II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2888 

To reduce passenger, crewmember, and airport personnel risk of exposure 

to COVID–19, decrease the risk of transmission of COVID–19 on board 

aircraft and to United States destination communities through air travel, 

and protect children and other vulnerable individuals by preventing further spread of COVID–19 in the United States. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 29, 2021 

Mrs. FEINSTEIN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To reduce passenger, crewmember, and airport personnel 

risk of exposure to COVID–19, decrease the risk of 

transmission of COVID–19 on board aircraft and to 

United States destination communities through air travel, and protect children and other vulnerable individuals 

by preventing further spread of COVID–19 in the United 

States. 

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 ‘‘U.S. Air Travel Public 

5 Safety Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. DOMESTIC AIR TRANSPORTATION WITHIN THE 

2 UNITED STATES. 

3 (a) TRAVEL REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary of 

4 Health and Human Services (referred to in this section 

5 as the ‘‘Secretary’’), in consultation with the Federal Avia6 tion Administration, shall develop national vaccination 

7 verification standards and procedures in accordance with 

8 this section. Such standards and procedures shall require 

9 that all covered air carriers require that, before any pas10 senger may board an aircraft for a covered flight, such 

11 passenger shall— 

12 (1) provide the covered air carrier with docu13 mentation demonstrating that the passenger is fully 

14 vaccinated (as defined by the Secretary or any suc15 cessor guidance) against the COVID–19 (SARS– 

16 CoV–2) novel coronavirus; or 

17 (2) attest under penalty of perjury that the pas18 senger has adhered to the international travel rec19 ommendations and requirements for individuals who 

20 are not fully vaccinated (issued by the Centers for 

21 Disease Control and Prevention) prior to boarding, 

22 including requirements to provide proof of a negative 

23 pre-departure qualifying test result for SARS–CoV– 

24 2 or, alternatively, written or electronic documenta25 tion of recovery from COVID–19 after previous 

26 SARS–CoV–2 infection, in accordance with the CenVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:54 Sep 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2888.IS S2888

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1 ters for Disease Control and Prevention’s testing re2 quirements and applicable guidance. 

3 (b) REGULATIONS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall promul5 gate interim final rules to ensure that the standards 

6 and procedures developed under subsection (a) are 

7 applied to covered air carriers beginning on the date 

8 that is not later than 30 days after the date of en9 actment of this Act. 

10 (2) EXCEPTION.—The interim final rules pro11 mulgated under paragraph (1) shall include a list of 

12 those categories of individuals and organizations 

13 that are exempt from the standards and procedures 

14 developed under this section. Such list shall be devel15 oped by the Secretary in accordance with the Cen16 ters for Disease Control and Prevention’s applicable 

17 guidance. 

18 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

19 (1) AIR CARRIER.—The term ‘‘air carrier’’ has 

20 the meaning given that term in section 40102 of 

21 title 49, United States Code. 

22 (2) AIRCRAFT.—The term ‘‘aircraft’’ has the 

23 meaning given that term in section 40102 of title 

24 49, United States Code. 


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1 (3) AIRPORT.—The term ‘‘airport’’ has the 

2 meaning given that term in section 40102 of title 

3 49, United States Code. 

4 (4) ATTEST; ATTESTATION.—The terms ‘‘at5 test’’ and ‘‘attestation’’ with respect to a passenger 

6 mean the passenger having completed the attestation 

7 described in this section. Such attestation may be 

8 completed in written or electronic form. The attesta9 tion is a statement, writing, entry, or other rep10 resentation under section 1001 of title 18, United 

11 States Code. 

12 (5) COVERED AIR CARRIER.—The term ‘‘cov13 ered air carrier’’ means— 

14 (A) any air carrier engaged in passenger15 carrying operations; or 

16 (B) any foreign air carrier authorized to 

17 engage in passenger-carrying operations. 

18 (6) COVERED FLIGHT.—The term ‘‘covered 

19 flight’’ means a flight of a covered carrier that is 

20 scheduled to depart from, and arrive at, an airport 

21 located in the United States. 

22 (7) DOCUMENTATION OF RECOVERY.—The 

23 term ‘‘documentation of recovery’’ with respect to a 

24 passenger means a confirmation that— 


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1 (A) the passenger has presented docu2 mentation of a positive test result and a signed 

3 letter on official letterhead that contains the 

4 name, address, and phone number of a licensed 

5 health care provider or public health official 

6 stating that the passenger has been cleared for 

7 travel; 

8 (B) the positive test result occurred within 

9 the last three months (90 days) preceding the 

10 passenger’s flight in the United States, or at 

11 such other intervals as specified in guidance 

12 issued by the Secretary; 

13 (C) the personal identifiers (including the 

14 name and date of birth) on the positive test re15 sult and signed letter match the personal identi16 fiers on the passenger’s passport or other travel 

17 documents; 

18 (D) the test performed was a viral test; 

19 and 

20 (E) the test result states ‘‘POSITIVE’’, 

21 ‘‘SARS–CoV–2 RNA DETECTED’’, ‘‘SARS– 

22 CoV–2 ANTIGEN DETECTED’’, or ‘‘COVID– 

23 19 DETECTED’’. 

24 A test marked ‘‘invalid’’ is not acceptable. 


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1 (8) FOREIGN AIR CARRIER.—The term ‘‘foreign 

2 air carrier’’ has the meaning given that term in sec3 tion 40102 of title 49, United States Code. 

4 (9) QUALIFYING TEST RESULT.—The term 

5 ‘‘qualifying test result’’ with respect to a passenger 

6 means confirmation that— 

7 (A) the personal identifiers (including the 

8 name and date of birth) on the negative Quali9 fying Test result match the personal identifiers 

10 on the passenger’s passport or other travel doc11 uments; 

12 (B) the specimen was collected within the 

13 3 days (or a lesser number of days if deter14 mined appropriate by the Secretary) preceding 

15 the flight’s departure; 

16 (C) the test performed was a viral test; 

17 and 

18 (D) the test result states ‘‘NEGATIVE’’, 

19 ‘‘SARS–CoV–2 RNA NOT DETECTED’’, 

20 ‘‘SARS–CoV–2 ANTIGEN NOT DE21 TECTED’’, or ‘‘COVID–19 NOT DE22 TECTED’’. 

23 A test marked ‘‘invalid’’ is not acceptable. 


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1 (10) UNITED STATES.—The term ‘‘United 

2 States’’ has the meaning given that term in section 

3 40102 of title 49, United States Code. 

4 SEC. 3. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR COVID–19 VACCINE USE. 

5 Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment 

6 of this Act, the Advisory Committee on Immunization 

7 Practices of the Centers for Disease Control and Preven8 tion shall review data on the transmission of COVID–19 

9 in health care settings and among health care personnel 

10 in other settings, and develop and make recommendations 

11 for COVID–19 vaccine use on the basis of transmission 

12 in health care settings and among health care personnel 

13 in other settings. 

Æ 


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