II 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3302 

To establish an air travelers’ bill of rights, to implement those rights, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 14, 2012 

Mr. PAUL introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to 

the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To establish an air travelers’ bill of rights, to implement 

those rights, 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 ‘‘Air Travelers’ Bill of Rights Act of 2012’’. 

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

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

Sec. 3. Establishment of air travelers’ bill of rights. 

Sec. 4. Mandatory approval of applications under screening partnership program. 

Sec. 5. Expansion of PreCheck program. 

Sec. 6. Availability of canine teams for screening. 


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Sec. 7. Prohibition on use of random computer-generated screening. 

Sec. 8. Limitations on screening using pat-downs. 

Sec. 9. Prevention of humiliating searches. 

Sec. 10. Liability of manufacturers of advanced imaging technology. 

Sec. 11. Implementation of additional elements of air travelers’ bill of rights. 

Sec. 12. Passenger Privacy Protection Award. 

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) ADVANCED IMAGING TECHNOLOGY.—The 

4 term ‘‘advanced imaging technology’’ has the mean5 ing given that term in section 44901(l) of title 49, 

6 United States Code. 

7 (2) AIR TRANSPORTATION.—The term ‘‘air 

8 transportation’’ means air transportation and intra9 state air transportation (as those terms are defined 

10 in section 40102 of title 49, United States Code). 

11 (3) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT12 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com13 mittees’’ means— 

14 (A) the Committee on Homeland Security 

15 and Governmental Affairs and the Committee 

16 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 

17 the Senate; and 

18 (B) the Committee on Homeland Security 

19 and the Committee on Transportation and In20 frastructure of the House of Representatives. 

21 (4) ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Assist22 ant Secretary’’ means the Assistant Secretary of 


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1 Homeland Security (Transportation Security Admin2 istration). 

3 (5) COMMERCIAL SERVICE AIRPORT; PRIMARY

4 AIRPORT.—The terms ‘‘commercial service airport’’ 

5 and ‘‘primary airport’’ have the meanings given 

6 those terms in section 47102 of title 49, United 

7 States Code. 

8 (6) SCREEN; SCREENING.—The terms ‘‘screen’’ 

9 and ‘‘screening’’ refer to the process of screening a 

10 passenger traveling in air transportation at a com11 mercial service airport for weapons, explosives, and 

12 incendiaries before the passenger enters the sterile 

13 area of an airport. 

14 (7) STERILE AREA.—The term ‘‘sterile area’’ 

15 has the meaning given that term in section 1540.5 

16 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect 

17 on June 1, 2012). 

18 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF AIR TRAVELERS’ BILL OF 

19 RIGHTS. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 

21 date of the enactment of this Act, the Assistant Secretary 

22 shall— 

23 (1) establish a list of the rights of passengers 

24 traveling in air transportation that are screened at 


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1 a primary airport (to be known as the ‘‘air travelers’ 

2 bill of rights’’); and 

3 (2) distribute the air travelers’ bill of rights as 

4 required by subsection (c). 

5 (b) ELEMENTS.—The air travelers’ bill of rights shall 

6 include, at a minimum, the following: 

7 (1) A passenger has the right to be presumed 

8 innocent before, during, and after screening. 

9 (2) A passenger has the right to choose to de10 part from an airport that has the freedom to choose 

11 to have screening conducted by employees of a pri12 vate security screening company or Federal employ13 ees, depending on the needs of the airport. 

14 (3) A passenger who has been verified by the 

15 Transportation Security Administration as a low16 risk or frequent traveler has the right to be screened 

17 through a process that is more expeditious and less 

18 intrusive than the standard screening process. 

19 (4) A passenger has the right to make a video 

20 recording of the screening of the passenger using re21 cording devices approved by the Transportation Se22 curity Administration for that purpose. 

23 (5) A passenger has the right to be screened by 

24 a canine screening team if the passenger requests 


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1 screening by such a team before beginning the 

2 screening process and such a team is available. 

