II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4019 

To protect airline crew members, security screening personnel, and passengers 

by banning abusive passengers from commercial aircraft flights, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 6, 2022 

Mr. REED introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to 

the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To protect airline crew members, security screening personnel, and passengers by banning abusive passengers 

from commercial aircraft flights, 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 ‘‘Protection from Abu5 sive Passengers Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINED TERM. 

7 In this Act, the term ‘‘abusive passenger’’ means any 

8 individual who, on or after the date of the enactment of 

9 this Act, engages in behavior that results in— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 4019 IS

1 (1) the assessment of a civil penalty for— 

2 (A) engaging in conduct prohibited under 

3 section 46318 of title 49, United States Code; 

4 or 

5 (B) tampering with, interfering with, com6 promising, modifying, or attempting to cir7 cumvent any security system, measure, or pro8 cedure related to civil aviation security in viola9 tion of section 1540.105(a)(1) of title 49, Code 

10 of Federal Regulations, if such violation is com11 mitted on an aircraft in flight (as defined in 

12 section 46501(1) of title 49, United States 

13 Code); 

14 (2) a conviction for a violation of section 46503 

15 or 46504 of title 49, United States Code; or 

16 (3) a conviction for any other Federal offense 

17 involving assaults, threats, or intimidation against a 

18 crewmember on an aircraft in flight (as defined in 

19 section 46501(1) of title 49, United States Code). 

20 SEC. 3. REFERRALS. 

21 The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Adminis22 tration or the Attorney General shall provide the identity 

23 (including the full name, full date of birth, and gender) 

24 of all abusive passengers to the Administrator of the 

25 Transportation Security Administration. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 4019 IS

1 SEC. 4. BANNED FLIERS. 

2 (a) LIST.—The Administrator of the Transportation 

3 Security Administration shall maintain a list of abusive 

4 passengers. 

5 (b) EFFECT OF INCLUSION ON LIST.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any individual included on 

7 the list maintained pursuant to subsection (a) shall 

8 be prohibited from boarding any commercial aircraft 

9 flight until such individual is removed from such list 

10 in accordance with the procedures established by the 

11 Administrator pursuant to section 5. 

12 (2) OTHER LISTS.—The placement of an indi13 vidual on the list maintained pursuant to subsection 

14 (a) shall not preclude the placement of such indi15 vidual on other lists maintained by the Federal Gov16 ernment and used by the Administrator of the 

17 Transportation Security Administration pursuant to 

18 sections 114(h) and 44903(j)(2)(C) of title 49, 

19 United States Code, to prohibit such individual from 

20 boarding a flight or to take other appropriate action 

21 with respect to such individual if the Administrator 

22 determines that such individual— 

23 (A) poses a risk to the transportation sys24 tem or national security; 

25 (B) poses a risk of air piracy or terrorism; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 4019 IS

1 (C) poses a threat to airline or passenger 

2 safety; or 

3 (D) poses a threat to civil aviation or na4 tional security. 

5 SEC. 5. POLICIES AND PROCEDURES FOR HANDLING ABU6 SIVE PASSENGERS. 

7 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact8 ment of this Act, the Administrator of the Transportation 

9 Security Administration shall develop, and post on a pub10 licly available website of the Transportation Security Ad11 ministration, policies and procedures for handling individ12 uals included on the list maintained pursuant to section 

13 4(a), including— 

14 (1) the process for receiving and handling refer15 rals received pursuant to section 3; 

16 (2) the method by which the list of banned fli17 ers required under section 4(a) will be maintained; 

18 (3) specific guidelines and considerations for re19 moving an individual from such list based on the 

20 gravity of each offense described in section 2; 

21 (4) the procedures for the expeditious removal 

22 of the names of individuals who were erroneously in23 cluded on such list; 

24 (5) the circumstances under which certain indi25 viduals rightfully included on such list may petition 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 4019 IS

