[Senate Report 115-305]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                      Calendar No. 524
115th Congress      }                                   {       Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session         }                                   {      115-305
_______________________________________________________________________
                                     


 TRANSPORTATION WORKER IDENTIFICATION CREDENTIAL ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 
                                  2018

                               __________

                              R E P O R T

                                 of the

           COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION

                                   on

                                S. 3094



























                 July 19, 2018.--Ordered to be printed
                                   ______

		 
                     U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 
		 
79-010                    WASHINGTON : 2018                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
       SENATE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION
                     one hundred fifteenth congress
                             second session

                   JOHN THUNE, South Dakota, Chairman
ROGER F. WICKER, Mississippi         BILL NELSON, Florida
ROY BLUNT, Missouri                  MARIA CANTWELL, Washington
TED CRUZ, Texas                      AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota
DEB FISCHER, Nebraska                RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut
JERRY MORAN, Kansas                  BRIAN SCHATZ, Hawaii
DAN SULLIVAN, Alaska                 EDWARD J. MARKEY, Massachusetts
DEAN HELLER, Nevada                  TOM UDALL, New Mexico
JAMES M. INHOFE, Oklahoma            GARY C. PETERS, Michigan
MIKE LEE, Utah                       TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin
RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin               TAMMY DUCKWORTH, Illinois
SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West Virginia  MARGARETWOODHASSAN,NewHampshire
CORY GARDNER, Colorado               CATHERINE CORTEZ MASTO, Nevada
TODD C. YOUNG, Indiana               JON TESTER, Montana
                       Nick Rossi, Staff Director
                 Adrian Arnakis, Deputy Staff Director
                    Jason Van Beek, General Counsel
                 Kim Lipsky, Democratic Staff Director
           Christopher Day, Democratic Deputy Staff Director



















                                                      Calendar No. 524
115th Congress      }                                   {       Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session         }                                   {      115-305

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



 
 TRANSPORTATION WORKER IDENTIFICATION CREDENTIAL ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 
                                  2018
                                _______
                                

                 July 19, 2018.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

Mr. Thune, from the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 3094]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, to 
which was referred the bill (S. 3094) to restrict the 
department in which the Coast Guard is operating from 
implementing any rule requiring the use of biometric readers 
for biometric transportation security cards until after 
submission to Congress of the results of an assessment of the 
effectiveness of the transportation security card program, 
having considered the same, reports favorably thereon without 
amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.

                          Purpose of the Bill

    The purpose of S. 3094 is to prohibit the United States 
Coast Guard (USCG) from implementing the use of biometric 
readers for biometric transportation security cards, known as 
Transportation Worker Identification Credentials (TWIC), until 
after the completion of an ongoing study on the effectiveness 
of the TWIC program.

