II 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 697 

To reform and improve the oversight of the performance of passenger and 

baggage security screening at domestic commercial airports by private 

screening companies, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 10, 2013 

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

to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To reform and improve the oversight of the performance 

of passenger and baggage security screening at domestic 

commercial airports by private screening companies, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Contract Screener Reform and Accountability Act’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—REFORM 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 697 IS

Sec. 101. Prohibition on screening by subsidiaries of foreign-owned corporations. 

Sec. 102. Competition for private screening contracts. 

Sec. 103. Prohibition on certain subcontracting. 

Sec. 104. Flexibility in approving airport operator applications. 

Sec. 105. Enhanced standards for application assessments. 

Sec. 106. Timeline for awarding a contract for screening services. 

Sec. 107. Prohibition on bonuses and other awards. 

Sec. 108. Cost analysis. 

Sec. 109. Customer service. 

Sec. 110. Information on transition plans. 

TITLE II—OVERSIGHT 

Sec. 201. Enhanced oversight. 

Sec. 202. Security breaches. 

Sec. 203. Covert testing of contract screener performance. 

Sec. 204. Contracting prohibition for compromising covert security testing. 

Sec. 205. Proper handling of sensitive security information. 

TITLE III—WORKFORCE PROTECTIONS 

Sec. 301. Job and benefit protections. 

Sec. 302. Retention and discipline. 

Sec. 303. Protections for reporting deficiencies, waste, or vulnerabilities. 

1 TITLE I—REFORM 

2 SEC. 101. PROHIBITION ON SCREENING BY SUBSIDIARIES 

3 OF FOREIGN-OWNED CORPORATIONS. 

4 Subsection (d) of section 44920 of title 49, United 

5 States Code, is amended— 

6 (1) by striking ‘‘(d)’’ and all that follows 

7 through ‘‘The Under Secretary may enter’’ and in8 serting the following: 

9 ‘‘(d) STANDARDS FOR PRIVATE SCREENING COMPA10 NIES.—The Under Secretary may enter’’; 

11 (2) by striking paragraph (2); and 

12 (3) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) and 

13 (B) as paragraphs (1) and (2), respectively, and 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 697 IS

1 moving such paragraphs, as so redesignated, two 

2 ems to the left. 

3 SEC. 102. COMPETITION FOR PRIVATE SCREENING CON4 TRACTS. 

5 Section 44920 of title 49, United States Code, is 

6 amended by striking subsection (h). 

7 SEC. 103. PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN SUBCONTRACTING. 

8 Section 44920 of title 49, United States Code, as 

9 amended by section 102 of this Act, is further amended 

10 by adding at the end the following new subsection: 

11 ‘‘(h) PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN SUBCON12 TRACTING.—The Under Secretary is prohibited from en13 tering into any contract for screening services under this 

14 section that would allow for the screening services to be 

15 performed by a subcontractor.’’. 

16 SEC. 104. FLEXIBILITY IN APPROVING AIRPORT OPERATOR 

17 APPLICATIONS. 

18 Paragraph (2) of section 44920(b) of title 49, United 

19 States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘shall’’ and inserting 

20 ‘‘may’’. 

21 SEC. 105. ENHANCED STANDARDS FOR APPLICATION AS22 SESSMENTS. 

23 Paragraph (2) of section 44920(b) of title 49, United 

24 States Code, is amended by inserting before the period at 

25 the end the following: ‘‘and at airports nationwide’’. 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 697 IS

1 SEC. 106. TIMELINE FOR AWARDING A CONTRACT FOR 

2 SCREENING SERVICES. 

3 Subsection (b) of section 44920 of title 49, United 

4 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol5 lowing new paragraph: 

6 ‘‘(4) TIMELINE FOR AWARDING A CONTRACT

7 FOR SCREENING SERVICES.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 270 

9 days after approving an application under para10 graph (1), the Under Secretary shall award a 

11 contract to a qualified private screening com12 pany in accordance with subsections (c) and 

13 (d). 

