[House Report 114-220]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


114th Congress ]                                           [ Report
                       HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session   ]                                           [ 114-220

======================================================================
 
                    SECURING EXPEDITED SCREENING ACT

                                _______
                                

 July 22, 2015.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

    Mr. McCaul, from the Homeland Security, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 2127]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Homeland Security, to whom was referred 
the bill (H.R. 2127) to direct the Administrator of the 
Transportation Security Administration to limit access to 
expedited airport security screening at an airport security 
checkpoint to participants of the PreCheck program and other 
known low-risk passengers, and for other purposes, 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..............................     4
Hearings.........................................................     5
Committee Consideration..........................................     5
Committee Votes..................................................     5
Committee Oversight Findings.....................................     6
New Budget Authority, Entitlement Authority, and Tax Expenditures     6
Congressional Budget Office Estimate.............................     6
Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives............     7
Duplicative Federal Programs.....................................     7
Congressional Earmarks, Limited Tax Benefits, and Limited Tariff 
  Benefits.......................................................     7
Federal Mandates Statement.......................................     7
Preemption Clarification.........................................     7
Disclosure of Directed Rule Makings..............................     8
Advisory Committee Statement.....................................     8
Applicability to Legislative Branch..............................     8
Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation...................     8
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............     9
    The amendment is as follows:
  Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
following:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

  This Act may be cited as the ``Securing Expedited Screening Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

  Congress finds the following:
          (1) The Aviation and Transportation Security Act (Public Law 
        107-71) authorized the Transportation Security Administration 
        to ``establish requirements to implement trusted passenger 
        programs and use available technologies to expedite the 
        security screening of passengers who participate in such 
        programs, thereby allowing security screening personnel to 
        focus on those passengers who should be subject to more 
        extensive screening.''.
          (2) In October 2011, the Transportation Security 
        Administration began piloting the PreCheck program in which a 
        limited number of passengers who were participants in the 
        frequent flyer programs of domestic air carriers were directed 
        to special screening lanes for expedited security screening.
          (3) In December 2013, the Transportation Security 
        Administration opened the PreCheck program to eligible 
        passengers who submit biographic and biometric information for 
        a security risk assessment.
          (4) Today, expedited security screening is provided to 
        passengers who, in general, are members of populations 
        identified by the Administrator of the Transportation Security 
        Administration as presenting a low risk to aviation security, 
        including members of populations known and vetted by the 
        Administrator or through another Department of Homeland 
        Security trusted traveler program, and to passengers who are 
        selected by expedited screening on a case-by-case basis through 
        the Transportation Security Administration's Managed Inclusion 
        process and other procedures.
          (5) According to the Transportation Security Administration, 
        the Managed Inclusion process ``combines the use of multiple 
        layers of security to indirectly conduct a real-time assessment 
        of passengers'' through the use of Passenger Screening Canine 
        teams, Behavior Detection Officers, Explosives Trace Detection 
        (ETD) machines, and other activities.
          (6) In December 2014, the Comptroller General of the United 
        States concluded in a report entitled ``Rapid Growth in 
        Expedited Passenger Screening Highlights Need to Plan Effective 
        Security Assessments'' that ``it will be important for TSA to 
        evaluate the security effectiveness of the Managed Inclusion 
        process as a whole, to ensure that it is functioning as 
        intended and that passengers are being screened at a level 
        commensurate with their risk''.
          (7) On March 16, 2015, the Inspector General of the 
        Department of Homeland Security released a report entitled 
        ``Allegation of Granting Expedited Screening through TSA 
        PreCheck Improperly'', in which the Inspector General 
        determined that the Transportation Security Administration 
        granted expedited security screening at a PreCheck security 
        lane to a passenger who had served time in prison for felonies 
        committed as a member of a domestic terrorist group and who was 
        not a participant in the PreCheck program.

SEC. 3. LIMITATION; PRECHECK OPERATIONS MAINTAINED; ALTERNATE METHODS.

