[Senate Report 116-187]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
116th Congress } { Report
SENATE
1st Session } { 116-187
_______________________________________________________________________
VETERANS EXPEDITED TSA SCREENING SAFE TRAVEL ACT
__________
R E P O R T
of the
COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION
OF THE
UNITED STATES SENATE
December 19, 2019.--Ordered to be printed
______
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
99-010 WASHINGTON : 2019
SENATE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION
one hundred sixteenth congress
first session
ROGER F. WICKER, Mississippi, Chairman
JOHN THUNE, South Dakota MARIA CANTWELL, Washington
ROY BLUNT, Missouri AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota
TED CRUZ, Texas RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut
DEB FISCHER, Nebraska BRIAN SCHATZ, Hawaii
JERRY MORAN, Kansas EDWARD J. MARKEY, Massachusetts
DAN SULLIVAN, Alaska TOM UDALL, New Mexico
CORY GARDNER, Colorado GARY C. PETERS, Michigan
MARSHA BLACKBURN, Tennessee TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin
SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West Virginia TAMMY DUCKWORTH, Illinois
MIKE LEE, Utah JON TESTER, Montana
RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin KYRSTEN SINEMA, Arizona
TODD C. YOUNG, Indiana JACKY ROSEN, Nevada
RICK SCOTT, Florida
John Keast, Staff Director
David Strickland, Minority Staff Director
116th Congress } { Report
SENATE
1st Session } { 116-187
======================================================================
VETERANS EXPEDITED TSA SCREENING SAFE TRAVEL ACT
_______
December 19, 2019.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Wicker, from the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, to
which was referred the bill (S. 1881) to provide PreCheck to
certain severely injured or disabled veterans, and for other
purposes, having considered the same, ordered to be reported
favorably thereon without amendment and recommended that the
bill do pass. The bill was discharged and passed without
amendment in the Senate by unanimous consent.
Purpose of the Bill
This legislation would provide TSA PreCheck as a no cost
benefit for qualified Veterans who are amputees, blind, or
paralyzed.
Background and Needs
According to the Transportation Security Administration
(TSA), the use of TSA PreCheck in conjunction with TSA Cares (a
helpline for veterans with disabilities, medical conditions and
other special circumstances) would provide the best experience
for these disabled veterans. There are approximately 70,000\1\
amputee veterans, 100,000\2\ paralyzed veterans, and 130,000\3\
legally blind veterans in this country. Providing no-cost TSA
PreCheck to selected severely disabled veterans would make it
easier and less time consuming for them to clear the
checkpoint. TSA has stated that available carryover funds would
cover the initial enrollment fee for all covered disabled
veterans (5 years) without impact to TSA PreCheck fees charged
to others.\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health
Administration Amputee Cube.
\2\Paralyzed Veterans of America, Frequently Asked Questions
(https://www.pva.org/about-us/frequently-asked-questions/) (``There are
an estimated 100,000 American veterans with a spinal cord injury or
disease.'').
\3\U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Research &
Development. VA Research on Vision Loss (https://www.research.va.gov/
topics/visionloss.cfm) (noting that ``VA's Office of Blind
Rehabilitation Services estimates that there are approximately 130,000
Veterans in the United States who are legally blind'').
\4\Transportation Security Administration technical drafting
assistance provided on July 25, 2019.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
TSA PreCheck involves a vetting process that assures TSA it
is dealing with a trusted traveler.
Summary of Provisions
S. 1881 would do the following:
Provide certain disabled veterans with access to the
PreCheck Program at no cost to the veteran if the
veteran is able to meet the background check and other
security requirements for participation in the program.
Defines eligible veterans as those who ``have had a
loss, or loss of use, of a limb, have become paralyzed
or partially paralyzed, have incurred permanent
blindness; and as a result of that loss, paralyzation
or partial paralyzation, or blindness, to require the
use of a wheelchair, prosthetic limb, or other
assistive device to aid with mobility''.
Requires the TSA Administrator and the Secretary of
Veterans Affairs to develop and implement a process for
providing TSA with the data needed to validate the
eligibility of a veteran for no-cost enrollment in the
PreCheck Program within 180 days of enactment of the
Act.
Legislative History
S. 1881 was introduced on June 18, 2019, by Senator Young
(for himself and Senator Duckworth) and was referred to the
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the
Senate. Senators Tester and Braun are additional cosponsors. On
July 10, 2019, the Committee met in open Executive Session and,
by voice vote, ordered S. 1881 reported favorably without
amendment. On September 10, 2019, the bill was discharged and
passed in the Senate without amendment by unanimous consent. On
September 11, 2019, S. 1881 was received in the House of
Representatives.
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. 1881 would waive the $85 fee for disabled veterans, as
defined in the act, who wish to enroll in the PreCheck program
operated by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).
PreCheck expedites the security screening process for
commercial airline travelers. Those veterans also would need to
meet the applicable security requirements for participating in
PreCheck. About 7 million people (or 3 percent of the adult
population) are enrolled in PreCheck. The $85 fee covers all of
TSA's costs to enroll a person in the program.
Using information from the Department of Veterans Affairs
(VA), CBO estimates that around 300,000 veterans would meet the
qualifications for the fee waiver. CBO expects that some of the
veterans who would qualify for the fee waiver would probably
take advantage of the fee waiver to reenroll over the next five
years while other veterans would enroll in PreCheck for the
first time.
