A bill to require security screening of passengers at airports to be carried out by private screening companies, and for other purposes.

Summary: Requires the screening of passengers on flights and flight segments originating in the United States to be conducted by employees of a private screening company.

Directs the Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security (Transportation Security Administration [TSA]) to enter into contracts with private screening companies for such services. Grants airport operators and private screening companies the authority to employ and terminate passenger screeners.

Requires the Assistant Secretary (currently, the Under Secretary of Transportation for Security [Department of Transportation (DOT)]) to approve all airport operator applications to have the airport screening of passengers and property carried out by a qualified private screening company. (Thus transfers the security screening opt-out program from DOT to the Department of Homeland Security [DHS], and denies the Assistant Secretary authority to deny any opt-out application.)

Amends the National Labor Relations Act and the Railway Labor Act to declare that provisions allowing an employer to make an agreement with a labor organization to require union membership as a condition of employment shall not apply to airport or railway private passenger screening company employers or employees (right to work).

SECTION 1. REQUIREMENT THAT PASSENGER SECURITY SCREENING BE CONDUCTED 
              BY PRIVATE SCREENING COMPANIES.

    (a) In General.--Section 44901(a) of title 49, United States Code, 
is amended in the second sentence by striking ``except as otherwise'' 
and all that follows through the end period and inserting ``except--
            ``(1) that screening of passengers shall be conducted by 
        employees of a private screening company under a contract 
        entered into pursuant to subsection (m)(1);
            ``(2) for identifying passengers and baggage for screening 
        under the CAPPS and known shipper programs and conducting 
        positive bag-match programs; and
            ``(3) as otherwise provided in section 44919 or 44920.''.
    (b) Requirements.--Section 44901 of such title 49, United States 
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(m) Conduct of Passenger Screening by Private Screening 
Companies.--
            ``(1) Contracts.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Except as provided in 
                subparagraph (B), the Assistant Secretary of Homeland 
                Security (Transportation Security Administration) shall 
                enter into a contract with a private screening company 
                selected by the operator of an airport under which 
                employees of that company will conduct the screening of 
                passengers at the airport under subsection (a)(1).
                    ``(B) Companies with unsatisfactory performance 
                records.--The operator of an airport may not select a 
                private security screening company for purposes of 
                subparagraph (A) if the Assistant Secretary determines 
                that the performance record of the company is 
                unsatisfactory.
            ``(2) Employment and termination decisions.--
        Notwithstanding section 44903(g)(1)(C), section 44935(e), or 
        any other provision of this chapter, the operator of an airport 
        and the private screening company conducting passenger 
        screening at that airport pursuant to a contract entered into 
        under paragraph (1)(A) shall have the authority to make final 
        decisions with respect to the employment and termination of 
        individuals conducting passenger screening at that airport.''.
    (c) Mandatory Approval of Applications Under Security Screening 
Opt-Out Program.--Section 44920 of title 49, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) by striking ``Under Secretary'' the first place 
                it appears and inserting ``Assistant Secretary 
                (Transportation Security Administration) (in this 
                section referred to as the `Assistant Secretary')''; 
                and
                    (B) by striking ``passengers and'';
            (2) by striking ``Under Secretary'' each place it appears 
        and inserting ``Assistant Secretary'';
            (3) by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:
    ``(b) Approval of Applications.--The Assistant Secretary shall 
approve all applications submitted under subsection (a).''; and
            (4) in subsection (h), by striking ``and passenger''.
    (d) Conforming Amendments.--
            (1) Enforcement of secured-area access control 
        requirements.--
                    (A) In general.--Section 44903(g)(1) of title 49, 
                United States Code, is amended--
                            (i) in subparagraph (A), in the first 
                        sentence, by striking ``employees'' and 
                        inserting ``Federal employees''; and
                            (ii) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(C) Sanctions for employees of private security 
                screening companies.--The Under Secretary shall develop 
                and publish in the Federal Register a list of sanctions 
                for use as guidelines in the discipline of employees of 
                private screening companies conducting passenger 
                screening at airports for infractions of airport access 
                control requirements in consultation with those 
                companies.''.
                    (B) Publication of guidelines.--Not later than 180 
                days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
                Secretary of Homeland Security shall publish in the 
                Federal Register--
                            (i) such revisions to the guidelines under 
                        subparagraph (A) of section 44903(g)(1) of 
                        title 49, United States Code, as are necessary 
                        to implement the amendments made by 
                        subparagraph (A); and
                            (ii) guidelines under subparagraph (C) of 
                        that section (as added by subparagraph (A)).
            (2) Threat and vulnerability assessments.--Section 
        44904(b)(5) of title 49, United States Code, is amended by 
        striking ``the United States Customs Service, the Immigration 
        and Naturalization Service, and air carriers'' and inserting 
        ``U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Immigration and 
        Customs Enforcement, private screening companies conducting 
        passenger screening at airports, and air carriers''.
            (3) Qualifications of security screeners.--
                    (A) In general.--Section 44935(e)(2)(A) of title 
                49, United States Code, is amended in the first 
                sentence by inserting ``and individuals employed by 
                private screening companies to conduct screening of 
                passengers at airports'' after ``personnel''.
                    (B) Revisions to qualification standards.--Not 
                later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of 
                this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall make 
                such revisions to the qualification standards for 
                security screening personnel under section 
                44935(e)(2)(A) of title 49, United States Code, as are 
                necessary as a result of the amendment made by 
                subparagraph (A).
    (e) Reduction in Employees of Transportation Security 
Administration.--The Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security 
(Transportation Security Administration) shall decrease the number of 
employees of the Transportation Security Administration assigned to an 
airport by an amount that is equivalent to the increase in the number 
of employees of private screening companies assigned to the airport 
pursuant to a contract entered into under subsection (m)(1) of section 
44901 of title 49, United States Code, as added by subsection (b) of 
this section, as soon as practicable after the contract takes effect.
    (f) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall--
            (1) take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act; 
        and
            (2) apply with respect to the screening of passengers at 
        airports on and after the date that is 180 days after such date 
        of enactment.

SEC. 2. RIGHT TO WORK FOR EMPLOYEES OF PRIVATE PASSENGER SCREENING 
              COMPANIES.

    (a) Amendment to National Labor Relations Act.--Section 8 of the 
National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 158) is amended by adding at 
the end the following:
    ``(h) Right To Work for Employees of Private Passenger Screening 
Companies.--Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, the first 
and second provisos of subsection (a)(3) shall not apply to an employer 
that is a private passenger screening company conducting passenger 
screening at an airport. In the case of a labor organization 
representing the employees of such employer, paragraphs (2) and (5) of 
subsection (b) shall be applied without regard to whether there is an 
agreement authorized under subsection (a)(3).''.
    (b) Amendment to Railway Labor Act.--Title II of the Railway Labor 
Act (45 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:

``SEC. 209. RIGHT TO WORK FOR EMPLOYEES OF PRIVATE PASSENGER SCREENING 
              COMPANIES.

    ``Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, paragraph 
Eleventh of section 2 shall not apply to any employee of a private 
passenger screening company that has entered into a contract with a 
carrier by air.''.