  (a) In General.--Except as provided in subsection (d), not later than 
180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator 
of the Transportation Security Administration shall direct that access 
to expedited airport security screening at an airport security 
checkpoint be limited to only the following:
          (1) A passenger who voluntarily submits biographic and 
        biometric information for a security risk assessment and whose 
        application for the PreCheck program has been approved, or a 
        passenger who is a participant in another trusted or registered 
        traveler program of the Department of Homeland Security.
          (2) A passenger traveling pursuant to section 44903 of title 
        49, United States Code (as established under the Risk-Based 
        Security for Members of the Armed Forces Act (Public Law 112-
        86)), section 44927 of such title (as established under the 
        Helping Heroes Fly Act (Public Law 113-27)), or section 44928 
        of such title (as established under the Honor Flight Act 
        (Public Law 113-221)).
          (3) A passenger who did not voluntarily submit biographic and 
        biometric information for a security risk assessment but is a 
        member of a population designated by the Administrator of the 
        Transportation Security Administration as known and low-risk 
        and who may be issued a unique, known traveler number by the 
        Administrator determining that such passenger is a member of a 
        category of travelers designated by the Administrator as known 
        and low-risk.
  (b) PreCheck Operations Maintained.--In carrying out subsection (a), 
the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration shall 
ensure that expedited airport security screening remains available to 
passengers at or above the level that exists on the day before the date 
of the enactment of this Act.
  (c) Minors and Seniors.--The Administrator of the Transportation 
Security Administration may provide access to expedited airport 
security screening at an airport security checkpoint to a passenger who 
is--
          (1) 75 years old or older; or
          (2) 12 years old or under and who is traveling with a parent 
        or guardian who is a participant in the PreCheck program.
  (d) Frequent Fliers.--If the Administrator of the Transportation 
Security Administration determines that such is appropriate, the date 
specified in subsection (a) may be extended by up to one year to 
implement such subsection with respect to the population of passengers 
who did not voluntarily submit biographic and biometric information for 
security risk assessments but who nevertheless receive expedited 
airport security screening because such passengers are designated as 
frequent fliers by air carriers. If the Administrator uses the 
authority provided by this subsection, the Administrator shall notify 
the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives and 
the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and the 
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate of 
such phased-in implementation.
  (e) Alternate Methods.--The Administrator of the Transportation 
Security Administration may provide access to expedited airport 
security screening to additional passengers pursuant to an alternate 
method upon the submission to the Committee on Homeland Security of the 
House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation of the Senate of an independent assessment of the 
security effectiveness of such alternate method that is conducted by an 
independent entity that determines that such alternate method is 
designed to--
          (1) reliably and effectively identify passengers who likely 
        pose a low risk to the United States aviation system;
          (2) mitigate the likelihood that a passenger who may pose a 
        security threat to the United States aviation system is 
        selected for expedited security screening; and
          (3) address known and evolving security risks to the United 
        States aviation system.
  (f) Information Sharing.--The Administrator of the Transportation 
Security Administration shall provide to the entity conducting the 
independent assessment under subsection (c) effectiveness testing 
results that are consistent with established evaluation design 
practices, as identified by the Comptroller General of the United 
States.

SEC. 4. REPORTING.

  Not later than three months after the date of the enactment of this 
Act and annually thereafter, the Administrator of the Transportation 
Security Administration shall report to the Committee on Homeland 
Security of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 
Science, and Transportation of the Senate on the percentage of all 
passengers who are provided expedited security screening, and of such 
passengers so provided, the percentage who are participants in the 
PreCheck program (who have voluntarily submitted biographic and 
biometric information for security risk assessments), the percentage 
who are participants in another trusted traveler program of the 
Department of Homeland Security, the percentage who are participants in 
the PreCheck program due to the Administrator's issuance of known 
traveler numbers, and for the remaining percentage of passengers 
granted access to expedited security screening in PreCheck security 
lanes, information on the percentages attributable to each alternative 
method utilized by the Transportation Security Administration to direct 
passengers to expedited airport security screening at PreCheck security 
lanes.

