[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 42 (Friday, March 4, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10667-10669]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-4179]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Transportation Security Administration

[Docket No. TSA-2005-20485]


Biometrics Guidance

AGENCY: Transportation Security Administration (TSA), DHS.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: Recent legislation directs TSA to issue guidance for the use 
of biometric technology in connection with access control systems in 
the nation's airports by March 31, 2005. The legislation requires TSA 
to consult with representatives of industry and the National Institute 
of Standards and Technology (NIST) in developing the guidance. TSA 
believes it is important to give all stakeholders and other interested 
parties an opportunity to learn about the biometric guidance and to 
comment on the initial draft. Therefore, TSA is scheduling a public 
meeting to discuss the guidance. The public meeting will be held on 
March 11, 2005, at 9:30 a.m.

DATES: The public meeting will be on March 11, 2005 in Arlington, VA. 
The meeting will begin at 9:30 a.m. Persons not able to attend a 
meeting are invited to provide written comments, which must be received 
by March 18, 2005.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held at the Transportation 
Security Administration, 1st Floor Auditorium, 601 South 12th St., 
Arlington, Virginia 22202. Participants should check in at the Visitor 
Center and you will be escorted to the meeting.
    Persons unable to attend the meeting may submit comments, 
identified by the TSA docket number to this rulemaking, using any one 
of the following methods:
    Comments Filed Electronically: You may submit comments through the 
docket Web site at http://dms.dot.gov. Please be aware that anyone is 
able to search the electronic form of all comments received into any of 
our dockets by the name of the individual submitting the comment (or 
signing the comment, if submitted on behalf of an association, 
business, labor union, etc.). You may review the applicable Privacy Act 
Statement published in the Federal Register on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 
19477), or you may visit http://dms.dot.gov.
    You also may submit comments through the Federal eRulemaking portal 
at http://www.regulations.gov.
    Comments Submitted by Mail, Fax, or In Person: Address or deliver 
your written, signed comments to the Docket Management System, U.S. 
Department of Transportation, Room Plaza 401, 400 Seventh Street, SW., 
Washington, DC 20590-0001; Fax: 202-493-2251.
    Comments that include trade secrets, confidential commercial or 
financial information, or sensitive security information (SSI) should 
not be submitted to the public regulatory docket.\1\ Please submit such 
comments separately from other comments on the guidance. Comments 
containing trade secrets, confidential commercial or financial 
information, or SSI should be appropriately marked as containing such 
information and submitted by mail to Patrick Kearney, Office of 
Transportation Security Policy, TSA-9, Transportation Security 
Administration, 601 South 12th St., Arlington, VA 22202.
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    \1\ See 49 CFR 1520.5 for a description of SSI material.
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    Reviewing Comments in the Docket: You may review the public docket 
containing comments in person in the Dockets Office between 9 a.m. and 
5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The Dockets 
Office is located on the plaza level of the NASSIF Building at the 
Department of Transportation address above. Also, you may review public 
dockets on the Internet at http://dms.dot.gov.
    See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for format and other information 
about comment submissions.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Chris Larrick, Office of 
Transportation Security Policy, TSA-9, Transportation Security 
Administration, 601 South 12th Street, Arlington, VA 22202; telephone: 
(571) 227-3635; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Comments Invited

    TSA invites interested persons to participate in the public meeting 
by submitting written comments, data, or views. We invite comments 
relating to any aspect of the biometric guidance. The areas in which 
TSA seeks information and comment from the industry at the public 
meeting are listed below in the ``Specific Issues for Discussion'' 
section. See ADDRESSES above for information on where to submit 
comments.
    Comments that include trade secrets, confidential commercial or 
financial information, or SSI should not be submitted to the public 
regulatory docket. Please submit such comments separately from other 
comments on the document. Comments containing this type of information 
should be appropriately marked and submitted to the address specified 
in the ADDRESSES section. Upon receipt of such comments, TSA will not 
place the comments in the public docket and will handle them in 
accordance with applicable safeguards and restrictions on access. TSA 
will hold them in a separate file to which the public does not have 
access, and place a note in the public docket that TSA has received 
such materials from the commenter. If TSA receives a request to examine 
or copy this information, TSA would treat it as any other request under 
the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) (5 U.S.C. 552) and the Department 
of Homeland Security's FOIA regulation found in 6 CFR part 5.
    With each comment, please include your name and address, identify 
the docket number at the beginning of your comments, and give the 
reason for each comment. The most helpful comments reference a specific 
portion of the document, explain the reason for any recommended change, 
and include supporting data. You may submit comments and material 
electronically, in person, or by mail as provided under ADDRESSES, but 
please submit your comments and material by only one means. If you 
submit comments by mail or delivery, submit them in two copies, in an 
unbound format, no larger than 8.5 by 11 inches, suitable for copying 
and electronic filing.
    If you want TSA to acknowledge receipt of your comments, include 
with your comments a self-addressed, stamped postcard on which the 
docket number appears. We will stamp the date on the postcard and mail 
it to you.

[[Page 10668]]

    Except for comments containing confidential information and SSI, we 
will file in the public docket all comments we receive, as well as a 
report summarizing each substantive public contact with TSA personnel 
concerning this rulemaking. The docket is available for public 
inspection before and after the comment closing date.
    We will consider all comments we receive on or before the closing 
date for comments. We will consider comments filed late to the extent 
practicable.

Availability of Draft Biometrics Guidance

    You can get an electronic copy using the Internet by--
    (1) Searching the Department of Transportation's electronic Docket 
Management System (DMS) Web page (http://dms.dot.gov/search); or
    (2) Visiting TSA's Web page at http://www.tsa.gov/public.
    In addition, copies are available by writing or calling the 
individual in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section. Make sure to 
identify the docket number of this rulemaking.

