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109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2649 

To strengthen aviation security. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 26, 2005 

Mr. MARKEY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security, and in addition to the Committees on the 

Judiciary and Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of 

such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To strengthen aviation security. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Strengthen Aviation 

5 Security Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. INSPECTION OF CARGO CARRIED ABOARD PAS7 SENGER AIRCRAFT. 

8 Section 44901 of title 49, United States Code, is 

9 amended— 


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1 (1) by redesignating subsections ‘‘(g)’’ and 

2 ‘‘(h)’’ as subsections ‘‘(h)’’ and ‘‘(i)’’, respectively; 

3 and 

4 (2) by inserting after subsection (f) the fol5 lowing: 

6 ‘‘(g) Air Cargo on passenger aircraft— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years 

8 after the date of enactment of the Strengthen Avia9 tion Security Act, the Secretary of Homeland Secu10 rity shall establish a system to inspect 100 percent 

11 of the cargo transported on passenger aircraft to en12 sure the security of all passenger aircraft carrying 

13 cargo operated by an air carrier or foreign air car14 rier in air transportation or intrastate air transpor15 tation. 

16 ‘‘(2) MINIMUM STANDARDS.—The system re17 ferred to in paragraph (1) shall, at a minimum, re18 quire that— 

19 ‘‘(A) equipment, technology, and personnel 

20 meets the same standards established to inspect 

21 passenger baggage; 

22 ‘‘(B) 35 percent of cargo carried on pas23 senger aircraft is inspected by the end of fiscal 

24 year 2006; 


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1 ‘‘(C) 65 percent of cargo carried on pas2 senger aircraft is inspected by the end of fiscal 

3 year 2007; and 

4 ‘‘(D) 100 percent of cargo carried on pas5 senger aircraft is inspected by the end of fiscal 

6 year 2008. 

7 ‘‘(3) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 

8 date of enactment of the Strengthen Aviation Secu9 rity Act, the Secretary shall transmit to Congress a 

10 report that describes the system established pursu11 ant to paragraph (1).’’. 

12 SEC. 3. REPORT ON KNOWN SHIPPING COMPANIES. 

13 Not later than the 180th day following the date of 

14 establishment of the database of known shipping compa15 nies being established by the Department of Homeland Se16 curity, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall transmit 

17 to Congress a report on the number of known shipping 

18 companies in the database, the number of known shipping 

19 companies for whom the Transportation Security Admin20 istration has conducted physical inspections of facilities 

21 and paperwork of such companies to determine compliance 

22 with security regulations that apply to those companies, 

23 the number of companies that have applied to the Sec24 retary for known shipping company status and been de25 nied, and the number of known shipping companies that 


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1 have been removed from the database as a result of find2 ings by the Administration that such companies have 

3 failed to comply with appropriate security regulations. 

4 SEC. 4. TRAINING PROGRAMS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—For the purposes of deploying 

6 Federal law enforcement officers not part of the Federal 

7 Air Marshal Service as alternative security personnel on 

8 commercial aircraft— 

9 (1) the Secretary of Homeland Security, not 

10 later than the 90th day following the date of enact11 ment of this Act, shall establish— 

12 (A) training standards that all Federal law 

13 enforcement officers must meet in order to re14 spond appropriately as law enforcement profes15 sionals to incidents aboard aircraft; and 

16 (B) procedures by which law enforcement 

17 personnel, authorized to carry a firearm or oth18 erwise prohibited items aboard a passenger 

19 commercial aircraft may do so without indi20 cating, to the greatest extent practicable, either 

21 deliberately or accidentally such personnel’s sta22 tus to other passengers; and 

23 (2) the head of the Federal Air Marshal Serv24 ice, in determining on which flights to place one or 

25 more Federal air marshals, shall— 


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1 (A) have access to information on whether 

2 Federal law enforcement officers meeting the 

3 training standards established under paragraph 

4 (1) are scheduled to travel on commercial 

5 flights; and 

6 (B) not substitute Federal law enforcement 

7 officers that have not met such training stand8 ards established by the Federal Air Marshal 

9 Service. 

10 (b) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive the require11 ment of subsection (a)(2)(B) for not to exceed 6 months 

12 after the 90th day referred to in subsection (a) if nec13 essary for security purposes. 