SEC. 5. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.

  Nothing in this Act may be construed to--
          (1) authorize or direct the Administrator of the 
        Transportation Administration to reduce or limit the 
        availability of expedited security screening at an airport; or
          (2) limit the authority of the Administrator to use 
        technologies and systems, including passenger screening canines 
        and explosives trace detection, as a part of security screening 
        operations.

                          PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

    The purpose of H.R. 2127 is to direct the Administrator of 
the Transportation Security Administration to limit access to 
expedited airport security screening at an airport security 
checkpoint to participants of the PreCheck program and other 
known low-risk passengers, and for other purposes.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    The Subcommittee on Transportation Security held a hearing 
on March 25, 2015 to examine the TSA PreCheck program, 
including the use of alternate methods for incorporating 
passengers into PreCheck. Additionally, reports highlighting 
security vulnerabilities with these methods have been issued by 
both the Government Accountability Office Report, ``Rapid 
Growth in Expedited Passenger Screening Highlights Need to Plan 
Effective Security Assessments'' (GAO-15-150) and the DHS OIG 
report ``Security Enhancements Needed to the 
PreTM Initiative'' (DHS IG-15-29).
    Managed Inclusion (MI) is intended to conduct a ``real-
time'' threat assessment to identify passengers who are 
eligible for TSA PreCheck on a flight-by-flight basis through 
the use of already-present layers of security at the airports 
such as passenger screening canine teams, explosives trace 
detection technology, and behavior detection officers. However, 
travelers who experience expedited screening through MI are not 
subject to a criminal history background check, have not paid 
for TSA PreCheck unlike other passengers, are often unaware of 
the reason they are receiving expedited screening, and are 
generally not encouraged to enroll in TSA PreCheck during the 
experience. MI may help reduce wait times and increase 
utilization of TSA PreCheck lanes, but it has not been tested 
or proven to improve the experience of travelers or reduce 
risks to aviation. On the contrary, passengers who go through 
the TSA PreCheck enrollment process and pay $85 for expedited 
screening are not seeing the benefits that were promised to 
them, this is because passengers who did not enroll and are 
unfamiliar with TSA PreCheck are being ushered into those 
expedited screening lanes.
    In October 2013, TSA began applying PreCheck risk 
assessment rules in Secure Flight (watch-list matching) to 
identify and increase the percentage of passengers screened 
through the PreCheck screening process. TSA's Risk Assessment 
program uses its Secure Flight system to identify travelers on 
a flight-by-flight basis who may be eligible for expedited 
screening by using previously collected information that is 
already provided to TSA by the airlines. Passengers who are a 
match to a watch-list will continue to receive the appropriate 
screening. For all other passengers, the analysis of this data 
will determine whether passengers will receive expedited or 
standard screening. Just like with MI, travelers who experience 
expedited screening through Risk Assessment are not subject to 
a criminal history background check. However, in contrast to MI 
participants, passengers who are eligible for PreCheck through 
Risk Assessment are not required to undergo screening by 
passenger screening canine teams or explosives trace detection 
technology.
    This legislation requires TSA to restrict its use of these 
alternate methods of diverting passengers into PreCheck, unless 
the agency can demonstrate that such methods have been tested 
and proven to be effective security tools. In turn, this will 
close concerning security vulnerabilities with the program and 
prioritize enrollment in the PreCheck program.

