II

Calendar No. 764

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2440

[Report No. 106–388]

To amend title 49, United States Code, to improve airport security.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

APRIL 13, 2000

Mrs. HUTCHISON (for herself, Mr. MCCAIN, Mr. GORTON, Mr. INOUYE, Mr.

ROCKEFELLER, Mr. BRYAN, and Mr. GRASSLEY) introduced the following

bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce,

Science, and Transportation

AUGUST 25, 2000

Reported under authority of the order of the Senate of July 26, 2000, by Mr.

MCCAIN, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]

A BILL

To amend title 49, United States Code, to improve airport

security.

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 ‘‘Airport Security Im5 provement Act of 2000’’.
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1 SEC. 2. CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECKS.

2 (a) EXPANSION OF COVERAGE.—Section 44936(a)(1)

3 of title 49, United States Code, is amended—

4 (1) by striking ‘‘check in any case described in

5 subparagraph (C))’’ in subparagraph (B) and insert6 ing ‘‘check)’’;

7 (2) by striking subparagraph (C);

8 (3) by striking ‘‘check under subparagraph

9 (C),’’ in subparagraph (D) and inserting ‘‘check,’’.

10 (b) CHECKS TO BE MADE EXPEDITIOUSLY.—Section

11 44936(a) of that title is amended by adding at the end

12 the following:

13 ‘‘(4) The Administrator shall provide by regula14 tion that criminal background checks under this sub15 section are to be done expeditiously.’’.

16 SEC. 3. IMPROVED TRAINING.

17 (a) COMPLETION OF UNIFORM PERFORMANCE

18 STANDARDS FOR SCREENER TRAINING.—The Adminis19 trator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall com20 plete the development of uniform performance standards

21 for providing security screening services, required by sec22 tion 302 of the Federal Aviation Reauthorization Act of

23 1996, by September 30, 2000.

24 (b) MINIMUM INSTRUCTIONAL STANDARDS FOR

25 SCREENERS.—Section 44935 of title 49, United States
3

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1 Code, is amended by adding at the end thereof the fol2 lowing:

3 ‘‘(e) TRAINING STANDARDS FOR SCREENERS.—The

4 Administrator shall prescribe minimum standards for

5 training security screeners that include at least 40 hours

6 of classroom instruction and at least 40 hours of practical

7 training before an individual is qualified to provide secu8 rity screening services at an airport regulated under this

9 subchapter.’’.

10 (c) COMPUTER-BASED TRAINING FACILITIES.—Sec11 tion 44935 of title 49, United States Code, as amended

12 by subsection (b) is further amended by adding at the end

13 thereof the following:

14 ‘‘(f) ACCESSIBILITY OF COMPUTER-BASED TRAINING

15 FACILITIES.—The Administrator shall by regulation re16 quire that computer-based training facilities intended for

17 use at a hub airport (as defined in section 41731) be con18 veniently located for that airport and easily accessible.’’.

19 SEC. 4. IMPROVING SECURED AREA ACCESS CONTROL.

20 Section 44904 of title 49, United States Code, is

21 amended by adding at the end thereof the following:

22 ‘‘(d) IMPROVEMENT OF SECURED-AREA ACCESS CON23 TROL.—
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1 ‘‘(1) ENFORCEMENT. The Administrator shall

2 enforce compliance with airport access control re3 quirements, including—

4 ‘‘(A) suspending, or requiring the suspen5 sion of, employees who fail to comply with those

6 requirements, with or without pay, for such pe7 riods of time as the Administrator may deter8 mine appropriate; and

9 ‘‘(B) the imposition of penalties provided

10 for by section 46301.

