, flying
is a painful and difficult experience, not because of the items they
bring through security or the way they act, but simply because of their
name. And they range from 8-year-olds to 80-year-olds.
There are thousands of Americans whose names are similar to
terrorists listed on the No Fly List. And when travelling, the airlines
and TSA do not distinguish these law-abiding Americans from criminals
on the list who happen to have the same name. As a result, these
citizens may be forced to undergo extensive, time-consuming additional
screening and questioning. This happens not just once but every single
time the person travels.
To avoid it happening on every occasion, they can go through the
Department of Homeland Security Travel Redress Inquiry Program to get
removed from the list, but that process is slow and ineffective.
Furthermore, it doesn't currently address the concern that each airline
uses the travel redress program differently.
That is why I am a cosponsor of this important legislation. Our
Nation's passengers affected by mistaken identity deserve an office
within the Department of Homeland Security to help resolve these
identity problems once and for all. Our Nation's passengers deserve a
comprehensive cleared list to match the No Fly List which is provided
to airport security and the airlines to be used in a uniform manner.
Our Nation's passengers deserve a Federal plan to verify their
identity and make sure they are safe to fly. This bill achieves these
goals and makes our flying public safer while keeping commerce going.
I want to thank Congresswoman Clarke and Committee Chairman Thompson,
as well as Ranking Member Mr. Lungren and Chairwoman Sheila
[[Page H5495]]
Jackson-Lee and the other members of the committee for their hard work
on this important matter.
I ask my colleagues to support this bill.
Mr. DANIEL E. LUNGREN of California. Mr. Speaker, I have no
additional speakers, and I would just say that this bill deserves the
unanimous support of the Members of this body.
With that, I would yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the
distinguished gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee).
(Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to revise
and extend her remarks.)
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished
chairman of the Homeland Security Committee. Mr. Speaker, I ask to
revise and extend.
I want to add my appreciation to, again, the very, very able and
distinguished Member Yvette Clarke from New York for her strong
advocation for H.R. 4179 and legislation that came through the
subcommittee of transportation security, which I chair, and her wisdom
on bringing about a solution to a long-standing problem that we have
seen come about after 9/11.
Every day, millions of Americans travel across the country and abroad
by land, air, and sea. Unfortunately, we have a process in place, the
terrorist watch list or database, which makes, or should make,
traveling safe. However, there have been problems and
misidentifications. Even air marshals have been denied boarding on air
carriers on the very flights they were assigned to protect because of
misidentification.
To date, more than 15,000 Americans have sought redress from the
Transportation Security Administration and voluntarily provided
information. But this system has not worked. We know two of our very
own dear colleagues, Senator Kennedy and John Lewis, who I think have a
pedigree beyond reproach, have been set aside, if you will, in trying
to fly.
And so therefore, it is important to have a redress process that
works and to assure that a person on the TSA's Clear List will not be
stopped as a potential terrorist. H.R. 4179 by Congresswoman Yvette
Clarke will establish an appeal and redress process to ensure that the
Office of Appeals and Redress at the Department of Homeland Security
actually work.
I do want to congratulate her for this forward thinking. I look
forward to working with her as we move forward on additional
legislation that addresses the question of dress. As we all know, imams
who have cleared TSA could not board a plane in one of our midwest
States because they were determined to be a threat when they had passed
security, when their name was not on the watch list, and only because
of religious actions.
And so this is an important step forward. We should be a Nation of
security but also the protection of civil liberties. And I look forward
to us making further steps to ensure that religious dress, attire, and
talk does not in any way undermine your constitutional rights in this
question.
My appreciation to Congresswoman Clarke. I ask my colleagues to
enthusiastically support this legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 4179, To amend
the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish an appeal and redress
process for individuals wrongly delayed or prohibited from boarding a
flight, and for other purposes, introduced by my distinguished
colleague from New York, Representative Clarke, of which I am a proud
original cosponsor. This important legislation will provide an
effective and efficient mechanism through which Americans can seek
redress.
Every day, millions of Americans travel across the country and
abroad, by land, air, and sea. Fortunately, we have a process in place,
the terrorist watch list or database, which makes travel safer for the
traveling public. However, that very process has been plagued with
problems and misidentifications. The American public has grown weary of
the constant delays and misidentifications caused by incomplete and
inaccurate information associated with the terrorist watch list or
database.