                                HEARINGS

113th Congress

    On March 14, 2013, the Subcommittee on Transportation 
Security held a hearing entitled ``TSA's Efforts to Advance 
Risk-Based Security.'' The Subcommittee received testimony from 
Hon. John S. Pistole, Administrator, Transportation Security 
Administration, Department of Homeland Security.
    The Subcommittee on Transportation Security held a second 
hearing on April 11, 2013, entitled ``TSA's Efforts to Advance 
Risk-Based Security: Stakeholder Perspectives.'' The 
Subcommittee received testimony from Mr. Ken Dunlap, Global 
Director, Security & Travel Facilitation, International Air 
Transport Association; Ms. Sharon L. Pinkerton, Senior Vice 
President, Legislative and Regulatory Policy, Airlines for 
America; Mr. Geoff Freeman, Chief Operating Officer and 
Executive Vice President, U.S. Travel Association; Mr. Michael 
C. Mullen, Executive Director, Express Association of America; 
Mr. Christopher U. Browne, Airport Manager, Washington Dulles 
International Airport, testifying on behalf of the American 
Association of Airport Executives; and Mr. David A. Borer, 
General Counsel, American Federation of Government Employees. 
This hearing was the second in a two-part.

114th Congress

    On March 25, 2015, the Subcommittee on Transportation 
Security held a hearing entitled ``Risk-Based Security: 
Assessing the Path Forward for TSA PreTM.'' 
The Subcommittee received testimony from Hon. John Roth, 
Inspector General, U.S. Department of Homeland Security; Mr. 
Kenneth Fletcher, Chief Risk Officer, Transportation Security 
Administration, U.S. Department of Homeland Security; and Ms. 
Jennifer Grover, Director, Homeland Security and Justice, U.S. 
Government Accountability Office.

                        COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION

    The Committee met on June 23, 2015, to consider H.R. 2127, 
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 following amendments were offered:

 An amendment in the Nature of a Substitute offered by Mr. 
Thompson of Mississippi (#1); was AGREED TO, as amended, by 
voice vote.

 An amendment to the Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute 
offered by Mr. Katko (#1); was AGREED TO by voice vote.

     Page 4, line 13, insert ``or registered'' after ``trusted''.

                            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 vote were requested during consideration of 
H.R. 2127.

                      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. 
2127, the Securing Expedited Screening Act, 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.

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                     Washington, DC, July 17, 2015.
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 estimate for H.R. 2127, the Securing 
Expedited Screening Act.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Megan 
Carroll, who can be reached at 226-2860.
            Sincerely,
                                                        Keith Hall.
    Enclosure.

H.R. 2127--Securing Expedited Screening Act

    H.R. 2127 would require the Transportation Security 
Administration (TSA), which is responsible for screening 
passengers at airport security checkpoints, to limit access to 
expedited screening processes to certain individuals. Under the 
bill, only passengers who are members of a TSA trusted traveler 
program, the military, or a group considered to be low risk 
would be eligible for expedited screening.
    Based on information from TSA, CBO estimates that 
implementing H.R. 2127 would have no significant impact on the 
federal budget. By limiting access to expedited screening, the 
bill might cause more passengers to enroll in a trusted 
traveler program, through which TSA pre-screens individuals 
using biographic and biometric information in exchange for fees 
charged to offset the agency's cost of providing such services. 
Because the agency can keep and spend such fees (subject to 
provisions in annual appropriation acts), CBO estimates that 
any net change in TSA's spending for credentialing activities 
under H.R. 2127 would not exceed $500,000 in any year. We 
further estimate that implementing H.R. 2127 would not 
significantly affect TSA's overall costs to provide screening 
at airport checkpoints. Enacting H.R. 2127 would not affect 
direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go 
procedures do not apply.
    H.R. 2127 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, 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. 2127 contains the following 
general performance goals and objectives, including outcome 
related goals and objectives authorized.
    This bill requires that the Administrator of the 
Transportation Security Administration report annually to the 
appropriate Congressional committees on the percentage of all 
passengers provided expedited security screening, including a 
break-down of which passengers are enrolled in the TSA PreCheck 
program, are members of another trusted traveler program, or 
other passengers who have been granted screening due to being 
identified as a trusted population by the Administrator.

                      DUPLICATIVE FEDERAL PROGRAMS

    Pursuant to clause 3(c) of rule XIII, the Committee finds 
that H.R. 2127 does not contain any provision that establishes 
or reauthorizes a program known to be duplicative of another 
Federal program.

   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. 2127 does 
not preempt any State, local, or Tribal law.

                  DISCLOSURE OF DIRECTED RULE MAKINGS

    The Committee estimates that H.R. 2127 would require no 
directed rule makings.

                      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.   Short title

    This section provides that bill may be cited as the 
``Securing Expedited Screening Act''.

Section 2.   Findings

    This section sets forth the authorization for and history 
of expedited aviation security screening. Additionally, it sets 
forth information about current Transportation Security 
Administration practices regarding expedited screening and 
recent Government Accountability Office and Department of 
Homeland Security Inspector General reports that have been 
critical of certain TSA practices.

Section 3.   Limitation; PreCheck operations maintained; alternate 
        methods

    This section requires TSA, not later than 180 days after 
enactment, to direct that access to expedited screening be 
limited to the following groups:
          1. Passengers who participate in the PreCheck 
        application process or another Department of Homeland 
        Security trusted traveler program;
          2. Passengers who are allowed to participate in 
        expedited screening pursuant to the `Risk Based 
        Security for Members of the Armed Forces Act,' the 
        `Helping Heroes Fly Act', and the `Honor Flight Act';
          3. Passengers determined by the Administrator of the 
        Transportation Security Administration to be members of 
        a population that is known and low risk.
    In carrying out this provision, the section requires TSA to 
ensure that expedited screening remain available to passengers 
at or above the level that existed the day before this 
enactment.
    The Administrator may provide access to expedited screening 
to passengers who are 75 years of age or older; or 12 years of 
age and younger if their parent or guardian is a participant in 
the PreCheck program. Additionally, the Administrator may 
extend the period of time to require frequent fliers to enroll 
in the program by providing biometric and biographic 
information by up to one year, if the Administrator notifies 
the appropriate Congressional committees.
    In the event that TSA wants to provide expedited screening 
to other passengers, through an alternate method, TSA may do 
so, upon submitting to Congress an independent assessment that 
is consistent with GAO evaluation design practices and that 
determines that the method is designed to:
          1. Reliably and effectively identify passengers who 
        likely pose a low risk to the aviation system;
          2. Mitigate the likelihood that a passenger who may 
        pose a security threat received expedited screening; 
        and
          3. Address known and evolving security threat to the 
        aviation system.
    The Committee has been consistently concerned with TSA's 
management of the PreCheck program, and remains particularly 
troubled by reports of serious security vulnerabilities created 
by the Administration's use of Managed Inclusion and Risk 
Assessment as means of providing PreCheck screening to 
individuals who have not been vetted and successfully enrolled 
in the program. The Committee does not have confidence in TSA's 
ability to deploy these alternate methods in a manner which 
effectively screens passengers. Despite repeated expressions of 
concern to TSA and multiple watchdog reports, the 
Administration has continued to be unresponsive in addressing 
security gaps and highly inefficient in its efforts to expand 
the PreCheck program. It should be noted that the intent of 
this legislation is not to prohibit alternate methods of 
diverting passengers into PreCheck, outright, but to require 
TSA to reasonably prove that such methods are secure and 
effective.

Section 4.   Reporting

    This section directs TSA, not later than three months after 
enactment and annually thereafter, to provide Congress with 
information about the composition of the population that 
receives expedited screening.

Section 5.   Rule of construction

    This section states that nothing in this Act may be 
construed as authorizing TSA to reduce or limit the 
availability of expedited screening, or limit the authority to 
use technologies and systems such as canines and explosive 
trace detection as a part of screening operations. The 
Committee sees expedited screening for low-risk populations as 
an important tool in promoting risk-based, intelligence-driven 
security at airports. Additionally, the Committee recognizes 
that screening technologies provide critical means of detection 
and should be heavily employed at checkpoints, especially when 
screening passengers utilizing a PreCheck lane, who have not 
been vetted and enrolled in the program.

         CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED

    As reported, H.R. 2127 makes no changes to existing law.

                                  [all]