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[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3730 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>

116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3730

 To amend title 49, United States Code, to authorize and modernize the 
      registered traveler program of the Transportation Security 
                Administration, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 13, 2020

 Mr. Sullivan (for himself, Ms. Sinema, Mr. Young, Ms. Rosen, and Mr. 
    Wicker) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
 To amend title 49, United States Code, to authorize and modernize the 
      registered traveler program of the Transportation Security 
                Administration, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Registered Traveler Act of 2020''.

SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) the Administrator of the Transportation Security 
        Administration should support the continued operation of 
        trusted passenger programs authorized under section 109(a)(3) 
        of the Aviation and Transportation Security Act (49 U.S.C. 114 
        note), including the registered traveler program of the 
        Transportation Security Administration;
            (2) the registered traveler program of the Transportation 
        Security Administration is established to authorize and 
        encourage the Administration to partner with private sector 
        registered traveler services providers to drive innovations 
        that strengthen security and enhance the traveler experience to 
        improve commercial air travel while continuing to safeguard 
        transportation and national security; and
            (3) passengers and airports participating in the registered 
        traveler program may receive significant security and 
        efficiency benefits.

SEC. 3. REGISTERED TRAVELER PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--Subchapter I of chapter 449 of title 49, United 
States Code, is amended by inserting after section 44920 the following:
``Sec. 44920a. Registered traveler program
    ``(a) In General.--An airport operator may enter into a contract 
with a qualified registered traveler services provider to provide 
registered traveler services under subsection (d) to registered 
traveler program participants, if the Administrator of the 
Transportation Security Administration approves the application of the 
qualified registered traveler services provider under subsection 
(c)(2).
    ``(b) Qualified Registered Traveler Services Provider.--
            ``(1) In general.--A private entity is a qualified 
        registered traveler services provider if--
                    ``(A) the entity is in compliance with section 536 
                of the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations 
                Act, 2015 (49 U.S.C. 114 note);
                    ``(B) the Administrator has approved an application 
                for the entity under subsection (c)(2); and
                    ``(C) the entity meets such other requirements as 
                the Administrator may establish.
            ``(2) Treatment of existing registered traveler services 
        providers.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Notwithstanding paragraph (1), a 
                private entity providing registered traveler services 
                as of the date of the enactment of this section shall 
                be deemed to be a qualified registered traveler 
                services provider for purposes of this subsection if 
                the entity--
                            ``(i) meets the requirement under paragraph 
                        (1)(A); and
                            ``(ii) is operating pursuant to the 
                        requirements established by the Administrator 
                        for the registered traveler program of the 
                        Administration as of the date of the enactment 
                        of this section.
                    ``(B) Continuation of contracts.--A contract 
                entered into before the date of the enactment of this 
                section with a private entity that meets the 
                requirements of subparagraph (A) shall remain in effect 
                on and after that date in accordance with the terms of 
                the contract.
    ``(c) Applications.--
            ``(1) Submission.--A private entity seeking to become a 
        qualified registered traveler services provider shall submit to 
        the Administrator an application at such time, in such manner, 
        and containing such information as the Administrator may 
        require.
            ``(2) Approval.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Not later than 180 days after 
                the date of receipt of an application submitted by an 
                entity under paragraph (1), the Administrator shall 
                approve or deny the application.
                    ``(B) Standards.--The Administrator shall approve 
                an application submitted by an entity under paragraph 
                (1) if the Administrator determines that--
                            ``(i) the level of security provided by the 
                        entity will be equal to or greater than the 
                        level that would be provided by Federal 
                        Government personnel; and
                            ``(ii) the approval would not detrimentally 
                        affect the cost efficiency or the effectiveness 
                        of identity verification, traveler vetting 
                        status authentication, or provision of access 
                        to physical screening at an airport.
                    ``(C) Reports on denials of applications.--
                            ``(i) In general.--If the Administrator 
                        denies an application submitted by an entity 
                        under paragraph (1), the Administrator shall 
                        provide to the entity, not later than 60 days 
                        after the date of the denial, a written report 
                        that sets forth--
                                    ``(I) the findings that served as 
                                the basis for the denial;
                                    ``(II) the results of any cost or 
                                security analysis conducted in 
                                considering the application; and
                                    ``(III) recommendations on how the 
                                entity can address the reasons for the 
                                denial.
                            ``(ii) Submission to congress.--The 
                        Administrator shall submit to the Committee on 
                        Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 
                        Senate and the Committee on Homeland Security 
                        of the House of Representatives a copy of any 
                        report provided to an entity under clause (i).
    ``(d) Registered Traveler Services.--For purposes of this section, 
registered traveler services provided by a qualified registered 
traveler services provider include the following:
            ``(1) Identity verification.--The use of identity 
        verification procedures or technologies, including the use of 
        biometrics, to securely verify the identity of a registered 
        traveler program participant who has entered an airport 
        security checkpoint or any other area under the control or 
        authority of the Administrator.
            ``(2) Traveler vetting status authentication.--The 
        authentication, by manual or electronic means, of the vetting 
        status, as determined by the Transportation Security 
        Administration, of a registered traveler program participant 
        whose identity has been verified under paragraph (1), which may 
        include authentication of paper or electronic travel 
        documentation or electronic confirmation of travel information 
        by the qualified registered traveler services provider.
            ``(3) Access to physical screening.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The direction, from an employee 
                of the qualified registered traveler services provider 
                or through an automated process operated by the 
                qualified registered traveler services provider, for a 
                registered traveler program participant, whose identity 
                has been verified under paragraph (1) and whose vetting 
                status has been authenticated under paragraph (2), to 
                proceed directly, in an unimpeded manner, without re-
                verification of the identity or re-authentication of 
                the vetting status of the traveler, to the appropriate 
                area for physical screening designated by the 
                Administrator.
                    ``(B) Physical screening defined.--In this 
                subsection, the term `area for physical screening' 
                means an area, including a lane within an airport 
                security checkpoint or any other area, at which an 
                individual and the personal property of an individual 
                are screened by an agent of the Transportation Security 
                Administration.
            ``(4) Additional services.--Such other additional services 
        at the airport security checkpoint or any other area under the 
        control or authority of the Administrator as the Administrator 
