[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 76 (Thursday, May 2, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3366-S3367]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 2000. Mr. MERKLEY (for himself, Mr. Kennedy, and Mr. Marshall) 
submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill H.R. 
3935, to amend title 49, United States Code, to reauthorize and improve 
the Federal Aviation Administration and other civil aviation programs, 
and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as 
follows:

        At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. PROHIBITION ON EXPANSION OF FACIAL RECOGNITION 
                   TECHNOLOGY.

       (a) In General.--Section 44901 of title 49, United States 
     Code, as amended by section 642, is further amended by adding 
     at the end the following new subsection:
       ``(n) Prohibition on Expansion of Facial Recognition 
     Technology.--
       ``(1) Definitions.--In this subsection:
       ``(A) Administration.--The term `Administration' means the 
     Transportation Security Administration.
       ``(B) Administrator.--The term `Administrator' means the 
     Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration.
       ``(C) Airport.--The term `airport' has the meaning given 
     such term in section 47102.
       ``(D) Identity verification.--The term `identity 
     verification' means the confirmation of the identity of a 
     protected individual before admittance to the sterile area of 
     the airport.
       ``(E) Partner program.--The term `partner program' means a 
     program that a protected individual has opted-into that is--
       ``(i) a program of a State or territory of the United 
     States that provides a digital identification or digital 
     driver's license; or
       ``(ii) a program of an air carrier operated in partnership 
     with a Trusted Traveler Program to enable flight check-in, 
     airport security screening, or aircraft boarding.
       ``(F) Protected individual.--The term `protected 
     individual' means an individual who is not an employee or 
     contractor of the Administration.
       ``(G) Screening location; sterile area.--The terms 
     `screening location' and `sterile area' have the meanings 
     given those terms in section 1540.5 of title 49, Code of 
     Federal Regulations.
       ``(H) Trusted traveler program.--The term `Trusted Traveler 
     Program' means an opt-in program that is--
       ``(i) Global Entry;
       ``(ii) the PreCheck Program;
       ``(iii) SENTRI; or
       ``(iv) NEXUS.
       ``(2) Limited expansion; privacy for protected 
     individuals.--
       ``(A) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraphs (B), 
     (C), and (D), the Administrator may not, for any purpose, 
     capture, collect, store, or otherwise process biometric 
     information with respect to a protected individual.
       ``(B) Limitation on expansion.--The Administrator may not 
     expand the use of facial recognition technology or facial 
     matching software to, or implement facial recognition 
     technology or facial matching software that requires 
     comparison against a database of photos at, any airport in 
     which such technology or software was not in use prior to the 
     date of the enactment of this subsection.
       ``(C) Use of technology for verification of documents.--The 
     Administrator may use technology to process, capture, scan 
     and receive data from an identification document containing a 
     photograph of an individual to access secure flight data, 
     authenticate the pre-screening status of a protected 
     individual, or verify the accuracy of the identification 
     document.
       ``(D) Use at airports.--The Administrator may use facial 
     recognition technology or facial matching software to perform 
     identity verification--
       ``(i)(I) beginning on the date that is 30 days after the 
     date of the enactment of this subsection, at any airport 
     where facial recognition technology or facial matching 
     software was in use prior to the date of enactment of this 
     subsection; and
       ``(II) at any airport after May 30, 2027; and
       ``(ii) so long as, beginning on the date that is 30 days 
     after the date of the enactment of this subsection and 
     thereafter, the Administrator--

       ``(I) conducts identity verification without using facial 
     recognition technology or facial matching software as the 
     default form of identification;
       ``(II) provides each protected individual, at the request 
     of the protected individual, with the option to choose 
     between identity verification with or without facial 
     recognition or facial matching software;
       ``(III) notifies each protected individual of such option 
     via simple and clear signage, spoken announcements, or other 
     accessible notifications;
       ``(IV) ensures equal ability for protected individuals to 
     choose either identification option;
       ``(V) does not subject protected individuals who elect not 
     to use facial recognition technology or facial matching 
     software to discriminatory treatment, additional screening 
     requirements, less favorable screening conditions, or other 
     unfavorable treatment; and
       ``(VI) ensures that protected individuals enrolling in a 
     Trusted Traveler Program are given clear and conspicuous 
     notice of, and provide affirmative and express consent to, 
     the storage, use, and sharing of their biometric information, 
     including how such biometric information will be stored, 
     used, shared, or otherwise processed.

