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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 5487 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>

118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 5487

 To provide PreCheck to certain severely injured or disabled veterans, 
                        and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           December 11, 2024

 Mr. Young (for himself, Ms. Duckworth, Mr. Marshall, and Ms. Hassan) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
           Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
 To provide PreCheck to certain severely injured or disabled veterans, 
                        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 ``Veterans Expedited TSA Screening 
Safe Travel Act'' or the ``VETS Safe Travel Act''.

SEC. 2. AVAILABILITY OF PRECHECK PROGRAM TO CERTAIN SEVERELY INJURED OR 
              DISABLED VETERANS.

    (a) In General.--Section 44927 of title 49, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(g) Availability of PreCheck Program to Certain Severely Injured 
or Disabled Veterans.--
            ``(1) In general.--A veteran described in paragraph (2) is 
        eligible for security screening under the PreCheck Program 
        under section 44919 at no cost to the veteran if the veteran is 
        able to meet the background check and other security 
        requirements for participation in the Program.
            ``(2) Veterans described.--A veteran described in this 
        paragraph is a veteran who--
                    ``(A) is enrolled in the patient enrollment system 
                of the Department of Veterans Affairs established and 
                operated under section 1705 of title 38, United States 
                Code;
                    ``(B) has been determined by the Secretary of 
                Veterans Affairs to have a service-connected disability 
                under section 1110 or 1131 of such title, as the case 
                may be, and such disability has been determined by such 
                Secretary to have resulted in--
                            ``(i) loss, or loss use of, an extremity;
                            ``(ii) paralysis or partial paralysis; or
                            ``(iii) permanent blindness; and
                    ``(C) as a result of a loss, paralysis or partial 
                paralysis, or blindness described in subparagraph (B), 
                requires the use of a wheelchair, prosthetic limb, or 
                other assistive device to aid with mobility.
            ``(3) Limitation.--The Administrator of the Transportation 
        Security Administration shall carry out this subsection subject 
        to the availability of appropriations and may not increase fees 
        for enrollment in the PreCheck Program for such purpose.''.
    (b) Coordination on Implementation.--The Administrator of the 
Transportation Security Administration and the Secretary of Veterans 
Affairs shall jointly--
            (1) implement a process under which a veteran described in 
        paragraph (2) of subsection (g) of section 44927 of title 49, 
        United States Code, as added by subsection (a), can receive the 
        benefits under such subsection by not later than one year after 
        the date of enactment of this Act; and
            (2) provide to the Committee on Homeland Security and the 
        Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives 
        and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 
        and the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate a briefing 
        on the status of implementing the process required by paragraph 
        (1) by not later than one year after the date of the enactment 
        of this Act.
    (c) Outreach for Disabled Veterans on Availability of 
Transportation Security Administration Programs.--
            (1) Coordination.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs and 
        the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration 
        shall implement a process under which such Secretary provides 
        to disabled veterans effective outreach regarding 
        Transportation Security Administration programs designed to 
        improve the screening process for passengers with disabilities.
            (2) Further enhancements to ease air travel for wounded 
        warriors and other disabled veterans.--Notwithstanding 
        subchapter I of chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code 
        (commonly referred to as the ``Paperwork Reduction Act''), or 
        any other provision of law, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, 
        in coordination with the Administrator of the Transportation 
        Security Administration, shall--
                    (A) engage appropriate veterans service 
                organizations and other relevant organizations, as 
                appropriate, to assess the awareness of veterans of 
                relevant Transportation Security Administration 
                programs; and
                    (B) examine the need and feasibility of other 
                measures to improve travel security procedures for 
                disabled veterans.
            (3) Briefing requirement.--Not later than 180 days after 
        the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 
        Veterans Affairs and the Administrator of the Transportation 
        Security Administration shall jointly provide to the Committee 
        on Homeland Security and the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of 
        the House of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland 
        Security and Governmental Affairs and the Committee on 
        Veterans' Affairs of the Senate a briefing on the status of the 
        implementation of paragraphs (1) and (2).
                                 <all>
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