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[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 174 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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--

    (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--

    G    (A) the Aviation and Transportation Security Act (Public Law 107-
71);

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

    G    (C) the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 
2007 (Public Law 110-53); and

    G    (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--

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

    G    (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

    (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--

    (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

    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) acknowledges the grave threat posed by terrorists and 
        other dangerous criminals who seek to exploit international 
        aviation to do harm to our countries;
            (2) urges the Department of Homeland Security to reject any 
        efforts by the European Union to modify existing PNR data 
        sharing mechanisms in a way that would degrade the usefulness 
        of the PNR data for identifying terrorists and other dangerous 
        criminals;
            (3) urges the Department of Homeland Security to not enter 
        into any agreement that would impose European oversight 
        structures on the United States; and
            (4) opposes any effort by the European Union to interfere 
        with counterterrorism cooperation and information sharing 
        between the Department of Homeland Security and non-European 
        countries.
                                 <all>
```