14 ‘‘(B) NOTIFICATION.—If the Under Sec15 retary is unable to make an award in accord16 ance with subparagraph (A), the Under Sec17 retary shall notify the airport operator that 

18 submitted the application at issue of the deter19 mination and the basis for such determination, 

20 and about eligibility for reapplication in accord21 ance with subsection (a).’’. 

22 SEC. 107. PROHIBITION ON BONUSES AND OTHER AWARDS. 

23 Section 44920 of title 49, United States Code, as 

24 amended by section 103 of this Act, is further amended 

25 by adding at the end the following new subsection: 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 697 IS

1 ‘‘(i) PROHIBITION ON BONUSES AND OTHER

2 AWARDS.—The Under Secretary is prohibited from pro3 viding funding to any private screening company that pro4 vides screening services at an airport in excess of the 

5 amount required for the performance of such screening 

6 services.’’. 

7 SEC. 108. COST ANALYSIS. 

8 Section 44920 of title 49, United States Code, as 

9 amended by section 107 of this Act, is further amended 

10 by adding at the end the following new subsection: 

11 ‘‘(j) COST ANALYSIS.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

13 after the date of the enactment of the Contract 

14 Screener Reform and Accountability Act, the Comp15 troller General of the United States shall provide to 

16 the Under Secretary guidance on how to conduct an 

17 analysis of the total annual cost incurred by the 

18 Federal Government with respect to screening serv19 ices provided by private screening companies. 

20 ‘‘(2) ACTION.—Not later than 180 days after 

21 receipt of the guidance described in paragraph (1) 

22 and annually thereafter, the Under Secretary shall 

23 utilize such guidance to identify costs incurred by 

24 the Federal Government as a result of overseeing 

25 the performance of private screening companies, 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 697 IS

1 compared with costs incurred by the Under Sec2 retary at airports that utilize Federal Government 

3 personnel for passenger and baggage screening.’’. 

4 SEC. 109. CUSTOMER SERVICE. 

5 Section 44920 of title 49, United States Code, as 

6 amended by section 108 of this Act, is further amended 

7 by adding at the end the following new subsection: 

8 ‘‘(k) CUSTOMER SERVICE.— 

9 ‘‘(1) NOTIFICATION TO PUBLIC.—The operator 

10 of each airport at which a private screening company 

11 provides screening services under this section shall 

12 prominently display signs in the immediate vicinity 

13 of the passenger screening area notifying the flying 

14 public that passenger and baggage screening at the 

15 airport is conducted by contract screening personnel 

16 and not by Federal Government personnel. Such 

17 signs shall also display a contact number and Inter18 net website address maintained by such private 

19 screening company for a passenger to report com20 plaints about the passenger’s screening experience. 

21 ‘‘(2) TRACKING AND REPORTING OF COM22 PLAINTS.—Each private screening company that 

23 provides screening services at an airport under this 

24 section shall track all passenger complaints made 

25 under paragraph (1) and regularly report on those 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 697 IS

1 complaints to the Under Secretary through, to the 

2 maximum extent practicable, the contracting officer 

3 of the private screening company. The Under Sec4 retary shall report to the Committee on Homeland 

5 Security of the House of Representatives and the 

6 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor7 tation of the Senate on those complaints upon re8 quest.’’. 

9 SEC. 110. INFORMATION ON TRANSITION PLANS. 

10 Subsection (b) of section 44920 of title 49, United 

11 States Code, as amended by section 106, is further amend12 ed by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

13 ‘‘(5) TRANSITION.—Not later than 90 days 

14 after an airport operator provides notice to the 

15 Under Secretary of the decision of the airport oper16 ator to discontinue the use of screening personnel of 

17 a qualified private screening company at an airport 

18 and use Federal Government personnel for screening 

19 services at the airport, the Under Secretary shall 

20 provide the airport operator with information on how 

21 the Under Secretary intends to carry out the transi22 tion of screening services, including an anticipated 

23 timeline and key benchmarks.’’. 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
8 

•S 697 IS

1 TITLE II—OVERSIGHT 

2 SEC. 201. ENHANCED OVERSIGHT. 

3 Section 44920 of title 49, United States Code, as 

4 amended by section 109 of this Act, is further amended 

5 by adding at the end the following new subsection: 

6 ‘‘(l) ENHANCED OVERSIGHT.—Not later than 180 

7 days after the date of the enactment of the Contract 

8 Screener Reform and Accountability Act, the Under Sec9 retary shall develop and implement a system to be carried 

10 out, to the maximum extent practicable, by the contracting 

11 officer who oversees each respective private screening com12 pany providing screening services at an airport under this 

13 section, to enhance monitoring of performance of each 

14 such private screening company. The system shall, at a 

15 minimum, provide year-to-year information about per16 formance by each such private screening company, and be 

17 in a format to provide for comparison with airports in the 

18 same category where screening services are provided by 

19 Federal Government personnel with respect to detection 

20 rates of threats and threat image tests, recertification pass 

21 rates, covert performance assessments, and evaluations 

22 used to assess screener performance on various elements 

23 that may affect security and a passenger’s overall travel 

24 experience.’’. 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
9 

•S 697 IS

1 SEC. 202. SECURITY BREACHES. 

2 Section 44920 of title 49, United States Code, as 

3 amended by section 201 of this Act, is further amended 

4 by adding at the end the following new subsection: 

5 ‘‘(m) SECURITY BREACHES.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A private screening com7 pany that provides screening services at an airport 

8 under this section shall report to the Under Sec9 retary each security breach at that airport. Each 

10 such report shall include— 

11 ‘‘(A) a detailed description of the security 

12 breach; 

13 ‘‘(B) information regarding where the 

14 breach occurred; 

15 ‘‘(C) information regarding law enforce16 ment notification of and response to the breach; 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(D) any corrective action taken in re19 sponse to the breach. 

20 ‘‘(2) ANNUAL REPORTS.—The Under Secretary 

21 shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Secu22 rity of the House of Representatives and the Com23 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 

24 the Senate an annual report containing the informa25 tion on security breaches required to be submitted to 

26 the Under Secretary pursuant to paragraph (1), inVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:24 Apr 15, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S697.IS S697

tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
10 

•S 697 IS

1 cluding the definition of ‘security breach’ used by 

2 the Under Secretary for purposes of this subsection. 

3 To the extent practicable, the report shall be sub4 mitted in unclassified form with a classified appen5 dix if necessary.’’. 

6 SEC. 203. COVERT TESTING OF CONTRACT SCREENER PER7 FORMANCE. 

8 Section 44920 of title 49, United States Code, as 

9 amended by section 202 of this Act, is further amended 

10 by adding at the end the following new subsection: 

11 ‘‘(n) COVERT TESTING.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General of 

13 the United States shall conduct annual covert test14 ing of airports where private screening companies 

15 provide screening services under this section. To the 

16 extent practicable, such covert testing shall be con17 ducted at one airport with contract screener per18 sonnel within each airport category that was not the 

19 subject of covert testing by another Federal entity 

20 during the same year. 

21 ‘‘(2) REPORT REQUIRED.—The Comptroller 

22 General shall submit to the Under Secretary and to 

23 the Committee on Homeland Security of the House 

24 of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

25 Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
11 

•S 697 IS

1 that contains the results of covert testing conducted 

2 under paragraph (1). To the extent practicable, each 

3 such report shall be submitted in unclassified form 

4 with a classified appendix if necessary.’’. 

