[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 79 (Wednesday, May 30, 2012)]
[House]
[Pages H3239-H3241]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  APPLICABILITY OF THE UNIFORMED SERVICES EMPLOYMENT AND REEMPLOYMENT 
        RIGHTS ACT TO THE TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

  Mr. KING of New York. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
pass the bill (H.R. 3670) to require the Transportation Security 
Administration to comply with the Uniformed Services Employment and 
Reemployment Rights Act.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 3670

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. APPLICABILITY OF THE UNIFORMED SERVICES EMPLOYMENT 
                   AND REEMPLOYMENT RIGHTS ACT TO THE 
                   TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADMINISTRATION.

       (a) In General.--Section 111(d) of the Aviation and 
     Transportation Security Act (49 U.S.C. 44935 note; Public Law 
     107 71) is amended--
       (1) by striking ``Notwithstanding'' and inserting the 
     following:
       ``(1) General authority.--Except as provided in paragraph 
     (2), and notwithstanding''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(2) Uniformed services employment and reemployment rights 
     act.--In carrying out the functions authorized under 
     paragraph (1), the Under Secretary shall be subject to the 
     provisions set forth in chapter 43 of title 38, United States 
     Code.''.
       (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) 
     shall take effect on the date that is 270 days after the date 
     of the enactment of this Act.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. King) and the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Thompson) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New York.

                              {time}  1800


                             General Leave

  Mr. KING of New York. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their 
remarks and include any extraneous material on the bill under 
consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New York?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. KING of New York. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  I will say again to the ranking member that this is a very vital 
bill. In the interest of time, because we still have this and three 
other pieces of legislation to pass in the next half hour, I will limit 
my remarks other than to say that the gentleman from Minnesota deserves 
tremendous credit for this bill.
  H.R. 3670 is absolutely vital. It's necessary. It would guarantee 
that TSA employees who are called to active duty would keep their jobs 
when they come home and would further ensure that existing protections 
could not be in any way changed by potentially conflicting rules or 
regulations.
  I also want to commend the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis), 
who was the original cosponsor of this bill.
  And, again, I just want to say with reference to my friend from 
Minnesota, he has dedicated a life of service to his country in the 
military, and he's continuing that outstanding service here in the 
United States Congress.
  With that, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3670, sponsored by the 
gentleman from Minnesota, Mr. Walz.
  This bipartisan bill addresses a fundamental gap in the protection of 
veterans' employment rights, which could easily be remedied.
  I want to take this opportunity to recognize the efforts of my good 
friend from Florida, Congressman Bilirakis, Chairman of the Emergency 
Preparedness, Response and Communications Subcommittee, for his work on 
this issue and for being an original co-sponsor of the bill.
  Veterans make up roughly 20 percent of TSA's workforce. This bill 
simply requires TSA to comply with the Uniformed Services Employment 
and Reemployment Rights Act, or USERRA. This would guarantee that TSA 
employees who are called to active duty could keep their jobs when they 
come home.
  In recent testimony submitted for the record to the Committee on 
Veterans' Affairs, TSA stated that its current practice already 
conforms to the requirements of H.R. 3670. This bill would simply 
ensure existing protections could not be changed later on by 
potentially conflicting rules or regulations.
  This is a common sense bill and I urge all of my colleagues to 
support it.
  Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of 
H.R. 3670 and yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, Memorial Day is a time not only to honor members of our 
armed services who gave their lives in defense of our liberty, but also 
to convey our support for veterans and servicemembers. With the 
commemoration of Memorial Day earlier this week, it is fitting that 
we're considering H.R. 3670 today.
  H.R. 3670, by conferring job protections for servicemembers, conveys 
our commitment to help reservists and other members of the uniformed 
services return to civilian life. Specifically, the bill would ensure 
that the protections afforded under the Uniformed Services Employment 
and Reemployment Rights Act apply to Transportation Security 
Administration employees and applicants, just as they do everywhere in 
the public and private sector.
  Mr. Speaker, I would also like to acknowledge TSA's leadership in 
hiring veterans. Currently, veterans make up over 23 percent of TSA's 
workforce. I would encourage my colleagues and the

