[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 69 (Wednesday, May 18, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Page S3114]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
U.S./EUROPEAN UNION FLIGHT MANIFEST EXCHANGE
Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed to Calendar No.
49, S. Res. 174.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
A resolution (S. Res. 174) expressing the sense of the
Senate that effective sharing of passenger information from
inbound international flight manifests is a crucial component
of our national security and that the Department of Homeland
Security must maintain the information sharing standards
required under the 2007 Passenger Name Record Agreement
between the United States and the European Union.
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the
resolution.
Mr. REID. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent the resolution be
agreed to, the Lieberman amendment, which is at the desk, to the
preamble, be agreed to; the preamble as amended be agreed to; there be
no intervening action or debate, and any statements be printed in the
Record.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The resolution (S. Res. 174) was agreed to.
The amendment (No. 320) was agreed to, as follows:
(Purpose: To amend the preamble)
In the 5th whereas clause of the preamble, strike ``an
agreement to exchange passenger information'' and insert
``information sharing agreements''.
In the 6th whereas clause of the preamble, strike
``international law and treaties have recognized'' and insert
``security and intelligence experts recognize''.
The preamble, as amended, was agreed to.
The resolution, with its preamble, as amended, read as follows:
S. Res. 174
Whereas the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon
the United States--
(1) found that ``[t]argeting travel is at least as powerful
a weapon against terrorists as targeting their money''; and
(2) recommended that the United States ``combine terrorist
travel intelligence, operations, and law enforcement in a
strategy to intercept terrorist, find terrorist travel
facilitators, and constrain terrorist mobility'';
Whereas terrorists continue to target international travel
to the United States, as evidenced by Umar Farouk
Abdulmutallab's attempt to detonate a bomb on board Northwest
Airlines Flight 253 on December 25, 2009, en route from
Amsterdam to Detroit;
Whereas Congress responded to the attacks of September 11,
2001, by mandating that all air carriers flying into the
United States provide passenger name record (referred to in
this resolution as ``PNR'') data concerning all inbound
passengers to U.S. Customs and Border Protection to assist
the Department of Homeland Security in fulfilling its
missions of protecting the border and enhancing border
security;
Whereas there is bipartisan agreement on the need to
collect and share passenger travel data, which--
(1) has served as a cornerstone for interdicting terrorists
by the administrations of President Barack Obama and former
President George W. Bush; and
(2) continues to fulfill the mandate for increased
information sharing set by Congress in--
(A) the Aviation and Transportation Security Act (Public
Law 107-71);
(B) the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of
2004 (Public Law 108-458);
(C) the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission
Act of 2007 (Public Law 110-53); and
(D) other laws requiring information sharing
internationally and within the United States Government to
promote greater security;
Whereas the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11
Commission Act of 2007 required nations to enter into
information sharing agreements with the United States in
order to qualify for the United States visa waiver program;
Whereas security and intelligence experts recognize that--
(1) advance information about travelers is a critical tool
in identifying high-risk passengers; and
(2) the intelligence gained from the analysis of passenger
travel data is critical for--
(A) protecting the United States against terrorists
entering the United States; and
(B) preventing terrorists from boarding international
flights bound for the United States;
Whereas the Agreement Between the United States of America
and the European Union on the Processing and Transfer of
Passenger Name Record (PNR) Data by Air Carriers to the
United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), done at
Brussels and Washington on July 23 and 26, 2007 (referred to
in this resolution as the ``EU-U.S. PNR Agreement'')--
(1) succeeded a series of agreements between 2002 and
October 2006;
(2) was intended to remain in effect until 2014; and
(3) complied with European Union and United States privacy
laws by providing assurances that the United States would use
PNR data for limited purposes;
Whereas PNR data gathered pursuant to the EU-U.S. PNR
Agreement has been used to identify and arrest a number of
dangerous terrorists, including--
(1) David Headley, who was planning an attack on Denmark
and who contributed to the tragedy in Mumbai; and
(2) Faisal Shahzad, who was attempting to flee the country
after attempting to set off a car-bomb in Times Square.
Whereas PNR data has been used to prevent the travel of
many other individuals considered to be national security
threats or otherwise inadmissible to the United States;
Whereas the privacy protections in the current EU-U.S. PNR
Agreement are robust, and a February 2010 joint review by
both signatories found no privacy violations, misuse, or
injury from the collection of PNR data by the Department of
Homeland Security;
Whereas although the United States and the European Union
have different governing mechanisms that lead to differences
in how oversight is conducted, both governments have a firm
commitment to the protection of data and the respect of
individual privacy;
Whereas in February 2011, the European Commission proposed
that the European Union create its own PNR system in order to
identify potential terrorists and other dangerous criminals;
Whereas in 2010, the Washington Post--
(1) recognized the important role that PNR data plays in
securing international aviation; and
(2) recommended that data sharing should not be restricted
without demonstrating specific problems with the operation of
current agreement: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) acknowledges the grave threat posed by terrorists and
other dangerous criminals who seek to exploit international
aviation to do harm to our countries;
(2) urges the Department of Homeland Security to reject any
efforts by the European Union to modify existing PNR data
sharing mechanisms in a way that would degrade the usefulness
of the PNR data for identifying terrorists and other
dangerous criminals;
(3) urges the Department of Homeland Security to not enter
into any agreement that would impose European oversight
structures on the United States; and
(4) opposes any effort by the European Union to interfere
with counterterrorism cooperation and information sharing
between the Department of Homeland Security and non-European
countries.
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