3 (6) A passenger has the right to decline to be 

4 screened using a device that uses backscatter x-rays. 

5 (7) A passenger has the right to be free from 

6 searches and screening procedures not implemented 

7 for cause or because the passenger is the subject of 

8 suspicion, including searches and screening proce9 dures resulting from the random selection of the 

10 passenger by a computer. 

11 (8) A passenger has the right to be screened by 

12 a method other than a pat-down unless— 

13 (A) the passenger has failed to be cleared 

14 to enter the sterile area of the airport after 

15 being screened using a metal detector or ad16 vanced imaging technology multiple times; or 

17 (B) the individual conducting the screening 

18 has a specific reason to suspect that the pas19 senger is carrying items that are prohibited in 

20 the sterile area of the airport. 

21 (9) A passenger who is selected to be screened 

22 using a pat-down has the right to request that the 

23 pat-down be administered using the back, rather 

24 than the palm, of the hand of the individual con25 ducting the screening. 


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1 (10) A passenger who is 12 years of age or 

2 younger or 75 years of age or older has the right to 

3 be screened by a method other than a pat-down un4 less the individual conducting the screening has a 

5 high degree of suspicion that the passenger is car6 rying items that are prohibited in the sterile area of 

7 the airport. 

8 (11) A passenger who is 75 years of age or 

9 older, is dependent on a wheelchair for mobility, or 

10 is dependent on an approved medical device for the 

11 treatment of a chronic condition has the right to be 

12 screened in a private area out of the view of other 

13 passengers. 

14 (12) A passenger who is traveling with minor 

15 children has the right to accompany those minor 

16 children through the screening process. 

17 (13) A passenger has the right— 

18 (A) to have the privacy of any image of the 

19 passenger generated during the screening proc20 ess maintained; and 

21 (B) to have all copies of any such image 

22 (other than a video recording described in para23 graph (4) or generated by a surveillance cam24 era) deleted immediately after the passenger is 

25 cleared to enter the sterile area of the airport. 


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1 (14) A passenger has the right to have the pas2 senger’s baggage inspected— 

3 (A) by an individual conducting the inspec4 tion under the supervision of another individual; 

5 or 

6 (B) in an area visible to passengers or re7 corded by a surveillance camera. 

8 (15) A passenger has the right to be screened— 

9 (A) by individuals who are subject to liabil10 ity for mistreatment or misconduct during 

11 screening; and 

12 (B) using technologies the manufacturers 

13 of which are subject to liability for harm caused 

14 by the use of those technologies. 

15 (16) A passenger who believes the passenger 

16 has been subjected to mistreatment during the 

17 screening process has the right to peacefully express 

18 the passenger’s concerns to a supervisor of the indi19 vidual who conducted the screening. 

20 (17) A passenger who is removed from or de21 tained during the screening process has the right to 

22 contact an attorney promptly. 

23 (c) DISTRIBUTION.—The Assistant Secretary shall— 


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1 (1) post the air travelers’ bill of rights on the 

2 website of the Transportation Security Administra3 tion; and 

4 (2) provide the air travelers’ bill of rights to 

5 passengers before they are subjected to screening at 

6 primary airports by— 

7 (A) posting the air travelers’ bill of rights 

8 on a sign that is easily visible to passengers; or 

9 (B) distributing brochures that contain the 

10 air travelers’ bill of rights to passengers. 

11 SEC. 4. MANDATORY APPROVAL OF APPLICATIONS UNDER 

12 SCREENING PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM. 

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

14 amended— 

15 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘Under Sec16 retary’’ the first place it appears and inserting ‘‘As17 sistant Secretary (Transportation Security Adminis18 tration) (in this section referred to as the ‘Assistant 

19 Secretary’)’’; 

20 (2) by striking ‘‘Under Secretary’’ each place it 

21 appears and inserting ‘‘Assistant Secretary’’; and 

22 (3) by amending subsection (b) to read as fol23 lows: 


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1 ‘‘(b) APPROVAL OF APPLICATIONS.—The Assistant 

2 Secretary shall approve all applications submitted under 

3 subsection (a).’’. 

