II

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2037

To provide for aviation security, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

AUGUST 2, 1996

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

referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

A BILL

To provide for aviation security, 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 ‘‘Aviation Security Act

5 of 1996’’.

6 SEC. 2. ENHANCED SECURITY PROGRAMS.

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 449 of title 49, United

8 States Code, is amended by adding at the end of sub9 chapter I the following new sections:

10 ‘‘§ 44916. Enhancement of aviation security

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transportation

12 (hereafter in this section referred to as the ‘Secretary’),
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1 in consultation with the Administrator of the Federal

2 Aviation Administration (hereafter in this section referred

3 to as the ‘Administrator’) and other appropriate officials

4 of the Federal Aviation Administration, shall provide for

5 the enhancement of aviation security programs under the

6 jurisdiction of the Federal Aviation Administration in ac7 cordance with this section.

8 ‘‘(b) IMPROVEMENTS IN THE EXAMINATION OF

9 CARGO AND CHECKED BAGGAGE.—The Secretary, in con10 sultation with the Administrator, shall—

11 ‘‘(1) review applicable procedures and require12 ments relating to the security issues concerning

13 screening and examination of cargo and checked

14 baggage to be placed on flights involving intrastate,

15 interstate, or foreign air transportation that are in

16 effect at the time of the review; and

17 ‘‘(2) on the basis of that review, develop and

18 implement procedures and requirements that are

19 more stringent than those referred to in paragraph

20 (1) for the screening and examination of cargo and

21 checked baggage to be placed on flights referred to

22 in that subparagraph, including procedures that en23 sure that only personnel with unescorted access

24 privileges have unescorted access at the airport to—

25 ‘‘(A) an aircraft;
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1 ‘‘(B) cargo or checked baggage that is

2 loaded onto an aircraft;

3 ‘‘(C) a cargo hold on an aircraft before

4 passengers are loaded and after passengers de5 bark;

6 ‘‘(D) an aircraft servicing area; or

7 ‘‘(E) a secured area of an airport.

8 ‘‘(c) PROFILES FOR RISK ASSESSMENT AND RISK

9 REDUCTION MEASURES.—

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consulta11 tion with the Administrator and appropriate officials

12 of other Federal agencies, shall develop and imple13 ment, a methodology to profile the types of pas14 sengers, cargo, and air transportation that present,

15 or are most susceptible to, a significant degree of

16 risk with respect to aviation security.

17 ‘‘(2) RISK REDUCTION MEASURES.—In addition

18 to developing the methodology for profiles under

19 paragraph (1), the Secretary, in consultation with

20 the Administrator, shall develop and implement

21 measures to address sources that contribute to a sig22 nificant degree of risk with respect to aviation secu23 rity, including improved methods for matching and

24 searching luggage or other cargo.

25 ‘‘(d) EXPLOSIVE DETECTION.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary and the Ad2 ministrator, in accordance with this section, and sec3 tion 44913, shall ensure the deployment, by not

4 later than the date specified in subsection (j), of ex5 plosive detection equipment that incorporates the

6 best available technology for explosive detection in

7 airports—

8 ‘‘(A) selected by the Secretary on the basis

9 of risk assessments; and

10 ‘‘(B) covered under the plan under para11 graph (2).

12 ‘‘(2) PLAN.—The deployment of explosive de13 tection equipment under paragraph (1) shall be car14 ried out in accordance with a plan prepared by the

15 Secretary, in consultation with the Administrator

16 and other appropriate officials of the Federal Gov17 ernment, to expedite the installation and deployment

18 of that equipment.

19 ‘‘(3) REPORT.—

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year

21 after the date of enactment of this section, and

22 annually thereafter, the Secretary shall submit

23 to the Speaker of the House of Representatives

24 and the President pro tempore of the Senate

25 a report on the deployment of explosive detec-
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1 tion devices pursuant to the plan developed

2 under paragraph (2).

3 ‘‘(B) TREATMENT OF CLASSIFIED INFOR4 MATION.—No officer or employee of the Federal

5 Government (including any Member of Con6 gress) may disclose to any person other than

7 another official of the Federal Government in

8 accordance with applicable Federal law, any in9 formation in the report under subparagraph (A)

10 that is classified.

11 ‘‘(e) ENHANCED SCREENING OF PERSONNEL.—

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consulta13 tion with the Administrator, shall establish a pro14 gram for enhancing the screening of personnel of air

15 carriers or contractors of air carriers (or subcontrac16 tors thereof) who—

17 ‘‘(A) in the course of their employment

18 have—

19 ‘‘(i) unescorted access privileges to—

20 ‘‘(I) an aircraft;

21 ‘‘(II) cargo or checked baggage

22 that is loaded onto an aircraft;

23 ‘‘(III) a cargo hold on an air24 craft; or
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1 ‘‘(IV) an aircraft servicing area;

2 or

3 ‘‘(ii) security responsibilities that af4 fect the access and passage of passengers

5 or cargo in aircraft referred to in subpara6 graph (A); and

7 ‘‘(B) any immediate supervisor of an indi8 vidual referred to in subparagraph (A).

9 ‘‘(2) TRAINING.—

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in con11 sultation with the Administrator, shall—

12 ‘‘(i) review regulations and standards

13 relating to the training of personnel re14 ferred to in paragraph (1) that are in ef15 fect at the time of the review; and

16 ‘‘(ii) on the basis of that review, pre17 scribe such regulations and standards re18 lating to minimum standards for training

19 and certification as the Secretary deter20 mines to be appropriate.

21 ‘‘(B) PROHIBITION.—The fact that an in22 dividual received training in accordance with

23 this paragraph may not be used as a defense in

24 any action involving the negligence or inten25 tional wrongdoing of that individual in carrying
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1 out airline security or in the conduct of intra2 state, interstate, or foreign air transportation.

3 ‘‘(f) PERFORMANCE-BASED MEASURES.—The Sec4 retary, in consultation with the Administrator, shall—

5 ‘‘(1) develop and implement, by the date speci6 fied in subsection (j), performance-based measures

7 for all security functions covered under this section

8 that are carried out by personnel referred to in sub9 section (e)(1); and

10 ‘‘(2) require that air carriers and owners or op11 erators of airports that provide intrastate, interstate,

12 or foreign air transportation ensure that those meas13 ures are carried out.

14 ‘‘(g) SECURITY CHECKS.—

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consulta16 tion with the Administrator and other appropriate

17 officers and employees of the Federal Government,

18 shall, require comprehensive employment investiga19 tions to be conducted for any individual that is em20 ployed, or commences employment, in a position de21 scribed in subsection (e)(1).

22 ‘‘(2) CRIMINAL HISTORY CHECK.—The employ23 ment investigations referred to in paragraph (1)

24 shall include criminal history checks. Notwithstand25 ing any other provision of law, a criminal history
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1 check may cover a period longer than the 10-year

2 period immediately preceding—

3 ‘‘(A) the initial date of employment of an

4 individual by an employer; or

5 ‘‘(B) the date on which a criminal history

6 check is conducted for an applicant for employ7 ment.

8 ‘‘(h) ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIONS.—

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consulta10 tion with the Administrator, shall, as appropriate,

11 specify appropriate administrative actions or viola12 tions of this section or the regulations prescribed

13 under this section.

14 ‘‘(2) ORDERS.—The administrative actions re15 ferred to in paragraph (1) may include an order by

16 the Secretary requiring, in accordance with applica17 ble requirements of this subtitle and any other appli18 cable law—

19 ‘‘(A) the closure of an airport gate or area

20 that the Secretary determines, on the basis of

21 a risk assessment or inspection conducted under

22 this section, should be secured in accordance

23 with applicable requirements of this subtitle; or

24 ‘‘(B) the cancellation of a flight in intra25 state, interstate, or foreign air transportation.
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1 ‘‘(3) NOTIFICATION.—If the Secretary carries

2 out an administrative action under this subsection,

3 the Secretary shall provide public notice of that ac4 tion, except in any case in which the President de5 termines that the disclosure of that information

6 would not be in the national security or foreign pol7 icy interest of the United States.

8 ‘‘(i) AUDITS AND EVALUATIONS.—

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall require

10 each air carrier and airport that provides for intra11 state, interstate, or foreign air transportation to con12 duct periodic audits and evaluations of the security

13 systems of that air carrier or airport.

14 ‘‘(2) REPORTS.—Not later than 1 year after the

15 date of enactment of this section, and annually

16 thereafter, each air carrier and airport referred to in

17 paragraph (1) shall submit to the Secretary a report

18 on the audits and evaluations conducted by the air

19 carrier or airport under this subsection.

20 ‘‘(3) INVESTIGATIONS.—The Secretary, in con21 sultation with the Administrator, shall conduct peri22 odic and unannounced inspections of security sys23 tems of airports and air carriers to determine wheth24 er the air carriers and airports are in compliance

25 with the performance-based measures developed
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1 under subsection (f). To the extent allowable by law,

2 the Secretary may provide for anonymous tests of

3 the security systems referred to in the preceding

4 sentence.

5 ‘‘(j) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 180 days after

6 the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary, in

7 consultation with the Administrator and appropriate offi8 cers and employees of other Federal agencies, shall pre9 scribe and implement such regulations as are necessary

10 to carry out this section.

11 ‘‘(k) MODIFICATION OF EXISTING PROGRAMS.—If

12 the Secretary or the Administrator determines that a

13 modification of a program in existence on the date speci14 fied in subsection (j) could be accomplished without pre15 scribing regulations to meet the requirements of this sec16 tion, the Secretary or the Administrator may make that

17 modification in lieu of prescribing a regulation.

18 ‘‘§ 44917. Support for families of victims of transpor19 tation disasters

20 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—

21 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The President shall es22 tablish, within an appropriate Federal agency, an of23 fice to be known as the Office of Family Advocate.