[[Page H3240]]

general public to keep that number in mind when they encounter a TSA 
worker at an airport checkpoint. There is a one in four chance that the 
person conducting the screening is a veteran and deserves the respect 
and appreciation commensurate with that title.
  With that, Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. KING of New York. I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Florida 
(Mr. Stearns).
  Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman King for the time. I also 
rise today in strong support of H.R. 3670, a bill introduced by my good 
friend, Mr. Walz from Minnesota.
  This bill extends reemployment protections to employees of the 
Transportation Security Administration by making them subject to the 
Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, or USERRA.
  USERRA is a law that protects the reemployment rights of 
servicemembers so they are able to keep their jobs, benefits, and 
seniority in their civilian jobs after serving on active duty.
  When TSA was created soon after 
9/11, it was given a USERRA exemption to allow the agency to hire new 
employees without delay for airport screenings. There is no evidence 
that applying USERRA to TSA will impede TSA's mission of protecting our 
Nation's air travel system. In fact, bringing TSA under USERRA will 
strengthen their ability to recruit and retain highly qualified 
veterans.
  Mr. Speaker, I would note that in testimony submitted for the record 
on H.R. 3670, TSA stated that its current practice already conforms to 
the requirements that H.R. 3670 would put into statute. Therefore, 
enactment of H.R. 3670 would ensure existing protections could not be 
weakened by a change in administration rules or regulations.
  I want to thank my good friend Mr. Walz for introducing this 
legislation. I also thank Chairman Jeff Miller of Florida and Ranking 
Member Filner of California for their support, and I thank Mr. King.
  Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may 
consume to the original sponsor of the legislation under consideration, 
the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Walz).
  Mr. WALZ of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman and the 
chairman for bringing this bill to the floor. More importantly, I thank 
you both for your unwavering defense of this Nation in smart policy and 
an unwavering commitment to make sure we get it right.
  I, like my colleagues and millions of other Americans, spent Monday 
at Memorial Day observances. That's the date we give thanks to those 
brave patriots who gave the supreme sacrifice so we could all live in 
freedom. But as the gentleman from Mississippi also said, it's also a 
time to think of the responsibility we have for those who have served 
and have come back.
  Our responsibility to our veterans is our Nation's highest moral 
responsibility. After years of war, we have millions of returning 
veterans who deserve our respect and support. This piece of legislation 
helps us keep a promise to those brave warriors. As you heard from my 
colleagues, the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights 
Act was passed by this Congress--a smart piece of legislation--in 1994. 
It simply says if you serve this Nation in uniform, you will not be 
disadvantaged in your civilian-sector job; you will have prompt 
reemployment when that service is done; and you will not be 
discriminated against because of current or past military service. It's 
keeping that commitment that if you put your life on the line, you put 
your health on the line, you shouldn't have to sacrifice your career 
progression against your peers just because you were willing to serve 
this Nation.
  That piece of legislation was very clear also that the Federal 
Government should be a model employer. Also as the gentleman from 
Mississippi stated, TSA has a very important job of securing this 
Nation. They have done a wonderful job of hiring veterans. The issue at 
hand here is asking TSA to abide by the same rules as countless other 
agencies have. There is not a police force, a firefighting force, a 
school, or a private employer that hasn't sent a guardsman or a 
reservist off to do duty. They've had to change schedules and bring 
them back. In many small towns in my district, when you get a call up 
from the National Guard unit, most of the police department is gone 
with them. They've figured out how to do this, and they've done it by 
abiding by USERRA when they came back home and welcomed them back. It's 
absolutely unconscionable that TSA wouldn't.
  As the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Stearns) noted, they say they're 
already complying with most of the regulations. They've had time to 
adjust to this. We need to make sure at a time of high unemployment 
against our veterans, that we of all people--the Federal Government--
throws up no barriers in front of them, but welcomes them back, 
replaces them in their jobs, and moves them forward. That's not only 
morally the right thing to do; that's the right thing to do for 
national defense. These are our best and brightest willing to put their 
lives on the line. I want them at the front lines at our airports and 
ports and other places, and we should get them back into it.
  I want to thank these two gentlemen for their unwavering work and 
also the chairman of the VA, Mr. Miller, and Mr. Filner. As was stated 
earlier, I thank an absolute champion of veterans rights, Mr. 
Bilirakis, who is the original cosponsor of this.
  Mr. KING of New York. I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the 
gentlelady from Florida (Ms. Brown).
  Ms. BROWN of Florida. Thank you, Chairman King and Ranking Member 
Thompson, for bringing this bill to the floor as we return from 
Memorial Day events with our constituents.
  When the TSA was formed in the wake of 9/11, the worst terrorist 
attack in the history of the United States, Congress was attempting to 
consolidate many of the Nation's security duties that were spread out 
over all of the Departments. We were dedicated to the proposition that 
this event should never be repeated. Our response was quick that our 
civilian transportation system should never be used for attack ever 
again.
  Out of the need for better airport security, the Transportation 
Security Administration was born. However, at the time, Republicans did 
not want to give the same rights to those Members of the Federal 
workforce as other Federal employees enjoy. One of those rights was 
USERRA, the Uniform Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act.
  Under USERRA, individuals retain certain rights when that person 
needs to be absent from his or her civilian employment to serve in this 
country's uniformed services.
  This bill would require the TSA to comply with USERRA when dealing 
with air transportation passengers and property screeners.
  I support this legislation as a good first step toward giving the 
same rights available to all Federal employees.
  And let me just take this moment to thank TSA for their hard work and 
dedication in keeping us safe. Sometimes I know it is inconvenient to 
the traveling public, but remember that they're there to protect us and 
they would not be there if 9/11 had not occurred. Thank you for your 
service.
  Mr. KING of New York. Mr. Speaker, I advise my colleague that I am 
prepared to close as I have no further speakers.
  Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the 
gentlelady from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).