4 SEC. 5. EXPANSION OF PRECHECK PROGRAM. 

5 The Assistant Secretary shall take such actions as 

6 are necessary to expand the expedited screening initiative 

7 of the Transportation Security Administration known as 

8 ‘‘PreCheck’’— 

9 (1) not later than one year after the date of the 

10 enactment of this Act, to all commercial service air11 ports with more than 250,000 passenger boardings 

12 annually; 

13 (2) not later than 2 years after such date of en14 actment, to all commercial service airports with 

15 more than 100,000 passenger boardings annually; 

16 and 

17 (3) not later than 3 years after such date of en18 actment, to any other commercial service airport the 

19 operator of which requests to have PreCheck ex20 panded to the airport. 

21 SEC. 6. AVAILABILITY OF CANINE TEAMS FOR SCREENING. 

22 (a) INCREASE IN NUMBER OF CANINE TEAMS.—Not 

23 later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this 

24 Act, the Assistant Secretary shall increase the number of 

25 canine teams from the National Explosives Detection CaVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:43 Jun 15, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3302.IS S3302

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1 nine Team Program of the Transportation Security Ad2 ministration placed at each commercial service airport in 

3 the United States with more than 2,500,000 passenger 

4 boardings each year to a number that is sufficient to en5 sure that at least one canine team can be tasked exclu6 sively with screening passengers during the operating 

7 hours of the airport. 

8 (b) PROHIBITION ON DIVERSION OF EXISTING

9 TEAMS.—The Assistant Secretary may not divert canine 

10 teams already placed at an airport from duties other than 

11 screening passengers to fulfill the requirement of sub12 section (a). 

13 (c) DEPLOYMENT OF TEAMS.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Secretary, in 

15 consultation with the operator of an airport at which 

16 a canine team is required to be placed under sub17 section (a), shall determine appropriate procedures 

18 for deploying canine teams for screening passengers 

19 at that airport. 

20 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—At least one canine team 

21 shall be available to screen passengers during the 

22 operating hours of an airport, but a canine team is 

23 not required to be present at each passenger screen24 ing location. 


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1 (d) TREATMENT OF PRIVATE SECURITY SCREENING

2 COMPANIES.—If screening at an airport described in sub3 section (a) is conducted by a private security screening 

4 company pursuant to section 44920 of title 49, United 

5 States Code, the Assistant Secretary shall provide the pri6 vate security screening company with a canine team if the 

7 company does not employ canine teams. 

8 (e) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than one year 

9 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Assistant 

10 Secretary shall submit to the appropriate congressional 

11 committees a report on the implementation of this section 

12 that includes— 

13 (1) the number of canine teams deployed pursu14 ant to subsection (a); 

15 (2) the barriers, if any, to the full implementa16 tion of this section; 

17 (3) an assessment of the impact of the imple18 mentation of this section on— 

19 (A) the privacy of passengers during the 

20 screening process; and 

21 (B) the efficiency of the screening process; 

22 and 

23 (4) an assessment of the effectiveness of canine 

24 teams deployed pursuant to subsection (a) in identi25 fying suspicious items. 


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1 SEC. 7. PROHIBITION ON USE OF RANDOM COMPUTER-GEN2 ERATED SCREENING. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—On and after the date of the en4 actment of this Act, passengers traveling in air transpor5 tation that are screened at a commercial service airport 

6 may not be screened using a device that uses advanced 

7 imaging technology if that device is programmed to ran8 domly indicate that some passengers have failed to be 

9 cleared to enter the sterile area of the airport or uses a 

10 computer-based program for randomly selecting pas11 sengers to be screened. 

12 (b) CERTIFICATION.—Not later than 30 days after 

13 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Assistant Sec14 retary shall certify to Congress that no devices described 

15 in subsection (a) are in use at any commercial service air16 port. 

17 SEC. 8. LIMITATIONS ON SCREENING USING PAT-DOWNS. 

18 Not later than 30 days after the date of the enact19 ment of this Act, the Assistant Secretary shall prescribe 

20 regulations relating to the screening of passengers using 

21 pat-downs that prohibit the screening at a commercial 

22 service airport of— 

23 (1) a passenger who is 12 years of age or 

24 younger or 75 years of age or older using a pat25 down unless the individual conducting the screening 

26 has a high degree of suspicion that the passenger is 


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1 carrying items that are prohibited in the sterile area 

2 of the airport; 

3 (2) any other passenger using a pat-down un4 less— 

5 (A) the passenger requests to be screened 

6 using a pat-down; 

7 (B) the passenger has failed to be cleared 

8 to enter the sterile area of the airport after 

9 being screened using a metal detector or ad10 vanced imaging technology multiple times; or 

11 (C) the individual conducting the screening 

12 has a specific reason to suspect that the pas13 senger is carrying items that are prohibited in 

14 the sterile area of the airport; and 

15 (3) any passenger using a pat-down conducted 

16 using the palm of the hand of the individual con17 ducting the screening if the passenger requests that 

18 the pat-down be conducted using the back of the 

19 hand. 

20 SEC. 9. PREVENTION OF HUMILIATING SEARCHES. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after the 

22 date of the enactment of this Act, the Assistant Secretary 

23 shall prescribe regulations to ensure that a passenger trav24 eling in air transportation who is screened at a commercial 

25 service airport and uses a prosthetic limb, a breast pump, 


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1 adult diapers, a wheelchair, an insulin pump, or any other 

2 medical device that requires special accommodations dur3 ing the screening process is screened in a private area out 

4 of the view of other passengers if the passenger requests 

5 to be screened in a private area. 

6 (b) TERMINATION OF SCREENERS FOR CONDUCTING

7 HUMILIATING SEARCHES.—Not later than 30 days after 

8 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Assistant Sec9 retary shall prescribe regulations to ensure that any indi10 vidual employed by the Transportation Security Adminis11 tration or a private security screening company to conduct 

12 screening at a commercial service airport is terminated if 

13 the individual— 

14 (1) commits a gross violation of the privacy of 

15 a passenger in a manner that is not supported by 

16 the policies of the Transportation Security Adminis17 tration; or 

18 (2) violates subsection (a) or the policies of the 

19 Transportation Security Administration with respect 

20 to the screening of a passenger with a medical or 

21 other condition that requires special accommodations 

22 during the screening process, such as a passenger 

23 who is dependent on a wheelchair or another medical 

24 device. 


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1 SEC. 10. LIABILITY OF MANUFACTURERS OF ADVANCED IM2 AGING TECHNOLOGY. 

3 Section 865 of the Support Anti-terrorism by Fos4 tering Effective Technologies Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 444) 

5 is amended— 

6 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

7 (A) by striking ‘‘For purposes of this sub8 title, the’’ and inserting the following: 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

10 subparagraph (B), the’’; and 

11 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—The term ‘qualified 

13 anti-terrorism technology’ does not include— 

14 ‘‘(i) advanced imaging technology; or 

15 ‘‘(ii) any technology developed or ac16 quired on or after the date of the enact17 ment of the Air Travelers’ Bill of Rights 

18 Act of 2012 for use in the screening of 

19 passengers at airports.’’; and 

20 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(7) ADVANCED IMAGING TECHNOLOGY.—The 

22 term ‘advanced imaging technology’— 

23 ‘‘(A) means a device used in the screening 

24 of passengers at airports that creates a visual 

25 image of an individual showing the surface of 


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1 the skin and revealing other objects on the 

2 body; and 

3 ‘‘(B) includes devices using backscatter x4 rays or millimeter waves and devices referred to 

5 as ‘whole-body imaging technology’ or ‘body 

6 scanning machines’.’’. 

