II 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2393

To improve aviation security. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 6, 2004

Mr. ROCKEFELLER (for himself, Mr. MCCAIN, and Mr. HOLLINGS) introduced 

the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 

on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL

To improve aviation 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 ‘‘Aviation Security Ad5 vancement Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. AVIATION SECURITY STAFFING. 

7 (a) STAFFING LEVEL STANDARDS.—

8 (1) DEVELOPMENT OF STANDARDS.—Within 90 

9 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

10 Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation 

11 with the Secretary of Transportation and Federal 
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1 Security Directors, shall develop standards for deter2 mining the appropriate aviation security staffing 

3 standards for all commercial airports in the United 

4 States necessary— 

5 (A) to provide necessary levels of aviation 

6 security; and 

7 (B) to ensure that the average aviation se8 curity-related delay experienced by airline pas9 sengers does not exceed 10 minutes. 

10 (2) GAO ANALYSIS.—The Comptroller General 

11 shall, as soon as practicable after the date on which 

12 the Secretary of Homeland Security has developed 

13 standards under paragraph (1), conduct an expe14 dited analysis of the standards for effectiveness, ad15 ministrability, ease of compliance, and consistency 

16 with the requirements of existing law. 

17 (3) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Within 120 days 

18 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec19 retary of Homeland Security and the Comptroller 

20 General shall transmit a report to the Senate Com21 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

22 and the House of Representatives Committee on 

23 Transportation and Infrastructure on the standards 

24 developed under paragraph (1), together with rec-
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1 ommendations for further improving the efficiency 

2 and effectiveness of the screening process. 

3 (b) INTEGRATION OF FEDERAL AIRPORT WORK4 FORCE AND AVIATION SECURITY.—The Secretary of 

5 Homeland Security shall conduct a study of the feasibility 

6 of combining operations of Federal employees involved in 

7 screening at commercial airports and aviation security re8 lated functions under the aegis of the Department of 

9 Homeland Security in order to coordinate security-related 

10 activities, increase the efficiency and effectiveness of those 

11 activities, and increase commercial air transportation se12 curity. 

13 SEC. 3. IMPROVED AIR CARGO AND AIRPORT SECURITY. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro15 priated to the Secretary of Homeland Security for the use 

16 of the Transportation Security Administration, in addition 

17 to any amounts otherwise authorized by law, for the pur18 pose of improving aviation security related to the transpor19 tation of cargo on both passenger aircraft and all-cargo 

20 aircraft— 

21 (1) $200,000,000 for fiscal year 2005; 

22 (2) $200,000,000 for fiscal year 2006; and 

23 (3) $200,000,000 for fiscal year 2007. 

24 (b) NEXT-GENERATION CARGO SECURITY GRANT

25 PROGRAM.— 
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 

2 and carry out a grant program to facilitate the de3 velopment, testing, purchase, and deployment of 

4 next-generation air cargo security technology. The 

5 Secretary shall establish such eligibility criteria, es6 tablish such application and administrative proce7 dures, and provide for such matching funding re8 quirements, if any, as may be necessary and appro9 priate to ensure that the technology is deployed as 

10 fully and as rapidly as practicable. 

11 (2) RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT; DEPLOY12 MENT.—To carry out paragraph (1), there are au13 thorized to be appropriated to the Secretary for re14 search and development related to next-generation 

15 air cargo security technology as well as for deploy16 ment and installation of next-generation air cargo 

17 security technology, such sums are to remain avail18 able until expended— 

19 (A) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2005; 

20 (B) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2006; and 

21 (C) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2007.

22 (c) AUTHORIZATION FOR EXPIRING AND NEW

23 LOIS.—There are authorized to be appropriated to the 

24 Secretary $150,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2005 

25 through 2007 to fund projects and activities for which let-
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1 ters of intent are issued under section 44923 of title 49, 

2 United States Code, after the date of enactment of this 

3 Act. 

4 (d) REPORTS.—The Secretary shall transmit periodic 

5 reports no less frequently than every 6 months to the Sen6 ate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

7 and the House of Representatives Committee on Trans8 portation and Infrastructure on—

9 (1) the progress being made toward, and the 

10 status of, deployment and installation of next-gen11 eration air cargo security technology under sub12 section (b); and 

13 (2) the amount and purpose of grants under 

14 subsection (b) and the locations of projects funded 

15 by such grants. 

16 SEC. 4. AIR CARGO SECURITY MEASURES. 

17 (a) ENHANCEMENT OF AIR CARGO SECURITY.—The 

18 Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the 

19 Secretary of Transportation, shall develop and implement 

20 a plan to enhance air cargo security at airports for com21 mercial passenger and cargo aircraft that incorporates the 

22 recommendations made by the Cargo Security Working 

23 Group of the Aviation Security Advisory Committee. 

24 (b) SUPPLY CHAIN SECURITY.—The Administrator 

25 of the Transportation Security Administration shall—
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1 (1) promulgate regulations requiring the evalua2 tion of indirect air carriers and ground handling 

3 agents, including background checks and checks 

4 against all Administration watch lists; and 

5 (2) evaluate the potential efficacy of increased 

6 use of canine detection teams to inspect air cargo on 

7 passenger and all-cargo aircraft. 

8 (c) ALL-CARGO AIRCRAFT SECURITY.—Subchapter I 

9 of chapter 449, United States Code, is amended by adding 

10 at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘§ 44925. All-cargo aircraft security 

12 ‘‘(a) ACCESS TO FLIGHT DECK.—Within 180 days 

13 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 

14 of the Transportation Security Administration, in coordi15 nation with the Federal Aviation Administrator, shall—

16 ‘‘(1) issue an order (without regard to the pro17 visions of chapter 5 of title 5)—

18 ‘‘(A) requiring, to the extent consistent 

19 with engineering and safety standards, that all20 cargo aircraft operators engaged in air trans21 portation or intrastate air transportation main22 tain a barrier, which may include the use of a 

23 hardened cockpit door, between the aircraft 

24 flight deck and the aircraft cargo compartment 

25 sufficient to prevent unauthorized access to the 
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1 flight deck from the cargo compartment, in ac2 cordance with the terms of a plan presented to 

3 and accepted by the Administrator of the 

4 Transportation Security Administration in con5 sultation with the Federal Aviation Adminis6 trator; and 

7 ‘‘(B) prohibiting the possession of a key to 

8 a flight deck door by any member of the flight 

9 crew who is not assigned to the flight deck; and 

10 ‘‘(2) take such other action, including modifica11 tion of safety and security procedures and flight 

12 deck redesign, as may be necessary to ensure the 

13 safety and security of the flight deck. 

14 ‘‘(b) SCREENING AND OTHER MEASURES.—Within 1 

15 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Adminis16 trator of the Transportation Security Administration, in 

17 coordination with the Federal Aviation Administrator, 

18 shall issue an order (without regard to the provisions of 

19 chapter 5 of title 5) requiring—

20 ‘‘(1) all-cargo aircraft operators engaged in air 

21 transportation or intrastate air transportation to 

22 physically screen each person, and that person’s bag23 gage and personal effects, to be transported on an 

24 all-cargo aircraft engaged in air transportation or 

25 intrastate air transportation; 
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1 ‘‘(2) each such aircraft to be physically 

2 searched before the first leg of the first flight of the 

3 aircraft each day, or, for inbound international oper4 ations, at aircraft operator’s option prior to the de5 parture of any such flight for a point in the United 

6 States; and 

7 ‘‘(3) each such aircraft that is unattended over8 night to be secured or sealed or to have access 

9 stairs, if any, removed from the aircraft. 

10 ‘‘(c) ALTERNATIVE MEASURES.—The Administrator 

11 of the Transportation Security Administration, in coordi12 nation with the Federal Aviation Administrator, may au13 thorize alternative means of compliance with any require14 ment imposed under this section.’’. 

15 (d) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The subchapter 

16 analysis for subchapter I of chapter 449, United States 

17 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

‘‘44925. All-cargo aircraft security.’’.

18 SEC. 5. EXPLOSIVE DETECTION SYSTEMS. 

19 (a) IN-LINE PLACEMENT OF EXPLOSIVE-DETECTION

20 EQUIPMENT.—Within 180 days after the date of enact21 ment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall

22 establish a schedule for replacing trace-detection equip23 ment used for in-line baggage screening purposes as soon 

24 as practicable with explosive detection system equipment. 

25 The Secretary shall notify the Senate Committee on Com-
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1 merce, Science, and Transportation and the House of Rep2 resentatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastruc3 ture of the schedule and provide an estimate of the impact 

4 of replacing such equipment, facility modification and bag5 gage conveyor placement, on aviation security-related 

6 staffing needs and levels. 

7 (b) NEXT GENERATION EDS.—There are authorized 

8 to be appropriated to the Secretary of Homeland Security 

9 for the use of the Transportation Security Administration 

10 $100,000,000, in addition to any amounts otherwise au11 thorized by law, for the purpose of research and develop12 ment of next generation explosive detection systems for 

13 aviation security under section 44913 of title 49, United 

14 States Code. The Secretary shall develop a plan and guide15 lines for implementing improved explosive detection sys16 tem equipment. 

17 (c) PORTAL DETECTION SYSTEMS.—There are au18 thorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Homeland 

19 Security for the use of the Transportation Security Ad20 ministration $250,000,000, in addition to any amounts 

21 otherwise authorized by law, for research and development 

22 and installation of portal detection systems or similar de23 vices for the detection of biological, radiological, and explo24 sive materials. The Secretary of Homeland Security, in 

25 consultation with the Secretary of Transportation, shall 
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1 establish a pilot program at not more than 10 commercial 

2 service airports to evaluate the use of such systems. 

3 (d) REPORTS.—The Secretary shall transmit periodic 

4 reports no less frequently than every 6 months to the Sen5 ate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

6 and the House of Representatives Committee on Trans7 portation and Infrastructure on research and development 

8 projects funded under subsection (b) or (c), and the pilot 

9 program established under subsection (c), including cost 

10 estimates for each phase of such projects and total project 

11 costs. 

12 SEC. 6. AIR MARSHAL PROGRAM. 

13 (a) CROSS-TRAINING.—The Secretary of Homeland 

14 Security shall transmit to the Senate Committee on Com15 merce, Science, and Transportation and the House of Rep16 resentatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastruc17 ture a report on the potential for cross-training of individ18 uals who serve as air marshals and on the need for pro19 viding contingency funding for air marshal operations. 

20 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF ADDITIONAL APPROPRIA21 TIONS.—There are authorized to be appropriated to the 

22 Secretary of Homeland Security for the use of the Trans23 portation Security Administration, in addition to any 

24 amounts otherwise authorized by law, for the deployment 

25 of Federal Air Marshals under section 44917 of title 49, 
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1 United States Code, $83,000,000 for the 3 fiscal year pe2 riod beginning with fiscal year 2005, such sums to remain 

3 available until expended. 

4 SEC. 7. TSA-RELATED BAGGAGE CLAIM ISSUES STUDY. 

5 Within 90 days after the date of enactment of this 

6 Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation 

7 with the Secretary of Transportation, shall transmit to the 

8 Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor9 tation and the House of Representatives Committee on 

10 Transportation and Infrastructure a report on the present 

11 system for addressing lost, stolen, damaged, or pilfered 

12 baggage claims relating to air transportation security 

13 screening procedures. The report shall include— 

14 (1) information concerning the time it takes to 

15 settle such claims under the present system; 

16 (2) a comparison and analysis of the number, 

17 frequency, and nature of such claims before and 

18 after enactment of the Aviation and Transportation 

19 Security Act using data provided by the major 

20 United States airlines; and 

21 (3) recommendations on how to improve the in22 volvement and participation of the airlines in the 

23 baggage screening and handling processes and better 

24 coordinate the activities of Federal baggage screen25 ers with airline operations. 
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1 SEC. 8. REPORT ON IMPLEMENTATION OF GAO HOMELAND 

2 SECURITY INFORMATION SHARING REC3 OMMENDATIONS. 

4 Within 30 days after the date of enactment of this 

5 Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security, after consulta6 tion with the heads of Federal departments and agencies 

7 concerned, shall transmit to the Senate Committee on 

8 Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the House of 

9 Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infra10 structure a report on implementation of recommendations 

11 contained in the General Accounting Office’s report titled 

12 ‘‘Homeland Security: Efforts To Improve Information 

13 Sharing Need To Be Strengthened’’ (GAO–03–760), Au14 gust, 2003. 

15 SEC. 9. AVIATION SECURITY RESEARCH AND DEVELOP16 MENT. 

17 (a) BIOMETRICS.—There are authorized to be appro18 priated to the Secretary of Homeland Security for the use 

19 of the Transportation Security Administration 

20 $20,000,000, in addition to any amounts otherwise au21 thorized by law, for research and development of biometric 

22 technology applications to aviation security. 

23 (b) BIOMETRICS CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE.—There 

24 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of 

25 Homeland Security for the use of the Transportation Se26 curity Administration $1,000,000, in addition to any 
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1 amounts otherwise authorized by law, for the establish2 ment of competitive centers of excellence at the national 

3 laboratories. 

4 SEC. 10. PERIMETER ACCESS TECHNOLOGY. 

5 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec6 retary of Homeland Security $100,000,000 for airport pe7 rimeter security technology, fencing, security contracts, 

8 vehicle tagging, and other perimeter security related oper9 ations, facilities, and equipment, such sums to remain 

10 available until expended.

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