14 (c) REPORT.—The Secretary shall transmit to Con15 gress a report on the timeline for providing training re16 quired to carry out subsection (a)(2) and any additional 

17 resources needed to implement this section. 

18 SEC. 5. FEDERAL AIR MARSHALS. 

19 The Secretary of Homeland Security shall ensure the 

20 deployment of Federal air marshal officers on flights of 

21 all-cargo air transportation for which the Secretary of 

22 Homeland Security determines there to be sufficient risk 

23 of terrorist activity. 


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1 SEC. 6. FLIGHT COMMUNICATIONS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 4021 of the Intelligence 

3 Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (Public 

4 Law 108–458) is amended by adding at the end the fol5 lowing: 

6 ‘‘(d) FLIGHT COMMUNICATION.—To expand the pur7 poses of the study under subsection (a), not later than 

8 180 days after the date of enactment of this subsection, 

9 the Assistant Secretary shall conduct a study on the viabil10 ity of devices to enable discreet, wireless communications 

11 between flight attendants, pilots, Federal air marshals, 

12 and ground-based personnel during a passenger commer13 cial aircraft flight to improve coordination of planning and 

14 activities in the event of an act of terrorism and transmit 

15 to Congress a report on the results of the study conducted 

16 under this subsection.’’. 

17 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

18 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 

19 necessary to carry out section 4021(d) of the Intelligence 

20 Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004. 

21 SEC. 7. COMPREHENSIVE PREFLIGHT SCREENING. 

22 (a) STUDY.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall conduct 

24 a study to assess the current training provided to in25 dividuals who perform preflight security inspections 

26 and to identify areas for improvement in such inVerDate Aug 31 2005 21:45 Oct 05, 2006 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2649.IH H2649

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1 spections and training and make recommendations 

2 regarding improving such inspections and training. 

3 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after 

4 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

5 shall transmit to Congress a report on the results of 

6 the study. 

7 (b) REGULATIONS.— 

8 (1) ISSUANCE.—Not later than 90 days after 

9 the date of transmission of the reports under sub10 section (a), the Secretary of Homeland Security 

11 shall issue regulations to improve preflight screening 

12 of passenger aircraft for dangerous objects and 

13 training of screeners of passenger aircraft and to re14 duce the time between preflight screening and the 

15 departure time for a flight. 

16 (2) SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS.—The regulations 

17 shall— 

18 (A) require individuals who perform the 

19 preflight security sweeps through the passenger 

20 cabin and lavatories of passenger aircraft and 

21 who are not members of the flight or cabin crew 

22 to be physically screened for metallic objects, 

23 have their personal bags inspected for prohib24 ited items such as chemical, biological, radio25 logical, or nuclear materials, be subject to 


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1 criminal history background checks, social secu2 rity checks, and checks against all terrorist 

3 watch lists maintained by the Government; and 

4 (B) incorporate the recommendations con5 tained in the report transmitted under sub6 section (a). 

7 SEC. 8. FLIGHT ATTENDANT TRAINING. 

8 The Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation 

9 with the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Adminis10 tration, shall finalize the development of a mandatory 

11 basic security training program for flight attendants and 

12 shall begin administration of the training program not 

13 later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act. 

14 SEC. 9. SECURING COCKPIT DOORS. 

15 (a) CARGO AIRCRAFT.—Not later than 180 days 

16 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

17 Homeland Security shall— 

18 (1) issue an order— 

19 (A) requiring any aircraft engaged in cargo 

20 air transportation or intrastate air transpor21 tation to have, not later than one year after the 

22 date of issuance of such order, a door (and sur23 rounding partition) between the cargo and pilot 

24 compartments that can be locked and cannot be 

25 forced open from the cargo compartment; 


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1 (B) prohibiting access to the flight deck of 

2 aircraft engaged in cargo air transportation or 

3 intrastate air transportation, except by author4 ized persons; and 

5 (C) requiring that such flight deck doors 

6 remain locked while any such aircraft is in 

7 flight except when necessary to permit access 

8 and egress by authorized persons; and 

9 (2) take such other action, including modifica10 tion of safety and security procedures and flight 

11 deck redesign, as may be necessary to ensure the 

12 safety and security of the aircraft. 

