I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 550 

To amend title 49, United States Code, to require the deployment of law 

enforcement personnel at airport screening locations at very large airports, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 13, 2017 

Mr. ENGEL (for himself, Mr. DONOVAN, Mr. ZELDIN, Ms. SINEMA, Mr. 

SWALWELL of California, Ms. MENG, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mr. KING of New 

York, Ms. SHEA-PORTER, and Mr. PASCRELL) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security 

A BILL 

To amend title 49, United States Code, to require the deployment of law enforcement personnel at airport screening 

locations at very large 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 Safety Act 

5 of 2017’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. DEPLOYMENT OF LAW ENFORCEMENT PERSONNEL 

2 AT AIRPORT SCREENING LOCATIONS AT 

3 VERY LARGE AIRPORTS. 

4 Section 44901 of title 49, United States Code, is 

5 amended— 

6 (1) by striking ‘‘Under Secretary of Transpor7 tation for Security’’ each place it appears and insert8 ing ‘‘Administrator of the Transportation Security 

9 Administration’’; 

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

11 appears and inserting ‘‘Administrator’’; and 

12 (3) in subsection (h), by amending paragraph 

13 (2) to read as follows: 

14 ‘‘(2) MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except at airports re16 quired to enter into agreements under sub17 section (c), the Administrator shall order the 

18 deployment of at least one law enforcement offi19 cer authorized to carry firearms within 300 feet 

20 of each airport security screening location and 

21 within the terminal during operating hours at 

22 each airport at which the number of annual 

23 enplanements for the most recent calendar year 

24 for which data are available is 8 million or more 

25 or the number of international enplanements is 

26 1 million or more. The Administrator shall 


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1 order the deployment of additional law enforce2 ment officers authorized to carry firearms at 

3 such airports if the Administrator determines 

4 that such additional deployment is necessary to 

5 ensure airport security. 

6 ‘‘(B) WAIVER.—The Administrator may 

7 waive the application of all or part of the re8 quirements of subparagraph (A) only if the rel9 evant law enforcement agency with jurisdiction 

10 over an airport described in such subparagraph 

11 certifies in a written application to the Adminis12 trator that adherence to all or part of such re13 quirements would— 

14 ‘‘(i) make provision of adequate secu15 rity for such airport impossible; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) cause extreme hardship to such 

17 law enforcement agency that would se18 verely impair its ability to perform its du19 ties.’’. 

20 SEC. 3. LAW ENFORCEMENT ASSISTANCE IN FEDERAL AIR21 PORT SECURITY. 

22 Section 44903 of title 49, United States Code, is 

23 amended— 

24 (1) by striking ‘‘Under Secretary of Transpor25 tation for Security’’ each place it appears and insertVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:22 Jan 27, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H550.IH H550

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1 ing ‘‘Administrator of the Transportation Security 

2 Administration’’; 

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

4 appears and inserting ‘‘Administrator’’; 

5 (3) in subsection (b), in the matter preceding 

6 paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘passengers’’ and insert7 ing ‘‘persons’’; and 

8 (4) in subsection (c)(1)— 

9 (A) in the first sentence, as amended by 

10 paragraph (2)— 

11 (i) by striking ‘‘The Administrator’’ 

12 and inserting ‘‘(A) The Administrator’’; 

13 and 

14 (ii) by striking ‘‘passengers’’ and in15 serting ‘‘all persons and property’’; and 

16 (B) by adding at the end the following new 

17 subparagraph: 

18 ‘‘(B) Any air transportation security program estab19 lished pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall be adequate to 

20 ensure— 

21 ‘‘(i) close cooperation between all relevant par22 ties in ensuring airport security; 

23 ‘‘(ii) high training standards for all security 

24 and law enforcement personnel; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) prompt notification of and law enforce2 ment response to any security incidents which may 

3 arise at the airport, including detention of persons 

4 who may attempt to evade transportation security 

5 screening; and 

6 ‘‘(iv) multiple means for Transportation Secu7 rity Officers or members of the public to request 

8 prompt law enforcement assistance in the airport.’’. 

9 SEC. 4. STATIONING OF DEPUTIZED LAW ENFORCEMENT 

10 OFFICERS. 

11 Section 44922 of title 49, United States Code, is 

12 amended— 

13 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘Under Sec14 retary of Transportation for Security’’ and inserting 

15 ‘‘Administrator of the Transportation Security Ad16 ministration’’; 

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

18 appears and inserting ‘‘Administrator’’; and 

19 (3) by striking subsection (f). 

Æ 


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