Background

    The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, resulted in 
catastrophic human casualties and property damage. In response to those 
attacks, Congress passed the Aviation and Transportation Security Act 
(ATSA), which established the Transportation Security Administration 
(TSA).\2\ TSA was created as an agency within the Department of 
Transportation (DOT), operating under the direction of the Under 
Secretary of Transportation for Security. As of March 1, 2003, TSA 
became an agency of the Department of Homeland Security, and the Under 
Secretary is now the Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security 
(Transportation Security Administration). This Assistant Secretary 
position is now the organizational head of TSA, functioning as the 
Administrator.
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    \2\ Pub. L. 107-71, November 19, 2001, 115 Stat. 597.
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    On December 17, 2004, the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism 
Prevention Act of 2004, Public Law 108-458, was enacted. Section 
4011(a)(5) directed TSA to issue guidance on the use of biometric 
technologies at airports in consultation with representatives of the 
aviation industry, the biometric identifier industry, and the National 
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The guidance must 
include--
     Comprehensive technical and operational system 
requirements and performance standards;
     A list of products and vendors that meet these 
requirements and standards;
     Procedures for implementing biometric systems that prevent 
the use of assumed identities, resolve failure to enroll, false 
matches, and false non-matches; and
     Best practices for incorporating biometric identifier 
technology into airport access control systems.
    To satisfy these requirements, TSA, in coordination with 
representatives of the NIST, developed draft guidance and provided the 
draft to representatives of the biometric identifier industry and the 
aviation industry on February 16, 2005. In order to give other 
interested persons the opportunity to review and comment on the draft 
guidance before it is issued, TSA has decided to hold a public meeting 
on March 11, 2005.

Specific Issues for Discussion

    There are several areas in which TSA seeks information and comment 
from the industry at the public meeting, which are listed below. These 
key issues are intended to help focus public comments on subjects that 
TSA must explore in order to complete the draft guidance. The comments 
at the meeting need not be limited to these issues, and TSA invites 
comments on any other aspect of the biometric guidance.
    1. Activity in response to Homeland Security Presidential 
Directive-12 (HSPD-12) is in progress, and Federal Information 
Processing Standard-201 (FIPS-201) has just been released. TSA requests 
comments on how these activities should affect the final guidance.
    2. The information content of the list of products and vendors that 
meet the standards in the biometrics guidance (Qualified Products List, 
or QPL) is subject to further review. Public input will be helpful in 
the decision making process (see Volume 3, Chapter 1 Management Plan, 
Section 5.2).
    3. To support the test data analysis (at different levels of 
security), this plan requires the manufacturer to output full precision 
matching values (similarity scores, hamming distances, etc.). Also, the 
testing approach calls for multiple attempts to match regardless of the 
outcome of the first attempt, without the user being aware of the 
outcome. This may require more detailed understanding of specific 
device operation to reach a sensible testing operation. (See Biometrics 
Guidance Volume 3, Chapter 2--Test Plan, Section 1.5 [2])

Participation at the Meeting

    The meeting is expected to last from 9:30 to 11 a.m. and to begin 
with TSA providing a brief overview of the biometrics guidance. 
Following that, members of the public will be invited to ask clarifying 
questions or present their views.
    Anyone wishing to present an oral statement at the meeting should 
provide a written request to TSA no later than March 9, 2005. Such 
requests should be submitted by email to [email protected], as 
listed previously in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section. 
Speakers should keep questions brief and plan to talk for no more than 
10 minutes if they are presenting comments on the guidance. TSA will 
prepare an agenda of speakers that will be available at the meeting. 
The names of those individuals whose requests to present oral 
statements are received after the date specified above may not appear 
on the written agenda. To accommodate as many questions as possible, 
the amount of time allocated to each speaker may be less than the 
amount of time requested.

Public Meeting Procedures

    TSA will use the following procedures to facilitate the meeting:
    (1) There will be no admission fee or other charge to attend or to 
participate in the meeting. The meeting will be open to all persons who 
are scheduled to present statements or who register between 8 and 9 on 
the day of the meeting. TSA will make every effort to accommodate all 
persons who wish to participate, but admission will be subject to 
availability of space in the meeting room. The meeting may adjourn 
early if scheduled speakers complete their statements or questions in 
less time than is scheduled for the meeting.
    (2) An individual, whether speaking in a personal or a 
representative capacity on behalf of an organization, will be limited 
to a 10-minute statement and scheduled on a first-come, first-served 
basis.
    (3) Any speaker prevented by time constraints from speaking will be 
encouraged to submit written remarks, which will be made part of the 
record.
    (4) Representatives of TSA will preside over the meeting.
    (5) The meeting will be recorded by a court reporter. Any person 
who is interested in purchasing a copy of the transcript should contact 
the court reporter directly.
    (6) Statements made by TSA representatives are intended to 
facilitate discussion of the issues or to clarify issues. Any statement 
made during the

[[Page 10669]]

meeting by a TSA representative is not intended to be, and should not 
be construed as, a position of TSA.
    (7) The meeting is designed to solicit public views and gather 
additional information. No individual will be subject to cross-
examination by any other participant; however, TSA representatives may 
ask questions to clarify a statement.

    Issued in Arlington, Virginia, on February 28, 2005.
Chad Wolf,
Assistant Administrator for Transportation Security Policy.
[FR Doc. 05-4179 Filed 3-3-05; 8:45 am]
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