I 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4312

To enhance aviation security. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 6, 2004

Mr. MARKEY (for himself, Mr. TURNER of Texas, Mr. ISRAEL, Ms. LORETTA

SANCHEZ of California, Mr. DICKS, Ms. HARMAN, Mr. CARDIN, Ms. 

SLAUGHTER, Mrs. LOWEY, Ms. NORTON, Ms. LOFGREN, Ms. MCCARTHY

of Missouri, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, Mr. LUCAS

of Kentucky, Mr. LANGEVIN, Mr. MEEK of Florida, Mr. ACEVEDO-VILA ́, 

Mr. STARK, and Mr. GREEN of Texas) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

A BILL

To enhance 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 ‘‘Safe Passengers and 

5 Lading in Aviation for the National Enhancement of Secu6 rity Act’’. 
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1 SEC. 2. PASSENGER AND BAGGAGE SCREENING OPER2 ATIONS. 

3 (a) STUDY.—The Secretary of Homeland Security 

4 shall conduct a study on the workforce size needed to ade5 quately conduct passenger and baggage screening oper6 ations. The study shall include an analysis of the optimal 

7 screener workforce for security purposes, taking into ac8 count the following: passenger demand for air travel, num9 ber of airports and screening checkpoints, number of 

10 screeners required to operate each checkpoint, use of tech11 nology (including in-line explosive detection systems for 

12 baggage screening), and any additional screening per13 sonnel and other resources that may be necessary to im14 plement section 14 of this Act. The study shall cover all 

15 screeners, whether employed by the Transportation Secu16 rity Administration or private companies. 

17 (b) REPORT.—Not later than December 31, 2004, 

18 the Secretary shall transmit to Congress a report on the 

19 results of the study, together with recommendations con20 cerning the appropriate screener staffing level, including 

21 assessments of full time versus part time screeners, and 

22 appropriate ratio of supervisors, lead screeners, and 

23 screeners. The Secretary shall include in this report a de24 scription of the assumptions used for determining accept25 able passenger wait times at screening checkpoints, and 
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1 how different lengths of expected wait times would influ2 ence the analysis. 

3 SEC. 3. PROCEDURES FOR OPTING OUT OF FEDERALIZED 

4 SCREENING. 

5 (a) REPORT.—If the Department of Homeland Secu6 rity authorizes an airport to opt out of federalized screen7 ing under section 44919 of title 49, United States Code, 

8 the Secretary shall transmit to Congress on the date of 

9 such authorization a report certifying that security will be 

10 preserved at the airport. 

11 (b) CONTENTS.—The report shall include, at a min12 imum, the following: 

13 (1) The security and nonsecurity factors that 

14 the Transportation Security Administration used to 

15 evaluate the application to opt out of federalized 

16 screening. 

17 (2) A description of how the Administration will 

18 ensure compliance of security regulations and stat19 utes at the airport on a regular and continuing 

20 basis. 

21 (3) All security functions for which the Admin22 istration will maintain direct responsibility at the 

23 airport. 

24 (4) The decisionmaking authority for screening 

25 operations retained by the Administration, and those 
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1 authorities transferred to the airport or private 

2 screening entity. 

3 (5) The amount of Federal funds that will be 

4 provided to the airport or private screening entity 

5 for screening operations, for what purposes, and how 

6 such funds will be provided. 

7 SEC. 4. EXPLOSIVE DETECTION EQUIPMENT. 

8 In entering into agreements with airports to install 

9 electronic detection equipment or to alter airport struc10 tures to facilitate explosive detection equipment, the Sec11 retary of Homeland Security shall give priority to those 

12 airports that have not met the requirement of section 

13 44901(d) of title 49, United States Code, to screen all 

14 checked baggage with explosive detection systems. 

15 SEC. 5. ELIMINATION OF BAG-MATCH PROGRAM AS AC16 CEPTABLE ALTERNATIVE FOR CHECKED 

17 BAGGAGE. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 44901(e) of title 49, 

19 United States Code, is amended—

20 (1) by striking paragraph (1); and 

21 (2 by redesignating paragraphs (2), (3), and 

22 (4) as paragraphs (1), (2), and (3), respectively. 

23 (b) LIMITATION ON STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.—

24 Nothing in this section (including the amendments made 

25 by subsection (a)) shall be construed to prevent the Trans-
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1 portation Security Administration from using the bag2 match program as a supplemental means of securing 

3 checked baggage. 

4 SEC. 6. AVIATION SECURITY TECHNOLOGIES. 

5 (a) REPORT.—As part of the Department of Home6 land Security’s budget request for fiscal year 2006, the 

7 Secretary of Homeland Security shall transmit to Con8 gress a report on—

9 (1) the status and technical maturity of avia10 tion security technologies (including technologies for 

11 detecting explosive, chemical, biological, or radio12 logical materials on or in passengers, carry-on or 

13 checked baggage, or air cargo, improving resolution 

14 and readability of x-ray-based baggage screening 

15 systems, integrating the threat imaging projection 

16 system into checked baggage detection systems, and 

17 site access security for airport facilities); 

18 (2) the planned schedule for deployment of such 

19 technologies; 

20 (3) the expected costs for development, testing, 

21 evaluation, procurement, and installation, and pro22 jected annual costs for operation and maintenance, 

23 of such technologies; 

24 (4) potential deployment problems in an airport 

25 setting; and 
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1 (5) the advisability of deploying security tech2 nologies to airports in a manner that maximizes the 

3 number of technologies that Federal and airport se4 curity personnel can effectively operate. 

5 (b) TECHNOLOGY SPECIFICATIONS AND CERTIFI6 CATION.—Not later than 6 months after the date of enact7 ment of this Act, the Secretary, acting through the head 

8 of the Transportation Security Administration, the Under 

9 Secretary for Science and Technology, and the Under Sec10 retary for Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protec11 tion, shall—

12 (1) issue updated technical specifications gov13 erning the use of explosive detection systems for 

14 baggage screening based on the most recent assess15 ment of terrorist capabilities, potential impacts upon 

16 aircraft and passengers of the use of various weap17 ons or dangerous materials, and the state of explo18 sive detection technology; 

19 (2) determine the compliance with such speci20 fications of currently deployed baggage screening 

21 equipment; 

22 (3) use such specifications for future certifi23 cation of new technologies for use in baggage screen24 ing; and 
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1 (4) issue technical specifications governing the 

2 use of technology for screening air cargo if the Sec3 retary determines that explosive detection tech4 nologies under paragraph (1) for passenger and bag5 gage screening do not meet the needs for screening 

6 air cargo in accordance with the system established 

7 under section 404 of the Homeland Security Act of 

8 2002. 

9 SEC. 7. INSPECTION OF CARGO CARRIED ABOARD PAS10 SENGER AIRCRAFT. 

11 Subtitle A of title IV of the Homeland Security Act 

12 of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 201–203) is amended by adding at the 

13 end the following: 

14 ‘‘SEC. 404. AIR CARGO ON PASSENGER AIRCRAFT. 

15 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after 

16 the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall 

17 establish and begin to implement a system to screen or 

18 inspect all cargo that is to be transported in passenger 

19 aircraft operated by an air carrier or foreign air carrier 

20 in air transportation or intrastate air transportation (as 

21 such terms are defined in section 40102 of title 49, United 

22 States Code). The system shall require the use of equip23 ment, technology, and personnel to screen and inspect 

24 cargo that meet the same standards as those established 
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1 by the Secretary for equipment, technology, and personnel 

2 used to screen passenger baggage. 

3 ‘‘(b) REPORT.—Not later than 210 days after the 

4 date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall 

5 transmit to Congress a report describing the system under 

6 subsection (a). 

7 ‘‘(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

8 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 

9 necessary to carry out this section.’’. 

10 SEC. 8. DATABASE ON KNOWN SHIPPING COMPANIES. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than April 1, 2005, the 

12 Secretary of Homeland Security shall complete, and make 

13 available as appropriate to personnel of the Transpor14 tation Security Administration, freight forwarders, airport 

15 authorities, air carriers, and other relevant entities a data16 base containing the names and other relevant information 

17 of all known shipping companies. In making such database 

18 available to nongovernmental entities, the Secretary shall 

19 ensure that sensitive security information and company 

20 proprietary information is adequately protected. 

