IB 

Union Calendar No. 371 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 3173 

[Report No. 112–523] 

To direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to reform the process for 

the enrollment, activation, issuance, and renewal of a Transportation 

Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) to require, in total, not more 

than one in-person visit to a designated enrollment center. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 12, 2011 

Mr. SCALISE (for himself, Mr. YOUNG of Alaska, Mr. KING of New York, Mr. 

THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. CUMMINGS, and Mr. RICHMOND) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security 

JUNE 15, 2012 

Additional sponsors: Mr. LUETKEMEYER, Ms. HAHN, Mr. YOUNG of Indiana, 

Mrs. BIGGERT, Mr. GRIMM, Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas, Mr. RUPPERSBERGER, Mr. COHEN, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. RAHALL, Mr. HANNA, Ms. 

RICHARDSON, Mr. HARRIS, Mr. GRAVES of Missouri, Mr. LARSEN of 

Washington, Mr. KINZINGER of Illinois, Mr. JOHNSON of Ohio, Mr. 

WITTMAN, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. JONES, Mr. LATOURETTE, Mr. MICHAUD, 

Mr. MCCAUL, Mr. NUNNELEE, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. HARPER, Ms. 

HANABUSA, Mr. CARNAHAN, Mr. HIGGINS, Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of 

California, Mr. SIRES, Mr. LOBIONDO, Mr. GUINTA, Mr. SCHRADER, Mr. 

MCDERMOTT, Mr. RIGELL, and Mr. PALAZZO

JUNE 15, 2012 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

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

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on October 12, 2011] 


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A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to reform 

the process for the enrollment, activation, issuance, and 

renewal of a Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) to require, in total, not more than one 

in-person visit to a designated enrollment center. 


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•HR 3173 RH

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 

4 Congress finds the following: 

5 (1) United States workers employed at nearly 

6 2,600 marine facilities and onboard nearly 13,000 

7 United States-flag vessels are required to carry a 

8 Transportation Worker Identification Credential 

9 (TWIC) under the Maritime Transportation Security 

10 Act of 2002 (MTSA). Department of Homeland Secu11 rity (DHS) regulations require merchant mariners 

12 who hold a Coast Guard-issued Merchant Mariner 

13 Credential (MMC) and individuals who require 

14 unescorted access to secure areas of MTSA-regulated 

15 vessels and facilities to carry a TWIC. 

16 (2) To date, nearly two million transportation 

17 workers have applied for and received a TWIC. Ap18 plicants must pay $132.50 to obtain the TWIC, and 

19 make two or more trips to an enrollment center to 

20 apply for, and then to pick up and activate, their 

21 TWIC. 

22 (3) A TWIC is valid for a maximum of five 

23 years, at which time the cardholder must request 

24 issuance of a new card. This process requires workers 

25 to make an additional two or more trips to the enrollVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:17 Jun 15, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3173.RH H3173

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1 ment center and again pay $132.50 to receive a new 

2 card. 

3 (4) In addition to the cost of the card, workers 

4 face the burden of making two or more time-con5 suming and often expensive round trips to a TWIC 

6 enrollment center. In many instances, the nearest en7 rollment center is hundreds of miles from a worker’s 

8 home. 

9 (5) The TWIC enrollment process requiring two 

10 or more round trips to an enrollment center is not 

11 mandated by statute or by regulation. The process is 

12 driven by a DHS policy decision to align the require13 ments for TWIC issuance with standards for Personal 

14 Identity Verification (PIV) for Federal employees and 

15 contractors. These standards are contained in Federal 

16 Information Processing Standard Publication 201 

17 (FIPS–201). 

18 (6) While DHS has made the policy decision to 

19 generally align the TWIC enrollment process with the 

20 FIPS–201 standard, the Department may elect to de21 viate from this standard in instances where it believes 

22 an alternative approach is more appropriate for the 

23 TWIC program. 

24 (7) Unlike other Government-issued credentials 

25 that adhere to the FIPS–201 standard, the TWIC is 


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1 effectively a work permit for a highly-mobile private 

2 sector workforce. 

3 (8) Possession of a TWIC does not allow a TWIC 

4 holder to gain unescorted access to secure areas of 

5 MTSA-regulated vessels and facilities unless the 

6 TWIC holder is authorized to do so under a Coast 

7 Guard-approved vessel or facility security plan. 

8 (9) DHS has the statutory authority and regu9 latory flexibility to develop an alternative process for 

10 TWIC enrollment and issuance that does not require 

11 applicants to make multiple trips to a TWIC enroll12 ment center. 

13 (10) Other secure Government-issued identity 

14 documents, including United States passports, can be 

15 distributed to applicants by mail. 

16 (11) Congress mandated the issuance of a final 

17 rule setting forth requirements for TWIC biometric 

18 readers no later than two years after the TWIC pilot 

19 began, which would have been August 2010; such a 

20 final rule has to date not been issued. 

21 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

22 It is the sense of Congress that— 

23 (1) to avoid further imposing unnecessary and 

24 costly regulatory burdens on United States workers 

25 and businesses, it is urgent that the TWIC applicaVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:17 Jun 15, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3173.RH H3173

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1 tion process be reformed by not later than the end of 

2 2012, when hundreds of thousands of current TWIC 

3 holders will begin to face the requirement to renew 

4 their TWICs; 

5 (2) the Secretary of Homeland Security should 

6 promulgate final regulations that require the deploy7 ment of TWIC readers as soon as practicable, in order 

8 to ensure the TWIC program realizes its intended se9 curity purpose; and 

10 (3) funds, which have been awarded under the 

11 Port Security Grant Program for the purpose of fund12 ing TWIC projects, shall not expire before the 

13 issuance of the final TWIC reader rule. 

14 SEC. 3. TWIC APPLICATION REFORM. 

15 Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment 

16 of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall reform 

17 the process for the enrollment, activation, issuance, and re18 newal of a Transportation Worker Identification Credential 

19 (TWIC) to require, in total, not more than one in-person 

20 visit to a designated enrollment center except in cases in 

21 which there are extenuating circumstances, as determined 

22 by the Secretary, requiring more than one such in-person 

23 visit. 


TKELLEY on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS

TKELLEY on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
Union Calendar No. 371 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 3173 

[Report No. 112–523] 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to reignated enrollment center. total, not more than one in-person visit to a des- er Identification Credential (TWIC) to require, in issuance, and renewal of a Transportation Work- form the process for the enrollment, activation, 

JUNE 15, 2012 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 


TKELLEY on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS