[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 176 (Wednesday, September 11, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47968-47969]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-19127]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Transatlantic Aviation Industry Roundtable Committee (TAIR);
Committee Establishment
AGENCY: Department of Homeland Security.
ACTION: Committee management; notice of committee establishment.
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SUMMARY: The Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS Secretary) is
establishing an advisory committee to address the security of the
aviation sector and the furtherance of increased resiliency of the
global aviation security environment. The Transatlantic Aviation
Industry Roundtable (TAIR) will serve as a forum in which the
Department of Homeland Security (DHS); the U.K. Home Office; private
sector companies; and stakeholders in the aviation sector will engage
and collaborate on matters and issues affecting transatlantic aviation
security. The Secretary has determined the TAIR Committee will be
exempt from the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act
(FACA).
Name of Committee: Transatlantic Aviation Industry Roundtable
(TAIR).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Matt Hayden, Deputy Assistant
Secretary, Private Sector Office, at (202) 282-8216.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
The DHS Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of State for
the Home Office of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
Ireland (Home Secretary), is establishing the TAIR to serve as a forum
in which DHS; the U.K. Home Office; private sector companies; and
stakeholders in the aviation sector discuss opportunities for enhanced
coordination and furtherance of increased resiliency of the
transatlantic aviation security environment.
Some of the issues to be reviewed by the TAIR will require access
to, and discussion of, non-public classified information and other non-
public law enforcement sensitive information. These matters include
discussions on the current threat environment and potential
enhancements to security technologies policy interventions, processes
and procedures in aviation and overseas security development.
In recognition of the classified material utilized in TAIR
activities and discussions, the DHS Secretary hereby exempts the TAIR
from Public Law 92-463 (The Federal Advisory Committee Act, or
``FACA''), 5 U.S.C. App).
II. Identifying Solutions
The Department recognizes the importance of FACA. FACA, when
applicable, generally requires advisory committees to meet in open
session and make publicly available associated written materials. It
also requires a 15-day notice before any meeting may be closed to
public attendance.
These requirements prevent the Department from convening on short
notice a committee to discuss the sensitive and classified information
surrounding the review of transatlantic aviation security threats in an
appropriate setting. FACA contains a number of exceptions to its
general disclosure rules, but the applicability of
[[Page 47969]]
those exceptions are not sufficient to address the proper handling of
classified material and the protection of classified information in
this unique context. The information that will be discussed and
reviewed by this committee will be deliberative in nature and will
involve law enforcement sensitive, sensitive security and or classified
national security information that, if discussed in public, would
result in the unauthorized disclosure of information that could
reasonably be expected to result in threats to national security. The
release of this information would enable criminals and enemies to use
that information to circumvent the law and could reasonably be expected
to endanger the life or physical safety of individuals. Furthermore,
some of the participants of the TAIR subgroups will be intelligence
community (IC) personnel who cannot publicly disclose their identities
or IC affiliations. Making the TAIR open to the public presents a
significant security concern for revealing the identity and
capabilities of the IC personnel.
Section 871 of the Homeland Security Act provides the Secretary of
Homeland Security with the authority to establish advisory committees
and exempt them from the FACA--6 U.S.C. 451(a). This authority allows
the Department to freely and completely review, in a closed
environment, the current threat environment in aviation, to discuss
potential vulnerabilities, and to provide the Department with
information and recommendations that could not otherwise be discussed
in an open environment.
III. Exercise of Section 871 Authority To Establish the TAIR
The Department respects the principles of open government and has
judiciously exercised the authority Congress provided in Section 871.
Given that the use of this authority will allow the Department to fully
and completely review the issues and make recommendations surrounding
transatlantic aviation security as described above, the Department is
invoking that authority in the creation of the TAIR.