13 (b) PASSENGER AIRCRAFT.—The Secretary shall 

14 issue an order to modify requirements imposed pursuant 

15 to section 104 of the Aviation and Transportation Security 

16 Act (49 U.S.C. 44903 note; 115 Stat. 605) to ensure that 

17 the wall surrounding the flight deck door on any aircraft 

18 engaged in passenger air transportation or intrastate air 

19 transportation is sufficient to secure the cockpit. 

20 (c) GRANTS.—The Secretary may make grants or 

21 other agreements with air carriers (including intrastate air 

22 carriers) to assist such carriers in complying with the or23 ders issued under this section. 


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1 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

2 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 

3 necessary to carry out this section. 

4 SEC. 10. SECURITY REQUIREMENTS FOR GENERAL AVIA5 TION. 

6 (a) NO FLY ZONES.—The Secretary of Homeland Se7 curity— 

8 (1) shall establish for the duration of any high 

9 threat level announced by the Secretary; and 

10 (2) may establish for the duration of any other 

11 threat level that is announced by the Secretary and 

12 that the Secretary determines appropriate, no fly 

13 zones around sensitive nuclear facilities, chemical fa14 cilities identified by the Administrator of the Envi15 ronmental Protection Agency at which a release of 

16 the facility’s hazardous materials could threaten the 

17 health of more than 1,000,000 people, and any other 

18 facilities the Secretary may designate. 

19 (b) VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENTS.—The Secretary 

20 shall— 

21 (1) require the operators of airports that serve 

22 general aviation aircraft and landing facilities for 

23 such aircraft to complete vulnerability assessments 

24 developed by the Secretary for evaluation of the 

25 physical security of such airports and facilities and 


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1 of procedures, infrastructure, and resources used 

2 with respect to such airports and facilities; and 

3 (2) develop a plan for addressing vulnerabilities 

4 identified by such assessments not later than the 

5 365th day following the date of enactment of this 

6 Act. 

7 (c) USE OF IMMOBILIZING DEVICES; RECORDS

8 CHECKS.—The Secretary shall require airports that serve 

9 operators of general aviation aircraft— 

10 (1) to require that all general aviation aircraft, 

11 while parked at such airports, are secured by a visi12 ble immobilizing device (such as a prop lock); and 

13 (2) to ensure that any individual with access to 

14 a general aviation aircraft at such airport is subject 

15 to a social security check, a check of immigration 

16 status, a check against all terrorist watch lists main17 tained by the Government, and a background check 

18 comparable to a background check required under 

19 section 44936 of title 49, United States Code. 

20 (d) DEFINITION.—In this section, the following defi21 nitions apply: 

22 (1) HIGH THREAT.—The term ‘‘high threat’’ 

23 means an announcement by the Department of 

24 Homeland Security of a terrorist threat level of code 


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1 orange or above or an equivalent designation of any 

2 successor threat advisory system of the Department. 

3 (2) SENSITIVE NUCLEAR FACILITY.—The term 

4 ‘‘sensitive nuclear facility’’ means— 

5 (A) a commercial nuclear power plant and 

6 associated spent fuel storage facility; 

7 (B) a decommissioned nuclear power plant 

8 and associated spent fuel storage facility; 

9 (C) a category I fuel cycle facility; 

10 (D) a gaseous diffusion plant; and 

11 (E) a Department of Energy nuclear weap12 ons materials production, processing, storage, 

13 or research facility. 