       ``(E) Notification guidelines.--A notification posted or 
     distributed in accordance with subparagraph (B)(ii)--
       ``(i) shall clearly state that participation in facial 
     recognition screening is optional and describe the specific 
     steps passengers should take to select either identification 
     option; and
       ``(ii) may not encourage passengers to choose one option 
     over the other for identity verification.
       ``(3) Data minimization of protected individuals.--
     Beginning on the date that is 30 days after the date of the 
     enactment of this subsection, in processing biometric 
     information with respect to a protected individual, the 
     Administrator may not, except as provided in paragraph (4)--
       ``(A) share outside of the Transportation Security 
     Administration any biometric information collected through 
     the use of facial recognition technology or facial matching 
     software;
       ``(B) store biometric information for longer than is 
     necessary to complete identity verification of an individual, 
     and not more than 12 hours; or
       ``(C) compare the image of a protected individual against 
     anything other than the photo identification document 
     provided by the individual.
       ``(4) Data minimization for partner programs.--Beginning on 
     the date that is 30 days after the date of the enactment of 
     this subsection, in processing biometric information with 
     respect to a protected individual who seeks identity 
     verification under a Trusted Traveler Program or a partner 
     program, the Administrator may not, except to the extent 
     necessary to operate a Trusted Traveler Program or a partner 
     program--
       ``(A) share outside of the Transportation Security 
     Administration any biometric information collected through 
     the use of facial recognition technology or facial matching 
     software;
       ``(B) store biometric information for longer than is 
     necessary to complete identity verification of an individual, 
     and not more than 12 hours; or
       ``(C) compare the image of a protected individual against 
     anything other than the photo identification document 
     provided by the individual.
       ``(5) Disposal of facial biometrics.--Not later than 90 
     days after the date of the enactment of this subsection, the 
     Administrator shall dispose of any biometric information, 
     including images and videos, collected, or stored by the 
     Administration prior to such date of enactment that, if 
     collected or stored on or after such date of enactment, would 
     violate this subsection.
       ``(6) GAO report on use of facial recognition technology.--
       ``(A) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
     the enactment of this subsection, and annually thereafter, 
     the Comptroller General of the United States shall audit the 
     use of facial recognition technology and facial matching 
     software by the Administration, and submit to Congress a 
     report that includes--
       ``(i) a recommendation on the circumstances, if any, in 
     which the utilization of facial recognition technology or 
     facial matching software is cost effective for the purposes 
     of reducing the number of individuals who access sterile 
     areas using illegitimate identification documents;
       ``(ii) a summary of the impact of the use of facial 
     recognition technology on employment levels and experiences 
     of transportation security officers of the Administration, 
     airline employees, and airport employees;
       ``(iii) an assessment of the occurrence of false positive 
     and false negative facial identification matches of 
     individuals;
       ``(iv) a comparison of the number of false identification 
     documents detected at airports using facial recognition 
     technology or facial matching software at screening locations 
     and the number of such documents detected at airports not 
     using such technology or software;
       ``(v) a summary of the methodology and results of any 
     testing performed by the Comptroller General in relation to 
     the efficacy of the use of facial recognition technology or 
     facial matching software by the Administration, including any 
     research on bias, disaggregated by age, race, ethnicity to 
     the extent practicable, and sex, the different technologies 
     used by the Administration, and efforts to minimize the bias 
     in operations of the Administration; and
       ``(vi) recommendations of restrictions and guidelines that 
     should be enacted to protect individual privacy, civil 
     rights, and civil liberty interests.
       ``(B) Form.--A report submitted under subparagraph (A) 
     shall be submitted in unclassified form but may include a 
     classified annex.
       ``(C) Rule of construction; protection of personal 
     information.--Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to 
     authorize or require the unauthorized disclosure of the 
     personal information of protected individuals, and the report 
     required by this paragraph shall be released in a manner that 
     protects personal information from unauthorized use or 
     unauthorized disclosure.''.
       (b) Amendments to Aviation and Transportation Security 
     Act.--The Aviation and Transportation Security Act (Public 
     Law 107-71; 115 Stat. 597) is amended--
       (1) in section 109(a)(7) (49 U.S.C. 114 note) by inserting 
     ``, subject to the restrictions of section 44901(n) of title 
     49, United States Code,'' after ``technologies''; and

[[Page S3367]]

       (2) in section 137(d)(3) (49 U.S.C. 44912 note), by 
     inserting ``, subject to the restrictions of section 44901(n) 
     of title 49, United States Code,'' after ``biometrics''.
       (c) Additional Modifications With Respect to Air 
     Transportation Security.--Section 44903 of title 49, United 
     States Code, is amended--
       (1) in subsection (c)(3), by inserting ``, subject to the 
     restrictions of section 44901(n),'' after ``other 
     technology'';
       (2) in subsection (g)(2)(G), by inserting ``, subject to 
     the restrictions of section 44901(n),'' after 
     ``technologies''; and
       (3) in subsection (h)(4)(E), by inserting ``, subject to 
     the restrictions of section 44901(n),'' after ``technology''.

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