        may approve.
    ``(e) Registered Traveler Services Provided.--The Administrator 
shall--
            ``(1) develop policies, procedures, and capabilities that 
        allow qualified registered traveler services providers to 
        provide to registered traveler services program participants 
        the full extent of registered traveler services; and
            ``(2) undertake audits under subsection (f) of the 
        performance of qualified registered traveler services providers 
        providing registered traveler services at airports under this 
        section, and allow providers to correct any deficiencies 
        identified during such audits.
    ``(f) Audits of Qualified Registered Traveler Services Providers.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not less frequently than once every 5 
        years, the Administrator shall conduct an audit, which shall 
        last not more than 1 month, of each qualified registered 
        traveler services provider to determine if the provider is 
        meeting the standards described in subsection (c)(2)(B).
            ``(2) Strategy required.--
                    ``(A) In general.--In carrying out paragraph (1), 
                the Administrator shall develop a strategy for 
                conducting audits under that paragraph to determine if 
                qualified registered traveler services providers are 
                meeting the standards described in subsection 
                (c)(2)(B).
                    ``(B) Elements.--The strategy required by 
                subparagraph (A) may include the examination of a 
                percentage of registered traveler services program 
                participants, not to exceed 5 percent of the average 
                number of such participants traveling on a daily basis, 
                who are screened under procedures of the Transportation 
                Security Administration applicable to travelers who are 
                not registered traveler services program participants. 
                Subsection (d)(3) shall not apply to registered 
                traveler services program participants screened under 
                such procedures.
            ``(3) Improvement plans.--
                    ``(A) In general.--If, after completing an audit 
                under paragraph (1) of a qualified registered traveler 
                services provider, the Administrator determines that 
                the provider does not meet the standards described in 
                subsection (c)(2)(B), the Administrator shall develop 
                an improvement plan with the provider to bring the 
                provider into compliance with those standards by the 
                date that is 12 months after the Administrator provides 
                the plan to the provider.
                    ``(B) Completion of improvement plans.--If a 
                provider for which an improvement plan was developed 
                under subparagraph (A) does not come into compliance 
                with the standards described in subsection (c)(2)(B) by 
                the date required by that subparagraph, the 
                Administrator may--
                            ``(i) provide the provider with additional 
                        time to come into compliance with those 
                        standards;
                            ``(ii) take administrative action against 
                        the provider; or
                            ``(iii) require the suspension or 
                        termination under subsection (g) of the 
                        contract between the provider and the airport 
                        operator entered into under subsection (a).
            ``(4) Authority for immediate contract termination.--If, 
        during an audit conducted under paragraph (1), the 
        Administrator determines that a qualified registered traveler 
        services provider has acted with gross negligence or failed 
        repeatedly to comply with any standard, regulation, directive, 
        order, or applicable law, the Administrator may require the 
        immediate suspension or termination under subsection (g) of the 
        contract between the provider and the airport operator entered 
        into under subsection (a).
    ``(g) Termination or Suspension of Contracts.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Administrator may require an airport 
        operator to suspend or terminate, as appropriate, any contract 
        entered into under subsection (a) with a qualified registered 
        traveler services provider to provide registered traveler 
        services at an airport if the Administrator determines that the 
        provider has acted with gross negligence or failed repeatedly 
        to comply with any standard, regulation, directive, order, or 
        law applicable to--
                    ``(A) the hiring or training of personnel to 
                provide such services;
                    ``(B) the handling of personal information; or
                    ``(C) the provision of such services at the 
                airport.
            ``(2) Report required.--If the Administrator requires the 
        termination or suspension of the contract of a registered 
        traveler services provider under paragraph (1), the 
        Administrator shall, not later than 30 days after requiring the 
        termination or suspension, submit to the Committee on Commerce, 
        Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on 
        Homeland Security of the House of Representatives a report that 
        describes in detail--
                    ``(A) the reasons the contract was terminated or 
                suspended;
                    ``(B) if the contract was suspended and not 
                terminated, the actions the Administrator is requiring 
                the provider to take before the contract is reinstated; 
                and
                    ``(C) measures the Administrator is taking to 
                improve future registered traveler services contracts.
    ``(h) Secure Flight Program Availability.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Administrator shall make available 
        to qualified registered traveler services providers providing 
        registered traveler services under this section the same 
        systems (including the advanced passenger prescreening system 
        under section 44903(j)(2)(C)), programs, capabilities, and 
        information, or successor systems, programs, and capabilities, 
        that, as of the date of the enactment of this section, are 
        available to--
                    ``(A) airport operators;
                    ``(B) air carriers;
                    ``(C) foreign air carriers; or
                    ``(D) qualified private screening companies 
                operating at airports participating in the screening 
                partnership program authorized under section 44920.
            ``(2) Requirement relating to advanced passenger 
        prescreening system.--Upon making access to the advanced 
        passenger prescreening system under section 44903(j)(2)(C) 
        available to a registered traveler services provider under 
        paragraph (1), the Administrator shall carry out the 
        requirements described in clause (iii) of that section, as 
        applicable to the registered traveler services provider--
                    ``(A) to establish sufficient operational 
                safeguards to reduce the opportunities for abuse of the 
                system;
                    ``(B) to implement substantial security measures to 
                protect the system from unauthorized access;
                    ``(C) to adopt policies establishing effective 
                oversight of the use and operation of the system; and
                    ``(D) to ensure that there are no specific privacy 
                concerns with the technological architecture of the 
                system.
    ``(i) Innovative Screening Approaches and Technologies.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Administrator shall encourage 
        qualified registered traveler services providers to recommend 
        to the Administrator innovative identity verification and 
        screening approaches and technologies.
            ``(2) Response.--Upon the receipt of any recommendations 
        from a qualified registered traveler services provider under 
        paragraph (1), the Administrator shall--
                    ``(A) review and respond in writing to the 
                qualified registered traveler services provider within 
                30 days;
                    ``(B) if appropriate, test or conduct a pilot 
                project with respect to such approaches and 
                technologies; and
                    ``(C) if appropriate, deploy such approaches and 
                technologies.
    ``(j) Public Health Standards.--A registered traveler services 
program participant shall be required to meet or exceed any public 
health standards that the Administrator requires all other travelers in 
air transportation to meet.
    ``(k) Registered Traveler Services Program Participant Defined.--In 
this section, the term `registered traveler services program 
participant' means an individual who voluntarily chooses to participate 
in registered traveler services that are provided by a qualified 
registered traveler services provider.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The chapter analysis for chapter 449 of 
title 49, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item 
relating to section 44920 the following:

``44920a. Registered traveler program.''.

SEC. 4. REPORT ON REGISTERED TRAVELER PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 18 months after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 
shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 
of the Senate and the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of 
Representatives a report on the registered traveler program under 
section 44920a of title 49, United States Code, as added by section 3.
    (b) Elements.--The report required by subsection (a) shall 
include--
            (1) an assessment of--
                    (A) the extent of the compliance by the 
                Transportation Security Administration with the 
                requirements of section 44920a of title 49, United 
                States Code, as added by section 3;
                    (B) the level of security for identity verification 
                provided by qualified registered traveler services 
                providers and whether that level of security is equal 
                to or greater than the level of security for identity 
                verification provided by personnel of the 
                Transportation Security Administration;
                    (C) the effectiveness of identity verification and 
                traveler vetting status authentication technology and 
                procedures used by qualified registered traveler 
                services providers;
                    (D) the impact on aviation security resulting from 
                the provision of access to physical screening at 
                airports by qualified registered traveler services 
                providers; and
                    (E) the effectiveness of oversight by the 
                Transportation Security Administration of qualified 
                registered traveler services providers; and
            (2) recommendations for how to improve the registered 
        traveler program.
    (c) Form of Report.--The report required by subsection (a) shall be 
submitted in unclassified form but may include a classified annex.
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