115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5081 

AN ACT 

To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish 

within the Transportation Security Administration the 

Surface Transportation Security Advisory Committee, 

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, 
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Surface Transpor3 tation Security and Technology Accountability Act of 

4 2018’’. 

5 SEC. 2. SURFACE TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADVISORY 

6 COMMITTEE. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title XVI of the Homeland Secu8 rity Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 561 et seq.) is amended by 

9 adding at the end the following new subtitle: 

10 ‘‘Subtitle C—Surface 

11 Transportation Security 

12 ‘‘SEC. 1621. SURFACE TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADVI13 SORY COMMITTEE. 

14 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator of the 

15 Transportation Security Administration (referred to in 

16 this section as the ‘Administrator’) shall establish within 

17 the Transportation Security Administration the Surface 

18 Transportation Security Advisory Committee (referred to 

19 in this section as the ‘Advisory Committee’). 

20 ‘‘(b) DUTIES.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Advisory Committee 

22 may advise, consult with, report to, and make rec23 ommendations to the Administrator on surface 

24 transportation security matters, including the devel25 opment, refinement, and implementation of policies, 

26 programs, initiatives, rulemakings, and security di-
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1 rectives pertaining to surface transportation secu2 rity. 

3 ‘‘(2) RISK-BASED SECURITY.—The Advisory 

4 Committee shall consider risk-based security ap5 proaches in the performance of its duties. 

6 ‘‘(c) MEMBERSHIP.— 

7 ‘‘(1) COMPOSITION.—The Advisory Committee 

8 shall be composed of— 

9 ‘‘(A) voting members appointed by the Ad10 ministrator under paragraph (2); and 

11 ‘‘(B) nonvoting members, serving in an ad12 visory capacity, who shall be designated by— 

13 ‘‘(i) the Transportation Security Ad14 ministration; 

15 ‘‘(ii) the Department of Transpor16 tation; and 

17 ‘‘(iii) such other Federal department 

18 or agency as the Administrator considers 

19 appropriate. 

20 ‘‘(2) APPOINTMENT.—The Administrator shall 

21 appoint voting members from among stakeholders 

22 representing each mode of surface transportation, 

23 such as passenger rail, freight rail, mass transit, 

24 pipelines, highways, over-the-road bus, and trucking, 

25 including representatives from— 
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1 ‘‘(A) associations representing such modes 

2 of surface transportation; 

3 ‘‘(B) labor organizations representing such 

4 modes of surface transportation; 

5 ‘‘(C) groups representing the users of such 

6 modes of surface transportation, including asset 

7 manufacturers, as appropriate; 

8 ‘‘(D) relevant law enforcement, first re9 sponders, and security experts; and 

10 ‘‘(E) such other groups as the Adminis11 trator considers appropriate. 

12 ‘‘(3) CHAIRPERSON.—The Advisory Committee 

13 shall select a chairperson from among its voting 

14 members. 

15 ‘‘(4) TERM OF OFFICE.— 

16 ‘‘(A) TERMS.— 

17 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term of each 

18 voting member of the Advisory Committee 

19 shall be 2 years, but a voting member may 

20 continue to serve until the Administrator 

21 appoints a successor. 

22 ‘‘(ii) REAPPOINTMENT.—A voting 

23 member of the Advisory Committee may be 

24 reappointed. 

25 ‘‘(B) REMOVAL.— 
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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 

2 may review the participation of a member 

3 of the Advisory Committee and remove 

4 such member for cause at any time. 

5 ‘‘(ii) ACCESS TO CERTAIN INFORMA6 TION.—The Administrator may remove 

7 any member of the Advisory Committee 

8 who the Administrator determines should 

9 be restricted from reviewing, discussing, or 

10 possessing classified information or sen11 sitive security information. 

12 ‘‘(5) PROHIBITION ON COMPENSATION.—The 

13 members of the Advisory Committee may not receive 

14 any compensation from the Government by reason of 

15 their service on the Advisory Committee. 

16 ‘‘(6) MEETINGS.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Advisory Com18 mittee shall meet at least semiannually in per19 son or through web conferencing, and may con20 vene additional meetings as necessary. 

21 ‘‘(B) PUBLIC MEETINGS.—At least one of 

22 the meetings of the Advisory Committee each 

23 year shall be— 

24 ‘‘(i) announced in the Federal Reg25 ister; 
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1 ‘‘(ii) announced on a public website; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(iii) open to the public. 

4 ‘‘(C) ATTENDANCE.—The Advisory Com5 mittee shall maintain a record of the persons 

6 present at each meeting. 

