PUBLIC LAW 113–27—AUG. 9, 2013 127 STAT. 503 

Public Law 113–27 

113th Congress 

An Act 

To amend title 49, United States Code, to direct the Assistant Secretary of Homeland 

Security (Transportation Security Administration) to provide expedited air passenger screening to severely injured or disabled members of the Armed Forces 

and 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 ‘‘Helping Heroes Fly Act’’. 

SEC. 2. OPERATIONS CENTER PROGRAM FOR SEVERELY INJURED OR 

DISABLED MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES AND 

SEVERELY INJURED OR DISABLED VETERANS. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 449 of title 49, United 

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

‘‘§ 44927. Expedited screening for severely injured or disabled members of the Armed Forces and severely 

injured or disabled veterans 

‘‘(a) PASSENGER SCREENING.—The Assistant Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Veterans 

Affairs, and organizations identified by the Secretaries of Defense 

and Veteran Affairs that advocate on behalf of severely injured 

or disabled members of the Armed Forces and severely injured 

or disabled veterans, shall develop and implement a process to 

support and facilitate the ease of travel and to the extent possible 

provide expedited passenger screening services for severely injured 

or disabled members of the Armed Forces and severely injured 

or disabled veterans through passenger screening. The process shall 

be designed to offer the individual private screening to the maximum extent practicable. 

‘‘(b) OPERATIONS CENTER.—As part of the process under subsection (a), the Assistant Secretary shall maintain an operations 

center to provide support and facilitate the movement of severely 

injured or disabled members of the Armed Forces and severely 

injured or disabled veterans through passenger screening prior 

to boarding a passenger aircraft operated by an air carrier or 

foreign air carrier in air transportation or intrastate air transportation. 

‘‘(c) PROTOCOLS.—The Assistant Secretary shall— 

‘‘(1) establish and publish protocols, in consultation with 

the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, 

and the organizations identified under subsection (a), under 

which a severely injured or disabled member of the Armed 

Publication. 

Consultation. 

Consultation. 

Helping Heroes 

Fly Act. 

49 USC 40101 

note. 

Aug. 9, 2013 

[H.R. 1344] 


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127 STAT. 504 PUBLIC LAW 113–27—AUG. 9, 2013 

Forces or severely injured or disabled veteran, or the family 

member or other representative of such member or veteran, 

may contact the operations center maintained under subsection 

(b) and request the expedited passenger screening services 

described in subsection (a) for that member or veteran; and 

‘‘(2) upon receipt of a request under paragraph (1), require 

the operations center to notify the appropriate Federal Security 

Director of the request for expedited passenger screening services, as described in subsection (a), for that member or veteran. 

‘‘(d) TRAINING.—The Assistant Secretary shall integrate 

training on the protocols established under subsection (c) into the 

training provided to all employees who will regularly provide the 

passenger screening services described in subsection (a). 

‘‘(e) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section shall 

affect the authority of the Assistant Secretary to require additional 

screening of a severely injured or disabled member of the Armed 

Forces, a severely injured or disabled veteran, or their accompanying family members or nonmedical attendants, if intelligence, 

law enforcement, or other information indicates that additional 

screening is necessary. 

‘‘(f) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

of this section, and annually thereafter, the Assistant Secretary 

shall submit to Congress a report on the implementation of this 

section. Each report shall include each of the following: 

‘‘(1) Information on the training provided under subsection 

(d). 

‘‘(2) Information on the consultations between the Assistant 

Secretary and the organizations identified under subsection 

(a). 

‘‘(3) The number of people who accessed the operations 

center during the period covered by the report. 

‘‘(4) Such other information as the Assistant Secretary 

determines is appropriate.’’. 

(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections at the beginning of subchapter I of chapter 449 of title 49, United States 

Notification. 


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PUBLIC LAW 113–27—AUG. 9, 2013 127 STAT. 505 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—H.R. 1344: 

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 159 (2013): 

May 21, considered and passed House. 

Aug. 1, considered and passed Senate, amended. 

Aug. 2, House concurred in Senate amendment. 

Æ 

Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 

44926 the following new item: 

‘‘44927. Expedited screening for severely injured or disabled members of the Armed 

Forces and severely injured or disabled veterans.’’. 

Approved August 9, 2013. 


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