[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 113 (Thursday, August 1, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6257-S6258]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
HELPING HEROES FLY ACT
Mr. REID. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Commerce
Committee be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 1344, and
that the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The clerk will report the bill by title.
The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
A bill (H.R. 1344) to amend title 49, United States Code,
to direct the Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security
(Transportation Security Administration) to provide expedited
air passenger screening to severely injured or disabled
members of the Armed Forces and severely injured or disabled
veterans, and for other purposes.
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
Mr. REID. I further ask that the Pryor substitute amendment which is
at the desk be agreed to, and the bill, as amended, be read the third
time and passed, and that any motions to reconsider be considered made,
with no intervening action or debate.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The amendment (No. 1848) was agreed to, as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Helping Heroes Fly Act''.
SEC. 2. OPERATIONS CENTER PROGRAM FOR SEVERELY INJURED OR
DISABLED MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES AND
SEVERELY INJURED OR DISABLED VETERANS.
(a) In General.--Subchapter I of chapter 449 of title 49,
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``Sec. 44927. Expedited screening for severely injured or
disabled members of the Armed Forces and severely injured
or disabled veterans
``(a) Passenger Screening.--The Assistant Secretary, in
consultation with the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of
Veterans Affairs, and organizations identified by the
Secretaries of Defense and Veteran Affairs that advocate on
behalf of severely injured or disabled members of the Armed
Forces and severely injured or disabled veterans, shall
develop and implement a process to support and facilitate the
ease of travel and to the extent possible provide expedited
passenger screening services for severely injured or disabled
members of the Armed Forces and severely injured or disabled
veterans through passenger screening. The process shall be
designed to offer the individual private screening to the
maximum extent practicable.
``(b) Operations Center.--As part of the process under
subsection (a), the Assistant Secretary shall maintain an
operations center to provide support and facilitate the
movement of severely injured or disabled members of the Armed
Forces and severely injured or disabled veterans through
passenger screening prior to boarding a passenger aircraft
operated by an air carrier or
[[Page S6258]]
foreign air carrier in air transportation or intrastate air
transportation.
``(c) Protocols.--The Assistant Secretary shall--
``(1) establish and publish protocols, in consultation with
the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs,
and the organizations identified under subsection (a), under
which a severely injured or disabled member of the Armed
Forces or severely injured or disabled veteran, or the family
member or other representative of such member or veteran, may
contact the operations center maintained under subsection (b)
and request the expedited passenger screening services
described in subsection (a) for that member or veteran; and
``(2) upon receipt of a request under paragraph (1),
require the operations center to notify the appropriate
Federal Security Director of the request for expedited
passenger screening services, as described in subsection (a),
for that member or veteran.
``(d) Training.--The Assistant Secretary shall integrate
training on the protocols established under subsection (c)
into the training provided to all employees who will
regularly provide the passenger screening services described
in subsection (a).
``(e) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall
affect the authority of the Assistant Secretary to require
additional screening of a severely injured or disabled member
of the Armed Forces, a severely injured or disabled veteran,
or their accompanying family members or nonmedical
attendants, if intelligence, law enforcement, or other
information indicates that additional screening is necessary.
``(f) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this section, and annually thereafter, the
Assistant Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on the
implementation of this section. Each report shall include
each of the following:
``(1) Information on the training provided under subsection
(d).
``(2) Information on the consultations between the
Assistant Secretary and the organizations identified under
subsection (a).
``(3) The number of people who accessed the operations
center during the period covered by the report.
``(4) Such other information as the Assistant Secretary
determines is appropriate.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the
beginning of subchapter I of chapter 449 of title 49, United
States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating
to section 44926 the following new item:
``44927. Expedited screening for severely injured or disabled members
of the Armed Forces and severely injured or disabled
veterans.''.
The amendment was ordered to be engrossed and the bill to be read a
third time.
The bill (H.R. 1344), as amended, was read the third time and passed.
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