7 SEC. 11. IMPLEMENTATION OF ADDITIONAL ELEMENTS OF 

8 AIR TRAVELERS’ BILL OF RIGHTS. 

9 Not later than 30 days after the date of the enact10 ment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall 

11 take all appropriate actions within the authority of the 

12 Secretary to implement any elements of the air travelers’ 

13 bill of rights required by section 3 that are not included 

14 in the policies and practices of the Transportation Secu15 rity Administration on the day before such date of enact16 ment. 

17 SEC. 12. PASSENGER PRIVACY PROTECTION AWARD. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Secretary shall pro19 vide an award (to be known as the ‘‘Passenger Privacy 

20 Protection Award’’) for improving the privacy of pas21 sengers at airports each year to— 

22 (1) not fewer than 2 and not more than 4 pri23 mary airports; and 


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1 (2) not more than one individual who is a cit2 izen or legal permanent resident of the United 

3 States. 

4 (b) CRITERIA FOR AIRPORT AWARDS.—The Assist5 ant Secretary shall provide a Passenger Privacy Protec6 tion Award to a primary airport based on the following 

7 criteria: 

8 (1) Most innovative improvements to the pri9 vacy of passengers. 

10 (2) Best facilities, or most improved facilities, 

11 for the promotion of the privacy of passengers. 

12 (3) Most courteous employees. 

13 (4) Commitment to advancing passenger pri14 vacy. 

15 (5) Advancement and promotion of passengers’ 

16 rights. 

17 (c) CRITERIA FOR INDIVIDUAL AWARDS.—The As18 sistant Secretary shall provide a Passenger Privacy Pro19 tection Award to an individual based on the following cri20 teria: 

21 (1) Most innovative idea to improve the privacy 

22 of passengers. 

23 (2) The feasibility of implementing the idea 

24 without the acquisition of a product by the Trans25 portation Security Administration. 


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1 (3) Advancement and promotion of passengers’ 

2 rights. 

3 (d) APPLICATIONS.—Except as provided in sub4 section (e)(1)(B), an airport or individual seeking a Pas5 senger Privacy Protection Award shall submit an applica6 tion at such time, in such manner, and containing such 

7 information as the Assistant Secretary may require. 

8 (e) AWARD WEBSITE.—The Assistant Secretary 

9 shall— 

10 (1) establish a website that— 

11 (A) contains information relating to the 

12 Passenger Privacy Protection Award, includ13 ing— 

14 (i) the airports and individuals that 

15 received the Award; and 

16 (ii) the ideas and actions for which 

17 those airports and individuals received the 

18 Award; and 

19 (B) provides a mechanism for the submis20 sion of applications under subsection (d); and 

21 (2) include a link to the website required by 

22 paragraph (1) on the website of the Transportation 

23 Security Administration. 

24 (f) FUNDING.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 44945 of title 49, 

2 United States Code is amended to read as follows: 

3 ‘‘§ 44945. Disposition of unclaimed money 

4 ‘‘Notwithstanding section 3302 of title 31, unclaimed 

5 money recovered at any airport security checkpoint shall 

6 be disposed of as follows: 

7 ‘‘(1) Not more than 10 percent of the un8 claimed money shall be retained by the Transpor9 tation Security Administration during fiscal year 

10 2013 and each fiscal year thereafter to provide Pas11 senger Privacy Protection Awards under section 12 

12 of the Air Travelers’ Bill of Rights Act of 2012. 

13 ‘‘(2) The remainder of the unclaimed money 

14 shall be deposited in the general fund of the Treas15 ury and used for deficit reduction.’’. 

16 (2) DISTRIBUTION OF AWARD.—Of the amount 

17 made available to the Assistant Secretary under sec18 tion 44945 of title 49, United States Code (as 

19 amended by paragraph (1)) for a fiscal year— 

20 (A) not more than $30,000 may be used to 

21 provide Passenger Privacy Protection Awards to 

22 airports, not more than $15,000 of which may 

23 be provided to one airport; and 


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1 (B) not more than $5,000 may be used to 

2 provide a Passenger Privacy Protection Award 

3 to an individual. 

Æ 


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