[House Report 116-192]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
116th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session } { 116-192
======================================================================
HELPING FAMILIES FLY ACT OF 2019
_______
August 30, 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. 3694]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Homeland Security, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 3694) to require the Transportation Security
Administration to implement training for frontline
Administration personnel regarding the screening of pregnant
women and families with young children at passenger screening
checkpoints, 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
Duplicative Federal Programs..................................... 4
Congressional Earmarks, Limited Tax Benefits, and Limited Tariff
Benefits
Advisory Committee Statement
Applicability to Legislative Branch
Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation................... 4
PURPOSE AND SUMMARY
The purpose of H.R 3694, the ``Helping Families Fly Act of
2019,'' is to require the Transportation Security
Administration (TSA) to implement training for frontline
personnel regarding the screening of pregnant women and
families with young children at passenger screening
checkpoints. In conjunction with the implementation of the
training required, this bill requires the TSA Administrator to
develop and implement a communication strategy for pregnant
women and families traveling with children to inform them of
procedures, including communications through social media, the
TSA website, customer service representatives, and partnerships
with aviation stakeholders, including air carriers and airport
operators. Lastly, this bill requires the Administrator to
ensure TSA passenger support specialists are available upon
request for pregnant women and families and requires TSA to
conduct a study on the feasibility of installing screening
lanes dedicated to families traveling with young children at
airport checkpoints.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
TSA screens millions of aviation passengers and their
property every day. Though, TSA has stated that it aims to
provide each passenger with a safe, fair, and efficient
screening process, many pregnant women and families with young
children have complained about current screening procedures.
H.R. 3694 seeks to address concerns by requiring improved
training for TSA officers.
Additionally, this bill seeks to better inform pregnant
women and families of TSA procedures and offer passenger
support specialists for a more efficient airport experience.
This bill also requires TSA to explore the feasibility of
installing dedicated screening lanes for pregnant women and
families as a potential solution to improving the checkpoint
screening experience.
HEARINGS
For the purpose of section 103(i) of H. Res 6. Of the 116th
Congress the following related hearing was held:
A Subcommittee on Transportation and Protective Security
Subcommittee hearing on February 27, 2018, entitled, ``The
Public Face of TSA: Examining the Agency's Outreach and
Traveler Engagement Efforts,'' at which TSA's screening
protocols and communications were discussed.
COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION
The Committee met on July 17, 2019, with a quorum being
present, to consider H.R. 3694 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. 3694.
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 28, 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. 3694, the Helping
Families Fly 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. 3694 would require the Transportation Security
Administration (TSA) to develop and implement training for
personnel with respect to screening pregnant woman and families
with young children. In addition, the bill would require TSA to
assess the feasibility of creating designated security lines at
airports for families with young children.
Using information from TSA, CBO estimates that implementing
H.R. 3694 would cost less than $500,000; any spending would be
subject to the availability of appropriated funds.
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. 3694 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.
3694 seeks to improve the screening experience for pregnant
women and young families at the nation's airports.
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
``Helping Families Fly Act of 2019''.
Sec 2. Training required
This section requires the TSA Administrator, within one
year of enactment, to develop and implement a training for
frontline TSA personnel regarding the screening of pregnant
women and families with young children at passenger screening
checkpoints. This training shall include the following:
information relating to concerns of pregnant women's use of
Advanced Imaging Technology and appropriate opt-out procedures
and alternative screening procedures; guidelines to assist
pregnant women and families traveling with young children; and
communication and procedural guidelines for frontline TSA
personnel to assist with passenger divestiture for pregnant
women and families traveling with young children.
Additionally, this section requires the implementation of a
communication strategy to inform women and families of
procedures and guidelines through social media, the TSA
website, customer service representatives, and partnerships
with aviation stakeholders, including air carriers and airport
operators.
This section requires passenger support specialists to be
available upon request, to the extent possible, for pregnant
women and families, and it requires TSA to conduct a study on
the feasibility of installing screening lanes dedicated to
families traveling with young children at appropriate airport
checkpoints.
Finally, this section requires a briefing to Congress on
its implementation and defines the terms used in this section
including ``Administration'', ``Administrator'', and
``Appropriate Congressional Committees''.
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