                              {time}  1810

  Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I thank you for yielding, and 
I thank the chairman of the full committee and the ranking member.
  As a ranking member of the Transportation Security Subcommittee, it's 
my privilege to rise to support H.R. 3670.
  Let me thank the author of the bill, the gentleman from Minnesota, 
for his leadership--he is always speaking eloquently but fighting for 
our veterans, and we thank you very much both for your service and your 
leadership--and also to thank the gentlelady from Florida for her kind 
and astute remarks regarding the importance of TSA.
  In the last 24 hours, there was a breach of security in San Diego 
when an individual went through a secured door and boarded a plane. The 
immediate response of some of the commentators was: What was TSA doing? 
I

[[Page H3241]]

think the only comment is: They were doing their job.
  And that breach obviously occurred before any entering into the 
secured area, but it tells us how important TSA really is and being on 
the front line of securing this Nation and being part of the team that 
has allowed us to not have a tragic incident on our soil since 9/11.
  It is important to have the TSA comply with the Uniformed Services 
Employment and Reemployment Rights Act. The Uniformed Services 
Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, USERRA, ensures that our valued 
citizens who have served in the Armed Forces, Reserves, National Guard, 
or other uniformed services are not disadvantaged in their civilian 
careers because of their service. They deserve this protection.
  Under current law, the TSA is not required to comply with certain 
provisions of Federal labor laws, including USERRA. This is not right. 
Currently the TSA, which has more than 50,000 employees, is not 
required to hold positions and promotions for employees who are called 
away for military service. Ten thousand veterans serve on the TSA's 
workforce. That is one-fifth, or 20 percent, of their entire workforce.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
  Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. I yield the gentlewoman an additional 30 
seconds.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas. The head of my airport, Bush 
Intercontinental Airport, Colonel Testa, is retired military. The law 
specifies certain rank for individuals who serve in the uniformed 
services, including those in the Reserves or the National Guard who are 
called to duty. I join with my colleagues to support this legislation 
to ensure that TSA complies with USERRA.
  Just 2 days ago we celebrated Memorial Day, and I would offer to say 
that we must continue to support our veterans but also mourn those who 
are lost, but in their name, it's important to support this 
legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to debate H.R. 3670, ``To require the 
Transportation Security Administration to comply with the Uniformed 
Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act.'' The Uniformed 
Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) ensures that 
our valued citizens who serve or have served in the Armed Forces, 
Reserves, National Guard or other ``uniformed services'' are not 
disadvantaged in their civilian careers because of their service.
  Under current law, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) 
is not required to comply with certain provisions of federal labor 
laws, including USERRA. This is not right.
  Currently the TSA, which has more than 50,000 employees, is not 
required to hold positions and promotions for employees who are called 
away for military service. 10,000 veterans serve on the TSA's 
workforce. That is \1/5\ or 20 percent of their entire workforce.
  The law specifies certain rights for individuals who serve in the 
uniformed services, including those in the reserves or the National 
Guard who are called to active duty.
  In particular, USERRA prohibits employers from discriminating on the 
basis of military service or obligation and protects covered 
individuals' rights to be reemployed upon returning from duty.
  H.R. 3670 requires the TSA to comply with USERRA. According to TSA, 
the agency's existing policies regarding individuals who leave TSA to 