CBO has no specific data on disabled veterans enrolled in
PreCheck, but we assume that disabled veterans are enrolled at
about the same rate as the population as a whole. On that
basis, CBO estimates that around 3 percent of disabled veterans
(or about 9,000 veterans) are already enrolled in the program
and would reenroll at no cost over the next five years. CBO
estimates another 60,000 eligible veterans would enroll for the
first time over the next five years. The cost to conduct
background checks would not change, but more appropriated funds
would be required to compensate TSA for the loss of the fee
income under the legislation. Thus, CBO estimates that assuming
availability of appropriated funds, implementing the
legislation would cost about $5 million ovr the 2020-2024
period.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Madeleine Fox.
The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, 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. 1881, as reported, would not create any new programs and
thus will have no additional regulatory impact. It also would
not generate additional reporting requirements and have no
further effect on the number or types of individuals and
businesses regulated.
economic impact
S. 1881, as reported, would have no further effect on the
economic impact of such regulation.
privacy
S. 1881, as reported, would have no further effect on the
personal privacy of affected individuals.
paperwork
S. 1881, as reported, would have no further effect on the
paperwork required from individuals and businesses. It would
require the TSA Administrator and Secretary of Veterans Affairs
to develop and implement a new process for providing TSA with
the data needed to validate the eligibility of applying
veterans.
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 ``Veterans Expedited TSA Screening Safe Travel Act'' or the
``VETS Safe Travel Act''.
Section 2. Availability of PreCheck Program to certain severely injured
or disabled veterans
This section would make certain severely injured or
disabled veterans eligible for access to the PreCheck Program
at no cost to the veteran if the veteran is able to meet the
background check and other security requirements for
participation in the program. The section also would define
eligible veterans as those who ``have had a loss, or loss of
use, of a limb, have become paralyzed or partially paralyzed,
have incurred permanent blindness; and as a result of that
loss, paralyzation or partial paralyzation, or blindness, to
require the use of a wheelchair, prosthetic limb, or other
assistive device to aid with mobility''. Finally, the section
would require the TSA Administrator and the Secretary of
Veterans Affairs, within 180 days of the date of enactment of
the Act, to develop and implement a process for providing TSA
with the data needed to validate the eligibility of a veteran
for no-cost enrollment in the PreCheck Program.
Changes in Existing Law
In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new
material is printed in italic, existing law in which no change
is proposed is shown in roman):
TITLE 49--TRANSPORTATION
SUBTITLE VII--AVIATION PROGRAMS
PART A--AIR COMMERCE AND SAFETY
SUBPART III--SAFETY
CHAPTER 449--SECURITY
SUBCHAPTER I--REQUIREMENTS
Sec. 44927. Expedited screening for severely injured or disabled
members of the Armed Forces and severely injured or
disabled veterans
(a) Passenger Screening.--The Administrator of the
Transportation Security Administration, in consultation with
the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs,
and organizations identified by the Secretaries of Defense and
Veterans Affairs that advocate on behalf of severely injured or
disabled members of the Armed Forces and severely injured or
disabled veterans, shall develop and implement a process to
support and facilitate the ease of travel and to the extent
possible provide expedited passenger screening services for
severely injured or disabled members of the Armed Forces and
severely injured or disabled veterans through passenger
screening. The process shall be designed to offer the
individual private screening to the maximum extent practicable.
(b) Operations Center.--As part of the process under
subsection (a), the Administrator of the Transportation
Security Administration shall maintain an operations center to
provide support and facilitate the movement of severely injured
or disabled members of the Armed Forces and severely injured or
disabled veterans through passenger screening prior to boarding
a passenger aircraft operated by an air carrier or foreign air
carrier in air transportation or intrastate air transportation.
(c) Protocols.--The Administrator of the Transportation
Security Administration shall--
(1) establish and publish protocols, in consultation
with the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of
Veterans Affairs, and the organizations identified
under subsection (a), under which a severely injured or
disabled member of the Armed Forces or severely injured
or disabled veteran, or the family member or other
representative of such member or veteran, may contact
the operations center maintained under subsection (b)
and request the expedited passenger screening services
described in subsection (a) for that member or veteran;
and
(2) upon receipt of a request under paragraph (1),
require the operations center to notify the appropriate
Federal Security Director of the request for expedited
passenger screening services, as described in
subsection (a), for that member or veteran.
(d) Training.--The Administrator of the Transportation
Security Administration shall integrate training on the
protocols established under subsection (c) into the training
provided to all employees who will regularly provide the
passenger screening services described in subsection (a).
(e) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall
affect the authority of the Administrator of the Transportation
Security Administration to require additional screening of a
severely injured or disabled member of the Armed Forces, a
severely injured or disabled veteran, or their accompanying
family members or nonmedical attendants, if intelligence, law
enforcement, or other information indicates that additional
screening is necessary.
(f) Reports.--Each year, the Administrator of the
Transportation Security Administration shall submit to Congress
a report on the implementation of this section. Each report
shall include each of the following:
(1) Information on the training provided under
subsection (d).
(2) Information on the consultations between the
Administrator of the Transportation Security
Administration and the organizations identified under
subsection (a).
(3) The number of people who accessed the operations
center during the period covered by the report.
(4) Such other information as the Administrator of
the Transportation Security Administration determines
is appropriate.
(g) Availability of PreCheck Program to Certain Severely
Injured or Disabled Veterans.--
(1) In general.--A veteran described in paragraph (2)
is eligible for security screening under the PreCheck
Program under section 44919 at no cost to the veteran
if the veteran is able to meet the background check and
other security requirements for participation in the
program.
(2) Veterans described.--A veteran described in this
paragraph is a veteran determined by the Secretary of
Veterans Affairs--
(A)(i) to have had a loss, or loss of use, of
a limb;
(ii) to have become paralyzed or partially
paralyzed; or
(iii) to have incurred permanent blindness;
and
(B) as a result of that loss, paralyzation or
partial paralyzation, or blindness, to require
the use of a wheelchair, prosthetic limb, or
other assistive device to aid with mobility.