1 to be removed from such list, including the proce2 dures for appealing a denial of such petition; and 

3 (6) the process for providing to any individual 

4 who is the subject of a referral under section 3— 

5 (A) written notification, not later than 5 

6 days after receiving such referral, including an 

7 explanation of the procedures and cir8 cumstances referred to in paragraphs (4) and 

9 (5); and 

10 (B) an opportunity to seek relief under 

11 paragraph (4) during the 5-day period begin12 ning on the date on which the individual re13 ceived the notification referred to in subpara14 graph (A) to avoid being erroneously included 

15 on the list of abusive passengers referred to in 

16 section 4(a). 

17 SEC. 6. CONGRESSIONAL BRIEFING. 

18 Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 

19 of this Act, the Administrator of the Transportation Secu20 rity Administration shall brief the Committee on Com21 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the 

22 Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Rep23 resentatives regarding the policies and procedures devel24 oped pursuant to section 5. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 4019 IS

1 SEC. 7. ANNUAL REPORT. 

2 The Administrator of the Transportation Security 

3 Administration shall submit an annual report to the Com4 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 

5 Senate and the Committee on Homeland Security of the 

6 House of Representatives that contains nonpersonally 

7 identifiable information regarding the composition of the 

8 list required under section 4(a), including— 

9 (1) the number of individuals included on such 

10 list; 

11 (2) the age and sex of the individuals included 

12 on such list; 

13 (3) the underlying offense or offenses of the in14 dividuals included on such list; 

15 (4) the period of time each individual has been 

16 included on such list; 

17 (5) the number of individuals rightfully in18 cluded on such list who have petitioned for removal 

19 and the status of such petitions; 

20 (6) the number of individuals erroneously in21 cluded on such list and the time required to remove 

22 such individuals from such list; and 

23 (7) the number of individuals erroneously in24 cluded on such list who have been prevented from 

25 traveling. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 4019 IS

1 SEC. 8. INSPECTOR GENERAL REVIEW. 

2 Not less frequently than once every 3 years, the In3 spector General of the Department of Homeland Security 

4 shall review and report to the Committee on Commerce, 

5 Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Com6 mittee on Homeland Security of the House of Representa7 tives regarding the administration and maintenance of the 

8 list required under sections 4 and 5, including an assess9 ment of any disparities based on race or ethnicity in the 

10 treatment of petitions for removal. 

11 SEC. 9. INELIGIBILITY FOR TRUSTED TRAVELER PRO12 GRAMS. 

13 Except under policies and procedures established by 

14 the Secretary of Homeland Security, all abusive pas15 sengers shall be permanently ineligible to participate in— 

16 (1) the Transportation Security Administra17 tion’s PreCheck program; or 

18 (2) U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s 

19 Global Entry program. 

20 SEC. 10. LIMITATION. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—The inclusion of a person’s name 

22 on a list described in section 4(a) may not be used as the 

23 basis for denying any right or privilege under Federal law 

24 except for the rights and privileges described in sections 

25 4(b), 5, and 9. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
8 

•S 4019 IS

1 (b) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec2 tion may be construed to limit the dissemination, or bar 

3 the consideration, of the facts and circumstances that 

4 prompt placement of a person on the list described in sec5 tion 4(a). 

6 SEC. 11. PRIVACY. 

7 Personally identifiable information used to create the 

8 list required under section 4(a)— 

9 (1) shall be exempt from disclosure under sec10 tion 552(b)(3) of title 5, United States Code; and 

11 (2) shall not be made available by any Federal, 

12 State, Tribal, or local authority pursuant to any 

13 Federal, State, Tribal, or local law requiring public 

14 disclosure of information or records. 

15 SEC. 12. SAVINGS PROVISION. 

16 Nothing in this Act may be construed to limit the 

17 authority of the Transportation Security Administration 

18 or of any other Federal agency to undertake measures to 

19 protect passengers, flight crew members, or security offi20 cers under any other provision of law. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS