I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3415 

To prohibit subsidiaries of foreign-owned corporations from obtaining contracts for the performance of passenger and baggage security screening 

at domestic commercial airports, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 29, 2015 

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi introduced the following bill; which was referred 

to the Committee on Homeland Security 

A BILL 

To prohibit subsidiaries of foreign-owned corporations from 

obtaining contracts for the performance of passenger and 

baggage security screening at domestic commercial airports, 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 ‘‘Aviation Screening Contractor Reform and Account6 ability Act’’. 

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

8 this Act is as follows: 


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Sec. 1. Short title; Table of contents. 

TITLE I—REFORM 

Sec. 101. Prohibition of screening by subsidiary of a foreign-owned corporation. 

Sec. 102. Competition for private screening contracts. 

Sec. 103. Prohibition on certain subcontracting. 

Sec. 104. Discretion regarding the approval of 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. 

Sec. 111. Technical corrections. 

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. 

Sec. 206. Office of Inspector General Oversight. 

TITLE III—WORKFORCE PROTECTIONS 

Sec. 301. Job, compensation, and benefits protections. 

Sec. 302. Retention and discipline. 

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

1 TITLE I—REFORM 

2 SEC. 101. PROHIBITION OF SCREENING BY SUBSIDIARY OF 

3 A FOREIGN-OWNED CORPORATION. 

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 Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security 

11 (Transportation Security Administration) may enter’’; 


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1 (2) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) and 

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

3 moving such paragraphs two ems to the left; and 

4 (3) by striking paragraph (2) (relating to waiv5 ers). 

6 SEC. 102. COMPETITION FOR PRIVATE SCREENING CON7 TRACTS. 

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

9 amended by striking subsection (h). 

10 SEC. 103. PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN SUBCONTRACTING. 

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

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

13 by adding at the end the following new subsection: 

14 ‘‘(h) PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN SUBCON15 TRACTING.—The Administrator of the Transportation Se16 curity Administration may not enter into any contract for 

17 screening services under this section that would allow for 

18 such services to be performed by a subcontractor.’’. 

19 SEC. 104. DISCRETION REGARDING THE APPROVAL OF AP20 PLICATIONS. 

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

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

23 ‘‘may’’. 


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1 SEC. 105. ENHANCED STANDARDS FOR APPLICATION AS2 SESSMENTS. 

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

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

5 the end the following: ‘‘or at airports nationwide’’. 

6 SEC. 106. TIMELINE FOR AWARDING A CONTRACT FOR 

7 SCREENING SERVICES. 

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

9 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol10 lowing new paragraph: 

11 ‘‘(4) TIMELINE FOR AWARDING A CONTRACT

12 FOR SCREENING SERVICES.— 

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

14 days after approval of an application under 

15 paragraph (1), the Administrator of the Trans16 portation Security Administration shall award a 

17 contract to a qualified private screening com18 pany in accordance with subsections (c) and 

19 (d). 

20 ‘‘(B) NOTIFICATION.—If the Administrator 

21 of the Transportation Security Administration 

22 is unable to make an award in accordance with 

23 subparagraph (A), the Administrator shall no24 tify the airport operator that submitted the ap25 plication at issue of the determination and the 

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1 bility for reapplication in accordance with sub2 section (a).’’. 

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

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

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

6 by adding at the end the following new subsection: 

7 ‘‘(i) PROHIBITION ON BONUSES AND OTHER

8 AWARDS.—The Administrator of the Transportation Se9 curity Administration may not provide funding to any pri10 vate screening company that provides screening services 

11 at an airport in excess of the amount required for the per12 formance of such screening services.’’. 

13 SEC. 108. COST ANALYSIS. 

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

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

16 by adding at the end the following new subsection: 

17 ‘‘(j) COST ANALYSIS.— 

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

19 after the date of the enactment of this subsection, 

20 the Comptroller General of the United States shall 

21 provide to the Administrator of the Transportation 

22 Security Administration guidance on how to conduct 

23 an analysis of the total annual cost incurred by the 

24 Federal Government with respect to screening serv25 ices provided by private screening companies. 


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

2 receipt of the guidance described in paragraph (1) 

3 and annually thereafter, the Administrator of the 

4 Transportation Security Administration shall utilize 

5 such guidance to identify costs incurred by the Fed6 eral Government as a result of overseeing the per7 formance of private screening companies, compared 

8 with costs incurred by the Administrator at airports 

9 that utilize Federal Government personnel for pas10 senger and baggage screening.’’. 

