Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the Transportation Security Administration should delay implementation of changes to the Prohibited Items List that do not enhance the protection of passengers, and for other purposes.

Whereas the terrorists who attacked the United States of America on September 11, 2001, were able to threaten and overpower crew members and pilots on commercial airplanes in order to gain access to the cockpits reportedly used box cutters, small knives, or razor blades; Whereas in the wake of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was created to assume control of the civilian aircraft security functions of the Federal Aviation Administration and is currently tasked with providing security for the Nation’s airports, maintaining a security force to screen all commercial airline passengers and baggage, and working with the transportation, law enforcement, and intelligence communities to ensure safety; Whereas every day, the TSA processes an average of 1.7 million passengers at more than 450 airports across the Nation and in 2012, 637,582,122 passengers relied on TSA screening to ensure that they safely reached their destinations; Whereas on March 5, 2013, the Transportation Security Administration publicly announced its intention to permit passengers, effective April 25, 2013, to bring previously banned items in their carry-on baggage when boarding flights; Whereas prohibited items that would be permitted effective that date include items that are potentially dangerous to passengers, flight attendants, pilots, and Federal air marshals, and include hockey sticks, lacrosse sticks, golf clubs, and, more alarmingly, small knives; Whereas on April 9, 2013, the Nation was reminded of the terrible harm that small knives can inflict on victims when a mass stabbing occurred on the campus of Lone Star College in Houston, Texas, during which the suspect used a razor utility knife and caused injuries, including lacerations of the face and neck, to 14 people; Whereas the TSA’s decision to allow these items was made without a formal engagement process and without the consultation of members of the Homeland Security Committee or its Subcommittee on Transportation Security, the Aviation Security Advisory Committee, or the various stakeholders in the air transit industry that will be directly affected by this change; Whereas the American public, air travel industry stakeholders, and Federal air marshals have expressed strong disapproval of the impending Prohibited Items List changes, and their lives and well-being would be placed in jeopardy as a result of the changes; and Whereas the $1,270,000,000 in estimated sequestration cuts currently in effect at the TSA exposes the agency to vulnerabilities and facing increased security risks due to potential furloughs, hiring freezes, and layoffs of critical personnel, including transportation security officers and Federal air marshals, as well as the elimination of the Crew Member Self Defense Training Program: Now, therefore, be it That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that— (1) the House of Representatives disapproves of the Transportation Security Administration’s decision to modify the prohibited items list, set to take effect on April 25, 2013, that would allow passengers to bring small knives in their carry-on baggage; and (2) the Transportation Security Administration’s implementation of those changes to its Prohibited Items List should be delayed indefinitely until such time that the agency conducts a formal engagement process involving all of the affected stakeholders and has meaningful consultations with affected air travel industry stakeholders, including flight attendants.

Summary: Disapproves of the decision of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to modify the Prohibited Items List, set to take effect on April 25, 2013, that would allow passengers to bring small knives in their carry-on baggage. Calls for TSA to delay implementation of those changes until it conducts a formal engagement process involving all affected stakeholders and has meaningful consultations with affected air travel industry stakeholders, including flight attendants.