I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2144
To amend title 49, United States Code, to make technical corrections and 
improvements relating to aviation security, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 19, 2003
Mr. YOUNG of Alaska (for himself, Mr. MICA, Mr. OBERSTAR, and Mr. 
DEFAZIO) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure 
A BILL 
To amend title 49, United States Code, to make technical 
corrections and improvements relating to aviation secu-
rity, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Aviation Security Technical Corrections and Improve-
ments Act of 2003’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Amendment of title 49, United States Code.
TITLE I—AVIATION SECURITY TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS AND 
IMPROVEMENTS 
Sec. 101. Transportation security functions of Department of Homeland Secu-
rity. 
Sec. 102. Amendments to chapter 1. 
Sec. 103. Amendment to chapter 3. 
Sec. 104. Amendment to chapter 337. 
Sec. 105. Amendments to chapter 401. 
Sec. 106. Amendments to chapter 411. 
Sec. 107. Amendment to chapter 443. 
Sec. 108. Amendments to chapter 445. 
Sec. 109. Amendments to chapter 461. 
Sec. 110. Amendments to chapter 463. 
Sec. 111. Amendments to chapter 465. 
Sec. 112. Amendments to chapter 471. 
Sec. 113. Amendment to chapter 481. 
Sec. 114. Amendments to Aviation and Transportation Security Act. 
Sec. 115. Amendment to title 5, United States Code. 
TITLE II—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS 
Sec. 201. Exemption for charter operations to provide transportation for the 
Armed Forces. 
Sec. 202. Charter flights at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. 
Sec. 203. Pilot program for cargo security. 
Sec. 204. Trusted traveler program. 
Sec. 205. Threats to United States airports. 
Sec. 206. Blast-resistant cargo container technology. 
Sec. 207. Allocations of passenger and baggage screening personnel and equip-
ment. 
Sec. 208. Reimbursement of air carriers for certain screening and related ac-
tivities.
SEC. 2. AMENDMENT OF TITLE 49, UNITED STATES CODE. 
Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in 
this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms 
of an amendment to, or a repeal of, a section or other 
provision, the reference shall be considered to be made to 
a section or other provision of title 49, United States 
Code.
TITLE 
I—AVIATION 
SECURITY 
TECHNICAL 
CORRECTIONS 
AND IMPROVEMENTS 
SEC. 101. TRANSPORTATION SECURITY FUNCTIONS OF DE-
PARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle II is amended—
(1) by striking the table of chapters and insert-
ing the following:
‘‘PART A—NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD 
‘‘CHAPTER 
Sec. 
‘‘11. NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD ..................
1101
‘‘PART B—DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY 
‘‘12. GENERAL PROVISIONS ..............................................................
1201
‘‘13. TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADMINISTRATION ..............
1301
‘‘15. AVIATION SECURITY ..................................................................
1501
‘‘17. INVESTIGATIONS AND PROCEEDINGS ..................................
1701
‘‘19. PENALTIES .................................................................................... 1901’’;
(2) by inserting before the chapter heading for 
chapter 11 the following: 
‘‘PART A—NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION 
SAFETY BOARD’’; 
and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘PART B—DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND 
SECURITY 
‘‘CHAPTER 12—GENERAL PROVISIONS
‘‘Sec. 
‘‘1201. Definitions.
‘‘SUBCHAPTER I—ORGANIZATION AND 
ADMINISTRATIVE 
‘‘§ 1301. Transportation Security Administration 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Transportation Security 
Administration shall be an administration within the Di-
rectorate of Border and Transportation Security in the 
Department of Homeland Security. 
‘‘(b) ADMINISTRATOR.—
‘‘(1) APPOINTMENT.—The head of the Adminis-
tration shall be the Administrator of the Transpor-
tation Security Administration. The Administrator 
shall be appointed by the President, by and with the 
advice and consent of the Senate. 
‘‘(2) 
QUALIFICATIONS.—The 
Administrator 
must—
‘‘(A) be a citizen of the United States; and 
‘‘(B) have experience in a field directly re-
lated to transportation or security. 
‘‘(3) TERM.—The term of office of an indi-
vidual appointed as the Administrator shall be 5 
years.
‘‘(4) BONUS ELIGIBILITY.—In addition to the 
annual rate of pay authorized by section 5313 of 
title 5, the Administrator may receive a bonus for 
any calendar year not to exceed 30 percent of the
annual rate of pay, based on the evaluation of the 
Under Secretary for Border and Transportation Se-
curity of the performance of the Administrator. 
‘‘(c) LIMITATION ON OWNERSHIP OF STOCKS AND 
BONDS.—The Administrator may not own stock in or 
bonds of a transportation or security enterprise or an en-
terprise that makes equipment that could be used for secu-
rity purposes. 
‘‘§ 1302. Transportation Security Oversight Board 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the De-
partment of Homeland Security a board to be known as 
the ‘Transportation Security Oversight Board’. 
‘‘(b) MEMBERSHIP.—
‘‘(1) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.—The Board 
shall be composed of 7 members as follows: 
‘‘(A) The Secretary of Homeland Security, 
or the Secretary’s designee. 
‘‘(B) The Secretary of Transportation, or 
the Secretary’s designee. 
‘‘(C) The Attorney General, or the Attor-
ney General’s designee. 
‘‘(D) The Secretary of Defense, or the Sec-
retary’s designee. 
‘‘(E) The Secretary of the Treasury, or the 
Secretary’s designee.
‘‘(F) The Director of the Central Intel-
ligence Agency, or the Director’s designee. 
‘‘(G) One member appointed by the Presi-
dent to represent the National Security Council. 
‘‘(2) CHAIRPERSON.—The Chairperson of the 
Board shall be the Secretary of Homeland Security. 
‘‘(c) DUTIES.—The Board shall—
‘‘(1) review and ratify or disapprove any regula-
tion or security directive issued by the Under Sec-
retary for Border and Transportation Security under 
section 1337(b) within 30 days after the date of 
issuance of such regulation or directive; 
‘‘(2) facilitate the coordination of intelligence, 
security, and law enforcement activities affecting 
transportation; 
‘‘(3) facilitate the sharing of intelligence, secu-
rity, and law enforcement information affecting 
transportation among Federal agencies and with 
carriers and other transportation providers as appro-
priate; 
‘‘(4) explore the technical feasibility of devel-
oping a common database of individuals who may 
pose a threat to transportation or national security; 
‘‘(5) review plans for transportation security; 
and
‘‘(6) make recommendations to the Under Sec-
retary regarding matters reviewed under paragraph 
(5). 
‘‘(d) QUARTERLY MEETINGS.—The Board shall meet 
at least quarterly. 
‘‘(e) CONSIDERATION OF SECURITY INFORMATION.—
A majority of the Board may vote to close a meeting of 
the Board to the public, except that meetings shall be 
closed to the public whenever classified, sensitive security 
information, or information protected in accordance with 
section 40119(b), will be discussed. 
‘‘§ 1303. Small business ombudsman 
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There shall be in the Trans-
portation Security Administration a Small Business Om-
budsman. 
‘‘(b) GENERAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES.—
The Ombudsman shall—
‘‘(1) be appointed by the Administrator of the 
Transportation Security Administration; 
‘‘(2) serve as a liaison with small businesses in 
the aviation and security industries; 
‘‘(3) be consulted when the Under Secretary for 
Border and Transportation Security proposes regu-
lations that may affect small businesses in the avia-
tion or security industry so as to minimize any ad-
verse affect on those businesses; 
‘‘(4) provide assistance to small businesses in 
resolving disputes with the Under Secretary or Ad-
ministrator; and 
‘‘(5) report directly to the Administrator. 
‘‘SUBCHAPTER II—AUTHORITY 
‘‘§ 1321. Authority of Under Secretary for Border and 
Transportation Security 
‘‘(a) FUNCTIONS, DUTIES, AND POWERS.—In addi-
tion to other functions, duties, and powers authorized by 
law, and except as otherwise specifically provided, the 
Under Secretary for Border and Transportation Security 
shall exercise the functions, duties, and powers set forth 
in this part. 
‘‘(b) DELEGATION OF AUTHORITIES TO TSA ADMIN-
ISTRATOR.—The Under Secretary may delegate such func-
tions, duties, and powers to the Administrator of the 
Transportation Security Administration as the Under Sec-
retary considers appropriate. 
‘‘(c) FUNCTIONS.—The Under Secretary shall be re-
sponsible for security in all modes of transportation, in-
cluding—
‘‘(1) carrying out chapter 15, relating to civil 
aviation security and related research and develop-
ment activities; and 
‘‘(2) security responsibilities over other modes 
of transportation that are exercised by the Depart-
ment of Homeland Security. 
‘‘(d) SCREENING OPERATIONS.—The Under Sec-
retary shall—
‘‘(1) be responsible for day-to-day Federal secu-
rity screening operations for passenger air transpor-
tation and intrastate air transportation under sec-
tions 1501 and 1535; 
‘‘(2) develop standards for the hiring and reten-
tion of security screening personnel; 
‘‘(3) train and test security screening personnel; 
and 
‘‘(4) be responsible for hiring and training per-
sonnel to provide security screening at all airports in 
the United States where screening is required under 
section 1501, in consultation with the Secretary of 
Transportation and the heads of other appropriate 
Federal agencies and departments. 
‘‘(e) ADDITIONAL DUTIES AND POWERS.—In addi-
tion to carrying out the functions specified in this section, 
the Under Secretary shall—
‘‘(1) receive, assess, and distribute intelligence 
information related to transportation security; 
‘‘(2) assess threats to transportation; 
‘‘(3) develop policies, strategies, and plans for 
dealing with threats to transportation security; 
‘‘(4) make other plans related to transportation 
security, including coordinating countermeasures 
with appropriate departments, agencies, and instru-
mentalities of the United States Government; 
‘‘(5) serve as the primary liaison for transpor-
tation security to the intelligence and law enforce-
ment communities; 
‘‘(6) on a day-to-day basis, manage and provide 
operational guidance to the field security resources 
of the Administration, including Federal Security 
Directors as provided by section 1533; 
‘‘(7) enforce security-related regulations and re-
quirements; 
‘‘(8) identify and undertake research and devel-
opment activities necessary to enhance transpor-
tation security; 
‘‘(9) inspect, maintain, and test security facili-
ties, equipment, and systems; 
‘‘(10) ensure the adequacy of security measures 
for the transportation of cargo;
‘‘(11) oversee the implementation, and ensure 
the adequacy, of security measures at airports and 
other transportation facilities; 
‘‘(12) require background checks for airport se-
curity screening personnel, individuals with access to 
secure areas of airports, and other transportation se-
curity personnel; 
‘‘(13) work in conjunction with the Adminis-
trator of the Federal Aviation Administration with 
respect to any actions or activities that may affect 
aviation safety or air carrier operations; 
‘‘(14) work with the International Civil Aviation 
Organization and appropriate aeronautic authorities 
of foreign governments under section 1507 to ad-
dress security concerns on passenger flights by for-
eign air carriers in foreign air transportation; 
‘‘(15) carry out such other duties, and exercise 
such other powers, relating to transportation secu-
rity as the Under Secretary considers appropriate, to 
the extent authorized by law; and 
‘‘(16) review and, as necessary, develop ways to 
strengthen air transportation security, including 
ways—
‘‘(A) to strengthen controls over checked 
baggage in air transportation, including ways to
ensure baggage reconciliation and inspection of 
items in passenger baggage that could poten-
tially contain explosive devices; 
‘‘(B) to strengthen controls over individ-
uals having access to aircraft; 
‘‘(C) to improve testing of security sys-
tems; 
‘‘(D) to ensure the use of best available 
equipment for air transportation security pur-
poses; 
‘‘(E) to strengthen preflight screening of 
passengers; 
‘‘(F) to strengthen and enhance the ability 
to detect or neutralize nonexplosive weapons, 
such as biological, chemical, or similar sub-
stances; and 
‘‘(G) to evaluate such additional measures 
as may be appropriate to enhance inspection of 
passengers, baggage, and cargo. 
‘‘§ 1322. National emergency responsibilities 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland Se-
curity, in consultation with the Secretary of Transpor-
tation, shall prescribe the circumstances constituting a na-
tional emergency for purposes of this section and address
the coordination of transportation security responsibilities 
in the case of a national emergency. 
‘‘(b) RESPONSIBILITIES OF UNDER SECRETARY.—
Subject to the direction and control of the Secretary of 
Homeland Security, the Under Secretary for Border and 
Transportation Security, during a national emergency, 
shall have the following responsibilities: 
‘‘(1) To coordinate domestic transportation, in-
cluding aviation, rail, and other surface transpor-
tation, and maritime transportation (including port 
security). 
‘‘(2) To coordinate and oversee the transpor-
tation-related responsibilities of other departments 
and agencies of the Federal Government other than 
the Department of Defense and the military depart-
ments. 
‘‘(3) To coordinate and provide notice to other 
departments and agencies of the Federal Govern-
ment, and appropriate agencies of State and local 
governments, including departments and agencies 
for transportation, law enforcement, and border con-
trol, about threats to transportation. 
‘‘(4) To carry out such other duties, and exer-
cise such other powers, relating to transportation
of posing, a risk of air piracy or terrorism or a 
threat to airline or passenger safety; 
‘‘(3) in consultation with other appropriate 
Federal agencies and air carriers, establish policies 
and procedures requiring air carriers—
‘‘(A) to use information from government 
agencies to identify individuals on passenger 
lists who may be a threat to civil aviation or na-
tional security; and 
‘‘(B) if such an individual is identified, no-
tify appropriate law enforcement agencies, pre-
vent the individual from boarding an aircraft, 
or take other appropriate action with respect to 
that individual; and 
‘‘(4) consider requiring passenger air carriers to 
share passenger lists with appropriate Federal agen-
cies for the purpose of identifying individuals who 
may pose a threat to aviation safety or national se-
curity. 
‘‘§ 1324. Views of National Transportation Safety 
Board 
In taking any action under this subchapter that could 
affect safety, the Under Secretary for Border and Trans-
portation Security shall give great weight to the timely 
views of the National Transportation Safety Board.
‘‘§ 1325. Acquisitions 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary for Border 
and Transportation Security is authorized—
‘‘(1) to acquire (by purchase, lease, condemna-
tion, or otherwise) such real property, or any inter-
est therein, within and outside the continental 
United States, as the Under Secretary considers 
necessary; 
‘‘(2) to acquire (by purchase, lease, condemna-
tion, or otherwise) and to construct, repair, operate, 
and maintain such personal property (including of-
fice space and patents), or any interest therein, 
within and outside the continental United States, as 
the Under Secretary considers necessary; 
‘‘(3) to lease to others such real and personal 
property and to provide by contract or otherwise for 
necessary facilities for the welfare of its employees 
and to acquire, maintain, and operate equipment for 
these facilities; 
‘‘(4) to acquire services, including such personal 
services as the Under Secretary determines nec-
essary, and to acquire (by purchase, lease, con-
demnation, or otherwise) and to construct, repair, 
operate, and maintain research and testing sites and 
facilities; and
‘‘(5) in cooperation with the Administrator of 
the Federal Aviation Administration, to utilize the 
research and development facilities of the Federal 
Aviation Administration. 
‘‘(b) TITLE.—Title to any property or interest therein 
acquired pursuant to this subsection shall be held by the 
Government of the United States. 
‘‘(c) AUTHORITY
OF GSA.—Notwithstanding sub-
section (a), the Under Secretary may not undertake any 
project for which congressional approval is required under 
section 3307 of title 40. 
