I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1877 

To require the Transportation Security Administration to issue a plan to 

improve security screening procedures at airports during the COVID– 

19 national emergency, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 12, 2021 

Mr. CLEAVER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Homeland Security 

A BILL 

To require the Transportation Security Administration to 

issue a plan to improve security screening procedures 

at airports during the COVID–19 national emergency, 

and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘Security Screening 

5 During COVID–19 Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PLAN. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 

8 date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator, in 


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1 coordination with the Chief Medical Officer of the Depart2 ment of Homeland Security, and in consultation with the 

3 Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Director 

4 of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shall 

5 issue and commence implementing a plan to enhance, as 

6 appropriate, security operations at airports during the 

7 COVID–19 national emergency in order to reduce risk of 

8 the spread of the coronavirus at passenger screening 

9 checkpoints and among the TSA workforce. 

10 (b) CONTENTS.—The plan required under subsection 

11 (a) shall include the following: 

12 (1) An identification of best practices developed 

13 in response to the coronavirus among foreign gov14 ernments, airports, and air carriers conducting avia15 tion security screening operations, as well as among 

16 Federal agencies conducting similar security screen17 ing operations outside of airports, including in loca18 tions where the spread of the coronavirus has been 

19 successfully contained, that could be further inte20 grated into the United States aviation security sys21 tem. 

22 (2) Specific operational changes to aviation se23 curity screening operations informed by the identi24 fication of best practices under paragraph (1) that 

25 could be implemented without degrading aviation seVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:10 Apr 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1877.IH H1877

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1 curity and a corresponding timeline and costs for 

2 implementing such changes. 

3 (c) CONSIDERATIONS.—In carrying out the identi4 fication of best practices under subsection (b), the Admin5 istrator shall take into consideration the following: 

6 (1) Aviation security screening procedures and 

7 practices in place at security screening locations, in8 cluding procedures and practices implemented in re9 sponse to the coronavirus. 

10 (2) Volume and average wait times at each such 

11 security screening location. 

12 (3) Public health measures already in place at 

13 each such security screening location. 

14 (4) The feasibility and effectiveness of imple15 menting similar procedures and practices in loca16 tions where such are not already in place. 

17 (5) The feasibility and potential benefits to se18 curity, public health, and travel facilitation of con19 tinuing any procedures and practices implemented in 

20 response to the COVID–19 national emergency be21 yond the end of such emergency. 

22 (d) CONSULTATION.—In developing the plan required 

23 under subsection (a), the Administrator shall consult with 

24 public and private stakeholders and the TSA workforce, 

25 including through the labor organization certified as the 


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1 exclusive representative of full- and part-time non-super2 visory TSA personnel carrying out screening functions 

3 under section 44901 of title 49, U.S. Code. 

4 (e) SUBMISSION.—Upon issuance of the plan re5 quired under subsection (a), the Administrator shall sub6 mit the plan to the Committee on Homeland Security of 

7 the House of Representatives and the Committee on Com8 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate. 

9 (f) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Administrator shall not 

10 be required to implement the plan required under sub11 section (a) upon the termination of the COVID–19 na12 tional emergency except to the extent the Administrator 

13 determines such implementation to be feasible and bene14 ficial to security screening operations. 

15 (g) GAO REVIEW.—Not later than one year after the 

16 commencement of implementation pursuant to subsection 

17 (e) of the plan required under subsection (a), the Comp18 troller General of the United States shall submit to the 

19 Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Rep20 resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

21 and Transportation of the Senate a review of such imple22 mentation. 

23 (h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis2 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Transpor3 tation Security Administration. 

4 (2) CORONAVIRUS.—The term ‘‘coronavirus’’ 

5 has the meaning given such term in section 506 of 

6 the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supple7 mental Appropriations Act, 2020 (Public Law 116– 

8 123). 

9 (3) COVID–19 NATIONAL EMERGENCY.—The 

10 term ‘‘COVID–19 national emergency’’ means the 

11 national emergency declared by the President under 

12 the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et 

13 seq.) on March 13, 2020, with respect to the 

14 coronavirus. 

15 (4) PUBLIC AND PRIVATE STAKEHOLDERS.— 

16 The term ‘‘public and private stakeholders’’ has the 

17 meaning given such term in section 114(t)(1)(C) of 

18 title 49, United States Code. 

19 (5) TSA.—The term ‘‘TSA’’ means the Trans20 portation Security Administration. 

Æ 


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