II

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1429

To provide for the improvement of security at airports and seaports.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

SEPTEMBER 14, 2001

Mr. EDWARDS introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred

to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

A BILL

To provide for the improvement of security at airports and

seaports.

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 ‘‘Airport and Seaport

5 Terrorism Prevention Act’’.
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1 TITLE I—SEAPORT SECURITY

2 IMPROVEMENT

3 SEC. 101. PORT SECURITY INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVE4 MENT.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title XI of the Merchant Marine

6 Act, 1936 (46 U.S.C. App. 1271 et seq.) is amended by

7 adding at the end thereof the following:

8 ‘‘SEC. 1113. GRANTS FOR PORT SECURITY INFRASTRUC9 TURE IMPROVEMENTS.

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, under section

11 1103(a) and subject to the terms the Secretary shall pre12 scribe, and after consultation with the United States Coast

13 Guard and the United States Customs Service, shall pro14 vide grants for seaport security infrastructure improve15 ments for an eligible project at any United States seaport

16 involved in international trade.

17 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.—A project is eligible for

18 a grant under subsection (a) if it is for the construction,

19 acquisition, or deployment of surveillance equipment and

20 technology, including—

21 ‘‘(1) surveillance cameras with video feed to re22 gional and national offices of the United States Cus23 toms Service that provide real-time information, ob24 servation, and situation status;
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1 ‘‘(2) a pilot program for iris recognition or

2 similar biometric technology for port workers with

3 access to secure areas;

4 ‘‘(3) x-ray, ultrasound, and laser scanners to

5 scan cargo containers; and

6 ‘‘(4) radiation monitors and other devices capa7 ble of detecting weapons of mass destruction, includ8 ing chemical, biological, or similar substances.

9 ‘‘(c) AMOUNT OF GRANTS.—The Secretary shall de10 termine the amount of each grant based on available fund11 ing, not to exceed $250,000 for any one grant.

12 ‘‘(d) PROJECT PROPOSALS.—Each proposal for a

13 grant under this section shall include the following:

14 ‘‘(1) The name of the individual or entity re15 sponsible for conducting the project.

16 ‘‘(2) A succinct statement of the purposes of

17 the project.

18 ‘‘(3) A description of the qualifications of the

19 individuals who will conduct the project.

20 ‘‘(4) An estimate of the funds and time re21 quired to complete the project.

22 ‘‘(5) Evidence of support of the project by ap23 propriate representatives of States or territories of

24 the United States or other government jurisdictions

25 in which the project will be conducted.
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1 ‘‘(6) Information regarding the source and

2 amount of matching funding available to the appli3 cant, as appropriate.

4 ‘‘(7) Any other information the Secretary con5 siders to be necessary for evaluating the eligibility of

6 the project for funding under this title.’’.

7 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

8 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of

9 Transportation for grants under section 1113 of the Mer10 chant Marine Act, 1936, such funds as may be necessary

11 for each of the fiscal years 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005.

12 SEC. 102. PILOT PROGRAM FOR TRACKING AND ANTI-TAM13 PERING.

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transportation

15 shall, in cooperation with the United States Customs Serv16 ice and private shippers, establish a pilot program to track

17 cargo within the United States, so that cargo can be

18 tracked from the time it arrives in the United States until

19 it reaches its final destination.

20 (b) ANTI-TAMPERING PROGRAM.—The Secretary

21 shall, in cooperation with the United States Customs Serv22 ice and the Maritime Administration, develop and imple23 ment anti-tampering standards to ensure that cargo con24 tainers cannot be opened or tampered with during ship25 ment within the United States.
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1 SEC. 103. EVALUATION OF TECHNOLOGY.

2 The Coast Guard and the Maritime Administration

3 shall work with the National Academy of Sciences to es4 tablish a panel to evaluate and assess technologies de5 ployed to improve port security and to facilitate develop6 ment of public-private partnerships to assess and improve

7 seaport security.