11 ‘‘(2) IMPROVEMENTS. The Administrator

12 shall—

13 ‘‘(A) work with airport operators and air

14 carriers to implement and strengthen existing

15 controls to eliminate access control weaknesses

16 by September 30, 2000;

17 ‘‘(B) require airport operators and air car18 riers to develop and implement comprehensive

19 and recurring training programs that teach em20 ployees their role in airport security, the impor21 tance of their participation, how their perform22 ance will be evaluated, and what action will be

23 taken if they fail to perform;

24 ‘‘(C) require airport operators and air

25 carriers—
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1 ‘‘(i) to develop and implement pro2 grams that foster and reward compliance

3 with access control requirements, and dis4 courage and penalize noncompliance in ac5 cordance with guidelines issued by the Ad6 ministrator to measure employee compli7 ance; and

8 ‘‘(ii) to enforce individual compliance

9 requirements under Administration over10 sight;

11 ‘‘(D) assess and test for compliance with

12 access control requirements, report findings,

13 and assess penalties or take other appropriate

14 enforcement actions when noncompliance is

15 found;

16 ‘‘(E) improve and better administer the

17 Administration security database to ensure its

18 efficiency, reliability, and usefulness for identi19 fication of systemic problems and allocation of

20 resources;

21 ‘‘(F) improve the execution of the Adminis22 tration’s quality control program by September

23 30, 2000; and

24 ‘‘(G) require airport operators and air car25 riers to stenghten access control points in se-
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1 cured areas (including air traffic control oper2 ations areas) to ensure the security of pas3 sengers and aircraft by September 30, 2000.’’.

4 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

5 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Airport Security Im6 provement Act of 2000’’.

7 SEC. 2. CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORD CHECKS.

8 (a) EXPANSION OF FAA ELECTRONIC PILOT PRO9 GRAM.—Within 12 months after the date of enactment of

10 this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Admin11 istration shall, in consultation with the Office of Personnel

12 Management and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, de13 velop the pilot program for individual criminal history

14 record checks, known as the electronic fingerprint trans15 mission pilot project, into an aviation industry-wide pro16 gram.

17 (b) APPLICATION OF EXPANDED PROGRAM.—Begin18 ning 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Ad19 ministrator shall utilize the program described in sub20 section (a) to carry out section 44936 of title 49, United

21 States Code, for individuals described in subsection

22 (a)(1)(A), (a)(1)(B)(i), or (a)(1)(B)(ii) of that section. If

23 the Administrator determines that the program is not suffi24 ciently operational 1 year after the date of enactment of

25 this Act to permit its utilization in accordance with sub-
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1 section (a), the Administrator shall notify the Senate Com2 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the

3 House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and

4 Infrastructure of the determination.

5 (c) CHANGES IN EXISTING REQUIREMENTS.—Section

6 44936(a)(1) of title 49, United States Code is amended—

7 (1) by striking ‘‘conducted, as the Administrator

8 decides is necessary to ensure air transportation secu9 rity, of’’ in subparagraph (A) and inserting ‘‘con10 ducted of’’; and

11 (2) by striking ‘‘subparagraph (C))’’ in subpara12 graph (B) and inserting ‘‘subparagraph (D))’’;

13 (3) by redesignating subparagraphs (C) and (D)

14 as subparagraphs (D) and (E);

15 (4) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the fol16 lowing:

17 ‘‘(C) A criminal history record check shall

18 be conducted for every individual who applies for

19 a position described in subparagraph (A) or in

20 subparagraph (B)(i) or (ii) after the date of en21 actment of the Airport Security Improvement

22 Act of 2000. For the 12-month period beginning

23 on the date of enactment of that Act, an indi24 vidual described in the preceding sentence may

25 be employed in such a position before the check
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1 is completed if the individual is subject to super2 vision except in a case described in clause (i),

3 (ii), (iii), (iv), or (v) of subparagraph (D). After

4 that 12-month period, such an individual may

5 not be so employed until the check is completed.’’;

6 (5) by striking ‘‘subparagraph (C),’’ in subpara7 graph (E), as redesignated, and inserting ‘‘subpara8 graph (D),’’; and

9 (6) by striking ‘‘as a screener’’ in subparagraph

10 (E), as redesignated, and inserting ‘‘in the position

11 for which the individual applied’’.