Collaboration among the TAIR committee members must involve many
activities to include: Planning, coordination, protective security
implementation, operational activities related to protective service
security measures, as well as vulnerabilities, protective measures,
best practices, and lessons learned. An effective committee must be
able to have ongoing, immediate, and multi-directional communication
and coordination under highly exigent circumstances. In furtherance of
DHS' mission to protect the homeland, the public interest requires the
establishment of the TAIR under the authority of 6 U.S.C. 451. Members
of the TAIR will engage and collaborate on matters and issues affecting
transatlantic aviation security including global security improvement,
information sharing, insider threat and cybersecurity and may provide
policy advice and recommendations on such matters. The TAIR will
interact with government officials from the U.S. and the U.K. and
representatives from the private sector companies and stakeholders in
the aviation sector. The TAIR has no authority to establish Federal
policy or otherwise undertake inherently governmental functions.
Exemption from the FACA (Pub. L. 92-463): In recognition of the
highlysensitive, and often confidential or classified nature of the
subject matter involved in the activities of the TAIR, under the
authority of section 871 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C.
451), the TAIR is hereby deemed exempt from the requirements of Public
Law 92-463 (5 U.S.C. App.).
Membership: The TAIR is composed of members who are appointed by
and serve at the pleasure of the DHS Secretary and the Home Secretary,
as appropriate. Term length will be determined by the TAIR co-chairs.
Members will minimally consist of government officials from the United
States and the United Kingdom, and private sector transatlantic
aviation industry representatives in order to leverage each other's
subject matter expertise. Non-governmental members (or representative
members) who serve on the TAIR or subgroups are appointed to express
the viewpoint of non-governmental entities, recognizable groups, or
stakeholders that have interests in the transatlantic aviation security
subject matter. They will not serve as Special Government Employees
(SGE), as defined in Title 18, United States Code, section 202(a).
TAIR may meet as whole or in any combination of subgroups that is
most conducive to the effective conduct of its activities.
Duration: The TAIR is expected to continue operating until such
time as the DHS Secretary or the Home Secretary decide to terminate
TAIR. TAIR may continue beyond the initial two years from the date of
its establishment whenever the DHS Secretary determines in writing to
extend the TAIR, consistent with section 871(b) of The Homeland
Security Act of 2002, 6. U.S.C. 451(b).
Dated: August 21, 2019.
Kevin K. McAleenan,
Acting Secretary.
Appendix A: Membership of the Transatlantic Aviation Industry
Roundtable
TAIR Principal Members
[cir] U.S.:
[ssquf] DHS Secretary
[ssquf] DHS Under Secretary for Strategy, Policy, and Plans
(PLCY)
[ssquf] Administrator, DHS Transportation Security
Administration (TSA)
[ssquf] Commissioner, DHS Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
[cir] U.K.:
[ssquf] Home Secretary
[ssquf] Transport Secretary
[ssquf] Director General
[ssquf] Under Secretary
[cir] Private Sector:
[ssquf] CEOs transatlantic airlines
[ssquf] CEOs major international hub airports
[ssquf] CEOs air cargo carriers
[ssquf] Presidents or Executive Directors of Aviation Industry
Associations
TAIR Steering Group
[cir] U.S.:
[ssquf] DHS Headquarters
Office of Threat Prevention and Security Policy
Office of International Affairs
Private Sector Office, Office of Partnership and
Engagement
Office of Intelligence and Analysis
[ssquf] DHS Components
Transportation Security Administration
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency
[cir] U.K.:
[ssquf] Home Office (HO):
Office for Security and Counter Terrorism (OSCT)
Aviation Security (HO)
[ssquf] Department for Transport (DfT):
Aviation Security
International Policy
[ssquf] Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC): Thematic
Analysis
[cir] Private Sector:
[ssquf] Security Directors and representatives of transatlantic
airlines
[ssquf] Security Directors and representatives of major
international hub airports
[ssquf] Security Directors and representatives air cargo
carriers
[ssquf] Representatives of Aviation Industry Associations
[FR Doc. 2019-19127 Filed 9-10-19; 8:45 am]
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