8 SEC. 104. COAST GUARD DOMESTIC PORT SECURITY UNITS.

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commandant of the Coast

10 Guard and the Administrator of the Maritime Administra11 tion shall establish Domestic Port Security Units and shall

12 develop port response plans. The Domestic Port Security

13 Units shall consist of teams of personnel trained in anti14 terrorism activities that can be rapidly deployed to any

15 port area threatened with terrorist activity.

16 (b) AUTHORIZATION.—There are authorized to be ap17 propriated $8,000,000 each fiscal year for each Domestic

18 Port Security Unit.

19 TITLE II—AIRPORT SECURITY

20 IMPROVEMENT

21 SEC. 201. SCREENING PASSENGERS AND PROPERTY.

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

23 amended by adding at the end the following new sub24 section:

25 ‘‘(d) ADDITIONAL ACTIONS.—The Administrator

26 shall immediately undertake a study of additional actions
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1 that can be taken by security personnel at airports and

2 on air carriers to enhance security and make security more

3 visible. Not later than 6 months after the date of enact4 ment of the Airport and Seaport Terrorism Prevention

5 Act, the Administrator shall report to Congress the results

6 of the study.

7 SEC. 202. AIR TRANSPORTATION SECURITY.

8 Section 44903 of title 49, United States Code, is

9 amended—

10 (1) in subsection (c)(2)(C), by adding at the

11 end the following:

12 ‘‘(iv) MAXIMUM USE OF CHEMICAL

13 AND BIOLOGICAL WEAPON DETECTION

14 EQUIPMENT.—The Administrator shall re15 quire airports to maximize the use of tech16 nology and equipment that is designed to

17 detect potential chemical or biological

18 weapons.

19 ‘‘(v) MAXIMUM USE OF ADDITIONAL

20 INSPECTION AND DETECTION TECH21 NOLOGY.—The Administrator shall require

22 airports to maximize the use of available

23 nonintrusive and other inspection and de24 tection technology that may be approved
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1 by the Administrator for the purpose of

2 screening passengers, baggage, or cargo.’’;

3 (2) by adding at the end of subsection (d) the

4 following flush sentence: ‘‘The Secretary of Trans5 portation, with the approval of the Attorney General

6 and the Secretary of State, shall prescribe regula7 tions specifying the law enforcement officers, includ8 ing United States Customs agents, Federal Bureau

9 of Investigation agents, and State and local law en10 forcement officers that may make arrests on

11 planes.’’;

12 (3) by adding at the end of subsection (g)(1)

13 the following new subparagraph:

14 ‘‘(C) REPORT OF INFRACTIONS.—The Ad15 ministrator shall report to the Committee on

16 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the

17 Senate and the Committee on Commerce of the

18 House of Representatives at least once a year

19 the number of violations or infractions by em20 ployees, including information regarding the

21 sanctions taken. The report shall be confidential

22 to protect national security interests.’’;

23 (4) by amending subsection (g)(2)(A) to read as

24 follows:
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1 ‘‘(A) immediately work with airport opera2 tors, air carriers, and Federal law enforcement

3 officers, as deemed appropriate by the airport

4 security officer, to implement new and strength5 en existing controls to eliminate airport access

6 control weaknesses on an ongoing basis, includ7 ing the use of inspection or detection technology

8 capable of detecting chemical, biological, or

9 other potentially hazardous substances;’’;

10 (5) by amending subsection (g)(2)(D) to read

11 as follows:

12 ‘‘(D) on an ongoing basis, assess and test

13 for compliance with access control require14 ments, report annually findings of the assess15 ments, and assess the effectiveness of penalties

16 in ensuring compliance with security procedures

17 and take any other appropriate enforcement ac18 tions when noncompliance is found;’’; and

19 (6) by amending subsection (g)(2)(G) to read

20 as follows:

21 ‘‘(G) require airport operators and air car22 riers to strengthen access control points in se23 cured areas (including air traffic control oper24 ations areas, maintenance areas, crew lounges,

25 baggage handling areas, and catering delivery
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1 areas) to ensure the security of passengers and

2 aircraft by using biometric or similar tech3 nologies that identify individuals based on

4 unique personal characteristics.’’.

