The House Homeland Security Committee yesterday approved a bill that would authorize $34.7 billion for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). H.R. 5814, the DHS Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007, includes a handful of aviation-related items, including a watered-down provision on employee screening. However, it is highly unlikely that the bill will be enacted into law before Congress adjourns for the year.
During the markup, the committee rejected a number of Democratic amendments on mostly party line votes. The panel narrowly turned back by a 15-14 vote another effort by Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) to require the screening of all cargo carried on passenger aircraft within three years. Last year, the Homeland Security Committee rejected a similar amendment during consideration of the Fiscal Year 2006 Homeland Security Authorization bill.
The committee also rejected an amendment offered by Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), the top Democrat on the panel, that would have authorized an additional $6 billion for DHS, mostly for rail and port security.
After rejecting several other Democratic amendments, lawmakers approved the Homeland Security bill by a vote of 30-1.
Despite the overwhelming bipartisan support for the measure among committee members, it is highly unlikely that the homeland security authorization bill will be enacted into law before the end of the 109th Congress. There is limited time remaining on the legislative calendar, and the bill is not expected to reach the House floor this year. Even if the House did take up and pass the measure, the Senate Homeland Security Committee does not plan to consider a similar authorization bill this year.
The following describes some of the aviation-related provisions included in the bill:
Employee Screening: The bill includes a watered down provision on employee screening. Rep. Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.) initially drafted a proposal that would have required the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to develop a plan to physically screen all persons who have Security Identification Display Area badges or who are permitted to access secure areas of an airport on an unescorted basis within one year after the bill is enacted into law. It also called on airports to begin 100% employee screening within three years after TSA issues the plan.
The Airport Legislative Alliance and a number of airports that have members who serve on the House Homeland Security Committee raised strong objections to Lowey's proposal. TSA also voiced concerns, and Lowey ultimately agreed to settle on provision that would essentially establish a timeline by which TSA must implement current law.
Specifically, the revised provision would require TSA to issue regulations within one year after the homeland security bill is enacted into law on a section of the law that calls for the "screening or inspection of all individuals, goods, property, vehicles, and other equipment before entry into a secured area of an airport." It would also require TSA to set a schedule for airports to comply with that section of the law within three years after TSA issues its regulations.
Passenger Identification Documents: The bill includes a provision that would require TSA to issue regulations to "require a passenger to present an acceptable personal identification document for inspection before entering a sterile area of an airport." The bill would establish minimum requirements for those documents and require TSA to establish standards for training personnel who check the identification of passengers.
International Passenger Prescreening: The bill would also require DHS to conduct "a pilot program to evaluate the use of automated systems for the immediate prescreening of passengers on flights in foreign air transportation" before it issues final rules for transmitting international passenger data to the Customs and Border Protection.
CAPPS: The bill would require TSA to issue a report to Congress on the cost and effectiveness of the Computer Assisted Passenger Prescreening System. It would also require TSA to develop a process to allow those passengers who either have a security clearance or who undergo background checks to avoid secondary screening "as a result of a designation under CAPPS."
