[House Report 116-187]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


116th Congress   }                                            {    Report
                         HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session     }                                            {   116-187

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



 
              TRAVELING PARENTS SCREENING CONSISTENCY ACT 
                                OF 2019

                                _______
                                

August 27, 2019.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

 Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, from the Committee on Homeland Security, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 3246]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Homeland Security, to whom was referred 
the bill (H.R. 3246) to require GAO review of certain TSA 
screening protocols, and for other purposes, having considered 
the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and 
recommend that the bill do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
Purpose and Summary..............................................     1
Background and Need for Legislation..............................     2
Hearings.........................................................     2
Committee Consideration..........................................     2
Committee Votes..................................................     2
Committee Oversight Findings.....................................     2
C.B.O. Estimate, New Budget Authority, Entitlement Authority, and 
  Tax Expenditures...............................................     3
Federal Mandates Statement.......................................     4
Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives............     4
Duplicative Federal Programs.....................................     4
Congressional Earmarks, Limited Tax Benefits, and Limited Tariff 
  Benefits.......................................................     4
Advisory Committee Statement.....................................     4
Applicability to Legislative Branch..............................
Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation...................     4

                          PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

    The purpose of H.R. 3246, ``Traveling Parents Screening 
Consistency Act of 2019,'' is to require the Government 
Accountability Office (GAO) to review certain Transportation 
Security Administration (TSA) screening protocols and for other 
purposes. This bill requires GAO to conduct a review of TSA's 
implementation of the ``Bottles and Breastfeeding Equipment 
Screening Act'' (Public Law 114-293), as well as TSA's 
effectiveness in ensuring protocol clarity and consistency 
relating to the screening of formula, breast milk, purified 
deionized water for infants, and juice. Lastly, the bill 
requires GAO to issue recommendations for improving TSA's 
overall screening practices for such items.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    TSA is charged with protecting passengers and implement 
security measures to protect against terrorist threats. To 
carry out its mission, TSA conducts airport checkpoint 
screening of breast milk, baby formula, juice, and other 
childcare products at security checkpoints. In response to 
passenger reports of inconsistencies in such screening, 
Congress enacted the ``Bottles and Breastfeeding Equipment 
Screening Act'' in 2016. However, parents traveling with breast 
milk, baby formula, and nursing products continue to report 
that receiving consistent treatment from TSA when going through 
such screening remains an issue.
    This bill seeks to address these concerns by requiring GAO 
to review TSA's implementation of the ``Bottles and 
Breastfeeding Equipment Screening Act'' as well as TSA's 
effectiveness in ensuring screening protocol clarity and 
screening consistency relating to the screening of certain 
childcare products.

                                HEARINGS

    For the purpose of section 103(i) of H. Res 6. of the 116th 
Congress the following related hearing was held:
    A subcommittee hearing on February 27, 2018, entitled, 
``The Public Face of TSA: Examining the Agency's Outreach and 
Traveler Engagement Efforts,'' at which TSA screening 
protocols, complaint processes, and communications were 
discussed.

                        COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION

    The Committee met on July 17, 2019, with a quorum being 
present, to consider H.R. 3246 and ordered the measure to be 
reported to the House with a favorable recommendation, without 
amendment, by unanimous consent.

                            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. 3246.

                      COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS

    In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules 
of the House of Representatives, the Committee advises that the 
findings and recommendations of the Committee, based on 
oversight activities under clause 2(b)(1) of rule X of the 
Rules of the House of Representatives, are incorporated in the 
descriptive portions of this report.

                  CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE ESTIMATE

   NEW BUDGET AUTHORITY, ENTITLEMENT AUTHORITY, AND TAX EXPENDITURES

    With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(2) of rule 
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section 
308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 and with respect 
to requirements of clause (3)(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules 
of the House of Representatives and section 402 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, The Committee adopts as its 
own the cost estimate prepared by the Director of the 
Congressional Budget Office.

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                    Washington, DC, August 7, 2019.
Hon. Bennie G. Thompson,
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. 3246 the Traveling 
Parents Screening Consistency Act of 2019.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Madeleine 
Fox.
            Sincerely,
                                         Phillip L. Swagel,
                                                          Director.
    Enclosure.

    
    

    H.R. 3246 would require the Government Accountability 
Office (GAO) to review the Transportation Security 
Administration's implementation of the Bottles and 
Breastfeeding Equipment Screening Act. Using information about 
the cost of other GAO studies, CBO estimates that the review 
would cost less than $500,000.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Madeleine Fox. 
The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy 
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

                       FEDERAL MANDATES STATEMENT

    The Committee adopts as its own the cost estimate prepared 
by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office.

                      DUPLICATIVE FEDERAL PROGRAMS

    Pursuant to clause 3(c) of rule XIII, the Committee finds 
that H.R. 3246 does not contain any provision that establishes 
or reauthorizes a program known to be duplicative of another 
Federal program.

                    PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

    The Committee states that pursuant to clause 3(c)(4) of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, H.R. 
3246 seeks to ensure that GAO conducts a review to assess TSA's 
implementation of Public Law 114-293 as well as TSA's 
effectiveness in ensuring the clarity and consistency of 
certain screening protocols.

                          ADVISORY ON EARMARKS

    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(d), 9(e), or 9(f) of the rule 
XXI.

             SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF THE LEGISLATION

Section 1. Short title

    This section provides that this bill may be cited as the 
``Traveling Parents Screening Consistency Act of 2019''

Sec 2. Comptroller general review

    This section requires the GAO to review TSA's 
implementation of the ``Bottles and Breastfeeding Equipment 
Screening Act'' as well as the effectiveness of TSA in ensuring 
protocol clarity and screening consistency related to the 
screening of formula, breast milk, purified deionized water for 
infants, and juice. This review will include examining the 
effectiveness of TSA's ability to ensure consistency of 
screening for protocols related to such items, including the 
extent to which TSA officers engage in screening beyond what is 
prescribed through relevant policies and training.
    Additionally, this section requires GAO to evaluate several 
aspects of TSA's activities, including the need for TSA to 
update and revise procedures for screening; its tracking of 
passenger complaints related to screening inconsistencies; its 
communications and information sharing practices for 
stakeholders relating to relevant protocols; and its policies 
regarding the screening of passengers with nursing products, 
including the extent to which such passengers are more likely 
to receive secondary screening.