                          Background and Needs

    Shortly after September 11, 2001, Congress called for the 
establishment of a common credential for personnel requiring 
unescorted access to secure areas of the national 
transportation system. The TWIC program was developed in 
response to legislative provisions in the Aviation and 
Transportation Security Act of 2001\1\ and the Maritime 
Transportation Security Act of 2002,\2\ and followed Government 
standards for secure credentials. The Transportation Security 
Administration (TSA) manages the program, working in 
conjunction with the USCG. Specifically, the TSA manages the 
credentialing, and the USCG manages the port-side security 
management and use of the credential.
    While the TWIC program was initially intended to apply to 
all transportation sectors, issues with the program in the 
maritime sector have made it unlikely that the program will be 
extended to other modes until those problems are resolved. In 
May 2011, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a 
report entitled ``Transportation Worker Identification 
Credential: Internal Control Weaknesses Need to Be Corrected to 
Help Achieve Security Objectives.''\3\ In this report, the GAO 
found numerous problems with the TSA's administration of the 
TWIC program. Most notably, GAO investigators were successful 
in accessing ports using counterfeit TWIC, authentic TWIC 
acquired through fraudulent means, and false business cases 
(reasons for accessing secure areas). The report also found 
that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) did not have 
adequate internal controls to ensure that only qualified 
individuals can acquire TWIC. The GAO recommended that the DHS 
conduct an effectiveness assessment of the TWIC program, and 
Congress has required that the TSA and the USCG conduct this 
review before publication of the card reader rule (see 
below).\4\
    In April 2013, the GAO issued a report on the TWIC reader 
pilot project entitled ``Transportation Worker Identification 
Credential: Card Reader Pilot Results are Unreliable; Security 
Benefits Need to Be Reassessed.''\5\ This report characterized 
the pilot results as ``incomplete, inaccurate, and unreliable 
for informing Congress and for developing a regulation about 
the readers.'' The GAO recommended that Congress halt the DHS's 
efforts to promulgate a final regulation on TWIC card readers 
until the successful completion of a security assessment of the 
effectiveness of the TWIC program. On March 22, 2013, however, 
the DHS issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) on card 
reader requirements for TWIC and issued a final rule on August 
23, 2016, with an effective date of August 23, 2018. 
Stakeholders complained of discrepancies between the NPRM and 
the final rule regarding the types and numbers of facilities 
that would be required to install TWIC readers, and believed it 
unnecessarily burdening to low-risk facilities.\6\ 
Additionally, those stakeholders from low-risk facilities were 
not given an opportunity to comment. An example of a facility 
captured in the NPRM is one that transfers explosive chemicals 
from a ship to a shoreside complex. A facility that was 
captured by the final rule could be one that stores lower 
quantities of fuel on site for its own use. The proposed rule 
contemplated requiring TWIC readers at less than 200 
facilities; the final rule captured several thousand 
facilities, though there remains uncertainty as to the exact 
number. The USCG agreed with stakeholders and promised to 
clarify which facilities were captured in the rule.
    On December 16, 2016, President Obama signed into law the 
Act entitled ``An Act to Require the Secretary of Homeland 
Security to Prepare a Comprehensive Security Assessment of the 
Transportation Security Card Program'' (Assessment Act)\7\ to 
improve the security of the TWIC program.\8\ The Assessment Act 
requires the DHS to commission an assessment of the 
effectiveness of the TWIC program within 60 days after the date 
of enactment of that Act. The DHS has recently contracted with 
RAND to conduct the mandated review and RAND estimates the 
study will be completed in 1 year.
    Due to delays in both the DHS's awarding the contract for 
the above TWIC program assessment and in providing 
clarification for which facilities are affected by the TWIC 
Reader Rule, in December 2017, Senator Thune, Senator Fischer, 
and other legislators\9\ wrote to the Secretary of Homeland 
Security for additional information.
    On June 21, 2018, the USCG announced the release of an NPRM 
delaying the implementation of the TWIC Reader Rule for many of 
the facilities. The delay should allow for clarification as to 
which facilities are meant to be included in the increased 
security protocol and will provide time to install TWIC 
readers. However, it does not specifically identify which 
facilities are exempt, nor does it allow time for those 
facilities not exempt to install TWIC readers. S. 3094 will 
delay any implementation until the RAND study is complete, 
ensuring the significant investment by industry provides the 
expected added security.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\P.L. 107-71. (https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-107publ71/
content-detail.html)
    \2\P.L. 107-295. (https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-107publ295/
content-detail.html)
    \3\GAO-11-657. (https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-11-657)
    \4\This assessment was required by the Consolidated Appropriations 
Act, 2014 (P.L. 113-76).
    \5\U.S. Government Accountability Office, Transportation Worker 
Identification Credential: Card Reader Pilot Results are Unreliable; 
Security Benefits Need to Be Reassessed, GAO-13-198, May 2013.
    \6\81-FR-57652. (https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2016/08/
23/2016-19383/
transportation-worker-identification-credential-twic-reader-
requirements)
    \7\P.L. 114-278; 130 Stat. 1410.
    \8\P.L. 114-278. (https://www.congress.gov/114/plaws/publ278/PLAW-
114publ278.pdf)
    \9\Chairs of the following congressional committees: the Committee 
on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate; the 
Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine 
Infrastructure, Safety, and Security of the Committee on Commerce, 
Science, and Transportation of the Senate; the Subcommittee on 
Transportation and Protective Security of the Committee on Homeland 
Security of the House of Representatives; and Subcommittee on Border 
and Maritime Security of the Committee on Homeland Security of the 
House of Representatives.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                         Summary of Provisions

    If enacted, S. 3094 would prohibit the USCG from 
implementing the use of biometric readers for biometric 
transportation security cards until after the completion of an 
ongoing study on the effectiveness of the TWIC program as 
required by the Assessment Act.

                          Legislative History

    S. 3094 was introduced on June 20, 2018, by Senator 
Sullivan (for himself and Senator Peters). On June 27, 2018, 
the Committee met in open Executive Session and, by voice vote, 
ordered S. 3094 reported favorably without amendment.
    H.R. 5729, a substantially similar measure, unanimously 
passed the House of Representatives on June 10, 2018.

                            Estimated Costs

    In accordance with paragraph 11(a) of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate and section 403 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee provides the 
following cost estimate, prepared by the Congressional Budget 
Office:

S. 3094--Transportation Worker Identification Credential Accountability 
        Act of 2018

    S. 3094 would prohibit the U.S. Coast Guard from 
implementing a rule that, under current law, will take effect 
on August 23, 2018. The rule requires owners and operators of 
certain vessels and facilities regulated by the Coast Guard to 
conduct electronic inspections of workers' biometric security 
credentials. S. 3094 would suspend implementation of the rule 
until 60 days after the Secretary of Homeland Security has 
reported to the Congress on the efficacy of such credentials 
for enhancing security.
    CBO estimates that enacting S. 3094 would not significantly 
affect the federal budget. Delaying implementation of the 
affected rule would not alter the timing or magnitude of cash 
flows related to federally issued credentials nor would it 
significantly affect the Coast Guard's administrative costs, 
which are subject to appropriation. The Department of Homeland 
Security is already required to complete an assessment related 
to the effectiveness of credentials issued to transportation 
workers.
    Enacting S. 3094 would not affect direct spending or 
revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
    CBO estimates that enacting S. 3094 would not increase net 
direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four 
consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2029.
    S. 3094 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
    On June 28, 2018, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R. 
5729, the Transportation Worker Identification Credential 
Accountability Act of 2018, as ordered reported by the House 
Committee on Homeland Security on June 6, 2018. The two bills 
are similar, and the CBO's estimated costs are the same for 
both bills.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Megan Carroll. 
The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy 
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

                      Regulatory Impact Statement

    In accordance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee provides the 
following evaluation of the regulatory impact of the 
legislation, as reported:

                       NUMBER OF PERSONS COVERED

    S. 3094, as reported, would delay the implementation of the 
TWIC Reader Rule, and therefore would alleviate thousands of 
transportation workers and hundreds of businesses from an 
unproven regulatory requirement.

                            ECONOMIC IMPACT

    Enactment of this legislation is not expected to have a 
negative impact on the Nation's economy.

                                privacy

    The reported bill is not expected to impact the personal 
privacy of individuals.

                               paperwork

    S. 3094 would not create increases in paperwork burdens if 
enacted.

                   Congressionally Directed Spending

    In compliance with paragraph 4(b) of rule XLIV of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee provides that no 
provisions contained in the bill, as reported, meet the 
definition of congressionally directed spending items under the 
rule.

                      Section-by-Section Analysis


Section 1. Short title.

    This section would provide that the bill may be cited as 
the ``Transportation Worker Identification Credential Act of 
2018.''

Section 2. Restriction on implementation of transportation worker 
        identification credential biometric reader rule.

    This section would prohibit the USCG from implementing the 
use of biometric readers for biometric transportation security 
cards until after the completion of an ongoing study on the 
effectiveness of the TWIC program.

                        Changes in Existing Law

    In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee states that the 
bill as reported would make no change to existing law.

                                  [all]