11 SEC. 109. CUSTOMER SERVICE. 

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

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

14 by adding at the end the following new subsection: 

15 ‘‘(k) CUSTOMER SERVICE.—Each airport operator 

16 utilizing contract passenger and baggage screeners em17 ployed by a private screening company shall prominently 

18 display signs in the immediate vicinity of the passenger 

19 screening area notifying the flying public that passenger 

20 and baggage screening at the airport operated by such air21 port operator is conducted by contract screening personnel 

22 and not by Federal Government personnel. Such signs 

23 shall also display a contact number and Internet Web site 

24 address maintained by such private screening company for 

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1 ing experience. Each private screening company with a 

2 contract for screening services at an airport shall track 

3 all such passenger complaints and regularly report such 

4 information to the Administrator of the Transportation 

5 Security Administration through, to the maximum extent 

6 practicable, the contracting officer of each such private 

7 screening company. The Administrator shall report such 

8 information to the Committee on Homeland Security of 

9 the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

10 Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and the 

11 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 

12 the Senate upon request.’’. 

13 SEC. 110. INFORMATION ON TRANSITION PLANS. 

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

15 States Code, as amended by section 106 of this Act, is 

16 further amended by adding at the end the following new 

17 paragraph: 

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

19 after an airport operator provides notice to the Ad20 ministrator of the Transportation Security Adminis21 tration of the decision of such airport operator to 

22 discontinue the use of screening personnel of a quali23 fied private screening company and use Transpor24 tation Security Officers for screening services at the 

25 airport operated by such airport operator, the AdVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:13 Aug 10, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3415.IH H3415

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1 ministrator shall provide such airport operator with 

2 information on how the Administrator intends to 

3 carry out the transition of screening services, includ4 ing an anticipated timeline and key benchmarks.’’. 

5 SEC. 111. TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS. 

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

7 amended by striking ‘‘Under Secretary’’ each place it ap8 pears and inserting ‘‘Administrator of the Transportation 

9 Security Administration’’. 

10 TITLE II—OVERSIGHT 

11 SEC. 201. ENHANCED OVERSIGHT. 

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

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

14 by adding at the end the following new subsection: 

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

16 days after the date of the enactment of this subsection, 

17 the Administrator of the Transportation Security Admin18 istration shall develop and implement a system to be car19 ried out, to the maximum extent practicable, by the con20 tracting officer who oversees each respective private 

21 screening company providing screening services at an air22 port, to enhance monitoring of performance of each such 

23 private screening company. Such system shall, at a min24 imum, provide year-to-year information about perform25 ance by each such private screening company, and be in 


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1 a format to provide for comparison with airports in the 

2 same category whose screening services are provided by 

3 Federal Government personnel with respect to detection 

4 rates of threats and threat image tests, recertification pass 

5 rates, covert performance assessments, and evaluations 

6 used to assess screener performance on various elements 

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

8 experience.’’. 

9 SEC. 202. SECURITY BREACHES. 

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

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

12 by adding at the end the following new subsection: 

13 ‘‘(m) SECURITY BREACHES.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A private screening com15 pany shall regularly report to the Administrator of 

16 the Transportation Security Administration each se17 curity breach at an airport where baggage and pas18 senger screening is conducted by such a private 

19 screening company. Each such report shall include 

20 the following: 

21 ‘‘(A) A detailed description of each secu22 rity breach. 

23 ‘‘(B) Information regarding where each 

24 such breach occurred. 


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1 ‘‘(C) Information regarding law enforce2 ment notification and response. 

3 ‘‘(D) Any corrective action taken in re4 sponse to each such breach. 

5 ‘‘(2) ANNUAL REPORTS.—The Administrator of 

6 the Transportation Security Administration shall 

7 submit to the Committee on Homeland Security of 

8 the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

9 Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and 

10 the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans11 portation of the Senate an annual report containing 

12 the information required pursuant to paragraph (1), 

13 including the definition of ‘security breach’ used by 

14 the Administrator for purposes of this subsection. 

15 To the extent practicable, each such report shall be 

16 presented in a non-classified format with a classified 

17 appendix where necessary.’’. 

