I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3173 

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 

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. 

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 


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1 United States-flag vessels are required to carry a 

2 Transportation Worker Identification Credential 

3 (TWIC) under the Maritime Transportation Security 

4 Act of 2002 (MTSA). Department of Homeland Se5 curity (DHS) regulations require merchant mariners 

6 who hold a Coast Guard-issued Merchant Mariner 

7 Credential (MMC) and individuals who require 

8 unescorted access to secure areas of MTSA-regu9 lated vessels and facilities to carry a TWIC. 

10 (2) To date, nearly two million transportation 

11 workers have applied for and received a TWIC. Ap12 plicants must pay $132.50 to obtain the TWIC, and 

13 make two or more trips to an enrollment center to 

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

15 TWIC. 

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

17 years, at which time the cardholder must request 

18 issuance of a new card. This process requires work19 ers to make an additional two or more trips to the 

20 enrollment center and again pay $132.50 to receive 

21 a new card. 

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

23 face the burden of making two or more time-con24 suming and often expensive round trips to a TWIC 

25 enrollment center. In many instances, the nearest 


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1 enrollment center is hundreds of miles from a work2 er’s home. 

3 (5) The TWIC enrollment process requiring two 

4 or more round trips to an enrollment center is not 

5 mandated by statute or by regulation. The process 

6 is driven by a DHS policy decision to align the re7 quirements for TWIC issuance with standards for 

8 Personal Identity Verification (PIV) for Federal em9 ployees and contractors. These standards are con10 tained in Federal Information Processing Standard 

11 Publication 201 (FIPS–201). 

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

13 generally align the TWIC enrollment process with 

14 the FIPS–201 standard, the Department may elect 

15 to deviate from this standard in instances where it 

16 believes an alternative approach is more appropriate 

17 for the TWIC program. 

18 (7) Unlike other Government-issued credentials 

19 that adhere to the FIPS–201 standard, the TWIC 

20 is effectively a work permit for a highly-mobile pri21 vate sector workforce. 

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

23 TWIC holder to gain unescorted access to secure 

24 areas of MTSA-regulated vessels and facilities unless 

25 the TWIC holder is authorized to do so under a 


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1 Coast Guard-approved vessel or facility security 

2 plan. 

3 (9) DHS has the statutory authority and regu4 latory flexibility to develop an alternative process for 

5 TWIC enrollment and issuance that does not require 

6 applicants to make multiple trips to a TWIC enroll7 ment center. 

8 (10) Other secure Government-issued identity 

9 documents, including United States passports, can 

10 be distributed to applicants by mail. 

11 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

12 To avoid further imposing unnecessary and costly 

13 regulatory burdens on United States workers and busi14 nesses, it is the sense of Congress that it is urgent that 

15 the TWIC application process be reformed by not later 

16 than the end of 2012, when hundreds of thousands of cur17 rent TWIC holders will begin to face the requirement to 

18 renew their TWICs. 

19 SEC. 3. TWIC APPLICATION REFORM. 

20 Not later than 90 days after the date of the enact21 ment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall 

22 reform the process for the enrollment, activation, issuance, 

23 and renewal of a Transportation Worker Identification 

24 Credential (TWIC) to require, in total, not more than one 

25 in-person visit to a designated enrollment center except 


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1 in cases in which there are extenuating circumstances, as 

2 determined by the Secretary, requiring more than one 

3 such in-person visit. 

Æ 


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