[Senate Report 117-253]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 637
117th Congress } { Report
SENATE
2d Session } { 117-253
_______________________________________________________________________
TRUSTED TRAVELER RECONSIDERATION AND RESTORATION ACT OF 2021
__________
R E P O R T
of the
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND
GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
UNITED STATES SENATE
to accompany
H.R. 473
TO REQUIRE A REVIEW OF DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND
SECURITY TRUSTED TRAVELER PROGRAMS, AND FOR
OTHER PURPOSES
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
December 13, 2022.--Ordered to be printed
_________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
39-010 WASHINGTON : 2023
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
GARY C. PETERS, Michigan, Chairman
THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware ROB PORTMAN, Ohio
MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin
KYRSTEN SINEMA, Arizona RAND PAUL, Kentucky
JACKY ROSEN, Nevada JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma
ALEX PADILLA, California MITT ROMNEY, Utah
JON OSSOFF, Georgia RICK SCOTT, Florida
JOSH HAWLEY, Missouri
David M. Weinberg, Staff Director
Zachary I. Schram, Chief Counsel
Christopher J. Mulkins, Director of Homeland Security
Benjamin J. Schubert, Professional Staff Member
Pamela Thiessen, Minority Staff Director
Sam J. Mulopulos, Minority Deputy Staff Director
Clyde E. Hicks Jr., Minority Director of Homeland Security
Roland Hernandez, Minority Professional Staff Member
Laura W. Kilbride, Chief Clerk
Calendar No. 637
117th Congress } { Report
SENATE
2d Session } { 117-253
======================================================================
TRUSTED TRAVELER RECONSIDERATION AND RESTORATION ACT OF 2021
_______
December 13, 2022.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Peters, from the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 473]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (H.R. 473) to require a
review of Department of Homeland Security trusted traveler
programs, and for other purposes, having considered the same,
reports favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that
the bill do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
I. Purpose and Summary.............................................. 1
II. Background and Need for the Legislation.......................... 2
III. Legislative History.............................................. 3
IV. Section-by-Section Analysis of the Bill, as Reported............. 4
V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact.................................. 4
VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................ 5
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............ 6
I. PURPOSE AND SUMMARY
H.R. 473, the Trusted Traveler Reconsideration and
Restoration Act of 2021, requires the U.S. Government
Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct a review of the
Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Trusted Traveler
programs. Specifically, within one year of enactment of this
bill, GAO is required to review the extent to which DHS:
monitors trends in identity matching errors; coordinates with
state, local, tribal, and territorial (SLTT) entities to
redress disqualifying offenses not covered by DHS' redress
processes; coordinates with SLTT entities to improve
reconsideration procedures for disqualified individuals, and;
informs travelers of reconsideration procedures. The bill also
grants an individual extended enrollment equal to the time the
individual was removed from a trusted traveler program should
their enrollment be revoked in error.\1\
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\1\On March 11, 2020, the Committee approved H.R. 3675, the Trusted
Traveler Reconsideration and Restoration Act of 2019, without
amendment. That bill is substantially similar to H.R. 473. Accordingly,
this committee report is in many respects similar to the committee
report for H.R. 3675, S. Rept. No. 116-237.
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II. BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR THE LEGISLATION
A primary mission of DHS is to provide security at ports of
entry throughout the United States while also ensuring the
legitimate flow of people and commerce.\2\ To more efficiently
achieve this mission, DHS established trusted traveler programs
to expedite persons determined to be low-risk after going
through an enhanced security vetting process. These programs
include: TSA Pre-Check, Global Entry, Secure Electronic Network
for Travelers Rapid Inspection (or SENTRI), NEXUS, and Free and
Secure Trade (or FAST).\3\ The Transportation Security
Administration (TSA) is charged with managing the PreCheck
program, while U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is
tasked with implementing the Global Entry, SENTRI, NEXUS, and
FAST programs.\4\ These programs allow TSA and CBP to focus
more attention on screening higher-risk travelers.
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\2\U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Mission (www.dhs.gov/
mission).
\3\U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Trusted Traveler Programs
(ttp.dhs.gov).
\4\See Congressional Research Service, Trusted Traveler Programs
(R46783) (May 5, 2021).
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A number of factors are considered when determining whether
an individual's application for acceptance into DHS's trusted
traveler programs will be approved or denied. As part of the
initial vetting process, prospective applicants are subject to
a criminal background check and a review of employment history,
residential information, biographical information, and
citizenship status.\5\ More specifically, CBP's Vetting Center
reviews the information obtained from an individual's
application and checks that information against criminal and
terrorist databases to determine risk.\6\ If the applicant is
approved, conditional approval is granted and the individual is
required to go through an in-person interview with an officer
as well as provide biometric information such as
fingerprints.\7\ After the interview process, a final
determination of approval or denial is issued.\8\ In addition
to the severity and number of criminal offenses found during
the vetting process, there are a number of other reasons an
applicant for participation in a trusted traveler program could
be denied. These reasons include inadmissibility to the U.S.
under immigration laws, violations of U.S. customs laws,
providing false information on the application, providing an
incomplete or inaccurate application, or not satisfying the CBP
low-risk criteria.\9\
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\5\See id. at 2-3, 6, 8-9, 11-12, 13-14.
\6\Government Accountability Office, Trusted Travelers: Programs
Provide Benefits, but Enrollment Processes Could Be Strengthened (GAO-
14-483) (May 2014).
\7\See Congressional Research Service, supra note 4, at 2-3, 6, 8-
9, 11-12, 13-14.
\8\See id.
\9\ U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Office of the Inspector
General, Ensuring the Integrity of CBP's Secure Electronic Network for
Travelers Rapid Inspection Program (OIG-14-32) (Feb. 18, 2014).
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If an individual is denied acceptance into a CBP trusted
traveler program, or their participation in the program is
revoked, they are notified in writing about the reason for the
denial.\10\ If the individual who is denied participation in
the program believes the decision was based on inaccurate or
incomplete information, they may file a reconsideration request
through their online application portal, which are referred to
the CBP Trusted Traveler Ombudsman to determine if the denial
or revocation of participation in program was made in
error.\11\ The CBP Ombudsman reviews all redeterminations and
reinstatements for the four trusted traveler programs
administered by CBP. In recent years, there have been reports
of complaints about the redress process, mostly with the Global
Entry program, which has been criticized for the length of time
the redress process takes.\12\ In contrast, TSA's Pre-Check
program reports that denials and revocations are rarely
contested, accounting for less than one percent of total
applications.\13\ Additionally, TSA contacts the individual who
was rejected from TSA Pre-Check enrollment and, similar to an
individual being denied or revoked from participation in a CBP
trusted traveler program, TSA explains the process to seek
reconsideration or redress.\14\
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\10\https://help.cbp.gov/s/article/Article1859?language=en_US.
\11\https://help.cbp.gov/s/article/Article1859?language=en_US.
\12\Global Entry Program Turns This Traveler Down, Then
Reconsiders--and Here's Why, Los Angeles Times (Feb. 29, 2016) (https:/
/www.latimes.com/travel/deals/la-tr-spot-20160228-story.html).
\13\TSA Check: Fewer Than 1 Percent of PreCheck Applicants Get
Rejected, Forbes (June 15, 2019) (https://www.forbes.com/sites/
suzannerowankelleher/2019/06/15/tsa-check-fewer-than-1-percent-of-
precheck-applicants-get-rejected/?sh=3df67c084753).
\14\Id.
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While there have been a number of independent audits and
reviews of the overall performance of DHS's trusted traveler
programs, reviews of the redress process and reinstatements
into trusted traveler programs have been limited. In May 2014,
GAO conducted the most recent review that included denials and
revocations from the trusted traveler programs.\15\ The review
found that denial and revocation rates varied by the type of
program and if it was the individual's first time applying or
if they were renewing their application.\16\ However, GAO found
that there were significant variations in denial rates across
different enrollment centers and stated this may be due, in
part, to a lack of consistency in the interview process across
all enrollment centers since denials are partially based on the
results of the in-person interviews.\17\ GAO recommended
actions that CBP take to remedy potential inconsistencies
throughout the interview process, including establishing a
mechanism to track interview questions and applicant
information to help drive consistency across programs, which
remains unaddressed.
