[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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