21 (b) REPORT.—Not later than the 30th day following 

22 the date of the completion of the database under sub23 section (a), the Secretary shall transmit to Congress a re24 port on the number of known shipping companies in the 

25 database, the number of known shipping companies for 
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1 whom the Administration has conducted physical inspec2 tions of facilities and paperwork of such companies to de3 termine compliance with security regulations that apply to 

4 those companies, the number of companies that have ap5 plied to the Secretary for known shipping company status 

6 and been denied, and the number of known shipping com7 panies that have been removed from the database as a 

8 result of findings by the Administration that such compa9 nies have failed to comply with appropriate security regu10 lations 

11 SEC. 9. TRAINING PROGRAMS. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—For the purposes of deploying 

13 Federal law enforcement officers not part of the Federal 

14 Air Marshal Service as alternative security personnel on 

15 commercial aircraft—

16 (1) the Secretary of Homeland Security, not 

17 later than the 90th day following the date of enact18 ment of this Act, shall establish training standards 

19 that all Federal law enforcement officers must meet 

20 in order to serve as Federal air marshals; and 

21 (2) the head of the Federal Air Marshal Serv22 ice, in determining on which flights to place one or 

23 more Federal air marshals, shall—

24 (A) have access to information on whether 

25 Federal law enforcement officials meeting the 
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1 training standards established under paragraph 

2 (1) are scheduled to travel on commercial 

3 flights; and 

4 (B) not substitute Federal law enforcement 

5 officials that have not met such training stand6 ards for Federal air marshal personnel. 

7 (b) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive the require8 ment of subsection (a)(2)(B) for not to exceed 6 months 

9 after the 90th day referred to in subsection (a) if nec10 essary for security purposes. 

11 (c) REPORT.—The Secretary shall transmit to Con12 gress a report on the timeline for providing training re13 quired to carry out subsection (a)(2) and any additional 

14 resources needed to implement this section. 

15 SEC. 10. COORDINATION OF AIR MARSHAL ACTIVITIES. 

16 The Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation 

17 with the Secretary of State, shall collaborate with foreign 

18 governments to coordinate air marshal activities, including 

19 air marshal scheduling on international flights, weapons 

20 training, use and protocols for nonlethal weapons, threat 

21 recognition, communications, and other issues as deter22 mined appropriate by the Secretary. 
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1 SEC. 11. FLIGHT DECK SECURITY FOR FOREIGN AIR CAR2 RIER OVERFLIGHTS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than the 90th day fol4 lowing the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

5 of Homeland Security shall issue regulations to require 

6 that overflying aircraft meet or exceed the level of flight 

7 deck security for passenger and cargo as required under 

8 part 129.28 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, as 

9 in effect on the date of enactment of this Act. 

10 (b) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘over11 flying aircraft’’ means a flight of a passenger or cargo air12 craft by a foreign air carrier that departs from and arrives 

13 at an airport outside the United States and enters United 

14 States airspace during the flight. 

15 SEC. 12. DAILY PREFLIGHT SEARCHES OF AIRCRAFT. 

16 (a) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of Homeland Se17 curity, in conjunction with the Administrator of the Fed18 eral Aviation Administration, shall issue, by October 1, 

19 2004, regulations governing daily preflight searches of air20 craft for foreign materials that might be used in a ter21 rorist attack. 

22 (b) REIMBURSEMENT.—

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall reim24 burse air carriers for expenses incurred, during the 

25 1-year period beginning on the date of enactment of 

26 this Act, in training air carrier personnel as nec-
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1 essary to implement the regulations issued under 

2 this section. 

3 (2) FUNDING.—There are authorized to be ap4 propriated such sums as may be necessary to carry 

5 out this subsection for fiscal years 2005 and 2006. 

6 (c) GUIDANCE.—The Secretary shall provide guid7 ance to air carriers on removing or otherwise securing 

8 items commonly found on board aircraft that might be 

9 used in an act of terrorism. 

10 SEC. 13. FLIGHT CREW COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year after the 

12 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland 

13 Security shall require, to the greatest extent technically 

14 feasible, air carriers (as defined in section 40102 of title 

15 49, United States Code) to provide flight attendants with 

16 a discreet and wireless method of communicating with pi17 lots that meet such standards as the Secretary may estab18 lish by regulation. Such a system must be accessible by 

19 any Federal air marshal on a flight of an air carrier and 

20 appropriate Government security officials and personnel of 

21 the air carrier. 

22 (b) DEADLINE FOR REGULATIONS.—The Secretary 

23 shall issue regulations to carry out this section not later 

24 than the 90th day following the date of enactment of this 

25 Act. 
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1 SEC. 14. AIRPORT SITE ACCESS AND PERIMETER SECU2 RITY. 

3 (a) REPORT.—Not later than the 90th day following 

4 the date of enactment of this Act, the head of the Trans5 portation Security Administration shall transmit to Con6 gress a report that addresses the Administration’s imple7 mentation of sections 106, 136, and 138 of the Aviation 

8 and Transportation Security Act (Public Law 107–71). 