For years, even Federal Air Marshals (FAMs) have been denied boarding
by air carriers on the very flights they were assigned to protect
because of misidentifications. To date, more than 15,000 Americans have
sought redress from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA)
and voluntarily provided personal information to facilitate travel and
prevent further misidentifications and delays. While the TSA maintains
a ``Cleared List'' for individuals who have the same or similar name or
other identifier as someone on the ``No Fly'' or ``Selectee'' lists but
have gone through the redress process, there is a significant
stagnation in the columniation and sharing of information. The Cleared
List is then shared with airlines for screening purposes but it is not
shared within the Department of Homeland Security or with other Federal
agencies that use the terrorist watch list or database. Therefore,
despite going through the redress process, there's nothing to assure
that a person on the TSA's ``Cleared List'' will not be stopped as a
potential terrorist by other Federal agencies, including U.S. Customs
and Border Protection (CBP). Sharing information on the Comprehensive
Cleared List between components of the Department would alleviate
redundancy and reduce excessive delays.
H.R. 4179, the Fair, Accurate, Secure and Timely (FAST) Redress Act
of 2008, will establish an appeal and redress process to ensure that
the Office of Appeals and Redress at the Department of Homeland
Security becomes the ``one-stop shop'' that the American public
deserves.
This legislation will require the DHS Secretary to establish a timely
and fair redress process for individuals who believe they have been
delayed or prohibited from boarding a commercial plane or denied a
right, benefit, or privilege by DHS, because they were wrongly
identified as a threat when screened against any terrorist watch list
or database. It would also require the Office of Appeals and Redress to
maintain a Comprehensive Cleared List that contains the names of
individuals who have been misidentified and have corrected erroneous
information. The DHS Secretary would be required to furnish the
Comprehensive Cleared List to all DHS components and to other Federal,
State, local, and Tribal authorities and others that use the terrorist
watch list or database, to resolve misidentifications.
This important legislation will consolidate agency knowledge by
requiring the compilation of a comprehensive cleared list of
individuals who have been misidentified. It furthermore requires that
the correction of erroneous information be maintained by the Department
and shared with those agencies that use the terrorist watch list or
database. Our citizens must not only be afforded an effective redress
process, they must also be assured that once they have voluntarily
provided personal information and successfully achieved redress, they
are not repeatedly subjected to further misidentifications. This
legislation is supported by the National Business Travel Association,
who wrote to the Committee on Homeland Security in support of H.R.
4179.
The FAST Redress Act of 2008 explicitly requires the DHS Secretary to
assure that TSA, CBP, the Coast Guard and other DHS components
reference the Comprehensive Cleared List when assessing the security
risk of an individual. It furthermore authorizes the DHS Secretary to
enter into Memoranda of Understanding with other Federal agencies to
enhance redress, including addressing legal name changes.
This bipartisan legislation directs the Secretary to engage in
cooperative agreements with other relevant agencies so that legal name
changes are reflected on the watch list and the cleared list. When it
comes to watch and cleared lists, accuracy is the key. This change
ensures that the Department has the most accurate information to
evaluate American citizens.
Mr. Speaker, it is time we protect the civil rights and civil
liberties of American citizens and lawful permanent residents. This
bill will help eliminate false identifications and increase efficiency
for the traveling public and I encourage my colleagues to support this
legislation.
Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time
as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, as you have heard, H.R. 4179 is a commonsense Homeland
Security legislation that has broad support. Representative Clarke, as
well as Chairwoman Jackson-Lee and Ranking Member Lungren, ought to be
commended for working together to get this critical legislation to the
floor. We all know that the terrorist watch list has its problems. In
fact, most of us fly a few times a week and have heard firsthand
stories about people missing flights because they were misidentified
against the watch list. We need to fix the watch list. That effort is
ongoing and needs to continue. But at the same time, we need to provide
people with a meaningful remedy.
The FAST Redress Act does just that. That is why I'm proud to
cosponsor this legislation authored by my esteemed colleague, Ms.
Clarke.
[[Page H5496]]
I urge passage of this important legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Thompson) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 4179, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
The title was amended so as to read:
``A bill to amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish an
appeal and redress process for individuals wrongly delayed or
prohibited from boarding a flight, or denied a right, benefit, or
privilege, and for other purposes.''.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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