I 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4737 

To amend title 49, United States Code, to require the air transportation 

security programs established by airport operators to contain certain elements. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 8, 2018 

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (for herself, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. DEUTCH, Ms. 

WILSON of Florida, Ms. FRANKEL of Florida, Mr. DIAZ-BALART, and Ms. 

ROS-LEHTINEN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Homeland Security 

A BILL 

To amend title 49, United States Code, to require the air 

transportation security programs established by airport 

operators to contain certain elements. 

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 Advanced Lo5 gistics, Emergency Response, and Training Act’’ or the 

6 ‘‘Airport ALERT Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. REQUIRED COMPONENTS OF AIRPORT AIR TRANS2 PORTATION SECURITY PROGRAMS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (c)(1) of section 

4 44903 of title 49, United States Code, is amended— 

5 (1) by striking ‘‘(1) The Under Secretary’’ and 

6 inserting ‘‘(1)(A) The Under Secretary’’; and 

7 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub8 paragraph: 

9 ‘‘(B) Each air transportation security program re10 quired under subparagraph (A) for an airport shall include 

11 each of the following: 

12 ‘‘(i) Training focused on active violence re13 sponse, crowd management, mass evacuation, event 

14 recovery, and unified command, that is coordinated 

15 with security stakeholders, including all Transpor16 tation Security Administration employees at the air17 port. 

18 ‘‘(ii) Security and emergency preparedness 

19 training for all airport employees. 

20 ‘‘(iii) A mass evacuation plan that accounts for 

21 complete evacuation of airport terminals and facili22 ties. 

23 ‘‘(iv) A risk communications plan that— 

24 ‘‘(I) addresses communications with air25 lines, non-airline tenants, ground transporVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:06 Jan 10, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4737.IH H4737

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1 tation, State, local, and Federal agencies, law 

2 enforcement, the media, and the general public; 

3 ‘‘(II) provides for the timely notification of 

4 all Federal employees of all risk communica5 tions; 

6 ‘‘(III) includes a mass notification system; 

7 ‘‘(IV) provides protocols for responder 

8 radio and cell phone usage; and 

9 ‘‘(V) identifies a lead public spokesperson 

10 for airport emergencies. 

11 ‘‘(v) A continuity of operations plan that in12 cludes— 

13 ‘‘(I) a plan to ensure that critical functions 

14 have a minimal probability of disruption and 

15 are minimally affected by disruptions caused by 

16 security-related and non-security related inci17 dents; 

18 ‘‘(II) a plan to allow for the quick and effi19 cient restoration of critical airport functions; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(III) a contingency plan to provide 

22 backup sites when necessary. 

23 ‘‘(vi) A family assistance and customer care 

24 plan that addresses— 

25 ‘‘(I) evacuee sheltering; 


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1 ‘‘(II) communication with families, victims, 

2 and evacuees; 

3 ‘‘(III) food, water, and medication; 

4 ‘‘(IV) emergency assistance; 

5 ‘‘(V) personal item retrieval; 

6 ‘‘(VI) language services; and 

7 ‘‘(VII) the unique needs of international 

8 travelers. 

9 ‘‘(C) In the case of a category X airport, an air trans10 portation security program required under subparagraph 

11 (A) for the airport shall include, in addition to the require12 ments under subparagraph (B), an integrated and unified 

13 operations center responsible for overseeing and directing 

14 security operations for the entire airport that— 

15 ‘‘(i) is based on a formalized concept of oper16 ations; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) provides direction and resources through a 

18 unified command structure. 

19 ‘‘(D) In the case of a category I, category II, category 

20 III, or category IV airport, an air transportation security 

21 program required under subparagraph (A) for the airport 

22 shall include, in addition to the requirements under sub23 paragraph (B)— 

24 ‘‘(i) a formalized concept of operations; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) a unified command structure through 

2 which direction and resources are provided.’’. 

3 (b) APPLICABILITY.—In the case of an airport for 

4 which the Transportation Security Administration classi5 fication is changed after the date of the enactment of this 

6 Act, the airport shall be subject to the requirements appli7 cable under subsection (c)(1) of section 44903 of title 49, 

8 United States Code, as amended by this section, applicable 

9 to the new classification category for the airport as of the 

10 date on which such classification is changed. 

Æ 


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