14 (3) SOCIAL SECURITY CHECK.—The term ‘‘so15 cial security check’’ means a check on the validity of 

16 the social security number of an individual and a 

17 verification that the number is assigned to the indi18 vidual. 

19 SEC. 11. CONTROL OVER ACCESS TO SECURED AREAS OF 

20 AIRPORTS. 

21 (a) AIRPORT PERIMETER ACCESS SECURITY.—Sub22 title A of title IV of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 

23 (6 U.S.C. 201 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

24 the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 404. ACCESS SECURITY. 

2 ‘‘(a) AIRPORT PERIMETER.—Not later than 180 days 

3 after the date of the enactment of this section, the Sec4 retary shall issue regulations— 

5 ‘‘(1) to improve control over access to the se6 cure area of each airport in the United States de7 scribed in section 44903(c) of title 49, United States 

8 Code; and 

9 ‘‘(2) to prohibit any entity (other than an oper10 ator of such an airport) from issuing a security 

11 badge to provide escorted or unescorted access to the 

12 secure area of such airport, subject to such excep13 tions as the Secretary may establish, by regulation, 

14 for Federal, State, and local governments and for 

15 employees of air carriers. 

16 ‘‘(b) BACKGROUND CHECKS FOR AIRPORT WORK17 ERS.—An individual employed in, or applying for, a posi18 tion described in section 44936 of title 49, United States 

19 Code, or a position as an aircraft maintenance or catering 

20 worker, aircraft cargo handler, aircraft worker with access 

21 to an aircraft ramp, aircraft support facilities worker, or 

22 employee of an airport vendor whether having escorted or 

23 unescorted access to an aircraft or a secure area of an 

24 airport, shall be subject to a social security check, a check 

25 of immigration status, and a check against all terrorist 


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1 watch lists maintained by the Government in addition to 

2 a background check required by such section. 

3 ‘‘(c) SOCIAL SECURITY CHECK DEFINED.—In this 

4 section, the term ‘social security check’ means a check on 

5 the validity of the social security number of an individual 

6 and a verification that the number is assigned to the indi7 vidual.’’. 

8 (b) SCREENING OF AIRPORT WORKERS USING

9 METAL DETECTORS.—Section 44903(h)(4)(B) of title 49, 

10 United States Code, is amended by inserting before the 

11 semicolon at the end the following: ‘‘, including, at a min12 imum, requiring each of such individuals to be physically 

13 screened for metallic objects and to have their personal 

14 bags inspected for prohibited items, such as chemical, bio15 logical, radiological, and nuclear materials, each time that 

16 individual enters a secure area of the airport’’. 

17 SEC. 12. WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—No covered individual involved in 

19 aviation security, including employees of the Transpor20 tation Security Administration, may be discharged, de21 moted, suspended, threatened, harassed, or in any other 

22 manner discriminated against because of any lawful act 

23 done by the person— 

24 (1) to provide information, cause information to 

25 be provided, or otherwise assist in an investigation 


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1 regarding any conduct which the person reasonably 

2 believes constitutes a violation of any law, rule or 

3 regulation related to aviation security or any other 

4 threat to aviation security when the information or 

5 assistance is provided to or the investigation is con6 ducted by— 

7 (A) a Federal regulatory or law enforce8 ment agency; 

9 (B) any Member of Congress or any com10 mittee of Congress; or 

11 (C) a person with supervisory authority 

12 over the covered individual (or such other per13 son who has the authority to investigate, dis14 cover, or terminate misconduct); 

15 (2) to file, cause to be filed, testify, participate 

16 in, or otherwise assist in a proceeding or action filed 

17 or about to be filed relating to a violation of any 

18 law, rule or regulation related to the security of pas19 senger airlines or any other threat to the security of 

20 passenger airlines; or 

21 (3) to refuse to violate or assist in the violation 

22 of any law, rule, or regulation related to the security 

23 of passenger airlines. 