5 SEC. 204. CONTRACTING PROHIBITION FOR COMPRO6 MISING COVERT SECURITY TESTING. 

7 Subsection (d) of section 44920 of title 49, United 

8 States Code, as amended by section 101 of this Act, is 

9 further amended— 

10 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

11 end; 

12 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking the period at 

13 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

15 paragraph: 

16 ‘‘(3) on or after the date of the enactment of 

17 the Contract Screener Reform and Accountability 

18 Act, neither the private screening company, nor its 

19 parent company, if applicable, has compromised any 

20 covert security testing by notifying individuals em21 ployed by the private screening company that the 

22 covert testing was occurring, or has otherwise been 

23 found to have knowingly compromised covert testing 

24 conducted pursuant to subsection (n) or any other 

25 covert testing conducted by the Inspector General of 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
12 

•S 697 IS

1 the Department of Homeland Security, the Comp2 troller General of the United States, or the Under 

3 Secretary.’’. 

4 SEC. 205. PROPER HANDLING OF SENSITIVE SECURITY IN5 FORMATION. 

6 Section 44920 of title 49, United States Code, as 

7 amended by section 203 of this Act, is further amended 

8 by adding at the end the following new subsection: 

9 ‘‘(o) PROPER HANDLING OF SENSITIVE SECURITY

10 INFORMATION.—The Under Secretary shall require each 

11 private screening company that provides screening services 

12 at an airport under this section to provide all individuals 

13 employed by the private screening company with annual 

14 training for the proper handling of all sensitive informa15 tion, including sensitive security information.’’. 

16 TITLE III—WORKFORCE 

17 PROTECTIONS 

18 SEC. 301. JOB AND BENEFIT PROTECTIONS. 

19 Subsection (c) of section 44920 of title 49, United 

20 States Code, is amended to read as follows: 

21 ‘‘(c) QUALIFIED PRIVATE SCREENING COMPANY.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on the date of 

23 the enactment of the Contract Screener Reform and 

24 Accountability Act, a private screening company is 

25 qualified to provide screening services at an airport 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
13 

•S 697 IS

1 under this section if the private screening company 

2 will— 

3 ‘‘(A) employ only individuals to provide 

4 such services who meet all the requirements of 

5 this chapter applicable to Federal Government 

6 personnel who perform screening services at air7 ports under this chapter; 

8 ‘‘(B) provide the right of first refusal to 

9 the Federal Government personnel who per10 formed screening services at the airport before 

11 the contract to provide screening services at the 

12 airport was awarded to the private screening 

13 company; 

14 ‘‘(C) presume that personnel described in 

15 subparagraph (B) who are in good standing are 

16 qualified under this subsection; and 

17 ‘‘(D) offer such individuals employment 

18 with compensation and other benefits that are 

19 equal to or greater than the level of compensa20 tion and other benefits that such personnel 

21 were provided by the Federal Government at 

22 the time the contract to provide screening serv23 ices at the airport was awarded to the private 

24 screening company. 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
14 

•S 697 IS

1 ‘‘(2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

2 this subsection may be construed to require any pri3 vate screening company that is a qualified private 

4 screening company as of the date that is one day be5 fore the date of the enactment of the Contract 

6 Screener Reform and Accountability Act to imple7 ment paragraph (1) with respect to any contract 

8 that was entered into with the Under Secretary be9 fore such date of enactment.’’. 

10 SEC. 302. RETENTION AND DISCIPLINE. 

11 Section 44920 of title 49, United States Code, as 

12 amended by section 205 of this Act, is further amended 

13 by adding at the end the following new subsection: 

14 ‘‘(p) RETENTION AND DISCIPLINE.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each private screening 

16 company that provides screening services at an air17 port under this section shall, on a monthly basis, 

18 provide the Under Secretary with information on re19 tention rates of screeners and supervisory personnel 

20 employed by the private screening company at that 

21 airport, and a detailed description of adverse em22 ployment actions taken against any of such screen23 ers or supervisory personnel. 

