[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 71 (Wednesday, April 26, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E544-E545]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    AVIATION EMPLOYEE SCREENING AND SECURITY ENHANCEMENT ACT OF 2017

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                         HON. MICHAEL T. McCAUL

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 25, 2017

  Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record the cost estimate 
from the Congressional Budget Office regarding H.R. 876. The cost 
estimate was not available at the time of the filing of the Committee 
report.

                                      Congressional Budget Office,


                                                U.S. Congress,

                                   Washington, DC, April 26, 2017.
     Hon. Michael McCaul,
     Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security,
     House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
     prepared the enclosed cost

[[Page E545]]

     estimate for H.R. 876, the Aviation Employee Screening and 
     Security Enhancement Act of 2017.
       If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
     pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Megan 
     Carroll.
           Sincerely,
                                             Keith Hall, Director.
       Enclosure.

 H.R. 876--Aviation Employee Screening and Security Enhancement Act of 
                                  2017

  As ordered reported by the House Committee on Homeland Security on 
                             March 8, 2017


                                SUMMARY

       H.R. 876 would direct the Transportation Security 
     Administration (TSA) to pursue a variety of activities aimed 
     at improving aviation security, particularly by enhancing 
     vetting and screening of aviation workers and controlling 
     their access to secure areas of airports. Based on an 
     analysis of information from TSA, CBO estimates that 
     implementing H.R. 876 would cost $41 million over the 2017-
     2022 period, assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts.
       Enacting the bill would not affect direct spending or 
     revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. 
     CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 876 would not increase net 
     direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four 
     consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2028.
       H.R. 876 would impose intergovernmental and private-sector 
     mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 
     (UMRA) on airport operators and air carriers. Based on 
     information from the TSA and airport officials, CBO estimates 
     that the total costs of the mandates on public and private 
     entities would fall well below the annual thresholds 
     established in UMRA for intergovernmental and private-sector 
     mandates ($78 million and $156 million in fiscal year 2017, 
     respectively, adjusted annually for inflation).


                ESTIMATED COST TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

       The estimated budgetary effect of H.R. 876 is shown in the 
     following table. The costs of this legislation fall within 
     budget function 400 (transportation).

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                          By fiscal year, in millions of dollars--
                                          ----------------------------------------------------------------------
                                             2017      2018      2019      2020      2021      2022    2017-2022
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                 INCREASES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION
 
Estimated Authorization Level............         0        15         7         7         7         7         43
Estimated Outlays........................         0        11         8         8         7         7         41
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                           BASIS OF ESTIMATE

       For this estimate, CBO assumes that the legislation will be 
     enacted near the end of 2017, that the necessary amount will 
     be appropriated each year, and that outlays will follow 
     historical spending patterns.
       H.R. 876 would require TSA to identify, in collaboration 
     with airport operators and the TSA's Aviation Security 
     Advisory Committee (ASAC), advanced technologies--
     particularly biometric identification technologies--for 
     entrances and exits used by employees to access secure areas 
     of airports. Under the bill, TSA could pursue a qualified 
     products list (QPL) of such technologies, which would require 
     several full time staff and ongoing collaborative efforts to 
     develop and implement systems to test the full spectrum of 
     commercially available technologies and recommend products 
     manufactured by specific vendors. Because the bill would not 
     require TSA to develop an official QPL, CBO expects that the 
     agency would fulfill the bill's requirement by identifying 
     broad types or categories of technologies that would serve 
     airports' security needs. That effort would still involve 
     several staff to assess existing and emerging technologies, 
     on an ongoing basis, in collaboration with airport operators 
     and the ASAC. Based on an analysis of information provided by 
     the TSA about the cost of similar efforts, CBO estimates the 
     agency would spend between $4 million and $5 million 
     annually--or $23 million over the 2017-2022 period--to 
     implement this provision.
       CBO estimates that implementing other provisions of H.R. 
     876 would cost $18 million over the 2017-2022 period. That 
     amount includes $2 million annually for increased covert 
     testing of employee screening at certain airports--an 
     increase of roughly 10 percent over existing funding levels. 
     The remaining $8 million would be for a one-time study of 
     measures used to secure entrances and exits used by employees 
     to access the secure areas of airports. That estimate is 
     based on the historical costs of similar efforts.


                      PAY-AS-YOU-GO CONSIDERATIONS

       None.


           INCREASE IN LONG-TERM DIRECT SPENDING AND DEFICITS

       CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 876 would not increase net 
     direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four 
     consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2028.


              INTERGOVERNMENTAL AND PRIVATE-SECTOR IMPACT

       H.R. 876 would impose intergovernmental and private-sector 
     mandates as defined in UMRA. The bill would require airport 
     operators and air carriers to provide information to TSA 
     about individuals who have had their security credentials 
     revoked. Additionally, the bill would require airport 
     operators to notify applicants for security credentials about 
     screening procedures and to submit applicants' social 
     security numbers to TSA. Those provisions would impose an 
     intergovernmental mandate on airport operators and a private-
     sector mandate on airport operators and air carriers. Based 
     on information from the TSA and airport officials, CBO 
     expects that affected entities would probably report 
     information to TSA electronically and estimates that the 
     costs to submit that information would be small. In total, 
     CBO estimates that the costs on public and private entities 
     would fall well below the annual thresholds established in 
     UMRA for intergovernmental and private-sector mandates ($78 
     million and $156 million in fiscal year 2017, respectively, 
     adjusted annually for inflation).


                          ESTIMATE PREPARED BY

       Federal Costs: Megan Carroll; Impact on State, Local, and 
     Tribal Governments: Jon Sperl; Impact on the Private Sector: 
     Amy Petz.


                          ESTIMATE APPROVED BY

       H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget 
     Analysis.

                          ____________________