24 (b) ENFORCEMENT ACTION.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—A covered individual who al2 leges discharge or other discrimination by any per3 son in violation of subsection (a) may seek relief 

4 under subsection (c), by— 

5 (A) filing a complaint with the Secretary of 

6 Labor; or 

7 (B) if the Secretary has not issued a final 

8 decision within 180 days of the filing of the 

9 complaint and there is no showing that such 

10 delay is due to the bad faith of the claimant, 

11 bringing an action at law or equity for de novo 

12 review in the appropriate district court of the 

13 United States, which shall have jurisdiction 

14 over such an action without regard to the 

15 amount in controversy. 

16 (2) PROCEDURE.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—An action under para18 graph (1)(A) shall be governed under the rules 

19 and procedures set forth in section 42121(b) of 

20 title 49, United States Code. 

21 (B) EXCEPTION.—Notification made under 

22 section 42121(b)(1) of title 49, United States 

23 Code, shall be made to the person named in the 

24 complaint and to the person’s employer. 


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1 (C) BURDENS OF PROOF.—An action 

2 brought under paragraph (1)(B) shall be gov3 erned by the legal burdens of proof set forth in 

4 section 42121(b) of title 49, United States 

5 Code. 

6 (D) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.—An action 

7 under paragraph (1) shall be commenced not 

8 later than 90 days after the date on which the 

9 violation occurs. 

10 (c) REMEDIES.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—A covered individual pre12 vailing in any action under subsection (b)(1) shall be 

13 entitled to all relief necessary to make the covered 

14 individual whole. 

15 (2) COMPENSATORY DAMAGES.—Relief for any 

16 action under paragraph (1) shall include— 

17 (A) reinstatement with the same seniority 

18 status that the covered individual would have 

19 had, but for the discrimination; 

20 (B) the amount of any back pay, with in21 terest; and 

22 (C) compensation for any special damages 

23 sustained as a result of the discrimination, in24 cluding litigation costs, expert witness fees, and 

25 reasonable attorney fees. 


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1 (d) RIGHTS RETAINED BY COVERED INDIVIDUAL.— 

2 Nothing in this section shall be deemed to diminish the 

3 rights, privileges, or remedies of any covered individual 

4 under any Federal or State law, or under any collective 

5 bargaining agreement. 

6 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following defi7 nitions apply: 

8 (1) COVERED INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘‘covered 

9 individual’’ means a Federal employee as defined in 

10 section 2105 of title 5, United States Code, any em11 ployee of a Federal contractor or subcontractor, or 

12 any employee of a business entity. 

13 (2) LAWFUL.—The term ‘‘lawful’’ means not 

14 specifically prohibited by law and if such information 

15 is not specifically required by Executive order to be 

16 kept secret in the interest of national defense or the 

17 conduct of foreign affairs. If communication of oth18 erwise covered information is specifically prohibited 

19 by law and if such information is required by Execu20 tive order to be kept secret in the interest of na21 tional defense or the conduct of foreign affairs, it 

22 may be communicated to any— 

23 (A) Member of Congress or committee of 

24 Congress; or 


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1 (B) any other recipient who is authorized 

2 to receive such information. 

3 (3) FEDERAL CONTRACTOR.—The term ‘‘Fed4 eral contractor’’ means a person who has entered 

5 into a contract with the United States. 

6 (4) EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘employee’’ means 

7 any officer, partner, employee, or agent. 

8 (5) SUBCONTRACTOR.—The term ‘‘subcon9 tractor’’— 

10 (A) means any person, other than the Fed11 eral contractor, who offers to furnish or fur12 nishes any supplies, materials, equipment, or 

13 services of any kind under a Federal contract 

14 or a subcontract entered into in connection with 

15 such Federal contract; and 

16 (B) includes any person who offers to fur17 nish or furnishes general supplies to the Fed18 eral contractor or a higher tier subcontractor. 

19 (6) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ means a cor20 poration, partnership, State entity, business associa21 tion of any kind, trust, joint-stock company, or indi22 vidual. 