18 SEC. 203. COVERT TESTING OF CONTRACT SCREENER PER19 FORMANCE. 

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

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

22 by adding at the end the following new subsection: 

23 ‘‘(n) COVERT TESTING.—The Comptroller General of 

24 the United States shall conduct annual covert testing of 

25 airports where private screening companies provide 


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1 screening services. To the extent practicable, such covert 

2 testing shall be conducted at one airport with contract 

3 screener personnel within each airport category that was 

4 not the subject of covert testing by another Federal entity 

5 during the same year. The Comptroller General shall sub6 mit to the Administrator of the Transportation Security 

7 Administration and to the Committee on Homeland Secu8 rity of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

9 on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and the 

10 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 

11 the Senate a report that contains the results of such covert 

12 testing. To the extent practicable, each such report shall 

13 be presented in a non-classified format with a classified 

14 appendix where necessary.’’. 

15 SEC. 204. CONTRACTING PROHIBITION FOR COMPRO16 MISING COVERT SECURITY TESTING. 

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

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

19 further amended— 

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

21 end; 

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

23 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

25 paragraph: 


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

2 this paragraph, neither the private screening com3 pany, nor its parent company, if applicable, has 

4 compromised any covert security testing by notifying 

5 individuals employed by such private screening com6 pany that such covert testing was occurring, or oth7 erwise been found to have knowingly compromised 

8 covert testing conducted pursuant to subsection (n) 

9 or any other covert test conducted by the Inspector 

10 General of the Department of Homeland Security, 

11 the Comptroller General of the United States, or the 

12 Administrator of the Transportation Security Ad13 ministration.’’. 

14 SEC. 205. PROPER HANDLING OF SENSITIVE SECURITY IN15 FORMATION. 

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

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

18 by adding at the end the following new subsection: 

19 ‘‘(o) PROPER HANDLING OF SENSITIVE SECURITY

20 INFORMATION.—The Administrator of the Transportation 

21 Security Administration shall require each private screen22 ing company that provides screening services at airports 

23 to provide all individuals employed by each such private 

24 screening company with annual training for the proper 


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1 handling of all sensitive information, including sensitive 

2 security information.’’. 

3 SEC. 206. OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL OVERSIGHT. 

4 The Inspector General of the Department of Home5 land Security shall annually submit to the Committee on 

6 Homeland Security of the House of Representatives and 

7 the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 

8 Affairs and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

9 Transportation of the Senate a review the performance of 

10 the Transportation Security Administration with respect 

11 to the requirements of section 44920 of title 49, United 

12 States Code, as amended by this Act. 

13 TITLE III—WORKFORCE 

14 PROTECTIONS 

15 SEC. 301. JOB, COMPENSATION, AND BENEFITS PROTEC16 TIONS. 

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

18 States Code, is amended to read as follows: 

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

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

21 the enactment of this subsection, a private screening 

22 company is qualified to provide screening services at 

23 an airport under this section if such company will 

24 only employ individuals to provide such services who 

25 meet all the requirements of this chapter applicable 


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1 to Federal Government personnel who perform 

2 screening services at airports under this chapter. 

3 ‘‘(2) FEDERAL GOVERNMENT PERSONNEL.—A 

4 private screening company under paragraph (1) shall 

5 provide the right of first refusal to Federal Govern6 ment personnel employed to perform screening serv7 ices at an airport at the time the contract is award8 ed, and presume that such Federal Government per9 sonnel are in good standing and are qualified under 

10 this subsection, and shall offer compensation and 

11 benefits that are not less than the level of compensa12 tion and other benefits provided to such Federal 

13 Government personnel at the time such contract is 

14 awarded. 

15 ‘‘(3) QUALIFIED PRIVATE SCREENING COMPANY

16 PERSONNEL.—In the event a private screening com17 pany under paragraph (1) is seeking to succeed a 

18 qualified private screening company at an airport, 

19 such company shall provide the right of first refusal 

20 to personnel employed to perform screening services 

21 at such airport at the time the contract is awarded, 

22 and presume that such personnel are in good stand23 ing and are qualified under this subsection, and, at 

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1 tion and other benefits at a level required pursuant 

2 to subsection (c) of section 6707 of title 41, United 

3 States Code, and that is not less than the level of 

4 compensation and other benefits provided to Federal 

5 Government personnel at the time such contract is 

6 awarded. 