9 Such report shall include, at a minimum, the following: 

10 (1) How and on what date the Administration 

11 complied with each provision of such sections. 

12 (2) For each provision of such sections that has 

13 not been complied with, the actions the Administra14 tion has taken as of the date the report is trans15 mitted to Congress and the estimated completion 

16 date and costs for actions that the Administration 

17 must take in order to comply with that provision. 

18 (b) ACCESS TO STERILE AREAS.—All personnel ac19 cessing airport sterile areas from unrestricted areas shall 

20 undergo security screening in accordance with section 

21 44901(a) of title 49, United States Code. 

22 (c) ACCESS TO SECURE AREAS.—The Transportation 

23 Security Administration shall ensure that all personnel ac24 cessing airport secure areas have successfully undergone 

25 a background check, conducted by the Transportation Se26 curity Administration, consisting of all measures required 
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1 of passenger screener personnel of the Administration 

2 under section 44936 of title 49, United States Code. 

3 (d) LIMITATION ON STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.—

4 Nothing in this section shall be construed to provide pas5 sengers, airport workers, or other personnel not granted 

6 regular access to secure areas before the date of enact7 ment of this Act authority to do so, regardless of whether 

8 such person has undergone security screening. 

9 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following defi10 nitions apply: 

11 (1) STERILE AREAS.—The term ‘‘sterile areas’’ 

12 means any part of an airport that is regularly acces13 sible to passengers after having cleared a passenger 

14 security screening checkpoint. 

15 (2) SECURE AREAS.—The term ‘‘secure areas’’ 

16 means parts of an airport complex not typically ac17 cessible to passengers, including areas outside of ter18 minal buildings, baggage handling and loading 

19 areas, parked aircraft, runways, air control towers, 

20 and similar areas. 

21 (f) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Subsections (b) and (c) take 

22 effect on the 120th day following the date of enactment 

23 of this Act. 
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1 SEC. 15. MANPADS. 

2 (a) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date 

3 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Secu4 rity, acting through the head of the Transportation Secu5 rity Administration and the Under Secretary for Science 

6 and Technology of the Department of Homeland Security, 

7 shall transmit to Congress a report on defending against 

8 the threat from MANPADS attacks on commercial air9 craft. 

10 (b) CONTENTS.—The report shall include, at a min11 imum, the following: 

12 (1) An evaluation of the current and projected 

13 future threats to commercial aircraft from 

14 MANPADS, including an assessment of the likeli15 hood that terrorist groups will obtain MANPADS of 

16 various levels of sophistication, the ability of ter17 rorist groups to use such systems, and the relative 

18 effectiveness of such systems against commercial 

19 aviation. 

20 (2) A technical assessment of the adequacy and 

21 maturity of current aircraft-based countermeasures 

22 to current and projected threats from shoulder23 launched missiles. 

24 (3) To the extent that any countermeasures 

25 under paragraph (2) are assessed to be sufficiently 
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1 technically mature for deployment on commercial 

2 aircraft, a determination of—

3 (A) the technical ability of such counter4 measures to prevent MANPADS from impact5 ing an aircraft; 

6 (B) any operational difficulties with de7 ploying, maintaining, or using such counter8 measures; and 

9 (C) the cost of deploying and maintaining 

10 such countermeasures on all or part of the com11 mercial aircraft fleet. 

12 (4) An assessment of alternate technological ap13 proaches for MANPADS countermeasures, including 

14 estimates of timelines for development, testing, and 

15 evaluation. 

16 (5) A description of the need for additional 

17 mid-term and long-term research and development 

18 to advance technologies to meet current and future 

19 threats, including a cost-benefit analysis of alter20 native technologies. 

21 (6) The criteria and plans for selecting tech22 nologies for additional research and development de23 scribed in paragraph (5). 

24 (7) The status and plans for programs of the 

25 Department of Homeland Security to decrease the 
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1 risk of MANPADS attacks on commercial aircraft 

2 through airport perimeter security, improved identi3 fication of MANPADS by the Bureau of Customs 

4 and Border Protection, and international efforts to 

5 counter proliferation and otherwise reduce avail6 ability of MANPADS to terrorist groups or individ7 uals. 

8 (c) MANPADS DEFINED..—In this section, the term 

9 ‘‘MANPADS’’ means man-portable air defense systems, 

10 which are shoulder-fired, surface-to-air missile systems 

11 that can be carried and transported by a person.

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