23 SEC. 13. AIRPORT SCREENING. 

24 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 


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1 (1) a Federal workforce of passenger and bag2 gage screeners is more responsive to the public than 

3 the private sector; 

4 (2) a recent poll indicates that a majority of re5 spondents feel better protected by a Federal work6 force of passenger and baggage screeners than by a 

7 screener workforce employed by a private company; 

8 (3) section 44920 of title 49, United States 

9 Code, explicitly permits the Transportation Security 

10 Administration to accept applications from airport 

11 operators seeking to ‘‘opt out’’ of a Federal screen12 ing workforce; 

13 (4) the Transportation Security Administration 

14 has issued a directive prohibiting the Federal airport 

15 security screener workforce from the right to collec16 tively bargain; 

17 (5) the Transportation Security Administration 

18 has issued guidance that would provide the 

19 privatized screener workforce the right to join a 

20 union and collectively bargain with their employer; 

21 and 

22 (6) a reversion to private company performance 

23 of screener functions could reduce safety and erode 

24 confidence in the Federal Government’s ability to 


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1 protect citizens from acts of terrorism, and, there2 fore, not be in the public interest. 

3 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con4 gress that— 

5 (1) all airport screening functions should con6 tinue to be performed by Federal employees; and 

7 (2) all employees of the Transportation Security 

8 Administration, including Federal airport screeners, 

9 should be permitted to engage in collective bar10 gaining and be represented in collective bargaining 

11 by a representative or organization of their choosing. 

12 SEC. 14. NO-FLY LIST. 

13 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

14 (1) aircraft passenger information currently is 

15 transmitted from air carriers to the Department of 

16 Homeland Security for comparison against a Gov17 ernment maintained watch list after departure of 

18 international flights flying to or from the United 

19 States; 

20 (2) the diversion to Bangor, Maine, of an Air 

21 France flight scheduled to travel from Paris, 

22 France, to Boston, Massachusetts, on May 12, 2005, 

23 and the diversion to Bangor, Maine of an Alitalia 

24 flight scheduled to travel from Milan, Italy, to Bos25 ton, Massachusetts, on May 19, 2005, occurred 


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1 when, in the first instance, a passenger name was 

2 mistakenly considered to match a name on the 

3 watchlist and, in the second instance, a passenger 

4 name matched a name on the watchlist; 

5 (3) in both cases, the flights already had de6 parted the airports when the comparison with the 

7 watchlist occurred; 

8 (4) departure of international flights from air9 ports before passenger information has been com10 pared against the watchlist maintained by the Fed11 eral Government is a serious security loophole that 

12 could enable a known terrorist to board, travel on, 

13 and hijack an international flight en route to or de14 parting from the United States; 

15 (5) the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Pre16 vention Act of 2004 (P.L. 108-458) mandated that 

17 the Secretary of Homeland Security, not later than 

18 60 days after the date of enactment of that Act, 

19 issue a notice of proposed rulemaking that would 

20 allow the Department to compare passenger infor21 mation for any international flight to or from the 

22 United States against the consolidated and inte23 grated terrorist watchlist maintained by the Federal 

24 Government before departure of the flight; and 


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1 (6) the Department did not issue the notice of 

2 proposed rulemaking by February 2005, the dead3 line specified in that Act. 

4 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con5 gress that— 

6 (1) the Secretary of Homeland Security should 

7 actively pursue the resolution of all issues that have 

8 delayed the implementation of the mandate to check 

9 passenger information against the Government 

10 maintained watchlist before departures of inter11 national flights to or from the United States; 

12 (2) the Secretary should promptly issue the re13 quired notice of proposed rulemaking to enable the 

14 comparison of passenger information against the 

15 Government maintained terrorist watchlist prior to 

16 departure of international flights to or from the 

17 United States; and 

18 (3) until such time as the Secretary has issued 

19 the notice of proposed rulemaking, the Secretary 

20 should provide Congress with periodic reports that 

21 describe the progress of the Department of Home22 land Security in resolving issues that have delayed 

23 implementation of this mandate and explain when 

24 the Department expects to issue the notice. 

Æ 


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