[House Report 112-523]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


112th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session                                                     112-523

======================================================================

 
DIRECTING THE SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY TO REFORM THE PROCESS FOR 
 THE ENROLLMENT, ACTIVATION, ISSUANCE, AND RENEWAL OF A TRANSPORTATION 
WORKER IDENTIFICATION CREDENTIAL (TWIC) TO REQUIRE, IN TOTAL, NOT MORE 
       THAN ONE IN-PERSON VISIT TO A DESIGNATED ENROLLMENT CENTER

                                _______
                                

 June 15, 2012.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

    Mr. King of New York, from the Committee on Homeland Security, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 3173]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Homeland Security, to whom was referred 
the bill (H.R. 3173) to direct the Secretary of Homeland 
Security to reform the process for the enrollment, activation, 
issuance, and renewal of a Transportation Worker Identification 
Credential (TWIC) to require, in total, not more than one in-
person visit to a designated enrollment center, having 
considered the same, report favorably thereon with an amendment 
and recommend that the bill as amended do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
Purpose and Summary..............................................     3
Background and Need for Legislation..............................     3
Hearings.........................................................     3
Committee Consideration..........................................     3
Committee Votes..................................................     4
Committee Oversight Findings.....................................     4
New Budget Authority, Entitlement Authority, and Tax Expenditures     4
Congressional Budget Office Estimate.............................     4
Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives............     5
Congressional Earmarks, Limited Tax Benefits, and Limited Tariff 
  Benefits.......................................................     5
Federal Mandates Statement.......................................     5
Preemption Clarification.........................................     5
Advisory Committee Statement.....................................     6
Applicability to Legislative Branch..............................     6
Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation...................     6
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............     7

    The amendment is as follows:
  Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
following:

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

  Congress finds the following:
          (1) United States workers employed at nearly 2,600 marine 
        facilities and onboard nearly 13,000 United States-flag vessels 
        are required to carry a Transportation Worker Identification 
        Credential (TWIC) under the Maritime Transportation Security 
        Act of 2002 (MTSA). Department of Homeland Security (DHS) 
        regulations require merchant mariners who hold a Coast Guard-
        issued Merchant Mariner Credential (MMC) and individuals who 
        require unescorted access to secure areas of MTSA-regulated 
        vessels and facilities to carry a TWIC.
          (2) To date, nearly two million transportation workers have 
        applied for and received a TWIC. Applicants must pay $132.50 to 
        obtain the TWIC, and make two or more trips to an enrollment 
        center to apply for, and then to pick up and activate, their 
        TWIC.
          (3) A TWIC is valid for a maximum of five years, at which 
        time the cardholder must request issuance of a new card. This 
        process requires workers to make an additional two or more 
        trips to the enrollment center and again pay $132.50 to receive 
        a new card.
          (4) In addition to the cost of the card, workers face the 
        burden of making two or more time-consuming and often expensive 
        round trips to a TWIC enrollment center. In many instances, the 
        nearest enrollment center is hundreds of miles from a worker's 
        home.
          (5) The TWIC enrollment process requiring two or more round 
        trips to an enrollment center is not mandated by statute or by 
        regulation. The process is driven by a DHS policy decision to 
        align the requirements for TWIC issuance with standards for 
        Personal Identity Verification (PIV) for Federal employees and 
        contractors. These standards are contained in Federal 
        Information Processing Standard Publication 201 (FIPS-201).
          (6) While DHS has made the policy decision to generally align 
        the TWIC enrollment process with the FIPS-201 standard, the 
        Department may elect to deviate from this standard in instances 
        where it believes an alternative approach is more appropriate 
        for the TWIC program.
          (7) Unlike other Government-issued credentials that adhere to 
        the FIPS-201 standard, the TWIC is effectively a work permit 
        for a highly-mobile private sector workforce.
          (8) Possession of a TWIC does not allow a TWIC holder to gain 
        unescorted access to secure areas of MTSA-regulated vessels and 
        facilities unless the TWIC holder is authorized to do so under 
        a Coast Guard-approved vessel or facility security plan.
          (9) DHS has the statutory authority and regulatory 
        flexibility to develop an alternative process for TWIC 
        enrollment and issuance that does not require applicants to 
        make multiple trips to a TWIC enrollment center.
          (10) Other secure Government-issued identity documents, 
        including United States passports, can be distributed to 
        applicants by mail.
          (11) Congress mandated the issuance of a final rule setting 
        forth requirements for TWIC biometric readers no later than two 
        years after the TWIC pilot began, which would have been August 
        2010; such a final rule has to date not been issued.

SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

  It is the sense of Congress that--
          (1) to avoid further imposing unnecessary and costly 
        regulatory burdens on United States workers and businesses, it 
        is urgent that the TWIC application process be reformed by not 
        later than the end of 2012, when hundreds of thousands of 
        current TWIC holders will begin to face the requirement to 
        renew their TWICs;
          (2) the Secretary of Homeland Security should promulgate 
        final regulations that require the deployment of TWIC readers 
        as soon as practicable, in order to ensure the TWIC program 
        realizes its intended security purpose; and
          (3) funds, which have been awarded under the Port Security 
        Grant Program for the purpose of funding TWIC projects, shall 
        not expire before the issuance of the final TWIC reader rule.

SEC. 3. TWIC APPLICATION REFORM.

  Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the Secretary of Homeland Security shall reform the process for the 
enrollment, activation, issuance, and renewal of a Transportation 
Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) to require, in total, not more 
than one in-person visit to a designated enrollment center except in 
cases in which there are extenuating circumstances, as determined by 
the Secretary, requiring more than one such in-person visit.

                          PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

    The purpose of H.R. 3173 is to direct the Secretary of 
Homeland Security to reform the process for the enrollment, 
activation, issuance, and renewal of a Transportation Worker 
Identification Credential (TWIC) to require, in total, not more 
than one in-person visit to a designated enrollment center.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    The Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) 
program was established to ensure all individuals who require 
admittance into secure areas of regulated maritime facilities 
and vessels are properly vetted and do not pose a threat to 
maritime and supply chain security.
    Current TWIC requirements require that applicants go to an 
enrollment center twice to complete the application and confirm 
the biometric information embedded into the card. The Committee 
believes that this is an onerous burden for workers in the 
maritime industry, such as merchant vessel operators and truck 
drivers, who must obtain the credential for employment.
    Individuals in need of a TWIC card often work long hours 
with little down time. Many cannot afford to take extended 
periods of time off to go to an enrollment center, in some 
cases located hundreds of miles away, on two different 
occasions.
    The Committee believes that the Secretary of Homeland 
Security should reform the TWIC process before the end of 2012, 
when the TWICs first issued in 2007 will need to be renewed 
allowing applicants to complete the process with only one in-
person visit.

                                HEARINGS

    Although no hearings were directly held on H.R. 3173 during 
the 112th Congress, TWIC was discussed at multiple hearings.
    On June 14, 2011, the Subcommittee on Border and Maritime 
Security held a hearing entitled ``Securing the Nation's Ports 
and Maritime Border--A Review of the Coast Guard Post--9/11 
Homeland Security Missions.'' The Subcommittee received 
testimony from Admiral Robert J. Papp, Jr., Commandant of the 
U.S. Coast Guard.

                        COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION

    The Committee met on May 9, 2012, to consider H.R. 3173, 
and ordered the measure to be reported to the House with a 
favorable recommendation, amended, by voice vote. The Committee 
took the following actions:
    The Committee adopted H.R. 3173, as amended, by unanimous 
consent.
    The following amendments were offered:
    An amendment offered by Ms. Sanchez (#1); was AGREED TO by 
unanimous consent.

  At the end of section 1, add
  (11) Congress mandated the issuance of a final rule setting forth 
requirements for TWIC biometric readers no later than two years after 
the TWIC pilot began, which would have been August 2010; such a final 
rule has to date not been issued.
  Amend section 2 with a new section entitled ``Sec. 2. Sense of 
Congress.''

                            COMMITTEE VOTES

    Clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives requires the Committee to list the recorded 
votes on the motion to report legislation and amendments 
thereto.
    No recorded votes were requested during consideration of 
H.R. 3173.

                      COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS

    Pursuant to clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, the Committee has held oversight 
hearings and made findings that are reflected in this report.

   NEW BUDGET AUTHORITY, ENTITLEMENT AUTHORITY, AND TAX EXPENDITURES

    In compliance with clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules 
of the House of Representatives, the Committee finds that H.R. 
3173 would result in no new or increased budget authority, 
entitlement authority, or tax expenditures or revenues.

                  CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE ESTIMATE

    The Committee adopts as its own the cost estimate prepared 
by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to 
section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.

                                                      June 8, 2012.
Hon. Peter T. King,
Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security, House of Representatives, 
        Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 3173, a bill to 
direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to reform the process 
for the enrollment, activation, issuance, and renewal of a 
Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) to 
require, in total, not more than one in-person visit to a 
designated enrollment center.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Megan 
Carroll.
            Sincerely,
                                              Douglas W. Elmendorf.
    Enclosure.

H.R. 3173--A bill to direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to 
        reform the process for the enrollment, activation, issuance, 
        and renewal of a Transportation Worker Identification 
        Credential (TWIC) to require, in total, not more than one in-
        person visit to a designated enrollment center

    The Maritime Transportation Security Act (Public Law 107-
295) directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to prohibit 
unauthorized individuals from accessing secure areas of ports, 
vessels, facilities on the Outer Continental Shelf, and all 
credentialed merchant mariners. To meet that requirement, the 
Transportation Security Administration (TSA) issues credentials 
with biometric information (known as Transportation Worker 
Identification Credentials, or TWICs) to workers who require 
unescorted access to such areas.
    Under current administrative procedures, obtaining a TWIC 
requires at least two in-person visits to a TWIC enrollment 
center. H.R. 3173 would direct the Secretary of Homeland 
Security to reform those procedures to ensure that individuals 
seeking a TWIC would need to make one such in-person visit.
    The costs of implementing reformed TWIC procedures under 
H.R. 3173 are uncertain and would depend on specific changes 
that TSA would make. Current law directs TSA to collect and 
spend cost-based fees from TWIC applicants to administer the 
program. For this estimate, CBO assumes that TSA would revise 
fees to offset any change in TSA's costs to administer the TWIC 
program under H.R. 3173. Any such changes to offsetting 
receipts from such fees and subsequent spending would be 
considered direct spending; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures 
apply. CBO estimates, however, that any resulting net changes 
in direct spending under H.R. 3173 would not be significant in 
any year. Enacting the bill would not affect revenues.
    H.R. 3173 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and 
would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal 
governments.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Megan Carroll. 
The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant 
Director for Budget Analysis.

         STATEMENT OF GENERAL PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

    Pursuant to clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, H.R. 3173 contains the following 
general performance goals,and objectives, including outcome 
related goals and objectives authorized.
    The performance goal and objective of H.R. 3173 is the 
reform of the TWIC application process to allow applicants to 
obtain a TWIC with only one in-person visit.

   CONGRESSIONAL EARMARKS, LIMITED TAX BENEFITS, AND LIMITED TARIFF 
                                BENEFITS

    In compliance with rule XXI of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives, this bill, as reported, contains no 
congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff 
benefits as defined in clause 9(e), 9(f), or 9(g) of the rule 
XXI.

                       FEDERAL MANDATES STATEMENT

    The Committee adopts as its own the estimate of Federal 
mandates prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office pursuant to section 423 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform 
Act.

                        PREEMPTION CLARIFICATION

    In compliance with section 423 of the Congressional Budget 
Act of 1974, requiring the report of any Committee on a bill or 
joint resolution to include a statement on the extent to which 
the bill or joint resolution is intended to preempt State, 
local, or Tribal law, the Committee finds that H.R. 3173 does 
not preempt any State, local, or Tribal law.

                      ADVISORY COMMITTEE STATEMENT

    No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b) 
of the Federal Advisory Committee Act were created by this 
legislation.

                  APPLICABILITY TO LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

    The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to 
the terms and conditions of employment or access to public 
services or accommodations within the meaning of section 
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act.

             SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF THE LEGISLATION

Section 1. Findings

    Congress finds the following:
          United States workers employed at nearly 2,600 marine 
        facilities and onboard nearly 13,000 United States-flag 
        vessels are required to carry a Transportation Worker 
        Identification Credential (TWIC) under the Maritime 
        Transportation Security Act of 2002.
          Nearly two million transportation workers have 
        applied for and received a TWIC. Applicants must pay 
        $132.50 to obtain the TWIC, and make two or more trips 
        to an enrollment center to apply for, and then to pick 
        up and activate, their TWIC.
          Workers face the burden of making two or more time-
        consuming and often expensive round trips to a TWIC 
        enrollment center. In many instances, the nearest 
        enrollment center is hundreds of miles from a worker's 
        home.
          The TWIC enrollment process requiring two or more 
        round trips to an enrollment center is not mandated by 
        statute or regulation. The process is driven by a 
        Department of Homeland Security policy decision to 
        align the requirements for TWIC issuance with standards 
        for Personal Identity Verification for Federal 
        employees and contractors.
          The Department may elect to deviate from this 
        standard if it believes an alternative approach is more 
        appropriate for the TWIC program. DHS has the statutory 
        authority and regulatory flexibility to develop an 
        alternative process for TWIC enrollment and issuance 
        that does not require applicants to make multiple trips 
        to a TWIC enrollment center.
          Congress mandated the issuance of a final rule 
        setting forth requirements for TWIC biometric readers 
        no later than two years after the TWIC pilot began, 
        which would have been August 2010; to date, no final 
        rule has been issued.

Section 2. Sense of Congress

    This section establishes that it is the sense of Congress 
that the TWIC application process be reformed by not later than 
the end of 2012, when current TWIC holders will be required to 
renew their TWICs, and the Secretary of Homeland Security 
should promulgate final regulations that require the deployment 
of TWIC readers as soon as practicable. Additionally, Port 
Security Grant funds allocated for the purpose of funding TWIC 
projects shall not expire before the issuance of the final TWIC 
reader rule.

Section 3. TWIC Application reform

    Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of 
this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall reform the 
process for the enrollment, activation, and renewal of a TWIC 
to require, not more than one in-person visit to a designated 
enrollment center, except in cases in which there are 
extenuating circumstances, as determined by the Secretary.

         CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED

    H.R. 3173 makes no changes to existing law.

                                  
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