‘‘§ 1326. Reserved 
‘‘§ 1327. Regulations 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary for Border 
and Transportation Security is authorized to issue, re-
scind, and revise such regulations as are necessary to 
carry out the functions of the Transportation Security Ad-
ministration. 
‘‘(b) EMERGENCY PROCEDURES.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 
provision of law or executive order (including an ex-
ecutive order requiring a cost-benefit analysis), if the 
Under Secretary determines that a regulation or se-
curity directive must be issued immediately in order 
to protect transportation security, the Under Sec-
retary shall issue the regulation or security directive 
without providing notice or an opportunity for com-
ment and without prior approval of the Secretary of 
Homeland Security. 
‘‘(2) REVIEW BY TRANSPORTATION SECURITY 
OVERSIGHT BOARD.—Any regulation or security di-
rective issued under this subsection shall be subject 
to review by the Transportation Security Oversight 
Board established under section 1312. Any regula-
tion or security directive issued under this sub-
section shall remain effective for a period not to ex-
ceed 90 days unless ratified or disapproved by the 
Board or rescinded by the Under Secretary. 
‘‘(c) FACTORS
TO
CONSIDER.—In determining 
whether to issue, rescind, or revise a regulation under this 
subchapter, the Under Secretary shall consider, as a factor 
in the final determination, whether the costs of the regula-
tion are excessive in relation to the enhancement of secu-
rity the regulation will provide. The Under Secretary may 
waive requirements for an analysis that estimates the 
number of lives that will be saved by the regulation and 
the monetary value of such lives if the Under Secretary 
determines that it is not feasible to make such an esti-
mate. 
‘‘(d) AIRWORTHINESS OBJECTIONS BY FAA.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary shall 
not take an aviation security action under this title 
if the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Admin-
istration notifies the Under Secretary that the action 
could adversely affect the airworthiness of an air-
craft. 
‘‘(2) 
REVIEW
BY
SECRETARY.—Notwith-
standing paragraph (1), the Under Secretary may 
take such an action, after receiving a notification 
concerning the action from the Administrator of the 
Federal Aviation Administration under paragraph 
(1), if the Secretary of Homeland Security, after 
consultation with the Secretary of Transportation, 
subsequently approves the action. 
‘‘§ 1328. Personnel and services; cooperation by 
Under Secretary 
‘‘(a) AUTHORITY OF UNDER SECRETARY.—In car-
rying out the functions of the Transportation Security Ad-
ministration, the Under Secretary for Border and Trans-
portation Security shall have the same authority as is pro-
vided to the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Admin-
istration under subsections (l) and (m) of section 106. 
‘‘(b) AUTHORITY OF AGENCY HEADS.—The head of 
a Federal agency shall have the same authority to provide 
services, supplies, equipment, personnel, and facilities to
the Under Secretary as the head has to provide services, 
supplies, equipment, personnel, and facilities to the Ad-
ministrator of the Federal Aviation Administration under 
section 106(m). 
‘‘§ 1329. Personnel management system 
‘‘The personnel management system established by 
the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration 
under section 40122 shall apply to employees of the 
Transportation Security Administration, or, subject to the 
requirements of such section, the Under Secretary for 
Border and Transportation Security may make such modi-
fications to the personnel management system with re-
spect to such employees as the Under Secretary considers 
appropriate, such as adopting aspects of other personnel 
systems of the Department of Transportation or the De-
partment of Homeland Security. 
‘‘§ 1330. Acquisition management system 
‘‘The acquisition management system established by 
the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration 
under section 40110 shall apply to acquisitions of supplies, 
services, and property by the Transportation Security Ad-
ministration, or, subject to the requirements of such sec-
tion, the Under Secretary for Border and Transportation 
Security may make such modifications to the acquisition 
management system with respect to such acquisitions of
supplies, services, and property as the Under Secretary 
considers appropriate, such as adopting aspects of other 
acquisition management systems of the Department of 
Transportation or the Department of Homeland Security. 
Any appeal of a decision made under the acquisition sys-
tem developed under this subsection shall be conducted in 
accordance with section 1710. 
‘‘§ 1331. Authority of Inspector General 
‘‘The Transportation Security Administration shall 
be subject to the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. 
App.) and other laws relating to the authority of the In-
spector General of the Department of Homeland Security. 
‘‘§ 1332. Law enforcement powers 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary for Border 
and Transportation Security may designate an employee 
of the Transportation Security Administration to serve as 
a law enforcement officer. 
‘‘(b) POWERS.—While engaged in official duties of 
the Administration as required to fulfill the responsibilities 
under this section, a law enforcement officer designated 
under subsection (a) may—
‘‘(1) carry a firearm; 
‘‘(2) make an arrest without a warrant for any 
offense against the United States committed in the 
presence of the officer, or for any felony cognizable
prescribed in carrying out this part if the Under Secretary 
determines that the exemption is in the public interest. 
‘‘§ 1334. Nondisclosure of security activities 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 552 of 
title 5, the Under Secretary for Border and Transpor-
tation Security shall prescribe regulations prohibiting the 
disclosure of information obtained or developed in carrying 
out security under this part if the Under Secretary decides 
that disclosing the information would—
‘‘(1) be an unwarranted invasion of personal 
privacy; 
‘‘(2) reveal a trade secret or privileged or con-
fidential commercial or financial information; or 
‘‘(3) reveal a United States Government pro-
gram or activity for safeguarding the security of 
transportation. 
‘‘(b) AVAILABILITY
OF
INFORMATION
TO
CON-
GRESS.—Subsection (a) does not authorize information to 
be withheld from a committee of Congress authorized to 
have the information. 
‘‘(c) LIMITATION
ON TRANSFERABILITY
OF DU-
TIES.—Except as otherwise provided by law, the Under 
Secretary may not transfer a duty or power under this 
section to another department, agency, or instrumentality 
of the United States.
‘‘§ 1335. Administrative 
‘‘(a) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—The Under Secretary 
for Border and Transportation Security may take action 
the Under Secretary considers necessary to carry out this 
part, including conducting investigations, prescribing reg-
ulations, standards, and procedures, and issuing orders. 
‘‘(b) INDEMNIFICATION.—The Under Secretary for 
Border and Transportation Security may indemnify an of-
ficer or employee of the Transportation Security Adminis-
tration against a claim or judgment arising out of an act 
that the Under Secretary decides was committed within 
the scope of the official duties of the officer or employee. 
‘‘CHAPTER 15—AVIATION SECURITY
‘‘SUBCHAPTER I—REQUIREMENTS 
‘‘Sec. 
‘‘1501. Screening passengers and property. 
‘‘1502. Refusal to transport passengers and property. 
‘‘1503. Air transportation security. 
‘‘1504. Domestic air transportation system security. 
‘‘1505. Information about threats to civil aviation. 
‘‘1506. Foreign air carrier security programs. 
‘‘1507. Security standards at foreign airports. 
‘‘1508. Travel advisory and suspension of foreign assistance. 
‘‘1509. Passenger manifests. 
‘‘1510. Agreements on aircraft sabotage, aircraft hijacking, and airport security. 
‘‘1511. Intelligence. 
‘‘1512. Research and development. 
‘‘1513. Explosive detection. 
‘‘1514. Airport construction guidelines. 
‘‘1515. Exemptions. 
‘‘1516. Assessments and evaluations. 
‘‘1517. Deployment of Federal air marshals. 
‘‘1518. Crew training. 
‘‘1519. Security screening pilot program. 
‘‘1520. Security screening opt-out program. 
‘‘1521. Federal flight deck officer program. 
‘‘1522. Deputation of State and local law enforcement officers. 
‘‘1523. Limitation of flights over certain stadiums. 
‘‘1524. Certification of explosives detection canine and handler teams.
‘‘1525. Airport security improvement projects. 
‘‘1526. Repair station security. 
‘‘SUBCHAPTER II—ADMINISTRATION AND PERSONNEL 
‘‘1531. Reserved. 
‘‘1532. Reserved. 
‘‘1533. Federal Security Directors. 
‘‘1534. Foreign Security Liaison Officers. 
‘‘1535. Employment standards and training. 
‘‘1536. Employment investigations and restrictions. 
‘‘1537. Prohibition on transferring duties and powers. 
‘‘1538. Reports. 
‘‘1539. Training to operate certain aircraft. 
‘‘1540. Security service fee. 
‘‘1541. Immunity for reporting suspicious activities. 
‘‘1542. Performance goals and objectives. 
‘‘1543. Performance management system. 
‘‘1544. Voluntary provision of emergency services.
‘‘SUBCHAPTER I—REQUIREMENTS 
‘‘§ 1501. Screening passengers and property 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary for Border 
and Transportation Security shall provide for the screen-
ing of all passengers and property, including United 
States mail, cargo, carry-on and checked baggage, and 
other articles, that will be carried aboard a passenger air-
craft operated by an air carrier or foreign air carrier in 
air transportation or intrastate air transportation. In the 
case of flights and flight segments originating in the 
United States, the screening shall take place before board-
ing and shall be carried out by a Federal Government em-
ployee (as defined in section 2105 of title 5 or, in the case 
of United States mail, by an employee or officer of the 
United States Postal Service under standards and proce-
dures established pursuant to a Memorandum of Under-
standing between the Under Secretary and the United
States Postal Service) except as otherwise provided in sec-
tion 1519 or 1520 and except for identifying passengers 
and baggage for screening under the CAPPS and known 
shipper programs and conducting positive bag-match pro-
grams. 
‘‘(b) SUPERVISION OF SCREENING.—All screening of 
passengers and property at airports in the United States 
where screening is required under this section shall be su-
pervised by uniformed Federal personnel of the Transpor-
tation Security Administration who shall have the power 
to order the dismissal of any individual performing such 
screening. 
‘‘(c) CHECKED BAGGAGE.—A system must be in op-
eration to screen all checked baggage at all airports in 
the United States as soon as practicable but not later than 
January 19, 2002. 
‘‘(d) EXPLOSIVE DETECTION SYSTEMS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary for 
Border and Transportation Security shall take all 
necessary action to ensure that—
‘‘(A) explosive detection systems are de-
ployed as soon as possible to ensure that all 
United States airports described in section 
1503(c) have sufficient explosive detection sys-
tems to screen all checked baggage no later
than December 31, 2002, and that as soon as 
such systems are in place at an airport, all 
checked baggage at the airport is screened by 
those systems; and 
‘‘(B) all systems deployed under subpara-
graph (A) are fully utilized; and 
‘‘(C) if explosive detection equipment at an 
airport is unavailable, all checked baggage is 
screened by an alternative means. 
‘‘(2) DEADLINE.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If, in his discretion or 
at the request of an airport, the Under Sec-
retary determines that the Transportation Se-
curity Administration is not able to deploy ex-
plosive detection systems required to be de-
ployed under paragraph (1) at all airports 
where explosive detection systems are required 
by December 31, 2002, then with respect to 
each airport for which the Under Secretary 
makes that determination—
‘‘(i) the Under Secretary shall submit 
to the Senate Committee on Commerce, 
Science, and Transportation and the 
House of Representatives Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure a de-
tailed plan (which may be submitted in 
classified form) for the deployment of the 
number of explosive detection systems at 
that airport necessary to meet the require-
ments of paragraph (1) as soon as prac-
ticable at that airport but in no event later 
than December 31, 2003; and 
‘‘(ii) the Under Secretary shall take 
all necessary action to ensure that alter-
native means of screening all checked bag-
gage is implemented until the requirements 
of paragraph (1) have been met. 
‘‘(B) CRITERIA FOR DETERMINATION.—In 
making a determination under subparagraph 
(A), the Under Secretary shall take into ac-
count—
‘‘(i) the nature and extent of the re-
quired modifications to the airport’s ter-
minal buildings, and the technical, engi-
neering, design, and construction issues; 
‘‘(ii) the need to ensure that such in-
stallations and modifications are effective; 
and 
‘‘(iii) the feasibility and cost-effective-
ness of deploying explosive detection sys-
tems in the baggage sorting area or other 
non-public area rather than the lobby of an 
airport terminal building. 
‘‘(C) RESPONSE.—The Under Secretary 
shall respond to the request of an airport under 
subparagraph (A) within 14 days of receiving 
the request. A denial of a request shall create 
no right of appeal or judicial review. 
‘‘(D) AIRPORT EFFORT REQUIRED.—Each 
airport with respect to which the Under Sec-
retary makes a determination under subpara-
graph (A) shall cooperate fully with the Under 
Secretary with respect to screening checked 
baggage and changes to accommodate explosive 
detection systems. 
‘‘(3) REPORTS.—Until the Under Secretary has 
met the requirements of paragraph (1), the Under 
Secretary shall submit a classified report every 30 
days after December 31, 2002, to the Senate Com-
mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 
and the House of Representatives Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure describing the 
progress made toward meeting such requirements at 
each airport.
‘‘(e) MANDATORY SCREENING WHERE EDS NOT 
YET AVAILABLE.—As soon as practicable but not later 
than January 19, 2002, and until the requirements of sub-
section (d)(1) are met, the Under Secretary shall require 
alternative means for screening any piece of checked bag-
gage that is not screened by an explosive detection system. 
Such alternative means may include 1 or more of the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(1) A bag-match program that ensures that no 
checked baggage is placed aboard an aircraft unless 
the passenger who checked the baggage is aboard 
the aircraft. 
‘‘(2) Manual search. 
‘‘(3) Search by canine explosive detection units 
in combination with other means. 
‘‘(4) Other means or technology approved by 
the Under Secretary. 
‘‘(f) CARGO DEADLINE.—A system must be in oper-
ation to screen, inspect, or otherwise ensure the security 
of all cargo that is to be transported in all-cargo aircraft 
in air transportation and intrastate air transportation as 
soon as practicable after November 19, 2001. 
‘‘(g) DEPLOYMENT OF ARMED PERSONNEL.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary shall 
order the deployment of law enforcement personnel
authorized to carry firearms at each airport security 
screening location to ensure passenger safety and 
national security. The Under Secretary may allow 
law enforcement personnel to be stationed other 
than at the airport security screening location if that 
would be preferable for law enforcement purposes 
and if such personnel would still be able to provide 
prompt responsiveness to problems occurring at the 
screening location. 
‘‘(2) MINIMUM
REQUIREMENTS.—The Under 
Secretary shall order the deployment of at least 1 
law enforcement officer at each airport security 
screening location. At the 100 largest airports in the 
United States, in terms of annual passenger 
enplanements for the most recent calendar year for 
which data are available, the Under Secretary shall 
order the deployment of additional law enforcement 
personnel at airport security screening locations if 
the Under Secretary determines that the additional 
deployment is necessary to ensure passenger safety 
and national security. 
‘‘(h) EXEMPTIONS
AND ADVISING CONGRESS
ON 
REGULATIONS.—The Under Secretary—
‘‘(1) may exempt from this section air transpor-
tation operations, except scheduled passenger oper-
ations of an air carrier providing air transportation 
under a certificate issued under section 41102 or a 
permit issued under section 41302; and 
‘‘(2) shall advise Congress of a regulation to be 
prescribed under this section at least 30 days before 
the effective date of the regulation, unless the Under 
Secretary decides an emergency exists requiring the 
regulation to become effective in fewer than 30 days 
and notifies Congress of that decision. 
‘‘(i) SPECIAL RULES.—
‘‘(1) LIMITATION ON LIABILITY.—An officer or 
employee of the United States, acting in good faith 
and within the scope of employment, shall not be lia-
ble for any claim arising from the inspection of per-
sons or property performed under the authority of 
this section or section 1503. 
‘‘(2) NONAPPLICABILITY
OF
FEDERAL
TORT 
CLAIMS ACT TO CERTAIN CLAIMS.—The provisions of 
chapter 171 and section 1346(b) of title 28, United 
States Code, shall not apply to any claim arising 
from the loss, detention, or negligent handling of 
property subject to inspection or security screening 
operations under this section or section 1503. 
‘‘(3) SETTLEMENT
OF
SMALL
CLAIMS.—The 
provisions of section 3723 of title 31 shall apply to
any claim arising from the loss, detention, or neg-
ligent handling of property subject to inspection or 
security screening operations under this section or 
section 1503; except that the maximum amount for 
which such a claim may be settled under section 
3723(a) shall be $2,500. 
‘‘§ 1502. Refusal to transport passengers and prop-
erty 
‘‘(a) MANDATORY REFUSAL.—The Under Secretary 
for Border and Transportation Security shall prescribe 
regulations requiring an air carrier, intrastate air carrier, 
or foreign air carrier to refuse to transport—
‘‘(1) a passenger who does not consent to a 
search under section 1501(a) establishing whether 
the passenger is carrying unlawfully a dangerous 
weapon, explosive, or other destructive substance; or 
‘‘(2) property of a passenger who does not con-
sent to a search of the property establishing whether 
the property unlawfully contains a dangerous weap-
on, explosive, or other destructive substance. 
‘‘(b) PERMISSIVE REFUSAL.—Subject to regulations 
of the Under Secretary, an air carrier, intrastate air car-
rier, or foreign air carrier may refuse to transport a pas-
senger or property the carrier decides is, or might be, in-
imical to safety.
‘‘(c) AGREEING
TO
CONSENT
TO
SEARCH.—An 
agreement to carry passengers or property in air transpor-
tation or intrastate air transportation by an air carrier, 
intrastate air carrier, or foreign air carrier is deemed to 
include an agreement that the passenger or property will 
not be carried if consent to search the passenger or prop-
erty for a purpose referred to in this section is not given. 
‘‘§ 1503. Air transportation security 
‘‘(a) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘law en-
forcement personnel’ means individuals—
‘‘(1) authorized to carry and use firearms; 
‘‘(2) vested with the degree of the police power 
of arrest the Under Secretary for Border and Trans-
portation Security considers necessary to carry out 
this section; and 
‘‘(3) identifiable by appropriate indicia of au-
thority. 
‘‘(b) PROTECTION
AGAINST
VIOLENCE
AND
PI-
RACY.—The Under Secretary shall prescribe regulations 
to protect passengers and property on an aircraft oper-
ating in air transportation or intrastate air transportation 
against an act of criminal violence or aircraft piracy. 
When prescribing a regulation under this subsection, the 
Under Secretary shall—
‘‘(1) consult with the Secretary of Transpor-
tation, the Attorney General, the heads of other de-
partments, agencies, and instrumentalities of the 
United States Government, and State and local au-
thorities; 
‘‘(2) consider whether a proposed regulation is 
consistent with—
‘‘(A) protecting passengers; and 
‘‘(B) the public interest in promoting air 
transportation and intrastate air transpor-
tation; 
‘‘(3) to the maximum extent practicable, require 
a uniform procedure for searching and detaining 
passengers and property to ensure—
‘‘(A) their safety; and 
‘‘(B) courteous and efficient treatment by 
an air carrier, an agent or employee of an air 
carrier, and Government, State, and local law 
enforcement personnel carrying out this section; 
and 
‘‘(4) consider the extent to which a proposed 
regulation will carry out this section. 
‘‘(c) SECURITY PROGRAMS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—
‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Under Sec-
retary shall prescribe regulations under sub-
section (b) that require each operator of an air-
port regularly serving an air carrier holding a 
certificate issued by the Secretary of Transpor-
tation to establish an air transportation security 
program that provides a law enforcement pres-
ence and capability at each of those airports 
that is adequate to ensure the safety of pas-
sengers. 
‘‘(B) USE
OF
LAW
ENFORCEMENT
PER-
SONNEL.—
‘‘(i) STATE, LOCAL, AND PRIVATE.—
The regulations shall authorize an operator 
of an airport to use the services of quali-
fied State, local, and private law enforce-
ment personnel. 
‘‘(ii) FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.—When 
the Under Secretary decides, after being 
notified by an operator of an airport in the 
form the Under Secretary prescribes, that 
not enough qualified State, local, and pri-
vate law enforcement personnel are avail-
able to carry out subsection (b), the Under 
Secretary may authorize the operator to
use, on a reimbursable basis, personnel 
employed by the Under Secretary, or by 
another department, agency, or instrumen-
tality of the Government with the consent 
of the head of the department, agency, or 
instrumentality, to supplement State, local, 
and private law enforcement personnel. 
When deciding whether additional per-
sonnel are needed, the Under Secretary 
shall consider the number of passengers 
boarded at the airport, the extent of antici-
pated risk of criminal violence or aircraft 
piracy at the airport or to the air carrier 
aircraft operations at the airport, and the 
availability of qualified State or local law 
enforcement personnel at the airport. 
‘‘(2) APPROVAL.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary 
may approve a security program of an airport 
operator, or an amendment in an existing pro-
gram, that incorporates a security program of 
an airport tenant (except an air carrier sepa-
rately complying with part 108 or 129 of title 
14, Code of Federal Regulations, or any suc-
cessor regulation) having access to a secured
area of the airport if the program or amend-
ment incorporates—
‘‘(i) the measures the tenant will use, 
within the tenant’s leased areas or areas 
designated for the tenant’s exclusive use 
under an agreement with the airport oper-
ator, to carry out the security require-
ments imposed by the Under Secretary on 
the airport operator under the access con-
trol system requirements of section 107.14 
of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (or 
any successor regulation), or under other 
requirements of part 107 of title 14 (or 
any successor regulation); and 
‘‘(ii) the methods the airport operator 
will use to monitor and audit the tenant’s 
compliance with the security requirements 
and provides that the tenant will be re-
quired to pay monetary penalties to the 
airport operator if the tenant fails to carry 
out a security requirement under a con-
tractual provision or requirement imposed 
by the airport operator. 
‘‘(B) EFFECT
OF
APPROVAL.—If the 
Under Secretary approves a program or amend-
ment described in subparagraph (A), the air-
port operator may not be found to be in viola-
tion of a requirement of this subsection or sub-
section (b) when the airport operator dem-
onstrates that the tenant or an employee, per-
mittee, or invitee of the tenant is responsible 
for the violation and that the airport operator 
has complied with all measures in its security 
program for securing compliance with its secu-
rity program by the tenant. 
‘‘(C) USE OF CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL 
WEAPON DETECTION EQUIPMENT.—The Under 
Secretary may require airports to maximize the 
use of technology and equipment that is de-
signed to detect or neutralize potential chemical 
or biological weapons. 
‘‘(3) PILOT PROGRAMS.—The Under Secretary 
shall establish pilot programs in no fewer than 20 
airports to test and evaluate new and emerging tech-
nology for providing access control and other secu-
rity protections for closed or secure areas of the air-
ports. Such technology may include biometric or 
other technology that ensures only authorized access 
to secure areas.
‘‘(d) AUTHORIZING INDIVIDUALS TO CARRY FIRE-
ARMS AND MAKE ARRESTS.—With the approval of the At-
torney General and the Secretary of State, the Secretary 
of Homeland Security may authorize an individual who 
carries out air transportation security duties—
‘‘(1) to carry firearms; and 
‘‘(2) to make arrests without warrant for an of-
fense against the United States committed in the 
presence of the individual or for a felony under the 
laws of the United States, if the individual reason-
ably believes the individual to be arrested has com-
mitted or is committing a felony. 
‘‘(e) EXCLUSIVE RESPONSIBILITY OVER PASSENGER 
SAFETY.—The Under Secretary has the exclusive respon-
sibility to direct law enforcement activity related to the 
safety of passengers on an aircraft involved in an offense 
under section 46502 from the moment all external doors 
of the aircraft are closed following boarding until those 
doors are opened to allow passengers to leave the aircraft. 
When requested by the Under Secretary, other depart-
ments, agencies, and instrumentalities of the Government 
shall provide assistance necessary to carry out this sub-
section. 
‘‘(f) GOVERNMENT
AND INDUSTRY CONSORTIA.—
The Under Secretary may establish at airports such con-
sortia of government and aviation industry representatives 
as the Under Secretary may designate to provide advice 
on matters related to aviation security. Such consortia 
shall not be considered Federal advisory committees for 
purposes of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 
U.S.C. App.). 
‘‘(g) IMPROVEMENT
OF
SECURED-AREA
ACCESS 
CONTROL.—
‘‘(1) ENFORCEMENT.—
‘‘(A) UNDER
SECRETARY
TO
PUBLISH 
SANCTIONS.—The Under Secretary shall pub-
lish in the Federal Register a list of sanctions 
for use as guidelines in the discipline of employ-
ees for infractions of airport access control re-
quirements. The guidelines shall incorporate a 
progressive disciplinary approach that relates 
proposed sanctions to the severity or recurring 
nature of the infraction and shall include meas-
ures such as remedial training, suspension from 
security-related duties, suspension from all du-
ties without pay, and termination of employ-
ment. 
‘‘(B) USE OF SANCTIONS.—Each airport 
operator, air carrier, and security screening 
company shall include the list of sanctions pub-
lished by the Under Secretary in its security 
program. The security program shall include a 
process for taking prompt disciplinary action 
against an employee who commits an infraction 
of airport access control requirements. 
‘‘(2) IMPROVEMENTS.—The Under Secretary 
shall—
‘‘(A) work with airport operators and air 
carriers to implement and strengthen existing 
controls to eliminate airport access control 
weaknesses; 
‘‘(B) require airport operators and air car-
riers to develop and implement comprehensive 
and recurring training programs that teach em-
ployees their roles in airport security, the im-
portance of their participation, how their per-
formance will be evaluated, and what action will 
be taken if they fail to perform; 
‘‘(C) require airport operators and air car-
riers to develop and implement programs that 
foster and reward compliance with airport ac-
cess control requirements and discourage and 
penalize noncompliance in accordance with 
guidelines issued by the Under Secretary to 
measure employee compliance;
‘‘(D) on an ongoing basis, assess and test 
for compliance with access control require-
ments, report annually findings of the assess-
ments, and assess the effectiveness of penalties 
in ensuring compliance with security procedures 
and take any other appropriate enforcement ac-
tions when noncompliance is found; 
‘‘(E) improve and better administer the 
Under Secretary’s security database to ensure 
its efficiency, reliability, and usefulness for 
identification of systemic problems and alloca-
tion of resources; 
‘‘(F) improve the execution of the Under 
Secretary’s quality control program; and 
‘‘(G) work with airport operators to 
strengthen access control points in secured 
areas (including air traffic control operations 
areas, maintenance areas, crew lounges, bag-
gage handling areas, concessions, and catering 
delivery areas) to ensure the security of pas-
sengers and aircraft and consider the deploy-
ment of biometric or similar technologies that 
identify individuals based on unique personal 
characteristics.
‘‘(h) IMPROVED AIRPORT PERIMETER ACCESS SECU-
RITY.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary, in 
consultation with the airport operator and law en-
forcement authorities, may order the deployment of 
such personnel at any secure area of the airport as 
necessary to counter the risk of criminal violence, 
the risk of aircraft piracy at the airport, the risk to 
air carrier aircraft operations at the airport, or to 
meet national security concerns. 
‘‘(2) SECURITY OF AIRCRAFT AND GROUND AC-
CESS TO SECURE AREAS.—In determining where to 
deploy such personnel, the Under Secretary shall 
consider the physical security needs of air traffic 
control facilities, parked aircraft, aircraft servicing 
equipment, aircraft supplies (including fuel), auto-
mobile parking facilities within airport perimeters or 
adjacent to secured facilities, and access and transi-
tion areas at airports served by other means of 
ground or water transportation. 
‘‘(3) DEPLOYMENT
OF
FEDERAL
LAW
EN-
FORCEMENT
PERSONNEL.—The Under Secretary 
may enter into a memorandum of understanding or 
other agreement with the Attorney General or the 
head of any other appropriate Federal law enforce-
ment agency to deploy Federal law enforcement per-
sonnel at an airport in order to meet aviation safety 
and security concerns. 
‘‘(4) AIRPORT
PERIMETER
SCREENING.—The 
Under Secretary—
‘‘(A) shall require screening or inspection 
of all individuals, including employees of airport 
operators, employees of air carriers or foreign 
air carriers, and employees of concessionaires, 
before entry into a sterile area of an airport in 
the United States described in subsection (c); 
‘‘(B) shall require, as soon as practicable 
after November 19, 2001, screening or inspec-
tion of all individuals, goods, property, vehicles, 
and other equipment before entry into a secured 
area of an airport in the United States de-
scribed in section 1503(c); 
‘‘(C) shall prescribe specific requirements 
for such screening and inspection that will as-
sure at least the same level of protection as will 
result from screening of passengers and their 
baggage; 
‘‘(D) shall establish procedures to ensure 
the safety and integrity of—
‘‘(i) all persons providing services with 
respect to aircraft providing passenger air 
transportation or intrastate air transpor-
tation and facilities of such persons at an 
airport in the United States described in 
section 1503(c); 
‘‘(ii) all supplies, including catering 
and passenger amenities, placed aboard 
such aircraft, including the sealing of sup-
plies to ensure easy visual detection of 
tampering; and 
‘‘(iii) all persons providing such sup-
plies and facilities of such persons; 
‘‘(E) shall require vendors having direct 
access to the airfield and aircraft to develop se-
curity programs; and 
‘‘(F) may provide for the use of biometric 
or other technology that positively verifies the 
identity of each employee and law enforcement 
officer who enters a secure area of an airport. 
‘‘(i) AUTHORITY TO ARM FLIGHT DECK CREW WITH 
LESS-THAN-LETHAL WEAPONS.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—If the Under Secretary, 
after receiving the recommendations of the National 
Institute of Justice, determines, with the approval of
Under Secretary shall respond to that request within 
90 days. 
‘‘(j) SHORT-TERM ASSESSMENT AND DEPLOYMENT 
OF EMERGING SECURITY TECHNOLOGIES AND PROCE-
DURES.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary shall 
recommend to airport operators commercially avail-
able measures or procedures to prevent access to se-
cure airport areas by unauthorized persons. As part 
of the assessment, the Under Secretary shall—
‘‘(A) review the effectiveness of biometrics 
systems currently in use at several United 
States airports, including San Francisco Inter-
national; 
‘‘(B) review the effectiveness of increased 
surveillance at access points; 
‘‘(C) review the effectiveness of card- or 
keypad-based access systems; 
‘‘(D) review the effectiveness of airport 
emergency exit systems and determine whether 
those that lead to secure areas of the airport 
should be monitored or how breaches can be 
swiftly responded to; and 
‘‘(E) specifically target the elimination of 
the ‘piggy-backing’ phenomenon, where another
person follows an authorized person through the 
access point. 
The assessment shall include a deployment strategy 
for currently available technology at all category X 
airports, as defined in the Federal Aviation Adminis-
tration approved air carrier security programs re-
quired under part 108 of title 14, Code of Federal 
Regulations (or any successor regulation). The 
Under Secretary shall conduct a review of reductions 
in unauthorized access at these airports. 
‘‘(2) 
COMPUTER-ASSISTED
PASSENGER 
PRESCREENING SYSTEM.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary 
shall ensure that the Computer-Assisted Pas-
senger Prescreening System, or any successor 
system—
‘‘(i) is used to evaluate all passengers 
before they board an aircraft; and 
‘‘(ii) includes procedures to ensure 
that individuals selected by the system and 
their carry-on and checked baggage are 
adequately screened. 
‘‘(B) MODIFICATIONS.—The Under Sec-
retary may modify any requirement under the 
Computer-Assisted Passenger Prescreening Sys-
tem for flights that originate and terminate 
within the same State if the Under Secretary 
determines that—
‘‘(i) the State has extraordinary air 
transportation needs or concerns due to its 
isolation and dependence on air transpor-
tation; and 
‘‘(ii) the routine characteristics of 
passengers, given the nature of the market, 
regularly triggers primary selectee status. 
‘‘(k) LIMITATION
ON
LIABILITY
FOR
ACTS
TO 
THWART CRIMINAL VIOLENCE OR AIRCRAFT PIRACY.—
An individual shall not be liable for damages in any action 
brought in a Federal or State court arising out of the acts 
of the individual in attempting to thwart an act of criminal 
violence or piracy on an aircraft if that individual reason-
ably believed that such an act of criminal violence or pi-
racy was occurring or was about to occur. 
‘‘§ 1504. Domestic air transportation system security 
‘‘(a) ASSESSING THREATS.—The Under Secretary 
for Border and Transportation Security and the Director 
of the Federal Bureau of Investigation jointly shall assess 
current and potential threats to the domestic air transpor-
tation system. The assessment shall include consideration 
of the extent to which there are individuals with the capa-
bility and intent to carry out terrorist or related unlawful 
acts against that system and the ways in which those indi-
viduals might carry out those acts. The Under Secretary 
and the Director jointly shall decide on and carry out the 
most effective method for continuous analysis and moni-
toring of security threats to that system. 
‘‘(b) ASSESSING SECURITY.—In coordination with 
the Director, the Under Secretary shall carry out periodic 
threat and vulnerability assessments on security at each 
airport that is part of the domestic air transportation sys-
tem. Each assessment shall include consideration of—
‘‘(1) the adequacy of security procedures re-
lated to the handling and transportation of checked 
baggage and cargo; 
‘‘(2) space requirements for security personnel 
and equipment; 
‘‘(3) separation of screened and unscreened 
passengers, baggage, and cargo; 
‘‘(4) separation of the controlled and uncon-
trolled areas of airport facilities; and 
‘‘(5) coordination of the activities of security 
personnel of the Transportation Security Adminis-
tration, the United States Customs Service, the Im-
migration and Naturalization Service, and air car-
riers, and of other law enforcement personnel.
‘‘(c) IMPROVING SECURITY.—The Under Secretary 
shall take necessary actions to improve domestic air trans-
portation security by correcting any deficiencies in that 
security discovered in the assessments, analyses, and mon-
itoring carried out under this section. 
‘‘§ 1505. Information about threats to civil aviation 
‘‘(a) PROVIDING INFORMATION.—Under guidelines 
the Under Secretary for Border and Transportation Secu-
rity prescribes, an air carrier, airport operator, ticket 
agent, or individual employed by an air carrier, airport 
operator, or ticket agent, receiving information (except a 
communication directed by the United States Govern-
ment) about a threat to civil aviation shall provide the in-
formation promptly to the Under Secretary. 
‘‘(b) FLIGHT CANCELLATION.—If a decision is made 
that a particular threat cannot be addressed in a way ade-
quate to ensure, to the extent feasible, the safety of pas-
sengers and crew of a particular flight or series of flights, 
the Under Secretary shall cancel the flight or series of 
flights. 
‘‘(c) GUIDELINES ON PUBLIC NOTICE.—
‘‘(1) DEVELOPMENT.—The President shall de-
velop guidelines for ensuring that public notice is 
provided in appropriate cases about threats to civil 
aviation.
‘‘(2) IDENTIFICATION OF RESPONSIBLE OFFI-
CIALS.— The guidelines shall identify officials re-
sponsible for—
‘‘(A) deciding, on a case-by-case basis, if 
public notice of a threat is in the best interest 
of the United States and the traveling public; 
‘‘(B) ensuring that public notice is pro-
vided in a timely and effective way, including 
the use of a toll-free telephone number; and 
‘‘(C) canceling the departure of a flight or 
series of flights under subsection (b). 
‘‘(3) FACTORS TO CONSIDER.—The guidelines 
shall provide for consideration of—
‘‘(A) the specificity of the threat; 
‘‘(B) the credibility of intelligence informa-
tion related to the threat; 
‘‘(C) the ability to counter the threat effec-
tively; 
‘‘(D) the protection of intelligence informa-
tion sources and methods; 
‘‘(E) cancellation, by an air carrier or the 
Under Secretary, of a flight or series of flights 
instead of public notice;
‘‘(F) the ability of passengers and crew to 
take steps to reduce the risk to their safety 
after receiving public notice of a threat; and 
‘‘(G) other factors the Under Secretary 
considers appropriate. 
‘‘(d) GUIDELINES
ON NOTICE
TO CREWS.—The 
Under Secretary shall develop guidelines for ensuring that 
notice in appropriate cases of threats to the security of 
an air carrier flight is provided to the flight crew and 
cabin crew of that flight. 
‘‘(e) LIMITATION ON NOTICE TO SELECTIVE TRAV-
ELERS.—Notice of a threat to civil aviation may be pro-
vided to selective potential travelers only if the threat ap-
plies only to those travelers. 
‘‘(f) RESTRICTING ACCESS TO INFORMATION.—In co-
operation with the departments, agencies, and instrumen-
talities of the Government that collect, receive, and ana-
lyze intelligence information related to aviation security, 
the Under Secretary shall develop procedures to minimize 
the number of individuals who have access to information 
about threats. However, a restriction on access to that in-
formation may be imposed only if the restriction does not 
diminish the ability of the Government to carry out its 
duties and powers related to aviation security effectively,
including providing notice to the public and flight and 
cabin crews under this section. 
‘‘(g) DISTRIBUTION
OF GUIDELINES.—The guide-
lines developed under this section shall be distributed for 
use by appropriate officials of the Department of Home-
land Security, the Department of Transportation, the De-
partment of State, the Department of Justice, and air car-
riers. 
‘‘§ 1506. Foreign air carrier security programs 
‘‘(a) ADOPTION AND USE.—The Under Secretary for 
Border and Transportation Security shall continue in ef-
fect the requirement of section 129.25 of title 14, Code 
of Federal Regulations (or any successor regulation), that 
a foreign air carrier must adopt and use a security pro-
gram approved by the Under Secretary. 
‘‘(b) APPROVAL.—The Under Secretary shall not ap-
prove a security program of a foreign air carrier under 
section 129.25 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, 
or any successor regulation, unless the security program 
requires the foreign air carrier in its operations to and 
from airports in the United States to adhere to the iden-
tical security measures that the Under Secretary requires 
air carriers serving the same airports to adhere to. 
‘‘(c) LIMITATION ON STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.—
Subsection (b) shall not be interpreted to limit the ability
of the Under Secretary to impose additional security 
measures on a foreign air carrier or an air carrier when 
the Under Secretary determines that a specific threat war-
rants such additional measures. 
‘‘(d) REGULATIONS.—The Under Secretary shall pre-
scribe regulations to carry out this section. 
‘‘§ 1507. Security standards at foreign airports 
‘‘(a) ASSESSMENT.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—At intervals the Secretary 
of Homeland Security considers necessary, the Sec-
retary shall assess the effectiveness of the security 
measures maintained at—
‘‘(A) a foreign airport—
‘‘(i) served by an air carrier; 
‘‘(ii) from which a foreign air carrier 
serves the United States; or 
‘‘(iii) that poses a high risk of intro-
ducing danger to international air travel; 
and 
‘‘(B) other foreign airports the Secretary 
considers appropriate. 
‘‘(2) SPECIAL RULES.—The Secretary shall con-
duct an assessment under paragraph (1)—
‘‘(A) in consultation with appropriate aero-
nautic authorities of the government of a for-
eign country concerned and each air carrier 
serving the foreign airport for which the Sec-
retary is conducting the assessment; 
‘‘(B) to establish the extent to which a for-
eign airport effectively maintains and carries 
out security measures; and 
‘‘(C) by using a standard that will result 
in an analysis of the security measures at the 
airport based at least on the standards and ap-
propriate recommended practices contained in 
Annex 17 to the Convention on International 
Civil Aviation in effect on the date of the as-
sessment. 
‘‘(3) INCLUSION
IN
BIENNIAL
SECURITY
RE-
PORTS.—Each report to Congress required under 
section 1538(b) shall contain a summary of the as-
sessments conducted under this subsection. 
‘‘(b) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out subsection 
(a), the Secretary of Homeland Security shall consult with 
the Secretary of State—
‘‘(1) on the terrorist threat that exists in each 
country; and 
‘‘(2) to establish which foreign airports are not 
under the de facto control of the government of the 
foreign country in which they are located and pose
a high risk of introducing danger to international air 
travel. 
‘‘(c) NOTIFYING FOREIGN AUTHORITIES.—When the 
Secretary of Homeland Security, after conducting an as-
sessment under subsection (a), decides that an airport 
does not maintain and carry out effective security meas-
ures, the Secretary, after advising the Secretary of State 
and the Secretary of Transportation, shall notify the ap-
propriate authorities of the government of the foreign 
country of the decision and recommend the steps nec-
essary to bring the security measures in use at the airport 
up to the standard used by the Secretary of Homeland 
Security in making the assessment. 
‘‘(d) ACTIONS WHEN AIRPORTS NOT MAINTAINING 
AND CARRYING OUT EFFECTIVE SECURITY MEASURES.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—When the Secretary of 
Homeland Security decides under this section that 
an airport does not maintain and carry out effective 
security measures—
‘‘(A) the Secretary shall—
‘‘(i) publish the identity of the airport 
in the Federal Register; 
‘‘(ii) have the identity of the airport 
posted and displayed prominently at all 
United States airports at which scheduled
air carrier operations are provided regu-
larly; and 
‘‘(iii) notify the news media of the 
identity of the airport; 
‘‘(B) each air carrier and foreign air car-
rier 
providing 
transportation 
between 
the 
United States and the airport shall provide 
written notice of the decision, on or with the 
ticket, to each passenger buying a ticket for 
transportation between the United States and 
the airport; 
‘‘(C) the Secretary shall notify the Sec-
retary of Transportation and, notwithstanding 
section 40105(b), the Secretary of Transpor-
tation, after consulting with the appropriate 
aeronautic authorities of the foreign country 
concerned and each air carrier serving the air-
port and with the approval of the Secretary of 
State, may withhold, revoke, or prescribe condi-
tions on the operating authority of an air car-
rier or foreign air carrier that uses that airport 
to provide foreign air transportation; and 
‘‘(D) the President may prohibit an air 
carrier or foreign air carrier from providing 
transportation between the United States and
any other foreign airport that is served by air-
craft flying to or from the airport with respect 
to which a decision is made under this section. 
‘‘(2) SPECIAL RULES.—
‘‘(A) EFFECTIVE
DATE.—Paragraph (1) 
becomes effective—
‘‘(i) 90 days after the government of 
a foreign country is notified under sub-
section (c) if the Secretary of Homeland 
Security finds that the government has not 
brought the security measures at the air-
port up to the standard the Secretary used 
in making an assessment under subsection 
(a); or 
‘‘(ii) immediately on the decision of 
the Secretary under subsection (c) if the 
Secretary decides, after consulting with the 
Secretary of State and the Secretary of 
Transportation, that a condition exists 
that threatens the security of passengers, 
aircraft, or crew traveling to or from the 
airport. 
‘‘(B) TRAVEL
ADVISORY.—The Secretary 
of Homeland Security immediately shall notify 
the Secretary of State of a decision referred to
in subparagraph (A)(ii) so that the Secretary of 
State may issue a travel advisory required 
under section 1508(a). 
‘‘(3) 
REPORT
TO
CONGRESS
ON
ACTION 
TAKEN.—The Secretary of Homeland Security 
promptly shall submit to Congress a report (and 
classified annex if necessary) on action taken under 
paragraph (1) or (2), including information on at-
tempts made to obtain the cooperation of the gov-
ernment of a foreign country in meeting the stand-
ard the Secretary used in assessing the airport 
under subsection (a). 
‘‘(4) ACTION NO LONGER REQUIRED.—An ac-
tion required under paragraph (1)(A) and (B) is no 
longer required only if the Secretary of Homeland 
Security, in consultation with the Secretary of State 
and the Secretary of Transportation, decides that ef-
fective security measures are maintained and carried 
out at the airport. The Secretary of Homeland Secu-
rity shall notify Congress when the action is no 
longer required to be taken. 
‘‘(e) 
SUSPENSIONS.—Notwithstanding 
sections 
40105(b) and 40106(b), the Secretary of Transportation, 
with the approval of the Secretary of State and without 
notice or a hearing, shall suspend the right of an air car-
rier or foreign air carrier to provide foreign air transpor-
tation, and the right of a person to operate aircraft in 
foreign air commerce, to or from a foreign airport when—
‘‘(1) the Secretary of Homeland Security noti-
fies the Secretary of Transportation that a condition 
exists that threatens the security of passengers, air-
craft, or crew traveling to or from that airport; and 
‘‘(2) the Secretary of Transportation deter-
mines that the public interest requires an immediate 
suspension of transportation between the United 
States and that airport. 
‘‘(f) CONDITION OF CARRIER AUTHORITY.—This sec-
tion is a condition to authority the Secretary of Transpor-
tation grants under part A of subtitle VII to an air carrier 
or foreign air carrier. 
‘‘§ 1508. Travel advisory and suspension of foreign 
assistance 
‘‘(a) TRAVEL ADVISORIES.—On being notified by the 
Secretary of Homeland Security that the Secretary has de-
cided under section 1507 that a foreign airport does not 
maintain and carry out effective security measures, the 
Secretary of State—
‘‘(1) immediately shall issue a travel advisory 
for that airport; and 
‘‘(2) shall publicize the advisory widely.
‘‘(b) SUSPENDING ASSISTANCE.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The President shall sus-
pend assistance provided under the Foreign Assist-
ance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) or the 
Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.) 
to a country in which is located an airport with re-
spect to which section 1507(d)(1) becomes effective 
if the Secretary of State decides the country is a 
high terrorist threat country. 
‘‘(2) WAIVER.—The President may waive this 
subsection if the President decides, and reports to 
Congress, that the waiver is required because of na-
tional security interests or a humanitarian emer-
gency. 
‘‘(c) ACTIONS NO LONGER REQUIRED.—An action 
required under this section is no longer required only if 
the Secretary of Homeland Security has made a decision 
as provided under section 1507(d)(4). The Secretary shall 
notify Congress when the action is no longer required to 
be taken. 
‘‘§ 1509. Passenger manifests 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Each air carrier and foreign air 
carrier operating a passenger flight in foreign air trans-
portation to the United States shall provide to the Com-
missioner of Customs by electronic transmission a pas-
senger and crew manifest containing the information spec-
ified in subsection (b). Carriers may use the advanced pas-
senger information system established under section 431 
of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1431) to provide 
the information required by the preceding sentence. 
‘‘(b) INFORMATION.—A passenger and crew manifest 
for a flight required under subsection (a) shall contain the 
following information: 
‘‘(1) The full name of each passenger and crew 
member. 
‘‘(2) The date of birth and citizenship of each 
passenger and crew member. 
‘‘(3) The sex of each passenger and crew mem-
ber. 
‘‘(4) The passport number and country of 
issuance of each passenger and crew member if re-
quired for travel. 
‘‘(5) The United States visa number or resident 
alien card number of each passenger and crew mem-
ber, as applicable. 
‘‘(6) Such other information as the Under Sec-
retary for Border and Transportation Security, in 
consultation with the Commissioner of Customs, de-
termines is reasonably necessary to ensure aviation 
security.
‘‘(c) PASSENGER NAME RECORDS.—The carriers 
shall make passenger name record information available 
to the Customs Service upon request. 
‘‘(d) TRANSMISSION OF MANIFEST.—Subject to sub-
section (e), a passenger and crew manifest required for 
a flight under subsection (a) shall be transmitted to the 
Customs Service in advance of the aircraft landing in the 
United States in such manner, time, and form as the Cus-
toms Service prescribes. 
‘‘(e) TRANSMISSION OF MANIFESTS TO OTHER FED-
ERAL AGENCIES.—Upon request, information provided to 
the Under Secretary or the Customs Service under this 
section may be shared with other Federal agencies for the 
purpose of protecting national security. 
‘‘§ 1510. Agreements on aircraft sabotage, aircraft hi-
jacking, and airport security 
‘‘The Secretary of State shall seek multilateral and 
bilateral agreement on strengthening enforcement meas-
ures and standards for compliance related to aircraft sabo-
tage, aircraft hijacking, and airport security. 
‘‘§ 1511. Intelligence 
‘‘(a) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘intel-
ligence community’ means the intelligence and intel-
ligence-related activities of the following units of the 
United States Government:
‘‘(1) The Department of Homeland Security. 
‘‘(2) The Department of State. 
‘‘(3) The Department of Defense. 
‘‘(4) The Department of the Treasury. 
‘‘(5) The Department of Energy. 
‘‘(6) The Departments of the Army, Navy, and 
Air Force. 
‘‘(7) The Central Intelligence Agency. 
‘‘(8) The National Security Agency. 
‘‘(9) The Defense Intelligence Agency. 
‘‘(10) The Federal Bureau of Investigation. 
‘‘(11) The Drug Enforcement Administration. 
‘‘(b) POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ON REPORT AVAIL-
ABILITY.—The head of each unit in the intelligence com-
munity shall prescribe policies and procedures to ensure 
that intelligence reports about terrorism are made avail-
able, as appropriate, to the heads of other units in the 
intelligence community, the Secretary of Transportation, 
and the Under Secretary for Border and Transportation 
Security. 
‘‘(c) UNIT
FOR STRATEGIC PLANNING
ON TER-
RORISM.—The heads of the units in the intelligence com-
munity shall place greater emphasis on strategic intel-
ligence efforts by establishing a unit for strategic planning 
on terrorism.
‘‘(d) DESIGNATION OF INTELLIGENCE OFFICER.—At 
the request of the Under Secretary, the Director of Cen-
tral Intelligence shall designate at least one intelligence 
officer of the Central Intelligence Agency to serve in a sen-
ior position in the Office of the Under Secretary. 
‘‘(e) WRITTEN WORKING AGREEMENTS.—The heads 
of units in the intelligence community and the Under Sec-
retary shall review and, as appropriate, revise written 
working agreements between the intelligence community 
and the Under Secretary. 
‘‘§ 1512. Research and development 
‘‘(a) PROGRAM REQUIREMENT.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary for 
Border and Transportation Security shall establish 
and carry out a program to accelerate and expand 
the research, development, and implementation of 
technologies and procedures to counteract terrorist 
acts against civil aviation. The program shall provide 
for developing and having in place new equipment 
and procedures necessary to meet the technological 
challenges presented by terrorism. The program 
shall include research on, and development of, tech-
nological improvements and ways to enhance human 
performance.
‘‘(2) SPECIAL RULES.—In designing and car-
rying out the program established under this sub-
section, the Under Secretary shall—
‘‘(A) consult and coordinate activities with 
other departments, agencies, and instrumental-
ities of the United States Government doing 
similar research; 
‘‘(B) identify departments, agencies, and 
instrumentalities that would benefit from that 
research; and 
‘‘(C) seek cost-sharing agreements with 
those departments, agencies, and instrumental-
ities. 
‘‘(3) CONSIDERATION OF CERTAIN ANNUAL RE-
PORTS.—In carrying out the program established 
under this subsection, the Under Secretary shall re-
view and consider the annual reports submitted to 
Congress on transportation security and intelligence. 
‘‘(4) RESPONSIBLE INDIVIDUAL.—
‘‘(A) DESIGNATION.—In carrying out the 
program established under this subsection, the 
Under Secretary shall designate an individual 
to be responsible for engineering, research, and 
development with respect to security technology 
under the program.
‘‘(B) USE
OF
MODELS.—The individual 
designated under subparagraph (A) shall use 
appropriate systems engineering and risk man-
agement models in making decisions regarding 
the allocation of funds for engineering, re-
search, and development with respect to secu-
rity technology under the program. 
‘‘(C) ANNUAL
REPORT.—The individual 
designated under subparagraph (A) shall sub-
mit, on an annual basis, to the Under Secretary 
a report on activities under this paragraph dur-
ing the preceding year. Each report shall in-
clude, for the year covered by such report, in-
formation on—
‘‘(i) progress made in engineering, re-
search, and development with respect to 
security technology; 
‘‘(ii) the allocation of funds for engi-
neering, research, and development with 
respect to security technology; and 
‘‘(iii) engineering, research, and devel-
opment with respect to any technologies 
drawn from other agencies, including the 
rationale for engineering, research, and de-
velopment with respect to such tech-
nologies. 
‘‘(5) AUTHORITY FOR GRANTS AND COOPERA-
TION AGREEMENTS.—The Under Secretary may—
‘‘(A) make grants to institutions of higher 
learning and other appropriate research facili-
ties with demonstrated ability to carry out re-
search described in paragraph (1) and fix the 
amounts and terms of the grants; and 
‘‘(B) make cooperative agreements with 
governmental authorities the Under Secretary 
decides are appropriate. 
‘‘(b) REVIEW OF THREATS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary shall 
periodically review threats to civil aviation, with par-
ticular focus on—
‘‘(A) a comprehensive systems analysis 
(employing vulnerability analysis, threat at-
tribute definition, and technology roadmaps) of 
the civil aviation system, including—
‘‘(i) the destruction, commandeering, 
or diversion of civil aircraft or the use of 
civil aircraft as a weapon; and 
‘‘(ii) the disruption of civil aviation 
service, including by cyber attack;
‘‘(B) explosive material that presents the 
most significant threat to civil aircraft; 
‘‘(C) the minimum amounts, configura-
tions, and types of explosive material that can 
cause, or would reasonably be expected to 
cause, catastrophic damage to aircraft in air 
transportation; 
‘‘(D) the amounts, configurations, and 
types of explosive material that can be detected 
reliably by existing, or reasonably anticipated, 
near-term explosive detection technologies; 
‘‘(E) the potential release of chemical, bio-
logical, or similar weapons or devices either 
within an aircraft or within an airport; 
‘‘(F) the feasibility of using various ways 
to minimize damage caused by explosive mate-
rial that cannot be detected reliably by existing, 
or reasonably anticipated, near-term explosive 
detection technologies; 
‘‘(G) the ability to screen passengers, 
carry-on baggage, checked baggage, and cargo; 
and 
‘‘(H) the technologies that might be used 
in the future to attempt to destroy or otherwise 
threaten commercial aircraft and the way in
which those technologies can be countered effec-
tively. 
‘‘(2) USE OF RESULTS.—The Under Secretary 
shall use the results of the review under this sub-
section to develop the focus and priorities of the pro-
gram established under subsection (a). 
‘‘(c) SCIENTIFIC ADVISORY PANEL.—
‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Under Secretary 
shall establish a scientific advisory panel to review, 
comment on, advise the progress of, and recommend 
modifications in, the program established under sub-
section (a), including the need for long-range re-
search programs to detect and prevent catastrophic 
damage to commercial aircraft, commercial aviation 
facilities, commercial aviation personnel and pas-
sengers, and other components of the commercial 
aviation system by the next generation of terrorist 
weapons. 
‘‘(2) MEMBERS.—
‘‘(A) SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL EXPER-
TISE.—The advisory panel shall consist of indi-
viduals who have scientific and technical exper-
tise in—
‘‘(i) the development and testing of ef-
fective explosive detection systems;
‘‘(ii) aircraft structure and experimen-
tation to decide on the type and minimum 
weights of explosives that an effective ex-
plosive detection technology must be capa-
ble of detecting; 
‘‘(iii) technologies involved in mini-
mizing airframe damage to aircraft from 
explosives; and 
‘‘(iv) other scientific and technical 
areas the Under Secretary considers appro-
priate. 
‘‘(B) CONSIDERATION OF CERTAIN INDI-
VIDUALS.—In appointing individuals to the ad-
visory panel, the Under Secretary should con-
sider individuals from academia and the na-
tional laboratories, as appropriate. 
‘‘(3) ORGANIZATION INTO TEAMS.—The Under 
Secretary shall organize the advisory panel into 
teams capable of undertaking the review of policies 
and technologies upon request. 
‘‘(4) REVIEW OF MEMBERS.—Every two years, 
the Under Secretary shall review the composition of 
the advisory panel in order to ensure that the exper-
tise of the individuals on the panel is suited to the 
current and anticipated duties of the panel.
‘‘(d) MAN-PORTABLE AIR DEFENSE SYSTEMS.—The 
Under Secretary shall establish and carry out a program 
to protect commercial aircraft from the threat posed by 
man-portable air defense systems in order to reduce the 
cost of technology to provide such protection and adapt 
military countermeasure systems to commercial aircraft. 
‘‘§ 1513. Explosive detection 
‘‘(a) DEPLOYMENT
AND
PURCHASE
OF
EQUIP-
MENT.—
‘‘(1) CERTIFICATION.—A deployment or pur-
chase of explosive detection equipment under section 
108.7(b)(8) or 108.20 of title 14, Code of Federal 
Regulations, or similar regulation is required only if 
the Under Secretary for Border and Transportation 
Security certifies that the equipment alone, or as 
part of an integrated system, can detect under real-
istic air carrier operating conditions the amounts, 
configurations, and types of explosive material that 
would likely be used to cause catastrophic damage to 
commercial aircraft. 
‘‘(2) TESTS.—The Under Secretary shall base 
the certification under this subsection on the results 
of tests conducted under protocols developed in con-
sultation with expert scientists outside of the Trans-
portation Security Administration.
‘‘(3) FACILITATION OF DEPLOYMENT OF COM-
MERCIALLY
AVAILABLE
EQUIPMENT.—The Under 
Secretary shall facilitate the deployment of such ap-
proved commercially available explosive detection de-
vices as the Under Secretary determines will en-
hance aviation security significantly. The Under Sec-
retary shall require that equipment deployed under 
this paragraph be replaced by equipment certified 
under paragraph (1) when equipment certified under 
paragraph (1) becomes commercially available. The 
Under Secretary is authorized, based on operational 
considerations at individual airports, to waive the re-
quired installation of commercially available equip-
ment under paragraph (1) in the interests of avia-
tion security. The Under Secretary may permit the 
requirements of this paragraph to be met at airports 
by the deployment of dogs or other appropriate ani-
mals to supplement equipment for screening pas-
sengers, baggage, mail, or cargo for explosives or 
weapons. 
‘‘(4) LIMITATION
ON
STATUTORY
CONSTRUC-
TION.—This subsection does not prohibit the Under 
Secretary from purchasing or deploying explosive de-
tection equipment described in paragraph (1).
‘‘(b) GRANTS.—The Secretary of Homeland Security 
or the Secretary of Transportation may provide grants to 
continue the Explosive Detection K–9 Team Training Pro-
gram to detect explosives at airports and on aircraft. 
‘‘(c) PLASTIC WEAPONS AND EXPLOSIVES.—
‘‘(1) PRIORITY.—In order to improve security, 
the Under Secretary shall give priority to developing, 
testing, improving, and deploying technology at pas-
senger screening checkpoints that will detect non-
metallic weapons and explosives on the body or in 
the clothing of passengers or in their carry-on lug-
gage. 
‘‘(2) STANDARDS.—The Under Secretary shall 
develop standards for the certification of equipment 
employing technology described in paragraph (1) at 
passenger screening checkpoints. The standards 
shall ensure that the equipment alone, or as part of 
an integrated system, can detect under realistic op-
erating conditions the types of nonmetallic weapons 
and explosives that terrorists would likely try to 
smuggle aboard a commercial aircraft. 
‘‘§ 1514. Airport construction guidelines 
‘‘In consultation with the Administrator of the Fed-
eral Aviation Administration, air carriers, airport authori-
ties, and others the Under Secretary for Border and
Transportation Security considers appropriate, the Under 
Secretary shall develop guidelines for airport design and 
construction to allow for maximum security enhancement. 
In developing the guidelines, the Under Secretary shall 
consider the results of the assessment carried out under 
section 1504(a). 
‘‘§ 1515. Exemptions 
‘‘The Under Secretary for Border and Transpor-
tation Security may exempt from sections 1501, 1503(a)–
(c) and (e), 1506, 1535, and 1536 airports in Alaska 
served only by air carriers that—
‘‘(1) hold certificates issued under section 
41102; 
‘‘(2) operate aircraft with certificates for a 
maximum gross takeoff weight of less than 12,500 
pounds; and 
‘‘(3) board passengers, or load property in-
tended to be carried in an aircraft cabin, that will 
be screened under section 1501 at another airport in 
Alaska before the passengers board, or the property 
is loaded on, an aircraft for a place outside Alaska. 
‘‘§ 1516. Assessments and evaluations 
‘‘(a) PERIODIC ASSESSMENTS.—The Under Sec-
retary for Border and Transportation Security shall re-
quire each air carrier and airport (including the airport
owner or operator in cooperation with the air carriers and 
vendors serving each airport) that provides for intrastate, 
interstate, or foreign air transportation to conduct peri-
odic vulnerability assessments of the security systems of 
that air carrier or airport, respectively. The Under Sec-
retary shall perform periodic audits of such assessments. 
‘‘(b) INVESTIGATIONS.—The Under Secretary shall 
conduct periodic and unannounced inspections of security 
systems of airports and air carriers to determine the effec-
tiveness and vulnerabilities of such systems. To the extent 
allowable by law, the Under Secretary may provide for 
anonymous tests of those security systems. 
‘‘§ 1517. Deployment of Federal air marshals 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary for Border 
and Transportation Security under the authority provided 
by section 1503(d)—
‘‘(1) may provide for deployment of Federal air 
marshals on every passenger flight of air carriers in 
air transportation or intrastate air transportation; 
‘‘(2) shall provide for deployment of Federal air 
marshals on every such flight determined by the 
Under Secretary to present high security risks; 
‘‘(3) shall provide for appropriate training, su-
pervision, and equipment of Federal air marshals;
‘‘(4) shall require air carriers providing flights 
described in paragraph (1) to provide seating for a 
Federal air marshal on any such flight without re-
gard to the availability of seats on the flight and at 
no cost to the United States Government or the 
marshal; 
‘‘(5) may require air carriers to provide, on a 
space-available basis, to an off-duty Federal air mar-
shal a seat on a flight to the airport nearest the 
marshal’s home at no cost to the marshal or the 
United States Government if the marshal is trav-
eling to that airport after completing his or her se-
curity duties; 
‘‘(6) may enter into agreements with Federal, 
State, and local agencies under which appropriately-
trained law enforcement personnel from such agen-
cies, when traveling on a flight of an air carrier, will 
carry a firearm and be prepared to assist Federal 
air marshals; 
‘‘(7) shall establish procedures to ensure that 
Federal air marshals are made aware of any armed 
or unarmed law enforcement personnel on board an 
aircraft; and 
‘‘(8) may appoint—
‘‘(A) an individual who is a retired law en-
forcement officer; 
‘‘(B) an individual who is a retired mem-
ber of the Armed Forces; and 
‘‘(C) an individual who has been fur-
loughed from an air carrier crew position in the 
1-year period beginning on September 11, 
2001, 
as a Federal air marshal, regardless of age, if the 
individual otherwise meets the background and fit-
ness qualifications required for Federal air marshals. 
‘‘(b) LONG DISTANCE FLIGHTS.—In making the de-
termination under subsection (a)(2), nonstop, long dis-
tance flights, such as those targeted on September 11, 
2001, should be a priority. 
‘‘(c) INTERIM MEASURES.—Until the Under Sec-
retary completes implementation of subsection (a), the 
Under Secretary may use, after consultation with and con-
currence of the heads of other Federal agencies and de-
partments, personnel from those agencies and depart-
ments, on a nonreimbursable basis, to provide air marshal 
service. 
‘‘§ 1518. Crew training 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary for Border 
and Transportation Security, in consultation with the Ad-
ministrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, appro-
priate law enforcement, security, and terrorism experts, 
representatives of air carriers and labor organizations rep-
resenting individuals employed in commercial aviation, 
shall develop detailed guidance for a scheduled passenger 
air carrier flight and cabin crew training program to pre-
pare crew members for potential threat conditions. 
‘‘(b) PROGRAM ELEMENTS.—The guidance shall re-
quire such a program to include, at a minimum, elements 
that address the following: 
‘‘(1) Determination of the seriousness of any 
occurrence. 
‘‘(2) Crew communication and coordination. 
‘‘(3) Appropriate responses to defend oneself. 
‘‘(4) Use of protective devices assigned to crew 
members (to the extent such devices are required by 
the Administrator or Under Secretary). 
‘‘(5) Psychology of terrorists to cope with hi-
jacker behavior and passenger responses. 
‘‘(6) Live situational training exercises regard-
ing various threat conditions. 
‘‘(7) Flight deck procedures or aircraft maneu-
vers to defend the aircraft. 
‘‘(8) Any other subject matter deemed appro-
priate by the Administrator or the Under Secretary.
‘‘(c) AIR CARRIER PROGRAMS.—
‘‘(1) DEVELOPMENT AND SUBMISSION.—Each 
air carrier shall develop a flight and cabin crew 
training program in accordance with that guidance 
and submit it to the Under Secretary for approval. 
‘‘(2) REVIEW AND APPROVAL BY UNDER SEC-
RETARY.—Within 30 days after receiving an air car-
rier’s program under this subsection, the Under Sec-
retary shall review the program and approve it or re-
quire the air carrier to make any revisions deemed 
necessary by the Under Secretary for the program 
to meet the guidance requirements. 
‘‘(d) TRAINING.—Within 180 days after the Under 
Secretary approves the training program developed by an 
air carrier under this section, the air carrier shall complete 
the training of all flight and cabin crews in accordance 
with that program. 
‘‘(e) UPDATES.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary shall 
update the training guidance issued under sub-
section (a) from time to time to reflect new or dif-
ferent security threats and require air carriers to re-
vise their programs accordingly and provide addi-
tional training to their flight and cabin crews.
‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—In updat-
ing the training guidance, the Under Secretary, in 
consultation with the Administrator of the Federal 
Aviation Administration, shall issue a rule for the 
following purposes: 
‘‘(A) To require both classroom and effec-
tive hands-on situational training in the fol-
lowing elements of self defense: 
‘‘(i) Recognizing suspicious activities 
and determining the seriousness of an oc-
currence. 
‘‘(ii) Deterring a passenger who might 
present a problem. 
‘‘(iii) Crew communication and coordi-
nation. 
‘‘(iv) The proper commands to give to 
passengers and attackers. 
‘‘(v) Methods to subdue and restrain 
an attacker. 
‘‘(vi) Use of available items aboard 
the aircraft for self-defense. 
‘‘(vii) Appropriate and effective re-
sponses to defend oneself, including the 
use of force against an attacker.
‘‘(viii) Use of protective devices as-
signed to crew members (to the extent 
such devices are approved by the Adminis-
trator or Under Secretary). 
‘‘(ix) The psychology of terrorists to 
cope with their behavior and passenger re-
sponses to that behavior. 
‘‘(x) How to respond to aircraft ma-
neuvers that may be authorized to defend 
against an act of criminal violence or air 
piracy. 
‘‘(B) To require training in the proper con-
duct of a cabin search, including the duty time 
required to conduct the search. 
‘‘(C) To establish the required number of 
hours of training and the qualifications for the 
training instructors. 
‘‘(D) To establish the intervals, number of 
hours, and elements of recurrent training. 
‘‘(E) To ensure that air carriers provide 
the initial training required by this paragraph 
before November 25, 2004. 
‘‘(F) To ensure that no person participates 
in any hands-on training activity that the per-
son believes will have an adverse impact on his 
or her health or safety. 
‘‘(3) 
RESPONSIBILITY
OF
UNDER
SEC-
RETARY.—
‘‘(A) CONSULTATION.—In developing the 
rule under paragraph (2), the Under Secretary 
shall consult with law enforcement personnel 
and security experts who have expertise in self-
defense training, terrorism experts, and rep-
resentatives of air carriers, the provider of self-
defense training for Federal air marshals, flight 
attendants, labor organizations representing 
flight attendants, and educational institutions 
offering law enforcement training programs. 
‘‘(B) DESIGNATION
OF
OFFICIAL.—The 
Under Secretary shall designate an official in 
the Transportation Security Administration to 
be responsible for overseeing the implementa-
tion of the training program under this sub-
section. 
‘‘(C) NECESSARY RESOURCES AND KNOWL-
EDGE.—The Under Secretary shall ensure that 
employees of the Transportation Security Ad-
ministration responsible for monitoring the
training program have the necessary resources 
and knowledge. 
‘‘§ 1519. Security screening pilot program 
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT
OF PROGRAM.—The Under 
Secretary for Border and Transportation Security shall 
establish a pilot program under which, upon approval of 
an application submitted by an operator of an airport, the 
screening of passengers and property at the airport under 
section 1501 will be carried out by the screening personnel 
of a qualified private screening company under a contract 
entered into with the Under Secretary. 
‘‘(b) PERIOD OF PILOT PROGRAM.—The pilot pro-
gram under this section shall begin on November 19, 
2002, and end on November 19, 2004. 
‘‘(c) APPLICATIONS.—An operator of an airport may 
submit to the Under Secretary an application to partici-
pate in the pilot program under this section. 
‘‘(d) SELECTION OF AIRPORTS.—From among appli-
cations submitted under subsection (c), the Under Sec-
retary may select for participation in the pilot program 
not more than 1 airport from each of the 5 airport security 
risk categories, as defined by the Under Secretary. 
‘‘(e) SUPERVISION OF SCREENED PERSONNEL.—The 
Under Secretary shall provide Federal Government super-
visors to oversee all screening at each airport participating
in the pilot program under this section and provide Fed-
eral Government law enforcement officers at the airport 
pursuant to this chapter. 
‘‘(f) QUALIFIED PRIVATE SCREENING COMPANY.—A 
private screening company is qualified to provide screening 
services at an airport participating in the pilot program 
under this section if the company will only employ individ-
uals to provide such services who meet all the require-
ments of this chapter applicable to Federal Government 
personnel who perform screening services at airports 
under this chapter and will provide compensation and 
other benefits to such individuals that are not less than 
the level of compensation and other benefits provided to 
such Federal Government personnel in accordance with 
this chapter. 
‘‘(g) STANDARDS FOR PRIVATE SCREENING COMPA-
NIES.—The Under Secretary may enter into a contract 
with a private screening company to provide screening at 
an airport participating in the pilot program under this 
section only if the Under Secretary determines and cer-
tifies to Congress that the private screening company is 
owned and controlled by a citizen of the United States, 
to the extent that the Under Secretary determines that 
there are private screening companies owned and con-
trolled by such citizens.
‘‘(h) TERMINATION
OF CONTRACTS.—The Under 
Secretary may terminate any contract entered into with 
a private screening company to provide screening services 
at an airport under the pilot program if the Under Sec-
retary finds that the company has failed repeatedly to 
comply with any standard, regulation, directive, order, 
law, or contract applicable to the hiring or training of per-
sonnel to provide such services or to the provision of 
screening at the airport. 
‘‘(i) ELECTION.—If a contract is in effect with re-
spect to screening at an airport under the pilot program 
on November 19, 2004, the operator of the airport may 
elect to continue to have such screening carried out by 
the screening personnel of a qualified private screening 
company under a contract entered into with the Under 
Secretary under section 1520 or by Federal Government 
personnel in accordance with this chapter. 
‘‘§ 1520. Security screening opt-out program 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—On or after the last day of the 
2-year period beginning on the date on which the Under 
Secretary for Border and Transportation Security trans-
mits to Congress the certification required by section 
110(c) of the Aviation and Transportation Security Act, 
an operator of an airport may submit to the Under Sec-
retary an application to have the screening of passengers
and property at the airport under section 1501 carried out 
by the screening personnel of a qualified private screening 
company under a contract entered into with the Under 
Secretary. 
‘‘(b) APPROVAL OF APPLICATIONS.—The Under Sec-
retary may approve any application submitted under sub-
section (a). 
‘‘(c) QUALIFIED PRIVATE SCREENING COMPANY.—
A private screening company is qualified to provide screen-
ing services at an airport under this section if the company 
will only employ individuals to provide such services who 
meet all the requirements of this chapter applicable to 
Federal Government personnel who perform screening 
services at airports under this chapter and will provide 
compensation and other benefits to such individuals that 
are not less than the level of compensation and other bene-
fits provided to such Federal Government personnel in ac-
cordance with this chapter. 
‘‘(d) STANDARDS FOR PRIVATE SCREENING COMPA-
NIES.—The Under Secretary may enter into a contract 
with a private screening company to provide screening at 
an airport under this section only if the Under Secretary 
determines and certifies to Congress that—
‘‘(1) the level of screening services and protec-
tion provided at the airport under the contract will
be equal to or greater than the level that would be 
provided at the airport by Federal Government per-
sonnel under this chapter; and 
‘‘(2) the private screening company is owned 
and controlled by a citizen of the United States, to 
the extent that the Under Secretary determines that 
there are private screening companies owned and 
controlled by such citizens. 
‘‘(e) SUPERVISION OF SCREENED PERSONNEL.—The 
Under Secretary shall provide Federal Government super-
visors to oversee all screening at each airport at which 
screening services are provided under this section and pro-
vide Federal law enforcement officers at the airport pursu-
ant to this chapter. 
‘‘(f) TERMINATION OF CONTRACTS.—The Under Sec-
retary may terminate any contract entered into with a pri-
vate screening company to provide screening services at 
an airport under this section if the Under Secretary finds 
that the company has failed repeatedly to comply with any 
standard, regulation, directive, order, law, or contract ap-
plicable to the hiring or training of personnel to provide 
such services or to the provision of screening at the air-
port.
‘‘§ 1521. Federal flight deck officer program 
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Under Secretary for 
Border and Transportation Security shall establish a pro-
gram to deputize volunteer pilots of air carriers providing 
air transportation or intrastate air transportation as Fed-
eral law enforcement officers to defend the flight decks 
of aircraft of such air carriers against acts of criminal vio-
lence or air piracy. Such officers shall be known as ‘Fed-
eral flight deck officers’. 
‘‘(b) PROCEDURAL REQUIREMENTS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than February 
25, 2003, the Under Secretary shall establish proce-
dural requirements to carry out the program under 
this section. 
‘‘(2) COMMENCEMENT
OF
PROGRAM.—Begin-
ning February 25, 2003, the Under Secretary shall 
begin the process of training and deputizing pilots 
who are qualified to be Federal flight deck officers 
as Federal flight deck officers under the program. 
‘‘(3) ISSUES TO BE ADDRESSED.—The proce-
dural requirements established under paragraph (1) 
shall address the following issues: 
‘‘(A) The type of firearm to be used by a 
Federal flight deck officer. 
‘‘(B) The type of ammunition to be used 
by a Federal flight deck officer.
‘‘(C) The standards and training needed to 
qualify and requalify as a Federal flight deck 
officer. 
‘‘(D) The placement of the firearm of a 
Federal flight deck officer on board the aircraft 
to ensure both its security and its ease of re-
trieval in an emergency. 
‘‘(E) An analysis of the risk of cata-
strophic failure of an aircraft as a result of the 
discharge (including an accidental discharge) of 
a firearm to be used in the program into the 
avionics, electrical systems, or other sensitive 
areas of the aircraft. 
‘‘(F) The division of responsibility between 
pilots in the event of an act of criminal violence 
or air piracy if only 1 pilot is a Federal flight 
deck officer and if both pilots are Federal flight 
deck officers. 
‘‘(G) Procedures for ensuring that the fire-
arm of a Federal flight deck officer does not 
leave the cockpit if there is a disturbance in the 
passenger cabin of the aircraft or if the pilot 
leaves the cockpit for personal reasons.
forcement officer who is authorized to carry a 
firearm aboard the aircraft. 
‘‘(M) Any other issues that the Under Sec-
retary considers necessary. 
‘‘(4) PREFERENCE.—In selecting pilots to par-
ticipate in the program, the Under Secretary shall 
give preference to pilots who are former military or 
law enforcement personnel. 
‘‘(5) 
CLASSIFIED
INFORMATION.—Notwith-
standing section 552 of title 5 but subject to section 
40119, information developed under paragraph 
(3)(E) shall not be disclosed. 
‘‘(6) NOTICE TO CONGRESS.—The Under Sec-
retary shall provide notice to the Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 
Science, and Transportation of the Senate after 
completing the analysis required by paragraph 
(3)(E). 
‘‘(7) MINIMIZATION
OF
RISK.—If the Under 
Secretary determines as a result of the analysis 
under paragraph (3)(E) that there is a significant 
risk of the catastrophic failure of an aircraft as a re-
sult of the discharge of a firearm, the Under Sec-
retary shall take such actions as may be necessary 
to minimize that risk. 
‘‘(8) LIMITATION ON REVIEW OF DECISIONS.—
The Under Secretary’s decisions regarding the meth-
ods for implementing each of the procedural require-
ments set forth in paragraph (3) shall be subject to 
review only for abuse of discretion. 
‘‘(c) TRAINING, SUPERVISION, AND EQUIPMENT.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary shall 
provide the training, supervision, and equipment 
necessary for a pilot to be a Federal flight deck offi-
cer under this section at no expense to the pilot or 
the air carrier employing the pilot; except that if the 
pilot receives training at a non-Federal facility ap-
proved by the Under Secretary under paragraph 
(2)(C)(ii), the pilot may be charged a fee by that fa-
cility. 
‘‘(2) TRAINING.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary 
shall base the requirements for the training of 
Federal flight deck officers under subsection (b) 
on the training standards applicable to Federal 
air marshals; except that the Under Secretary 
shall take into account the differing roles and
responsibilities of Federal flight deck officers 
and Federal air marshals. 
‘‘(B) ELEMENTS.—The training of a Fed-
eral flight deck officer shall include, at a min-
imum, the following elements: 
‘‘(i) Training to ensure that the offi-
cer achieves the level of proficiency with a 
firearm 
required 
under 
subparagraph 
(C)(i). 
‘‘(ii) Training to ensure that the offi-
cer maintains exclusive control over the of-
ficer’s firearm at all times, including train-
ing in defensive maneuvers. 
‘‘(iii) Training to assist the officer in 
determining when it is appropriate to use 
the officer’s firearm and when it is appro-
priate to use less than lethal force. 
‘‘(C) TRAINING IN USE OF FIREARMS.—
‘‘(i) STANDARD.—In order to be depu-
tized as a Federal flight deck officer, a 
pilot must achieve a level of proficiency 
with a firearm that is required by the 
Under Secretary. Such level shall be com-
parable to the level of proficiency required 
of Federal air marshals.
‘‘(ii) CONDUCT
OF
TRAINING.—The 
training of a Federal flight deck officer in 
the use of a firearm may be conducted by 
the Under Secretary or by a firearms 
training facility approved by the Under 
Secretary. 
‘‘(iii) REQUALIFICATION.—The Under 
Secretary shall require a Federal flight 
deck officer to requalify to carry a firearm 
under the program. Such requalification 
shall occur at an interval required by the 
Under Secretary and may take place at ei-
ther a Federal or non-Federal facility. 
‘‘(d) DEPUTATION.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary may 
deputize, as a Federal flight deck officer under this 
section, a pilot who submits to the Under Secretary 
a request to be such an officer and whom the Under 
Secretary determines is qualified to be such an offi-
cer. 
‘‘(2) QUALIFICATION.—A pilot is qualified to be 
a Federal flight deck officer under this section if—
‘‘(A) the pilot is employed by an air car-
rier;
‘‘(B) the Under Secretary determines (in 
the Under Secretary’s discretion) that the pilot 
meets the standards established by the Under 
Secretary for being such an officer; and 
‘‘(C) the Under Secretary determines that 
the pilot has completed the training required by 
the Under Secretary. 
‘‘(3) DEPUTATION BY OTHER FEDERAL AGEN-
CIES.—The Under Secretary may request another 
Federal agency to deputize, as Federal flight deck 
officers under this section, those pilots that the 
Under Secretary determines are qualified to be such 
officers. 
‘‘(4) REVOCATION.—The Under Secretary may 
revoke (in the Under Secretary’s discretion) the 
deputation of a pilot as a Federal flight deck officer 
if the Under Secretary finds that the pilot is no 
longer qualified to be such an officer. 
‘‘(e) COMPENSATION.—Pilots participating in the 
program under this section shall not be eligible for com-
pensation from the Federal Government for services pro-
vided as a Federal flight deck officer. The Federal Govern-
ment and air carriers shall not be obligated to compensate 
a pilot for participating in the program or for the pilot’s
100
training or qualification and requalification to carry fire-
arms under the program. 
‘‘(f) AUTHORITY TO CARRY FIREARMS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary shall 
authorize a Federal flight deck officer to carry a 
firearm while engaged in providing air transpor-
tation or intrastate air transportation. Notwith-
standing subsection (c)(1), the officer may purchase 
a firearm and carry that firearm aboard an aircraft 
of which the officer is the pilot in accordance with 
this section if the firearm is of a type that may be 
used under the program. 
‘‘(2) PREEMPTION.—Notwithstanding any other 
provision of Federal or State law, a Federal flight 
deck officer, whenever necessary to participate in the 
program, may carry a firearm in any State and from 
1 State to another State. 
‘‘(3) CARRYING
FIREARMS
OUTSIDE
UNITED 
STATES.—In consultation with the Secretary of 
State, the Under Secretary may take such action as 
may be necessary to ensure that a Federal flight 
deck officer may carry a firearm in a foreign country 
whenever necessary to participate in the program. 
‘‘(4) TRANSPORTATION OF FIREARMS IN LOCK 
BOXES.—Notwithstanding any other provision of
101
this section, the Under Secretary may allow a Fed-
eral flight deck officer to carry a firearm that is se-
cured in a lockbox into the cabin of an aircraft for 
the purpose of transporting the firearm. 
‘‘(g) AUTHORITY TO USE FORCE.—Notwithstanding 
section 1503(d), the Under Secretary shall prescribe the 
standards and circumstances under which a Federal flight 
deck officer may use, while the program under this section 
is in effect, force (including lethal force) against an indi-
vidual in the defense of the flight deck of an aircraft in 
air transportation or intrastate air transportation. 
‘‘(h) LIMITATION ON LIABILITY.—
‘‘(1) LIABILITY OF AIR CARRIERS.—An air car-
rier shall not be liable for damages in any action 
brought in a Federal or State court arising out of 
a Federal flight deck officer’s use of or failure to use 
a firearm. 
‘‘(2) LIABILITY OF FEDERAL FLIGHT DECK OF-
FICERS.—A Federal flight deck officer shall not be 
liable for damages in any action brought in a Fed-
eral or State court arising out of the acts or omis-
sions of the officer in defending the flight deck of an 
aircraft against acts of criminal violence or air pi-
racy unless the officer is guilty of gross negligence 
or willful misconduct.
102
‘‘(3) LIABILITY OF FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.—
For purposes of an action against the United States 
with respect to an act or omission of a Federal flight 
deck officer in defending the flight deck of an air-
craft, the officer shall be treated as an employee of 
the Federal Government under chapter 171 of title 
28, relating to tort claims procedure. 
‘‘(i) PROCEDURES FOLLOWING ACCIDENTAL DIS-
CHARGES.—If an accidental discharge of a firearm under 
the pilot program results in the injury or death of a pas-
senger or crew member on an aircraft, the Under Sec-
retary—
‘‘(1) shall revoke the deputation of the Federal 
flight deck officer responsible for that firearm if the 
Under Secretary determines that the discharge was 
attributable to the negligence of the officer; and 
‘‘(2) in any case in which the Under Secretary 
determines that a shortcoming in standards, train-
ing, or procedures was responsible for the accidental 
discharge, may temporarily suspend the program 
until the shortcoming is corrected. 
‘‘(j) LIMITATION
ON
AUTHORITY
OF
AIR
CAR-
RIERS.—No air carrier shall prohibit or threaten any re-
taliatory action against a pilot employed by the air carrier
103
from becoming a Federal flight deck officer under this sec-
tion. No air carrier shall—
‘‘(1) prohibit a Federal flight deck officer from 
piloting an aircraft operated by the air carrier; or 
‘‘(2) terminate the employment of a Federal 
flight deck officer, solely on the basis of his or her 
volunteering for or participating in the program 
under this section. 
‘‘(k) APPLICABILITY.—
‘‘(1) EXEMPTION.—This section shall not apply 
to air carriers operating under part 135 of title 14, 
Code of Federal Regulations, and to pilots employed 
by such carriers to the extent that such carriers and 
pilots are covered by section 135.119 of such title or 
any successor to such section. 
‘‘(2) PILOT DEFINED.—The term ‘pilot’ means 
an individual who has final authority and responsi-
bility for the operation and safety of the flight or, 
if more than 1 pilot is required for the operation of 
the aircraft or by the regulations under which the 
flight is being conducted, the individual designated 
as second in command. The term also includes a 
flight engineer.
104
‘‘§ 1522. Deputation of State and local law enforce-
ment officers 
‘‘(a) DEPUTATION AUTHORITY.—The Under Sec-
retary for Border and Transportation Security may depu-
tize a State or local law enforcement officer to carry out 
Federal airport security duties under this chapter. 
‘‘(b) FULFILLMENT OF REQUIREMENTS.—A State or 
local law enforcement officer who is deputized under this 
section shall be treated as a Federal law enforcement offi-
cer for purposes of meeting the requirements of this chap-
ter and other provisions of law to provide Federal law en-
forcement officers to carry out Federal airport security 
duties. 
‘‘(c) AGREEMENTS.—To deputize a State or local law 
enforcement officer under this section, the Under Sec-
retary shall enter into a voluntary agreement with the ap-
propriate State or local law enforcement agency that em-
ploys the State or local law enforcement officer. 
‘‘(d) REIMBURSEMENT.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary shall 
reimburse a State or local law enforcement agency 
for all reasonable, allowable, and allocable costs in-
curred by the State or local law enforcement agency 
with respect to a law enforcement officer deputized 
under this section.
105
‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.—
There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 
as may be necessary to carry out this subsection. 
‘‘(e) FEDERAL TORT CLAIMS ACT.—A State or local 
law enforcement officer who is deputized under this sec-
tion shall be treated as an ‘employee of the Government’ 
for purposes of sections 1346(b), 2401(b), and chapter 
171 of title 28 while carrying out Federal airport security 
duties within the course and scope of the officer’s employ-
ment, subject to Federal supervision and control, and in 
accordance with the terms of such deputation. 
‘‘(f) STATIONING OF OFFICERS.—The Under Sec-
retary may allow law enforcement personnel to be sta-
tioned other than at the airport security screening location 
if that would be preferable for law enforcement purposes 
and if such personnel would still be able to provide prompt 
responsiveness to problems occurring at the screening lo-
cation. 
‘‘§ 1523. Limitation of flights over certain stadiums 
‘‘No aircraft may fly within a 3 nautical mile radius 
at a height of less than 3,000 feet of a stadium having 
a seating capacity of 30,000 within 1 hour before or 1 
hour after a Major League Baseball, National Football 
League, National Collegiate Athletic Association Division 
One football, or major motor speedway event unless—
107
nal history record check and a review of avail-
able law enforcement data bases and records of 
other governmental and international agencies 
to the extent determined practicable by the 
Under Secretary); 
‘‘(B) has notified the Under Secretary for 
Border and Transportation Security at least 48 
hours before the event of the intent to operate 
an aircraft in the area; and 
‘‘(C) is in contact with air traffic control; 
or 
‘‘(8) the pilot of the aircraft receives a waiver 
from the Under Secretary. 
‘‘§ 1524. Certification of explosives detection canine 
and handler teams 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary for Border 
and Transportation Security may establish a program to 
certify explosives detection canine and handler teams, in-
cluding teams employed by private sector companies. 
‘‘(b) STANDARDS.—The Under Secretary may certify 
a team under subsection (a) only if the team meets such 
standards as the Under Secretary may prescribe. The 
standards shall be based on the standards that apply to 
teams participating in the National Explosives Detection
108
Canine Team program of the Transportation Security Ad-
ministration. 
‘‘(c) USE OF CERTIFIED TEAMS.—Teams certified 
under subsection (a) may be used to perform security 
functions mandated by the Under Secretary and other ac-
tivities to enhance security. 
‘‘(d) ALTERNATIVE
TO CERTIFICATION
OF INDI-
VIDUAL TEAMS.—
‘‘(1) 
CERTIFICATION
OF
TRAINING
PRO-
GRAMS.—As an alternative to certifying individual 
teams under subsection (a), the Under Secretary 
may certify the training program of a law enforce-
ment agency or a private sector company that offers 
explosives detection canine services for hire. 
‘‘(2) APPLICABILITY
OF
STANDARDS.—Teams 
trained under a program certified under paragraph 
(1) shall be required to meet the standards pre-
scribed by the Under Secretary under subsection (b). 
‘‘(3) INSPECTIONS.—The Under Secretary may 
perform random inspections or testing to verify that 
certification standards for training programs are 
met. 
‘‘(4) PRETESTING
STANDARDS.—The Under 
Secretary may require that certain requirements be 
met before considering whether to certify a training
109
program. The requirements may include the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(A) Adequate storage facilities for canine 
explosives training aids. 
‘‘(B) An established process for conducting 
security background checks on employees or po-
tential employees. 
‘‘(C) A minimum number, not to exceed 8, 
of canine and handler teams present to test. 
‘‘(D) A request for testing from a spon-
soring transportation provider, airport owner or 
operator, or shipper. 
‘‘(E) A requirement that a company hold 
a permit issued by the Bureau of Alcohol, To-
bacco and Firearms under section 843 of title 
18. 
‘‘(e) RECERTIFICATION.—The Under Secretary shall 
require periodic recertification of individual canine teams 
or company training programs, as appropriate. 
‘‘(f) ACCESS TO STANDARDS.—The Under Secretary 
shall ensure that the standards established pursuant to 
subsection (b) are made known to explosives detection ca-
nine and handler teams seeking certification under this 
section, and to private sector companies and law enforce-
ment agencies seeking certification of training programs
110
under subsection (d), as appropriate. The Under Secretary 
may establish procedures to ensure that the standards are 
disclosed only to individuals who have completed a security 
background check to the satisfaction of the Under Sec-
retary. 
‘‘§ 1525. Airport security improvement projects 
‘‘(a) GRANT AUTHORITY.—Subject to the require-
ments of this section, the Under Secretary for Border and 
Transportation Security shall make grants to airport 
sponsors—
‘‘(1) for projects to replace baggage conveyer 
systems related to aviation security; 
‘‘(2) for projects to reconfigure terminal bag-
gage areas as needed to install explosive detection 
systems; and 
‘‘(3) for such other airport security improve-
ment projects as the Under Secretary determines ap-
propriate. 
‘‘(b) APPLICATIONS.—A sponsor seeking a grant 
under this section shall submit to the Under Secretary an 
application in such form and containing such information 
as the Under Secretary prescribes. 
‘‘(c) APPROVAL.—The Under Secretary may approve 
an application of a sponsor for a grant under this section 
only if the Under Secretary determines that the project
111
will improve security at an airport or improve the effi-
ciency of the airport without lessening security. 
‘‘(d) LETTERS OF INTENT.—
‘‘(1) ISSUANCE.—The Under Secretary may 
issue a letter of intent to a sponsor committing to 
obligate from future budget authority an amount, 
not more than the Federal Government’s share of 
the project’s cost, for an airport security improve-
ment project (including interest costs and costs of 
formulating the project). 
‘‘(2) SCHEDULE.—A letter of intent under this 
subsection shall establish a schedule under which the 
Under Secretary will reimburse the sponsor for the 
Government’s share of the project’s costs, as 
amounts become available, if the sponsor, after the 
Under Secretary issues the letter, carries out the 
project without receiving amounts under this section. 
‘‘(3) PRIORITY.—In making grants under this 
section in a fiscal year, the Under Secretary shall 
fulfill intentions to obligate under this subsection. 
‘‘(4) NOTICE TO UNDER SECRETARY.—A spon-
sor that has been issued a letter of intent under this 
subsection shall notify the Under Secretary of the 
sponsors’s intent to carry out an airport security im-
provement project before the project begins.
112
‘‘(5) NOTICE TO CONGRESS.—The Under Sec-
retary shall transmit to the Committees on Appro-
priations and Transportation and Infrastructure of 
the House of Representatives and the Committees 
on Appropriations and Commerce, Science and 
Transportation of the Senate a written notification 
at least 3 days before the issuance of a letter of in-
tent under this section. 
‘‘(6) LIMITATIONS.—A letter of intent issued 
under this subsection is not an obligation of the 
Government under section 1501 of title 31, and the 
letter is not deemed to be an administrative commit-
ment for financing. An obligation or administrative 
commitment may be made only as amounts are pro-
vided in authorization and appropriations laws. 
‘‘(7) APPLICABILITY
OF
CERTAIN
REQUIRE-
MENTS.—The requirements that apply to grants and 
letters of intent issued under chapter 471 shall 
apply to grants and letters of intent issued under 
this section. 
‘‘(8) STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 
this subsection shall be construed to prohibit the ob-
ligation of amounts pursuant to a letter of intent 
under this subsection in the same fiscal year as the 
letter of intent is issued.
113
‘‘(e) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Government’s share of 
the cost of a project under this section shall be 90 percent 
for a project at an airport having at least 0.25 percent 
of the total number of passenger boardings each year at 
all airports and 95 percent for a project at any other air-
port. 
