59–006 

114TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2d Session 114–495 

NO FLY FOR FOREIGN FIGHTERS ACT 

APRIL 15, 2016.—COMMITTED TO THE COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE HOUSE ON THE

STATE OF THE UNION AND ORDERED TO BE PRINTED

Mr. GOODLATTE, from the Committee on the Judiciary, 

submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany H.R. 4240] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the bill 

(H.R. 4240) to require an independent review of the operation and 

administration of the Terrorist Screening Database (TSDB) maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and subsets of the 

TSDB, and for other purposes, having considered the same, reports 

favorably thereon with an amendment and recommends that the 

bill as amended do pass. 

CONTENTS 

Page 

The Amendment ...................................................................................................... 1 

Purpose and Summary ............................................................................................ 2 

Background and Need for the Legislation ............................................................. 2 

Hearings ................................................................................................................... 3 

Committee Consideration ........................................................................................ 3 

Committee Votes ...................................................................................................... 3 

Committee Oversight Findings ............................................................................... 3 

New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures ...................................................... 4 

Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate .......................................................... 4 

Duplication of Federal Programs ............................................................................ 5 

Disclosure of Directed Rule Makings ..................................................................... 5 

Performance Goals and Objectives ......................................................................... 5 

Advisory on Earmarks ............................................................................................. 5 

Section-by-Section Analysis .................................................................................... 5 

The Amendment 

The amendment is as follows: 

Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the following: 


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1 Homeland Security Presidential Directive/HSPD–6, Integration and Use of Screening Information (Sept. 16, 2003). 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘No Fly for Foreign Fighters Act’’. 

SEC. 2. GAO STUDY ON THE TERRORIST SCREENING DATABASE. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, 

the Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct a study and submit, to 

the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

on the Judiciary of the Senate, a report on— 

(1) whether past weaknesses in the operation and administration of the Terrorist Screening Database (hereinafter referred to as the ‘‘TSDB’’) and subsets 

of the TSDB have been addressed; and 

(2) the extent to which existing vulnerabilities to the United States may be 

addressed or mitigated through additional changes to the TSDB and subsets of 

the TSDB, thereby enhancing America’s security and defenses. 

(b) REQUIRED INFORMATION.—The study and report under subsection (a) shall include information on the extent to which— 

(1) information is being integrated into the TSDB from all relevant sources 

across the government in a timely manner; 

(2) agencies are able to comply with increased demands for information to improve the TSDB; 

(3) the TSDB, and relevant subsets of the TSDB, are accessible to agencies, 

authorities, and other entities, as appropriate; and 

(4) the TSDB is capable of enabling users to identify known or suspected terrorists in the most timely and comprehensive manner possible. 

Purpose and Summary 

This legislation requires the U.S. Government Accountability Office to conduct an independent review of the operation and administration of the Terrorist Screening Database and its subsets. 

Background and Need for the Legislation 

Pursuant to Homeland Security Presidential Directive 6, the Terrorist Screening Center (TSC) was established to create and maintain the U.S. government’s consolidated watchlist—the Terrorist 

Screening Database (TSDB)—and to provide for the use of watchlist records during security-related and other screening processes.1

The watchlisting and screening processes are intended to support 

the U.S. government’s efforts to combat terrorism by consolidating 

the terrorist watchlist and providing screening and law enforcement agencies with information to help them respond appropriately 

during encounters with known or suspected terrorists, among other 

things. 

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) previously 

conducted a study of the terrorist watchlist following the December 

25, 2009, attempted bombing of Northwest flight 253. That study 

exposed certain weaknesses in how the Federal Government nominated individuals to the terrorist watchlist and gaps in how agencies used the list to screen individuals. The GAO specifically recommended in its May 2012 unclassified report that the Assistant 

to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism establish mechanisms or use existing interagency bodies to routinely 

assess: 

• how the watchlisting guidance has impacted the watchlisting 

community—including its capacity to submit and process 

nominations in accordance with provisions in the guidance— 


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and whether any adjustments to agency programs or the 

guidance are needed, and 

• whether use of the watchlist during agency screening processes is achieving intended results, including whether the 

overall outcomes and impacts of screening on agency resources and the traveling public are acceptable and manageable or if adjustments to agency programs or the watchlisting guidance are needed. 

In July 2010, the Federal Government finalized guidance to address these identified weaknesses in the watchlist nominations 

process and to clarify how agencies are to nominate individuals to 

the watchlist. In 2011, an interagency policy committee began an 

initiative to assess the initial impacts the changes in watchlisting 

guidance had on nominating agencies. At the time the GAO report 

was published in 2012, agencies were also pursuing staffing, technology, and other solutions to address challenges in processing the 

volumes of information. 

The GAO stated in its 2012 watchlisting report that routine, government-wide assessments of the outcomes and impacts of agencies’ watchlist screening or vetting programs could help ensure that 

these programs are achieving their intended results or identify if 

revisions are needed. Such assessments could also help identify 

broader issues that require attention, determine if impacts on 

agency resources and the traveling public are acceptable, and communicate to key stakeholders how the nation’s investment in the 

watchlist screening or vetting processes is enhancing security of 

the nation’s borders, commercial aviation, and other security-related activities. 

Hearings 

The Committee on the Judiciary held no hearings on H.R. 4240. 

Committee Consideration 

On January 12, 2016, the Committee met in open session and ordered the bill H.R. 4240 favorably reported, with an amendment, 

by voice vote, a quorum being present. 

Committee Votes 

In compliance with clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives, the Committee advises that there were 

no recorded votes during the Committee’s consideration of H.R. 

4240. 

Committee Oversight Findings 

In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives, the Committee advises that the findings 

and recommendations of the Committee, based on oversight activities under clause 2(b)(1) of rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives, are incorporated in the descriptive portions of this report. 


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New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures 

Clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives is inapplicable because this legislation does not provide new 

budgetary authority or increased tax expenditures. 

Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate 

In compliance with clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives, the Committee sets forth, with respect to 

the bill, H.R. 4240, the following estimate and comparison prepared 

by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office under section 

402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974: 

U.S. CONGRESS, 

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE, 

Washington, DC, January 29, 2016. 

Hon. BOB GOODLATTE, CHAIRMAN, 

Committee on the Judiciary, 

House of Representatives, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 4240, the ‘‘No Fly for Foreign Fighters Act.’’If you wish further details on this estimate, we 

will be pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Matthew 

Pickford, who can be reached at 226–2860. 

Sincerely, 

KEITH HALL, DIRECTOR. 

Enclosure 

cc: Honorable John Conyers, Jr. 

Ranking Member 

H.R. 4240—No Fly for Foreign Fighters Act. 

As ordered reported by the House Committee on the Judiciary 

on January 12, 2015. 

H.R. 4240 would direct the Government Accountability Office to 

prepare a study within 1 year of enactment on the operation and 

administration of the Terrorist Screening Database (commonly referred to as the Terrorist Watchlist) maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The database consolidates all terrorist information collected by the Federal Government for all terrorist screening systems. The report to the Congress would weigh whether 

weaknesses and vulnerabilities that have been identified in the 

database have been corrected. Based on the cost of similar studies, 

CBO estimates the report would cost less than $500,000 over the 

2016–2017 period; such spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds. 

Because enacting the bill would not affect direct spending or revenues, pay-as-you go procedures do not apply. CBO estimates that 

enacting H.R. 4240 would not increase direct spending or on-budget 

deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 

2026. 


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H.R. 4240 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would 

not affect the budgets of State, local, or tribal governments. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Matthew Pickford. The 

estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Assistant 

Director for Budget Analysis. 

Duplication of Federal Programs 

No provision of H.R. 4240 establishes or reauthorizes a program 

of the Federal Government known to be duplicative of another Federal program, a program that was included in any report from the 

Government Accountability Office to Congress pursuant to section 

21 of Public Law 111–139, or a program related to a program identified in the most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance. 

Disclosure of Directed Rule Makings 

The Committee estimates that H.R. 4240 specifically directs to be 

completed no specific rule makings within the meaning of 5 U.S.C. 

551. 

Performance Goals and Objectives 

The Committee states that pursuant to clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII 

of the Rules of the House of Representatives, H.R. 4240, requires 

the U.S. Government Accountability Office to conduct an independent review of the operation and administration of the Terrorist 

Screening Database and its subsets. 

Advisory on Earmarks 

In accordance with clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the House 

of Representatives, H.R. 4240 does not contain any congressional 

earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined 

in clause 9(e), 9(f), or 9(g) of Rule XXI. 

Section-by-Section Analysis 

The following discussion describes the bill as reported by the 

Committee. 

Sec. 1. Short title. Section 1 sets forth the short title of the bill 

as the ‘‘No Fly for Foreign Fighters Act.’’ 

Sec. 2. GAO Study on the Terrorist Screening Database. Section 

2 provides that the GAO conduct a study and submit a report on 

whether past weaknesses in the operation and administration of 

the TSDB and subsets of the TSDB have been addressed, and the 

extent to which vulnerabilities to the United States may be addressed or mitigated through additional changes to the TSDB. 

Æ 


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