24 ‘‘(2) STANDARDS OF CONDUCT.—
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The head of the Fed2 eral agency specified in paragraph (1) (here3 after in this section referred to as the ‘‘agency

4 head’’), acting through the Office of Family Ad5 vocate, shall develop standards of conduct for

6 informing and supporting families of victims of

7 accidents in air commerce and other transpor8 tation accidents involving any other form of

9 transportation that is subject to the jurisdiction

10 of the Department of Transportation.

11 ‘‘(B) CONSULTATION.—In developing the

12 standards under this paragraph, the agency

13 head shall consult with—

14 ‘‘(i) appropriate officers and employ15 ees of other Federal agencies;

16 ‘‘(ii) representatives of families of vic17 tims of accidents in air commerce and

18 other transportation accidents referred to

19 in subparagraph (A);

20 ‘‘(iii) individuals who are experts in

21 psychology and trauma counseling; and

22 ‘‘(iv) representatives of air carriers.

23 ‘‘(3) THIRD PARTY INVOLVEMENT.—

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The agency head, act25 ing through the Office of Family Advocate,
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1 shall provide for counseling, support, and pro2 tection for the families of victims of transpor3 tation accidents referred to in paragraph (2)(A)

4 by—

5 ‘‘(i) consulting with a nongovern6 mental organization that the agency head

7 determines to have appropriate experience

8 and expertise; and

9 ‘‘(ii) if appropriate, entering into an

10 agreement with a nongovernmental organi11 zation or the head of another appropriate

12 Federal agency (including the Director of

13 the Federal Emergency Management

14 Agency) to provide those services.

15 ‘‘(b) PASSENGER INFORMATION.—

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transpor17 tation (hereafter in this section referred to as the

18 ‘Secretary’) shall require each air carrier that pro19 vides intrastate, interstate, or foreign air transpor20 tation to obtain, at the time of purchase of passage,

21 from each passenger that purchases passage on a

22 flight—

23 ‘‘(A) the full name, address, and daytime

24 and evening telephone numbers of the pas25 senger; and
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1 ‘‘(B) the full name and daytime and

2 evening telephone numbers of a contact person

3 designated by the passenger.

4 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT FOR AIR CARRIERS.—

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall

6 require each air carrier that provides intrastate,

7 interstate, or foreign air transportation to pro8 vide the information obtained for a flight under

9 paragraph (1) only—

10 ‘‘(i) in the event of an accident in air

11 commerce in which a serious injury or

12 crime (as determined by the Secretary) or

13 death occurs; and

14 ‘‘(ii) in accordance with section 552a

15 of title 5, United States Code.

16 ‘‘(B) PROVISION OF INFORMATION.—In

17 the event of an accident in air commerce de18 scribed in subparagraph (A), if the flight in19 volves—

20 ‘‘(i) intrastate or interstate air trans21 portation, the air carrier shall provide the

22 information required to be submitted under

23 subparagraph (A) not later than 3 hours

24 after the accident occurs; or
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1 ‘‘(ii) foreign air transportation, the air

2 carrier shall provide such information not

3 later than 4 hours after the accident oc4 curs.

5 ‘‘§ 44918 Exemption; fees

6 ‘‘(a) EXEMPTION.—The regulations issued under sec7 tions 44916 and 44917 shall be exempt from any require8 ment for a cost-benefit analysis under chapter 8 of title

9 5, United States Code, or any other provision of Federal

10 law.

11 ‘‘(b) FEES.—

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2),

13 the Secretary shall determine, and adjust on an an14 nual basis, a fee that shall be assessed against each

15 individual who purchases passage on a flight in

16 intrastate, interstate, or foreign air transportation

17 that is based on the estimated cost of carrying out

18 sections 44916 and 44917.

19 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION ON AMOUNT.—The amount of

20 a fee assessed under this subsection shall not exceed

21 $2 per flight, per passenger.

22 ‘‘(3) AVIATION SECURITY ACCOUNT.—

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—There shall be estab24 lished within the Treasury of the United States,

25 an Aviation Security Account. The fees col-
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1 lected under this subsection shall be deposited

2 into that account.

3 ‘‘(B) USE OF FUNDS IN ACCOUNT.—The

4 Secretary of the Treasury shall make the funds

5 in the account available only to—

6 ‘‘(i) the Secretary of Transportation

7 for use by the Secretary in accordance with

8 section 44916; and

9 ‘‘(ii) the agency head specified by the

10 President under section 44917, for use by

11 that agency head in accordance with that

12 section.’’.

13 (b) EMPLOYMENT INVESTIGATIONS AND RESTRIC14 TIONS.—Section 44936(b)(1)(B) of title 49, United States

15 Code, is amended by striking ‘‘, in the 10-year period end16 ing on the date of the investigation,’’.

17 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis for

18 subchapter I of chapter 449 of title 49, United States

19 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new

20 items:

‘‘44916. Enhancement of aviation security.

‘‘44917. Support for families of victims of transportation disasters.

‘‘44918. Exemption; fees.’’.

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