12 (d) LIST OF OFFENSES BARRING EMPLOYMENT.—Sec13 tion 44936(b)(1)(B) of title 49, United States Code, is

14 amended—

15 (1) by inserting ‘‘(or found not guilty by reason

16 of insanity)’’ after ‘‘convicted’’;

17 (2) by inserting ‘‘or felony unarmed’’ after

18 ‘‘armed’’ in clause (xi);

19 (3) by striking ‘‘or’’ after the semicolon in clause

20 (xii);

21 (4) by redesignating clause (xiii) as clause (xv)

22 and inserting after clause (xii) the following:

23 ‘‘(xiii) felony involving a threat;

24 ‘‘(xiv) a felony involving—
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1 ‘‘(I) willful destruction of prop2 erty;

3 ‘‘(II) importation or manufacture

4 of a controlled substance;

5 ‘‘(III) burglary;

6 ‘‘(IV) theft;

7 ‘‘(V) dishonesty, fraud, or mis8 representation;

9 ‘‘(VI) possession or distribution of

10 stolen property;

11 ‘‘(VII) aggravated assault; or

12 ‘‘(VIII) bribery; or’’; and

13 (5) by striking ‘‘clauses (i)–(xii) of this para14 graph.’’ in clause (xv), as redesignated, and inserting

15 ‘‘clauses (i) through (xiv) of this subparagraph.’’.

16 SEC. 3. IMPROVED TRAINING.

17 (a) COMPLETION OF RULEMAKING ON CERTIFICATION

18 OF AVIATION SCREENING COMPANIES.—

19 (1) INTERIM RULE.—No later than 30 days after

20 the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator

21 of the Federal Aviation Administration shall issue as

22 an interim final rule the proposed rule on Certifi23 cation of Screening Companies published in the Fed24 eral Register for January 5, 2000. For purposes of the

25 interim final rule, the analyses and documentation
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1 prepared for the proposed rules are deemed to meet

2 the requirements of chapter 5 of title 5, United States

3 Code, applicable to rulemaking and any other proce4 dural requirement imposed by law on rulemaking.

5 (2) FINAL RULE.—No later than May 31, 2001,

6 the Administrator shall issue a final rule on the Cer7 tification of Screening Companies, after taking into

8 account any comments received on the proposed rule

9 issued as an interim final rule under paragraph (1).

10 (b) MINIMUM INSTRUCTIONAL STANDARDS FOR

11 SCREENERS.—Section 44935 of title 49, United States

12 Code, is amended by adding at the end thereof the following:

13 ‘‘(e) TRAINING STANDARDS FOR SCREENERS.—

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall pre15 scribe minimum standards for training security

16 screeners that include at least 40 hours of classroom

17 instruction before an individual is qualified to pro18 vide security screening services under section 44901 of

19 this title.

20 ‘‘(2) CLASSROOM EQUIVALENCY.—The successful

21 completion of a program certified by the Adminis22 trator as a program that will train individuals to a

23 level of proficiency meets the classroom instruction re24 quirement of paragraph (1).
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1 ‘‘(3) ON-THE-JOB TRAINING.—In addition to the

2 requirements of paragraph (1), before an individual

3 may exercise independent judgment as a security

4 screener under section 44901 of this title the indi5 vidual shall—

6 ‘‘(A) complete 40 hours of on-the-job train7 ing; and

8 ‘‘(B) successfully complete an on-the-job

9 training examination prescribed by the Adminis10 trator.’’.

11 (c) COMPUTER-BASED TRAINING FACILITIES.—Sec12 tion 4935 of title 49, United States Code, as amended by

13 subsection (b) is further amended by adding at the end

14 thereof the following:

15 ‘‘(f) ACCESSIBILITY OF COMPUTER-BASED TRAINING

16 FACILITIES.—The Administrator shall work with air car17 riers and airports to ensure that computer-based training

18 facilities intended for use by security screeners at an air19 port regularly serving an air carrier holding a certificate

20 issued by the Secretary be conveniently located for that air21 port and easily accessible.’’.