5 SEC. 203. DOMESTIC AIR TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM SECU6 RITY.

7 (a) ASSESSING THREATS.—The first sentence of sec8 tion 44904(a) of title 49, United States Code, is amended

9 to read as follows: ‘‘The Administrator of the Federal

10 Aviation Administration and the Director of the Federal

11 Bureau of Investigation jointly, and in consultation with

12 the United States Customs Service, the Immigration and

13 Naturalization Service, and such other Federal agencies

14 as the Administrator may deem appropriate or as rec15 ommended by the Airport Director of Intelligence and Se16 curity and, if appropriate, with the Center for Civil Force

17 Protection, shall assess current and potential threats to

18 the domestic air transportation system. Such assessments

19 shall begin not later than 30 days after the date of enact20 ment of the Airport and Seaport Terrorism Prevention

21 Act.’’.

22 (b) AIRPORT SECURITY COMMITTEES.—Section

23 44904 is amended by adding at the end the following new

24 subsection:

25 ‘‘(d) AIRPORT SECURITY.—
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1 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMITTEES.—The

2 Administrator shall establish within each of the larg3 est 100 airports an airport security committee. Each

4 committee shall be responsible for—

5 ‘‘(A) defining the physical boundaries with6 in which to conduct vulnerability assessments,

7 taking into account the unique characteristics

8 of each airport;

9 ‘‘(B) reviewing airport security vulner10 ability assessments;

11 ‘‘(C) helping to coordinate the planning

12 and other necessary security activities by con13 ducting meetings not less frequently than 4

14 times each year;

15 ‘‘(D) disseminating information that will

16 facilitate law enforcement activities; and

17 ‘‘(E) conducting an exercise at least once

18 every 3 years to verify the effectiveness of each

19 airport security plan.

20 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.—In establishing airport se21 curity committees, the Administrator shall require

22 that each committee include representatives of—

23 ‘‘(A) Federal, State, and local government;

24 ‘‘(B) Federal, State, and local government

25 law enforcement agencies;
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1 ‘‘(C) labor organizations and transpor2 tation workers;

3 ‘‘(D) air carriers using the airport; and

4 ‘‘(E) other private sector representatives as

5 deemed appropriate by the Federal Security

6 Manager.

7 ‘‘(3) CHAIRPERSON.—Each airport security

8 committee shall be chaired by the Federal Security

9 Manager.

10 ‘‘(4) EXEMPTION FROM FACA.—The Federal

11 Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not

12 apply to an airport security committee.

13 ‘‘(5) ACCEPTANCE OF CONTRIBUTIONS; JOINT

14 VENTURE ARRANGEMENTS.—In carrying out its re15 sponsibilities under this title, an airport security

16 committee, or a member organization or representa17 tive acting with the committee’s consent, may accept

18 contributions of funds, material, services, and the

19 use of personnel and facilities from public and pri20 vate entities by contract or other arrangement if the

21 confidentiality of security-sensitive information is

22 maintained and access to such information is limited

23 appropriately.’’.
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1 SEC. 204. TRAVEL ADVISORIES.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 44908 of title 49, United

3 States Code, is amended—

4 (1) by amending subsection (a)(2) to read as

5 follows:

6 ‘‘(2) shall publicize the advisory widely, includ7 ing both at domestic airports and on the Depart8 ment of Transportation and Federal Aviation Ad9 ministration websites.’’; and

10 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub11 section:

12 ‘‘(d) STATE OF EMERGENCY.—In the event the Presi13 dent declares a state of emergency, the Administrator of

14 the Federal Aviation Administration shall have the author15 ity to establish additional security protections and restric16 tions as deemed appropriate to ensure the safety of pas17 sengers and the national aviation system. The Adminis18 trator shall report to Congress and to the President any

19 action the Administrator proposes to take before imple20 menting such action.’’.

