I 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5338 

To reduce passenger wait times at airports, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 26, 2016 

Mr. KATKO (for himself, Mr. MCCAUL, Mr. KEATING, Mr. KING of New York, 

Miss RICE of New York, Mr. DONOVAN, Ms. MCSALLY, Mr. MARCHANT, 

Mr. JOYCE, and Mr. DOLD) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security 

A BILL 

To reduce passenger wait times at 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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Checkpoint Optimiza5 tion and Efficiency Act of 2016’’. 

6 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

7 It is the sense of Congress that airport checkpoint 

8 wait times should not take priority over the security of 

9 passengers. 


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1 SEC. 3. ENHANCED STAFFING ALLOCATION MODEL. 

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

3 date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of 

4 the Transportation Security Administration shall complete 

5 an assessment of the Administration’s staffing allocation 

6 model to determine the necessary staffing positions at all 

7 airports in the United States at which the Administration 

8 operates passenger checkpoints. 

9 (b) APPROPRIATE STAFFING.—The staffing alloca10 tion model described in subsection (a) shall be based on 

11 necessary staffing levels to maintain minimal passenger 

12 wait times. 

13 (c) ADDITIONAL RESOURCES.—In assessing nec14 essary staffing for minimal passenger wait times referred 

15 to in subsection (b), the Administrator of the Transpor16 tation Security Administration shall include the use of ca17 nine explosives detection teams and technology to assist 

18 screeners conducting security checks. 

19 (d) TRANSPARENCY.—The Administrator of the 

20 Transportation Security Administration shall share with 

21 air carriers and airport operators the staffing allocation 

22 model described in subsection (a). 

23 (e) GAO REVIEW.—Not later than 180 days after the 

24 date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

25 of the United States shall review the staffing allocation 

26 model described in subsection (a) and report to the ComVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:15 May 28, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5338.IH H5338

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1 mittee on Homeland Security of the House of Representa2 tives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

3 Transportation of the Senate on the results of such review. 

4 SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE UTILIZATION OF STAFFING RE5 SOURCES. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—To the greatest extent practicable, 

7 the Administrator of the Transportation Security Admin8 istration shall direct that Transportation Security Officers 

9 are assigned to passenger and baggage security screening 

10 functions and that other Administration and other appro11 priate personnel are utilized for tasks not directly related 

12 to security screening, including restocking bins and pro13 viding instructions and support to passengers in security 

14 lines. 

15 (b) ASSESSMENT AND REASSIGNMENT.—The Admin16 istrator of the Transportation Security Administration 

17 shall conduct an assessment of headquarters personnel 

18 and reassign appropriate personnel to assist with airport 

19 security screening activities on a permanent or temporary 

20 basis. 

21 SEC. 5. TSA STAFFING AND RESOURCE ALLOCATION. 

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

23 date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of 

24 the Transportation Security Administration shall take the 

25 following actions: 


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1 (1) Utilize the Administration’s Behavior De2 tection Officers to verify traveler documents, par3 ticularly at designated PreCheck lanes to ensure 

4 that such lanes are operational for use and max5 imum efficiency. 

6 (2) Make every practicable effort to grant addi7 tional flexibility and authority to Federal Security 

8 Directors in matters related to checkpoint and 

9 checked baggage staffing allocation and employee 

10 overtime. 

11 (3) Disseminate to air carriers, airport opera12 tors, and appropriate Administration personnel a list 

13 of checkpoint optimization best practices. 

14 (4) Expand efforts to increase the public’s par15 ticipation in the Administration’s PreCheck pro16 gram, including deploying Administration-approved 

17 ready-to-market private sector solutions and offering 

18 secure online and mobile enrollment opportunities. 

19 (5) Direct the Aviation Security Advisory Com20 mittee (established pursuant to section 44946 of 

21 title 49, United States Code) to provide rec22 ommendations within 60 days on checkpoint oper23 ations optimization. 

24 (b) STAFFING ADVISORY COORDINATION.—Not later 

25 than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 


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1 the Administrator of the Transportation Security Admin2 istration shall— 

3 (1) in coordination with local representatives 

4 from airports and air carriers, establish a staffing 

5 advisory working group at each airport at which the 

6 Administration oversees or performs passenger secu7 rity screening to coordinate a service level agreement 

8 and minimum Administration staffing numbers to be 

9 provided to each such airport; 

10 (2) in coordination with representatives from 

11 airports and air carriers, establish a staffing advi12 sory committee at the national level to coordinate 

13 and share information relating to best practices con14 cerning Administration staffing numbers being pro15 vided to airports; and 

16 (3) certify to the Committee on Homeland Se17 curity of the House of Representatives and the Com18 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 

19 the Senate that such staffing advisory committees 

20 have been established. 

21 (c) REPORTING.—Not later than 60 days after the 

22 date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of 

23 the Transportation Security Administration shall— 

24 (1) report to the Committee on Homeland Se25 curity of the House of Representatives and the ComVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:15 May 28, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5338.IH H5338

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1 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 

2 the Senate regarding how the Administration’s Pas3 senger Screening Canine assets may be deployed and 

4 utilized for maximum efficiency to mitigate risk and 

5 optimize checkpoint operations; and 

6 (2) report to the Committee on Homeland Se7 curity of the House of Representatives and the Com8 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 

9 the Senate on the status of the Administration’s 

10 Credential Authentication Technology Assessment 

11 program and how deployment of such program 

12 might optimize checkpoint operations. 

13 SEC. 6. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

14 Nothing in this Act may be construed as authorizing 

15 or directing the Administrator of the Transportation Secu16 rity Administration to prioritize reducing wait times over 

17 security effectiveness. 

Æ 


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