Strengthening Oversight of TSA Employee Misconduct Act

To amend title 49, United States Code, to direct the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to make certain improvements in managing TSA’s employee misconduct, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Strengthening Oversight of TSA Employee Misconduct Act 2. TSA Misconduct Inspection Plan (a) In general Section 44935 of title 49, United States Code, is amended— (1) by redesignating the second subsection (i) (relating to accessibility of computer-based training facilities) as subsection (k); and (2) by adding at the end the following new subsection: (l) TSA misconduct inspections (1) In general Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this subsection, the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) shall— (A) designate a senior official to implement a plan to oversee unannounced inspections at airports of agency actions taken to address TSA employee misconduct, including actions taken by managers at airports to address any such misconduct through corrective actions, up to and including removal from Federal service, in accordance with Department of Homeland Security and TSA policies; (B) on a biannual basis thereafter until September 30, 2023, the official specified in subparagraph (A) shall certify to the Administrator that the unannounced inspections referred to in such paragraph were completed across a sufficient number of airports such that all airports are— (i) inspected before such date; and (ii) provided adequate information regarding agency actions taken to address TSA employee misconduct; (C) designate a senior official other than the senior official designated pursuant to subparagraph (A) to review the results of such unannounced inspections to identify causes of any variances and overall trends in the way actions are taken in response to TSA employee misconduct and develop corrective actions and recommendations, up to and including removal from Federal service, as appropriate; and (D) direct the official described in subparagraph (C) to implement the corrective actions and recommendations specified in such subparagraph. (2) Consolidation and coordination Unannounced inspections under paragraph (1) of certain locations may be consolidated and coordinated with other relevant TSA offices, as determined appropriate by the Administrator of the TSA. (3) Extension The Administrator of the TSA may extend the final date specified in paragraph (1)(B) for completing the unannounced inspections under paragraph (1) for not more than one additional fiscal year if exigent circumstances warrant. If the Administrator determines that such an extension is necessary, the Administrator shall provide to the Committee on Homeland Security and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs,. the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate written justification regarding such circumstances prior to granting such extension. (4) Department of Homeland Security review (A) In general On a biannual basis, the official specified in paragraph (1)(C) shall provide to the Chief Human Capital Officer of the Department of Homeland Security the results of unannounced inspections conducted pursuant to such paragraph. (B) Identification The Chief Human Capital Officer of the Department of Homeland Security may review the results of the unannounced inspections conducted pursuant to paragraph (1)(A) to, as appropriate, identify trends and make recommendations, to the Administrator of the TSA to address employee misconduct. (C) Implementation The Administrator of the TSA shall coordinate with the Chief Human Capital Officer of the Department of Homeland Security to implement any recommendations made pursuant to subparagraph (B) within the timeframes established by the Chief Human Capital Officer. (5) Information to Congress The Administrator of the TSA shall make the results of the unannounced inspections, including any recommended corrective actions for addressing variances, identified under this subsection readily available to— (A) the Committee on Homeland Security and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives; (B) the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; and (C) as appropriate, personnel of the Department of Homeland Security, as determined by the Administrator. (6) Definitions In this subsection: (A) Actions The term actions (B) Unannounced inspections The term unannounced inspections . (b) No additional funds authorized No additional funds are authorized to carry out the requirements of this Act and the amendments made by this Act. Such requirements shall be carried out using amounts otherwise authorized. July 17, 2017 Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed

Summary: Strengthening Oversight of TSA Employee Misconduct Act (Sec. 2) This bill directs the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to designate a senior official: implement a plan to oversee unannounced inspections at airports of agency actions taken to address TSA employee misconduct, including corrective actions by airport managers and employee removal from federal service; certify to the TSA, on a biannual basis until September 30, 2023, that such unannounced inspections were completed across a sufficient number of airports; review the results of such inspections to identify causes of any variances and overall trends in actions taken in response to employee misconduct and to develop corrective actions and recommendations; implement the corrective actions and any recommendations; and provide the results of such inspections to DHS. Unannounced inspections of certain locations may be consolidated and coordinated with other TSA offices. TSA may extend the time for completing such inspections for up to an additional fiscal year if exigent circumstances warrant. DHS may review such results to identify trends and make recommendations to the TSA to address employee misconduct. The TSA shall implement such recommendations.