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\15\Government Accountability Office, supra note 6.
\16\See id at 29-34.
\17\Id.
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H.R. 437 requires GAO to conduct the first review solely
addressing DHS' trusted traveler program redress process,
reinstatement and reconsideration procedures, and disqualifying
offences, and make recommendations for improvements.
III. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
Representatives Katko (R-NY-24), Watson Coleman (D-NJ-12),
and Slotkin (D-MI-8) introduced H.R. 473 on January 25, 2021.
The bill was referred to the House Committee on Homeland
Security. The House of Representatives considered H.R. 473 on
April 19, 2021, under suspension of the rules, and it passed by
voice vote.
The bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs on April 20, 2021. The
Committee considered H.R. 437 at a business meeting on July 14,
2021. The Committee ordered the bill reported favorably without
amendment en bloc by voice vote. Senators present for the vote
on the bill were: Peters, Hassan, Rosen, Padilla, Ossoff,
Portman, Johnson, Lankford, Romney, Scott, and Hawley.
IV. SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF THE BILL, AS REPORTED
Section 1. Short titles
This section names the bill as the ``Trusted Traveler
Reconsideration and Restoration Act of 2021''.
Section 2. Comptroller general review
This section requires GAO, within a year of enactment of
this bill, to conduct a review of DHS' trusted traveler
programs. Specifically, GAO is required to report on the extent
to which DHS tracks and monitors data and trends, including the
causes of errors in matching identities where the adjudication
of those cases led to a reinstatement. GAO is also required to
report on DHS's coordination with SLTT entities and other
Federal agencies to address offenses that are not included in
DHS' redress procedures but impact individuals' applications to
the trusted traveler programs. In addition, the report will
provide information on how DHS can improve the redress process
that involves coordination with SLTT entities and other Federal
agencies, and how DHS can improve instructions and access for
individuals who wish to have their application reconsidered
should there be a disqualifying event. Finally, GAO is required
to provide information on the extent to which individuals are
informed about the reconsideration procedures regarding
enrollment in a trusted traveler program.
Section 3. Enrollment redress
This section requires DHS to provide a period of active
enrollment equal to the period in which the individual's
enrollment was revoked during the redress process.
V. EVALUATION OF REGULATORY IMPACT
Pursuant to the requirements of paragraph 11(b) of rule
XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee has
considered the regulatory impact of this bill and determined
that the bill will have no regulatory impact within the meaning
of the rules. The Committee agrees with the Congressional
Budget Office's statement that the bill contains no
intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would impose no costs
on state, local, or tribal governments.
VI. CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, January 31, 2022.
Hon. Gary Peters,
Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S.
Senate, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 473, the Trusted
Traveler Reconsideration and Restoration Act of 2021.
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.
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
H.R. 473 would require the Government Accountability Office
(GAO) to conduct a review of the Department of Homeland
Security's (DHS) trusted traveler programs, which expedite
security screenings at airports. Also, H.R. 473 would, for
cases where membership in a trusted traveler program was
revoked in error, direct DHS to extend the period of active
enrollment by the period of revocation for people who re-enroll
in the program.
Using information from publicly available information, CBO
expects that the number of erroneous revocations would be
small, and DHS has a system in place to appeal those
revocations. Thus, CBO estimates that costs associated with
investigating and re-enrolling individuals whose memberships
were revoked in error would not be significant.
Using information about the cost of other GAO studies, CBO
estimates that the cost of completing the report would be
insignificant. CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 473 would
cost less than $500,000 over the 2022-2026 period. 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
Director of Budget Analysis.
VII. CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED
This legislation would make no change in existing law,
within the meaning of clauses (a) and (b) of subparagraph 12 of
rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, because this
legislation would not repeal or amend any provision of current
law.
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