24 ‘‘(2) REPORT REQUIRED.—The Under Sec25 retary shall submit to the Committee on Homeland 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
15 

•S 697 IS

1 Security of the House of Representatives and the 

2 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor3 tation of the Senate, upon request by either such 

4 Committee, a report containing the information re5 quired to be provided to the Under Secretary under 

6 paragraph (1).’’. 

7 SEC. 303. PROTECTIONS FOR REPORTING DEFICIENCIES, 

8 WASTE, OR VULNERABILITIES. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 44920 of title 49, United 

10 States Code, as amended by section 302 of this Act, is 

11 further amended by adding at the end the following new 

12 subsection: 

13 ‘‘(q) PROTECTIONS FOR REPORTING DEFI14 CIENCIES.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days 

16 after the date of the enactment of the Contract 

17 Screener Reform and Accountability Act, the Under 

18 Secretary shall establish a process by which any per19 son may submit to the Under Secretary a report re20 garding problems, deficiencies, waste, or 

21 vulnerabilities with respect to screening services pro22 vided at an airport where such services are provided 

23 by a private screening company under this section. 

24 ‘‘(2) CONFIDENTIALITY.—The Under Secretary 

25 shall keep confidential the identity of a person who 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
16 

•S 697 IS

1 submits a report under paragraph (1), and any such 

2 report shall be treated as protected information. 

3 ‘‘(3) ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF RECEIPT.—If a re4 port submitted under paragraph (1) identifies the 

5 person submitting the report, the Under Secretary 

6 shall respond promptly to the person to acknowledge 

7 receipt of the report. 

8 ‘‘(4) STEPS TO ADDRESS PROBLEMS.—The 

9 Under Secretary shall review and consider the infor10 mation provided in any report submitted under para11 graph (1) and shall, as necessary, take appropriate 

12 steps under this title to address any problem, defi13 ciency, waste, or vulnerability identified in such re14 port. 

15 ‘‘(5) RETALIATION PROHIBITED.— 

16 ‘‘(A) PROHIBITION.—No private screening 

17 company may discharge any employee or other18 wise discriminate against any employee with re19 spect to the employee’s compensation, terms, 

20 conditions, or other privileges of employment 

21 because the employee (or any person acting 

22 pursuant to a request of the employee)— 

23 ‘‘(i) notified the Under Secretary of 

24 any problem, deficiency, waste, or vulnerVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:24 Apr 15, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S697.IS S697

tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
17 

•S 697 IS

1 ability with respect to screening services 

2 provided by the private screening company; 

3 ‘‘(ii) refused to engage in any practice 

4 made unlawful by this title, if the employee 

5 has notified the private screening company 

6 of the alleged illegality; 

7 ‘‘(iii) testified before or otherwise pro8 vided information relevant for Congress or 

9 for any Federal or State proceeding re10 garding any provision (or proposed provi11 sion) of this title; 

12 ‘‘(iv) commenced, caused to be com13 menced, or is about to commence or cause 

14 to be commenced a proceeding under this 

15 title; 

16 ‘‘(v) testified or is about to testify in 

17 any such proceeding; or 

18 ‘‘(vi) assisted or participated in or is 

19 about to assist or participate in any man20 ner in such a proceeding or in any other 

21 action to carry out the purposes of this 

22 title. 

23 ‘‘(B) SUSPENSION OF CONTRACT.—If the 

24 Under Secretary determines that any private 

25 screening company has engaged in retaliation in 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
18 

•S 697 IS

1 violation of subparagraph (A), the Under Sec2 retary shall suspend the contract of the private 

3 screening company to provide screening services 

4 under this section.’’. 

5 (b) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in sub6 section (q) of section 44920 of title 49, United States 

7 Code, as added by subsection (a) of this section, may be 

8 construed as in any manner affecting any other provision 

9 of law relating to protections for the reporting of prob10 lems, deficiencies, waste, or vulnerabilities, including pro11 tections against retaliation related to such reporting. 

Æ 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS