III 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 174 

Expressing the sense of the Senate that effective sharing of passenger information from inbound international flight manifests is a crucial component 

of our national security and that the Department of Homeland Security 

must maintain the information sharing standards required under the 

2007 Passenger Name Record Agreement between the United States 

and the European Union. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 9, 2011 

Mr. LIEBERMAN (for himself and Ms. COLLINS) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and 

Governmental Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the Senate that effective sharing 

of passenger information from inbound international 

flight manifests is a crucial component of our national 

security and that the Department of Homeland Security 

must maintain the information sharing standards required under the 2007 Passenger Name Record Agreement between the United States and the European 

Union. 

Whereas the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon 

the United States— 


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•SRES 174 IS 

(1) found that ‘‘[t]argeting travel is at least as powerful a weapon against terrorists as targeting their 

money’’; and 

(2) recommended that the United States ‘‘combine 

terrorist travel intelligence, operations, and law enforcement in a strategy to intercept terrorist, find terrorist 

travel facilitators, and constrain terrorist mobility’’; 

Whereas terrorists continue to target international travel to 

the United States, as evidenced by Umar Farouk 

Abdulmutallab’s attempt to detonate a bomb on board 

Northwest Airlines Flight 253 on December 25, 2009, en 

route from Amsterdam to Detroit; 

Whereas Congress responded to the attacks of September 11, 

2001, by mandating that all air carriers flying into the 

United States provide passenger name record (referred to 

in this resolution as ‘‘PNR’’) data concerning all inbound 

passengers to U.S. Customs and Border Protection to assist the Department of Homeland Security in fulfilling its 

missions of protecting the border and enhancing border 

security; 

Whereas there is bipartisan agreement on the need to collect 

and share passenger travel data, which— 

(1) has served as a cornerstone for interdicting terrorists by the administrations of President Barack 

Obama and former President George W. Bush; and 

(2) continues to fulfill the mandate for increased information sharing set by Congress in— 

(A) the Aviation and Transportation Security 

Act (Public Law 107–71); 

(B) the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (Public Law 108–458); 


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•SRES 174 IS 

(C) the Implementing Recommendations of the 

9/11 Commission Act of 2007 (Public Law 110–53); 

and 

(D) other laws requiring information sharing 

internationally and within the United States Government to promote greater security; 

Whereas the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 

Commission Act of 2007 required nations to enter into 

an agreement to exchange passenger information with the 

United States in order to qualify for the United States 

visa waiver program; 

Whereas international law and treaties have recognized 

that— 

(1) advance information about travelers is a critical 

tool in identifying high-risk passengers; and 

(2) the intelligence gained from the analysis of passenger travel data is critical for— 

(A) protecting the United States against terrorists entering the United States; and 

(B) preventing terrorists from boarding international flights bound for the United States; 

Whereas the Agreement Between the United States of America and the European Union on the Processing and 

Transfer of Passenger Name Record (PNR) Data by Air 

Carriers to the United States Department of Homeland 

Security (DHS), done at Brussels and Washington on 

July 23 and 26, 2007 (referred to in this resolution as 

the ‘‘EU-U.S. PNR Agreement’’)— 

(1) succeeded a series of agreements between 2002 

and October 2006; 

(2) was intended to remain in effect until 2014; and 


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•SRES 174 IS 

(3) complied with European Union and United 

States privacy laws by providing assurances that the 

United States would use PNR data for limited purposes; 

Whereas PNR data gathered pursuant to the EU-U.S. PNR 

Agreement has been used to identify and arrest a number 

of dangerous terrorists, including— 

(1) David Headley, who was planning an attack on 

Denmark and who contributed to the tragedy in Mumbai; 

and 

(2) Faisal Shahzad, who was attempting to flee the 

country after attempting to set off a car-bomb in Times 

Square. 

Whereas PNR data has been used to prevent the travel of 

many other individuals considered to be national security 

threats or otherwise inadmissible to the United States; 

Whereas the privacy protections in the current EU-U.S. PNR 

Agreement are robust, and a February 2010 joint review 

by both signatories found no privacy violations, misuse, 

or injury from the collection of PNR data by the Department of Homeland Security; 

Whereas although the United States and the European Union 

have different governing mechanisms that lead to differences in how oversight is conducted, both governments 

have a firm commitment to the protection of data and 

the respect of individual privacy; 

Whereas in February 2011, the European Commission proposed that the European Union create its own PNR system in order to identify potential terrorists and other 

dangerous criminals; 

Whereas in 2010, the Washington Post— 


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•SRES 174 IS 

(1) recognized the important role that PNR data 

plays in securing international aviation; and 

(2) recommended that data sharing should not be 

restricted without demonstrating specific problems with 

the operation of current agreement: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) acknowledges the grave threat posed by ter3 rorists and other dangerous criminals who seek to 

4 exploit international aviation to do harm to our 

5 countries; 

6 (2) urges the Department of Homeland Secu7 rity to reject any efforts by the European Union to 

8 modify existing PNR data sharing mechanisms in a 

9 way that would degrade the usefulness of the PNR 

10 data for identifying terrorists and other dangerous 

11 criminals; 

12 (3) urges the Department of Homeland Secu13 rity to not enter into any agreement that would im14 pose European oversight structures on the United 

15 States; and 

16 (4) opposes any effort by the European Union 

17 to interfere with counterterrorism cooperation and 

18 information sharing between the Department of 

19 Homeland Security and non-European countries. 

Æ 


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