21 SEC. 205. PASSENGER MANIFESTS.

22 Section 44909(a) of title 49, United States Code, is

23 amended by adding at the end the following new para24 graph:

25 ‘‘(4) In the case of flights originating outside the

26 United States, passenger manifests, including passport
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1 numbers, shall be transmitted to the United States Cus2 toms Service before the plane lands in the United States.

3 The Secretary of Transportation may impose a similar re4 quirement on foreign air carriers.’’.

5 SEC. 206. INTELLIGENCE.

6 (a) POLICIES AND PROCEDURES.—Section 44911(b)

7 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by striking

8 ‘‘international terrorism’’ and inserting ‘‘international and

9 domestic terrorism’’.

10 (b) UNIT FOR STRATEGIC PLANNING ON TER11 RORISM.—Section 44911(c) is amended—

12 (1) by striking ‘‘shall consider placing’’ and in13 serting ‘‘shall establish’’; and

14 (2) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘The

15 head of each unit shall work with Federal Security

16 Managers at individual airports.’’.

17 SEC. 207. RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.

18 Section 44912(b) of title 49, United States Code, is

19 amended—

20 (1) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking ‘‘November

21 16, 1990’’ and inserting ‘‘October 1, 2001’’;

22 (2) by redesignating subparagraphs (D)

23 through (F) as subparagraphs (E) through (G), re24 spectively; and
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1 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (C) the fol2 lowing new subparagraph:

3 ‘‘(D) the potential release of chemical, bio4 logical, or similar weapons or devices either

5 within an aircraft or within an airport;’’.

6 SEC. 208. EXPLOSIVE DETECTION.

7 Section 44913(a)(3) of title 49, United States Code,

8 is amended by adding at the end the following new sen9 tence: ‘‘The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Admin10 istration shall deploy the most up-to-date technology that

11 is available and certified for inspecting passengers, bag12 gage, and cargo for chemical, biological, or similar sub13 stance.’’.

14 SEC. 209. ASSESSMENTS AND EVALUATIONS.

15 (a) PERIODIC ASSESSMENTS.—Section 44916(a) of

16 title 49, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘peri17 odic audits of such assessments’’ and inserting ‘‘audits of

18 such assessments at least once a year’’.

19 (b) INVESTIGATIONS.—Section 44916(b) of title 49,

20 United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the

21 following new sentence: ‘‘The Administrator shall report

22 to Congress on a confidential basis the results of the inves23 tigation.
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1 SEC. 210. REVIEW AND DEVELOPMENT OF WAYS TO

2 STRENGTHEN SECURITY.

3 Section 44932(c) of title 49, United States Code, is

4 amended—

5 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph

6 (4);

7 (2) by striking the period at the end of para8 graph (5) and inserting ‘‘;’’; and

9 (3) by adding at the end the following:

10 ‘‘(6) to strengthen and enhance the ability to

11 detect nonexplosive weapons, such as biological,

12 chemical, or similar substances;

13 ‘‘(7) to ensure the use of the best available x14 ray and other equipment for air transportation in15 spection and security purposes;

16 ‘‘(8) to evaluate such additional measures as

17 may be appropriate to enhance physical inspection of

18 passengers, luggage, and cargo; and

19 ‘‘(9) to inspect aircraft cabins, holds, and other

20 areas prior to boarding passengers to ensure safety

21 of the aircraft and to ensure that no item that may

22 be used as a weapon is on the plane.’’.

23 SEC. 211. FEDERAL SECURITY MANAGERS.

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 44933(a) of title 49,

25 United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘at each air26 port’’ and inserting ‘‘at at least the 100 largest airports’’.
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1 (b) DUTIES.—Section 44933(b) of title 49, United

2 States Code, is amended—

3 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph

4 (6);

5 (2) by striking the period at the end of para6 graph (7) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

7 (3) by adding at the end the following new

8 paragraph:

9 ‘‘(8) shall serve as chairperson of the airport

10 security committee established under section

11 44904.’’.