7 ‘‘(D) MINUTES.— 

8 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Unless otherwise 

9 prohibited by Federal law, minutes of the 

10 meetings of the Advisory Committee shall 

11 be published on the public website under 

12 subsection (e)(5). 

13 ‘‘(ii) PROTECTION OF CLASSIFIED

14 AND SENSITIVE INFORMATION.—The Advi15 sory Committee may redact or summarize, 

16 as necessary, minutes of the meetings to 

17 protect classified information or sensitive 

18 security information in accordance with 

19 law. 

20 ‘‘(7) VOTING MEMBER ACCESS TO CLASSIFIED

21 INFORMATION AND SENSITIVE SECURITY INFORMA22 TION.— 

23 ‘‘(A) DETERMINATIONS.—Not later than 

24 60 days after the date on which a voting mem25 ber is appointed to the Advisory Committee but 
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1 before such voting member may be granted any 

2 access to classified information or sensitive se3 curity information, the Administrator shall de4 termine if such voting member should be re5 stricted from reviewing, discussing, or pos6 sessing classified information or sensitive secu7 rity information. 

8 ‘‘(B) ACCESS.— 

9 ‘‘(i) SENSITIVE SECURITY INFORMA10 TION.—If a voting member is not re11 stricted from reviewing, discussing, or pos12 sessing sensitive security information 

13 under subparagraph (A) and voluntarily 

14 signs a nondisclosure agreement, such vot15 ing member may be granted access to sen16 sitive security information that is relevant 

17 to such voting member’s service on the Ad18 visory Committee. 

19 ‘‘(ii) CLASSIFIED INFORMATION.—Ac20 cess to classified materials shall be man21 aged in accordance with Executive Order 

22 No. 13526 of December 29, 2009 (75 Fed. 

23 Reg. 707), or any subsequent cor24 responding Executive order. 

25 ‘‘(C) PROTECTIONS.— 
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1 ‘‘(i) SENSITIVE SECURITY INFORMA2 TION.—Voting members shall protect sen3 sitive security information in accordance 

4 with part 1520 of title 49, Code of Federal 

5 Regulations. 

6 ‘‘(ii) CLASSIFIED INFORMATION.— 

7 Voting members shall protect classified in8 formation in accordance with the applica9 ble requirements for the particular level of 

10 classification of such information. 

11 ‘‘(8) JOINT COMMITTEE MEETINGS.—The Advi12 sory Committee may meet with one or more of the 

13 following advisory committees to discuss multimodal 

14 security issues and other security-related issues of 

15 common concern: 

16 ‘‘(A) Aviation Security Advisory Com17 mittee, established under section 44946 of title 

18 49, United States Code. 

19 ‘‘(B) Maritime Security Advisory Com20 mittee, established under section 70112 of title 

21 46, United States Code. 

22 ‘‘(C) Railroad Safety Advisory Committee, 

23 established by the Federal Railroad Administra24 tion. 
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1 ‘‘(9) SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS.—The Advi2 sory Committee may request the assistance of sub3 ject matter experts with expertise related to the ju4 risdiction of the Advisory Committee. 

5 ‘‘(d) REPORTS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) PERIODIC REPORTS.—The Advisory Com7 mittee shall periodically submit to the Administrator 

8 reports on matters requested by the Administrator 

9 or by a majority of the members of the Advisory 

10 Committee. 

11 ‘‘(2) ANNUAL REPORT.— 

12 ‘‘(A) SUBMISSION.—The Advisory Com13 mittee shall submit to the Administrator and 

14 the Committee on Homeland Security of the 

15 House of Representatives and the Committee 

16 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 

17 the Senate an annual report that provides infor18 mation on the activities, findings, and rec19 ommendations of the Advisory Committee dur20 ing the preceding year. 

21 ‘‘(B) PUBLICATION.—Not later than 6 

22 months after the date that the Administrator 

23 receives an annual report under subparagraph 

24 (A), the Administrator shall publish a public 
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1 version of such report, in accordance with sec2 tion 552a(b) of title 5, United States Code. 

3 ‘‘(e) ADMINISTRATION RESPONSE.— 

4 ‘‘(1) CONSIDERATION.—The Administrator 

5 shall consider the information, advice, and rec6 ommendations of the Advisory Committee in formu7 lating policies, programs, initiatives, rulemakings, 

8 and security directives pertaining to surface trans9 portation security efforts. 

10 ‘‘(2) FEEDBACK.—Not later than 90 days after 

11 the date that the Administrator receives a rec12 ommendation from the Advisory Committee under 

13 subsection (d)(2), the Administrator shall submit to 

14 the Advisory Committee written feedback on such 

15 recommendation, including— 

16 ‘‘(A) if the Administrator agrees with such 

17 recommendation, a plan describing the actions 

18 that the Administrator has taken, will take, or 

19 recommends that the head of another Federal 

20 department or agency take to implement such 

21 recommendation; or 

22 ‘‘(B) if the Administrator disagrees with 

23 such recommendation, a justification for such 

24 disagreement. 
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1 ‘‘(3) NOTICES.—Not later than 30 days after 

2 the date the Administrator submits feedback under 

3 paragraph (2), the Administrator shall— 

4 ‘‘(A) notify the Committee on Homeland 

5 Security of the House of Representatives and 

6 the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

7 Transportation of the Senate of such feedback, 

8 including the agreement or disagreement under 

9 subparagraph (A) or (B) of such paragraph, as 

10 applicable; and 

11 ‘‘(B) provide the committees specified in 

12 subparagraph (A) with a briefing upon request. 

13 ‘‘(4) UPDATES.—Not later than 90 days after 

14 the date the Administrator receives a recommenda15 tion from the Advisory Committee under subsection 

16 (d)(2) that the Administrator agrees with, and quar17 terly thereafter until such recommendation is fully 

18 implemented, the Administrator shall submit to the 

19 Committee on Homeland Security of the House of 

20 Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

21 Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report 

22 or post on the public website under paragraph (5) 

23 an update on the status of such recommendation. 

24 ‘‘(5) WEBSITE.—The Administrator shall main25 tain a public website that— 
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1 ‘‘(A) lists the members of the Advisory 

2 Committee; 

3 ‘‘(B) provides the contact information for 

4 the Advisory Committee; and 

5 ‘‘(C) information relating to meetings, 

6 minutes, annual reports, and the implementa7 tion of recommendations under this section. 

8 ‘‘(f) NONAPPLICABILITY OF FACA.—The Federal 

9 Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply 

10 to the Advisory Committee or any subcommittee estab11 lished under this section.’’. 

12 (b) ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEMBERS.— 

13 (1) VOTING MEMBERS.—Not later than 180 

14 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

15 Administrator of the Transportation Security Ad16 ministration shall appoint the voting members of the 

17 Surface Transportation Security Advisory Com18 mittee established under section 1621 of the Home19 land Security Act of 2002, as added by subsection 

20 (a) of this section. 

21 (2) NONVOTING MEMBERS.—Not later than 90 

22 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

23 each Federal department and agency with regulatory 

24 authority over a mode of surface transportation, as 

25 the Administrator of the Transportation Security 
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1 Administration considers appropriate, shall des2 ignate an appropriate representative to serve as a 

3 nonvoting member of the Surface Transportation Se4 curity Advisory Committee. 

5 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

6 in section 1(b) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 is 

7 amended by inserting after the item relating to section 

8 1616 the following new items: 

‘‘Subtitle C—Surface Transportation Security 

‘‘Sec. 1621. Surface Transportation Security Advisory Committee.’’. 

9 SEC. 3. TECHNOLOGY INVESTMENT PLAN. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1611 of the Homeland 

11 Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 563) is amended by adding 

12 at the end the following new subsection: 

13 ‘‘(h) ADDITIONAL UPDATE REQUIREMENTS.—Up14 dates and reports required pursuant to subsection (g) 

15 shall— 

16 ‘‘(1) be prepared in consultation with individ17 uals and entity specified in subsection (b), as well as 

18 the Surface Transportation Security Advisory Com19 mittee established by the Administrator pursuant to 

20 section 1621; 

21 ‘‘(2) include information relating to technology 

22 investments by the Transportation Security Admin23 istration and the private sector that the Department 

24 supports with research, development, testing, and 
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1 evaluation for aviation, air cargo, and surface trans2 portation security; and 

3 ‘‘(3) to the extent practicable, include a classi4 fied addendum to report sensitive transportation se5 curity risks and associated capability gaps that 

6 would be best addressed by security-related tech7 nology described in paragraph (2).’’. 

8 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

9 subsection (a) shall take effect on the date of the enact10 ment of this Act and apply beginning with the first update 

11 and report required under subsection (g) of section 1611 

12 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 that is required 

13 after such date. 

Passed the House of Representatives June 25, 2018. 

Attest: 

Clerk. 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5081 

AN ACT 

To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to 

Advisory Committee, and for other purposes. ministration the Surface Transportation Security establish within the Transportation Security Ad-