7 ‘‘(4) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

8 this subsection may be construed to require any pri9 vate screening company that is a qualified private 

10 screening company as of the date that is one day be11 fore the date of the enactment of this subsection to 

12 implement paragraph (1) with respect to any con13 tract that was entered into with the Administrator 

14 of the Transportation Security Administration be15 fore such date of enactment.’’. 

16 SEC. 302. RETENTION AND DISCIPLINE. 

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

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

19 by adding at the end the following new subsection: 

20 ‘‘(p) RETENTION AND DISCIPLINE.—Each private 

21 screening company with a contract for screening services 

22 under this section that provides screening services at an 

23 airport under this section shall, on a monthly basis, pro24 vide the Administrator of the Transportation Security Ad25 ministration with information on retention rates of screenVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:13 Aug 10, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3415.IH H3415

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1 ers and supervisory personnel employed by each such pri2 vate screening company at each such airport, and a de3 tailed description of adverse employment actions taken 

4 against any of such screeners or supervisory personnel at 

5 each such airport. The Administrator shall submit to the 

6 Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Rep7 resentatives and the Committee on Homeland Security 

8 and Governmental Affairs and the Committee on Com9 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate, upon 

10 request by any of such Committees, a report containing 

11 the information required under this subsection.’’. 

12 SEC. 303. PROTECTIONS FOR REPORTING DEFICIENCIES, 

13 WASTE, OR VULNERABILITIES. 

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

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

16 further amended by adding at the end the following new 

17 subsection: 

18 ‘‘(q) PROTECTIONS FOR REPORTING DEFI19 CIENCIES.— 

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

21 after the date of the enactment of this subsection, 

22 the Administrator of the Transportation Security 

23 Administration shall establish a process by which 

24 any person may submit to the Administrator a re25 port regarding problems, deficiencies, waste, or 


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1 vulnerabilities with respect to screening services pro2 vided at an airport where such services are provided 

3 by a private screening company. 

4 ‘‘(2) CONFIDENTIALITY.—The Administrator of 

5 the Transportation Security Administration shall 

6 keep confidential the identity of a person who sub7 mits a report under paragraph (1), and any such re8 port shall be treated as protected information. 

9 ‘‘(3) ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF RECEIPT.—If a re10 port submitted under paragraph (1) identifies the 

11 person submitting such report, the Administrator of 

12 the Transportation Security Administration shall re13 spond promptly to such person to acknowledge re14 ceipt of such report. 

15 ‘‘(4) STEPS TO ADDRESS PROBLEMS.—The Ad16 ministrator of the Transportation Security Adminis17 tration shall review and consider the information 

18 provided in any report submitted under paragraph 

19 (1) and shall, as necessary, take appropriate steps 

20 under this title to address any problem, deficiency, 

21 waste, or vulnerability identified in such report. 

22 ‘‘(5) RETALIATION PROHIBITED.— 

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

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1 spect to such employee’s compensation, terms, 

2 conditions, or other privileges of employment 

3 because such employee (or any person acting 

4 pursuant to a request of such employee)— 

5 ‘‘(i) notified the Administrator of the 

6 Transportation Security Administration of 

7 any problem, deficiency, waste, or vulner8 ability; 

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

10 made unlawful by this title, if such em11 ployee has identified the alleged illegality 

12 to such employer; 

13 ‘‘(iii) testified before or otherwise pro14 vided information relevant for Congress or 

15 for any Federal or State proceeding re16 garding any provision of this title; 

17 ‘‘(iv) commenced, caused to be com18 menced, or is about to commence or cause 

19 to be commenced a proceeding under this 

20 title; 

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

22 any such proceeding; or 

23 ‘‘(vi) assisted or participated or is 

24 about to assist or participate in any man25 ner in such a proceeding or in any other 


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1 manner in such a proceeding or in any 

2 other action to carry out the purposes of 

3 this title. 

4 ‘‘(B) SUSPENSION.—If the Administrator 

5 of the Transportation Security Administration 

6 determines that any private screening company 

7 has engaged in retaliation in violation of sub8 paragraph (A), the Administrator shall suspend 

9 the contract of such private screening company 

10 to provide screening services.’’. 

11 (b) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in sub12 section (q) of section of title 49, United States Code, as 

13 added by subsection (a) of this section, may be construed 

14 as in any manner affecting any other provision of law re15 lating to protections for the reporting of problems, defi16 ciencies, waste, or vulnerabilities, including protections 

17 against retaliation related thereto. 

Æ 


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