12 SEC. 212. EMPLOYMENT STANDARDS AND TRAINING.

13 Section 44935 of title 49, United States Code, is

14 amended by adding at the end the following new sub15 section:

16 ‘‘(g) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—The Adminis17 trator shall prescribe regulations requiring additional

18 training for existing screeners to ensure that the screeners

19 are proficient in using the most up-to-date new technology

20 and to ensure their proficiency in recognizing new threats

21 and weapons. The Administrator shall make periodic as22 sessments to determine if there are ‘‘dual use’’ items and

23 shall inform the Federal Security Managers, who will then

24 inform security screening personnel, of the existence of

25 such items. Current lists of dual use items shall be part
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1 of the ongoing training for screeners. For purposes of this

2 subsection, the term ‘‘dual use item’’ means an item that

3 may seem harmless but that may be used as a weapon

4 if allowed in carry-on luggage.’’.

5 SEC. 213. EMPLOYMENT INVESTIGATIONS AND RESTRIC6 TIONS.

7 Section 44936(a) of title 49, United States Code, is

8 amended by adding at the end the following new para9 graphs:

10 ‘‘(4) The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Ad11 ministration shall consider the feasibility of requiring

12 background checks of personnel that may be performing

13 contract services for airports or air carriers, including con14 struction contractors, caterers, and other personnel who

15 have access to airports or air carriers. The Administrator

16 of the Federal Aviation Administration shall immediately

17 strengthen existing and develop new security measures re18 lating to contractors, caterers, and other personnel that

19 are not currently subject to background checks.

20 ‘‘(5) The Administrator shall establish pilot programs

21 in no fewer than 20 airports to test and evaluate new and

22 emerging technology for providing access control and other

23 security protections for closed or secure areas of the air24 ports. Such technology may include biometric or other
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1 technology that ensures only authorized access to secure

2 areas.’’.

3 SEC. 214. ADDITIONAL ASSESSMENTS AND REPORTS.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 449 of

5 title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the

6 end the following new section:

7 ‘‘§ 44939. Additional assessments and reports

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the Fed9 eral Aviation Administration shall study options for im10 proving the physical security of airports and of airplanes

11 (in conjunction with private industry as appropriate), with

12 a view towards—

13 ‘‘(1) improving security of the cockpit and

14 flight attendant areas;

15 ‘‘(2) establishing emergency communication de16 vices in the cockpit and flight attendant areas that

17 are linked to the Federal Aviation Administration;

18 and

19 ‘‘(3) providing real-time audio feed in the event

20 of an emergency.

21 ‘‘(b) ASSESSMENT.—The Administrator shall conduct

22 an assessment, in conjunction with such other Government

23 agencies as may be appropriate, of the vulnerability of the

24 air traffic control system and other computer-based sys25 tems in place at airports.
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1 ‘‘(c) REPORT.—The Administrator shall report to

2 Congress, not later than 90 days after the date of enact3 ment of the Airport and Seaport Terrorism Prevention

4 Act, on the progress made by Federal Aviation Adminis5 tration to comply with existing requirements and regula6 tions governing air traffic control security, security check7 point screener certification, background checks, and de8 ployment of inspection and detection technology.

9 ‘‘(d) EXAMINATION OF SCREENING RESPONSIBIL10 ITIES.—The Administrator shall examine the feasibility of

11 moving screening responsibilities to the Federal govern12 ment away from airports and air carriers. The examina13 tion shall include an evaluation by the Federal Aviation

14 Administration of problems associated with high turnover

15 of screeners, including low wages, minimal benefits, job

16 stress, level training, and other factors as may be appro17 priate.’’.

18 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis for

19 subchapter II of chapter 449 of title 49, United States

20 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

‘‘44939. Additional assessments and reports.’’.

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