22 SEC. 4. IMPROVING SECURED-AREA ACCESS CONTROL.

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

24 amended—
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1 (1) by redesignating subsections (e) and (f) as

2 subsections (f) and (g); and

3 (2) by inserting after subsection (d) thereof the

4 following:

5 ‘‘(e) IMPROVEMENT OF SECURED-AREA ACCESS CON6 TROL.—

7 ‘‘(1) ENFORCEMENT.—

8 ‘‘(A) ADMINISTRATOR TO PUBLISH SANC9 TIONS.—The Administrator shall publish in the

10 Federal Register a list of sanctions for use as

11 guidelines in the discipline of employees for in12 fractions of airport access control requirements.

13 The guidelines shall incorporate a progressive

14 disciplinary approach that relates proposed

15 sanctions to the severity or recurring nature of

16 the infraction, and shall include, but are not

17 limited to, measures such as remedial training,

18 suspension from security-related duties, suspen19 sion from all duties without pay, and termi20 nation of employment.

21 ‘‘(B) USE OF SANCTIONS.—Each airport,

22 air carrier, and security screening company

23 shall include the list of sanctions published by

24 the Administrator in its security program. The

25 security program shall include a process for tak-
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1 ing prompt disciplinary action against an em2 ployee who commits an infraction of airport ac3 cess control requirements.

4 ‘‘(2) IMPROVEMENTS.—The Administrator

5 shall—

6 ‘‘(A) work with airport operators and air

7 carriers to implement and strengthen existing

8 controls to eliminate access control weaknesses by

9 September 30, 2000;

10 ‘‘(B) require airport operators and air car11 riers to develop and implement comprehensive

12 and recurring training programs that teach em13 ployees their role in airport security, the impor14 tance of their participation, how their perform15 ance will be evaluated, and what action will be

16 taken if they fail to perform;

17 ‘‘(C) require airport operators and air

18 carriers—

19 ‘‘(i) to develop and implement pro20 grams that foster and reward compliance

21 with access control requirements, and dis22 courage and penalize noncompliance in ac23 cordance with guidelines issued by the Ad24 ministrator to measure employee compli25 ance; and
14

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1 (ii) to enforce individual compliance

2 requirements under Administration over3 sight;

4 ‘‘(D) assess and test for compliance with ac5 cess control requirements, report findings, and

6 assess penalties or take other appropriate en7 forcement actions when noncompliance is found;

8 ‘‘(E) improve and better administer the Ad9 ministration security database to ensure its effi10 ciency, reliability, and usefulness for identifica11 tion of systemic problems and allocation of re12 sources;

13 ‘‘(F) improve the execution of the Adminis14 tration’s quality control program by September

15 30, 2000; and

16 ‘‘(G) require airport operators and air car17 riers to strengthen access control points in se18 cured areas (including air traffic control oper19 ations areas) to ensure the security of passengers

20 and aircraft by September 30, 2000.’’.

21 SEC. 5. PHYSICAL SECURITY FOR ATC FACILITIES.

22 In order to ensure physical security at Federal Avia23 tion Administration facilities that house air traffic control

24 systems, the Administrator shall—
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1 (1) correct identified physical security

2 weaknesses at inspected facilities so these air

3 traffic control facilities can be granted physical

4 security accreditation as expeditiously as pos5 sible, but no later than April 30, 2001; and

6 (2) ensure that annual or triennial follow7 up inspections are conducted, deficiencies are

8 promptly corrected, and accreditation is kept

9 current for all air traffic control facilities.

10 SEC. 6. EXPLOSIVES DETECTION EQUIPMENT.

11 The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Adminis12 tration shall immediately begin to increase gradually the

13 random selection factor embedded in the Administration’s

14 Commuter-Assisted Passenger Prescreening System at air15 ports where bulk explosive detection equipment is being

16 used.

17 SEC. 7. TECHNICAL AMENDMENT TO TITLE 49.

18 Section 106(p)(2) is amended by striking ‘‘15’’ and in19 serting ‘‘18’’.
Calendar No. 764

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2440

[Report No. 106–388]

A BILL

To amend title 49, United States Code, to improve

airport security.

AUGUST 25, 2000

Reported with an amendment in the nature of a

substitute