undertake uniformed service are already consistent with USERRA. We want 
to make absolutely sure that our veterans, servicemen, and future 
soldiers are protected by the laws that govern our great Nation. We 
have to ensure that they are taken care of. They are courageous enough 
to defend, and sometimes give their lives for the United States. We 
should do what we can to honor their bravery.
  The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that H.R. 3670 would 
not significantly affect the TSA's costs nor would enacting the bill 
affect direct spending or revenues.
  I strongly support our troops and the brave men and women who have 
served in our armed forces. After their honorable service they should 
not have to face obstacles in finding civilian employment due to their 
service.
  We must do everything in our power to ensure Members of our Armed 
Services are discriminated against based upon past, present, or future 
military service. They have sacrificed for their country and when they 
return to their civilian life that sacrifice should be honored not 
viewed as a negative. The federal government should be a ``model 
employer'' under USERRA, which is why H.R. 3670 is such a vital piece 
of legislation. Again, I urge you to honor the sacrifice of our troops.
  Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Chairman, I am prepared to close.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3670 enjoys bipartisan support of both the 
Committee on Veterans' Affairs and the Committee on Homeland Security 
and deserves the support of the full House today.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. KING of New York. It's only because of the late hour--we have 
three more pieces of vital legislation to pass in the next 15 or 20 
minutes--that I am not speaking at length on this issue because it is 
so vital. I thank the gentleman from Minnesota for it.
  I urge Members to support the bill, and I yield back the balance of 
my time.
  Ms. RICHARDSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3670, to 
require the Transportation Security Administration, TSA, to comply with 
the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act.
  The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, 
USERRA, is intended to ensure that persons who serve or have served in 
the Armed Forces, Reserves, National Guard or other uniformed services: 
(1) are not disadvantaged in their civilian careers because of their 
service, (2) are promptly reemployed in their civilian jobs upon their 
return from duty, and (3) are not discriminated against in employment 
based on past, present, or future military service.
  Soon after the attacks of 9/11, TSA was given USERRA exemption to 
allow the agency to hire new employees without delay for airport 
screenings. USERRA protects service members so they are able to keep 
their job, benefits, and seniority in their civilian job if they are 
called up to Active Duty. TSA has voluntarily adopted some USERRA 
provisions for their employees, but TSA no longer requires special 
hiring authorities that it required when newly created. With more than 
10,000 veterans among the agency's employees, counting for 20 percent 
of the Transportation Security Officer workforce, TSA, like any other 
federal agency, should be required to comply with the same USERRA rules 
as other Federal agencies and private employers.
  With the month of May and National Military Appreciation Month 
concluding, we must continue to appreciate and support our service 
members by supporting this legislation. Our veterans and servicemembers 
do not choose our conflicts and we cannot allow employers to punish 
them for their unrelenting dedication to our nation's freedom.
  Mr. Speaker, requiring the Transportation Security Administration to 
comply with the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights 
Act is the right thing to. That is why I strongly support H.R. 3670 and 
I urge my colleagues to support our servicemembers and veterans by 
supporting H.R. 3670.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. King) that the House suspend the rules and 
pass the bill, H.R. 3670.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________