‘‘(f) SPONSOR DEFINED.—In this section, the term 
‘sponsor’ has the meaning given that term in section 
47102. 
‘‘(g) FUNDING.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Out of amounts collected in 
fees under section 1540, $500,000,000 shall be 
available to carry out this section in each of fiscal 
years 2004 through 2007. Such sums shall remain 
available until expended. 
‘‘(2) INCURRING
OBLIGATIONS.—The Under 
Secretary may incur obligations to make grants from 
amounts made available for a fiscal year to carry out 
this section beginning on the first day of the fiscal 
year. 
‘‘(3) CONTRACT AUTHORITY.—A project grant 
obligation of the Under Secretary under this section 
is a contractual obligation of the Government for the 
payment of the Government’s share of the project’s 
cost.
114
‘‘(4) OBLIGATION LIMITATIONS.—Project grant 
obligations of the Under Secretary under this section 
shall not exceed $500,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2004 through 2007.
‘‘§ 1526. Repair station security 
‘‘(a) SECURITY REVIEW AND AUDIT.—To ensure the 
security of maintenance and repair work conducted on 
United States aircraft and components at foreign aircraft 
repair stations, the Under Secretary for Border and 
Transportation Security, in consultation with the Admin-
istrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, shall com-
plete a security review and audit of foreign aircraft repair 
stations certified by the Administrator under part 145 of 
title 14, Code of Federal Regulations. The review shall be 
completed not later than 1 year after the date on which 
the Under Secretary issues regulations under subsection 
(f). 
‘‘(b) 
ADDRESSING
SECURITY
CONCERNS.—The 
Under Secretary shall require a foreign aircraft repair sta-
tion to address the security issues and vulnerabilities iden-
tified in a security audit conducted under subsection (a) 
within 90 days of providing notice to the repair station 
of the security issues and vulnerabilities so identified. 
‘‘(c) SUSPENSIONS AND REVOCATIONS OF CERTIFI-
CATES.—
115
‘‘(1) FAILURE TO CARRY OUT EFFECTIVE SECU-
RITY
MEASURES.—If the Under Secretary deter-
mines as a result of a security audit that a foreign 
aircraft repair station does not maintain and carry 
out effective security measures, the Under Secretary 
shall notify the Administrator of the determination. 
Upon receipt of the determination, the Adminis-
trator shall suspend the certification of the repair 
station until such time as the Under Secretary de-
termines that the repair station maintains and car-
ries out effective security measures and transmits 
the determination to the Administrator. 
‘‘(2) IMMEDIATE SECURITY RISK.—If the Under 
Secretary determines that a foreign aircraft repair 
station poses an immediate security risk, the Under 
Secretary shall notify the Administrator of the deter-
mination. Upon receipt of the determination, the Ad-
ministrator shall revoke the certification of the re-
pair station. 
‘‘(d) FAILURE TO MEET AUDIT DEADLINE.—If the 
security audits required by subsection (a) are not com-
pleted on or before the date that is 1 year after the date 
on which the Under Secretary issues regulations under 
subsection (f), the Administrator shall be barred from cer-
tifying, or renewing the certification of, any foreign air-
116
craft repair station until such audits are completed for ex-
isting stations. 
‘‘(e) PRIORITY FOR AUDITS.—In conducting the au-
dits described in subsection (a), the Under Secretary and 
the Administrator shall give priority to foreign aircraft re-
pair stations located in countries identified by the United 
States Government as posing the most significant security 
risks. 
‘‘(f) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 180 days after 
the date of enactment of this section, the Under Secretary, 
in consultation with the Administrator, shall issue final 
regulations to ensure the security of foreign and domestic 
aircraft repair stations. 
‘‘SUBCHAPTER II—ADMINISTRATION AND 
PERSONNEL 
‘‘§ 1531. Reserved 
‘‘§ 1532. Reserved 
‘‘§ 1533. Federal Security Directors 
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT, DESIGNATION, AND
STA-
TIONING.—The Under Secretary for Border and Trans-
portation Security shall establish the position of Federal 
Security Director for each airport in the United States 
described in section 1503(c). The Under Secretary shall 
designate individuals as Directors for, and station those 
Directors in the vicinity of, those airports.
117
‘‘(b) DUTIES AND POWERS.—The Director at each 
airport shall—
‘‘(1) oversee the screening of passengers and 
property at the airport; and 
‘‘(2) carry out other duties prescribed by the 
Under Secretary. 
‘‘§ 1534. Foreign Security Liaison Officers 
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT, DESIGNATION, AND
STA-
TIONING.—The Under Secretary for Border and Trans-
portation Security shall establish the position of Foreign 
Security Liaison Officer for each airport outside the 
United States at which the Under Secretary decides an 
Officer is necessary for air transportation security. In co-
ordination with the Secretary of State, the Under Sec-
retary shall designate an Officer for each of those airports. 
The Secretary shall give high priority to stationing those 
Officers. 
‘‘(b) DUTIES AND POWERS.—An Officer reports di-
rectly to the Under Secretary. The Officer at each airport 
shall—
‘‘(1) serve as the liaison of the Under Secretary 
to foreign security authorities (including govern-
ments of foreign countries and foreign airport au-
thorities) in carrying out United States Government 
security requirements at that airport; and
118
‘‘(2) to the extent practicable, carry out duties 
and powers referred to in section 1533(b). 
‘‘(c) COORDINATION OF ACTIVITIES.—The activities 
of each Officer shall be coordinated with the chief of the 
diplomatic mission of the United States to which the Offi-
cer is assigned. Activities of an Officer under this section 
shall be consistent with the duties and powers of the Sec-
retary and the chief of mission to a foreign country under 
section 103 of the Omnibus Diplomatic Security and 
Antiterrorism Act of 1986 (22 U.S.C. 4802) and section 
207 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 3927). 
‘‘§ 1535. Employment standards and training 
‘‘(a) EMPLOYMENT STANDARDS.—The Under Sec-
retary for Border and Transportation Security shall pre-
scribe standards for the employment and continued em-
ployment of, and contracting for, air carrier personnel 
and, as appropriate, airport security personnel. The stand-
ards shall include—
‘‘(1) minimum training requirements for new 
employees; 
‘‘(2) retraining requirements; 
‘‘(3) minimum staffing levels; 
‘‘(4) minimum language skills; and 
‘‘(5) minimum education levels for employees, 
when appropriate.
119
‘‘(b) REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATIONS.—In coordi-
nation with air carriers, airport operators, and other inter-
ested persons, the Under Secretary shall review issues re-
lated to human performance in the aviation security sys-
tem to maximize that performance. When the review is 
completed, the Under Secretary shall recommend guide-
lines and prescribe appropriate changes in existing proce-
dures to improve that performance. 
‘‘(c) SECURITY PROGRAM TRAINING, STANDARDS, 
AND QUALIFICATIONS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary—
‘‘(A) may train individuals employed to 
carry out a security program under section 
1503(c); and 
‘‘(B) shall prescribe uniform training 
standards and uniform minimum qualifications 
for individuals eligible for that training. 
‘‘(2) 
REIMBURSEMENT
OF
CERTAIN
EX-
PENSES.—The Under Secretary may authorize reim-
bursement for travel, transportation, and subsistence 
expenses for security training of non-United States 
Government domestic and foreign individuals whose 
services will contribute significantly to carrying out 
civil aviation security programs. To the extent prac-
120
ticable, air travel reimbursed under this paragraph 
shall be on air carriers. 
‘‘(d) EDUCATION AND TRAINING STANDARDS FOR 
SECURITY COORDINATORS, SUPERVISORY PERSONNEL, 
AND PILOTS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary shall 
prescribe standards for educating and training—
‘‘(A) ground security coordinators; 
‘‘(B) security supervisory personnel; and 
‘‘(C) airline pilots as in-flight security co-
ordinators. 
‘‘(2) MINIMUM
STANDARDS.—The standards 
shall include initial training, retraining, and con-
tinuing education requirements and methods. Those 
requirements and methods shall be used annually to 
measure the performance of ground security coordi-
nators and security supervisory personnel. 
‘‘(e) SECURITY SCREENERS.—
‘‘(1) TRAINING
PROGRAM.—The Under Sec-
retary shall establish a program for the hiring and 
training of security screening personnel. 
‘‘(2) HIRING.—
‘‘(A) QUALIFICATIONS.—The Under Sec-
retary shall establish qualification standards for 
individuals to be hired by the United States as
121
security screening personnel. Notwithstanding 
any provision of law, those standards shall re-
quire, at a minimum, an individual—
‘‘(i) to have a satisfactory or better 
score on a Federal security screening per-
sonnel selection examination; 
‘‘(ii) to be a citizen of the United 
States or a national of the United States, 
as defined in section 1101(a)(22) of the 
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
1101(a)(22)); 
‘‘(iii) to meet, at a minimum, the re-
quirements set forth in subsection (f); and 
‘‘(iv) to meet such other qualifications 
as the Under Secretary may establish. 
‘‘(B) BACKGROUND CHECKS.—The Under 
Secretary shall require that an individual to be 
hired as a security screener undergo an employ-
ment investigation (including a criminal history 
record check) under section 1536(a)(1). 
‘‘(C) DISQUALIFICATION OF INDIVIDUALS 
WHO
PRESENT
NATIONAL
SECURITY
RISKS.—
The Under Secretary, in consultation with the 
heads of other appropriate Federal agencies, 
shall establish procedures, in addition to any
122
background check conducted under section 
1536, to ensure that no individual who presents 
a threat to national security is employed as a 
security screener. 
‘‘(3) EXAMINATION; 
REVIEW
OF
EXISTING 
RULES.—The Under Secretary shall develop a secu-
rity screening personnel examination for use in de-
termining the qualification of individuals seeking 
employment as security screening personnel. The 
Under Secretary shall also review, and revise as nec-
essary, any standard, rule, or regulation governing 
the employment of individuals as security screening 
personnel. 
‘‘(f) EMPLOYMENT STANDARDS
FOR SCREENING 
PERSONNEL.—
‘‘(1) 
SCREENER
REQUIREMENTS.—Notwith-
standing any provision of law, an individual may not 
be deployed as a security screener unless that indi-
vidual meets the following requirements: 
‘‘(A) The individual shall possess a high 
school diploma, a general equivalency diploma, 
or experience that the Under Secretary has de-
termined to be sufficient for the individual to 
perform the duties of the position.
123
‘‘(B) The individual shall possess basic ap-
titudes and physical abilities, including color 
perception, visual and aural acuity, physical co-
ordination, and motor skills, to the following 
standards: 
‘‘(i) Screeners operating screening 
equipment shall be able to distinguish on 
the screening equipment monitor the ap-
propriate imaging standard specified by 
the Under Secretary. 
‘‘(ii) Screeners operating any screen-
ing equipment shall be able to distinguish 
each color displayed on every type of 
screening equipment and explain what each 
color signifies. 
‘‘(iii) Screeners shall be able to hear 
and respond to the spoken voice and to au-
dible alarms generated by screening equip-
ment in an active checkpoint environment. 
‘‘(iv) Screeners performing physical 
searches or other related operations shall 
be able to efficiently and thoroughly ma-
nipulate and handle such baggage, con-
tainers, and other objects subject to secu-
rity processing.
124
‘‘(v) Screeners who perform pat-downs 
or hand-held metal detector searches of in-
dividuals shall have sufficient dexterity and 
capability to thoroughly conduct those pro-
cedures over an individual’s entire body. 
‘‘(C) The individual shall be able to read, 
speak, and write English well enough to—
‘‘(i) carry out written and oral in-
structions regarding the proper perform-
ance of screening duties; 
‘‘(ii) read English language identifica-
tion media, credentials, airline tickets, and 
labels on items normally encountered in 
the screening process; 
‘‘(iii) provide direction to and under-
stand and answer questions from English-
speaking individuals undergoing screening; 
and 
‘‘(iv) write incident reports and state-
ments and log entries into security records 
in the English language. 
‘‘(D) The individual shall have satisfac-
torily completed all initial, recurrent, and ap-
propriate specialized training required by the
125
security program, except as provided in para-
graph (3). 
‘‘(2) VETERANS
PREFERENCE.—The Under 
Secretary shall provide a preference for the hiring of 
an individual as a security screener if the individual 
is a member or former member of the armed forces 
and if the individual is entitled, under statute, to re-
tired, retirement, or retainer pay on account of serv-
ice as a member of the armed forces. 
‘‘(3) EXCEPTIONS.—An individual who has not 
completed the training required by this section may 
be deployed during the on-the-job portion of training 
to perform functions if that individual—
‘‘(A) is closely supervised; and 
‘‘(B) does not make independent judg-
ments as to whether individuals or property 
may enter a sterile area or aircraft without fur-
ther inspection. 
‘‘(4) REMEDIAL TRAINING.—No individual em-
ployed as a security screener may perform a screen-
ing function after that individual has failed an oper-
ational test related to that function until that indi-
vidual has successfully completed the remedial train-
ing specified in the security program.
126
‘‘(5) 
ANNUAL
PROFICIENCY
REVIEW.—The 
Under Secretary shall provide that an annual eval-
uation of each individual assigned screening duties is 
conducted and documented. An individual employed 
as a security screener may not continue to be em-
ployed in that capacity unless the evaluation dem-
onstrates that the individual—
‘‘(A) continues to meet all qualifications 
and standards required to perform a screening 
function; 
‘‘(B) has a satisfactory record of perform-
ance and attention to duty based on the stand-
ards and requirements in the security program; 
and 
‘‘(C) demonstrates the current knowledge 
and skills necessary to courteously, vigilantly, 
and effectively perform screening functions. 
‘‘(6) OPERATIONAL
TESTING.—In addition to 
the annual proficiency review conducted under para-
graph (5), the Under Secretary shall provide for the 
operational testing of such personnel. 
‘‘(7) FITNESS FOR DUTY.—An individual em-
ployed as a security screener shall demonstrate a fit-
ness for duty on a daily basis without any impair-
127
ment due to illegal drugs, sleep deprivation, medica-
tion, or alcohol. 
‘‘(g) TRAINING.—
‘‘(1) USE OF OTHER AGENCIES.—The Under 
Secretary may enter into a memorandum of under-
standing or other arrangement with any other Fed-
eral agency or department with appropriate law en-
forcement responsibilities, to provide personnel, re-
sources, or other forms of assistance in the training 
of security screening personnel. 
‘‘(2) TRAINING
PLAN.—The Under Secretary 
shall develop a plan for the training of security 
screening personnel. The plan shall require, at a 
minimum, that a security screener—
‘‘(A) has completed 40 hours of classroom 
instruction or successfully completed a program 
that the Under Secretary determines will train 
individuals to a level of proficiency equivalent to 
the level that would be achieved by such class-
room instruction; 
‘‘(B) has completed 60 hours of on-the-job 
instructions; and 
‘‘(C) has successfully completed an on-the-
job training examination prescribed by the 
Under Secretary.
128
‘‘(3) EQUIPMENT-SPECIFIC TRAINING.—An in-
dividual employed as a security screener may not use 
any security screening device or equipment in the 
scope of that individual’s employment unless the in-
dividual has been trained on that device or equip-
ment and has successfully completed a test on the 
use of the device or equipment. 
‘‘(h) TECHNOLOGICAL TRAINING.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary shall 
require training to ensure that screeners are pro-
ficient in using the most up-to-date new technology 
and to ensure their proficiency in recognizing new 
threats and weapons. 
‘‘(2) PERIODIC
ASSESSMENTS.—The Under 
Secretary shall make periodic assessments to deter-
mine if there are dual use items and inform security 
screening personnel of the existence of such items. 
‘‘(3) CURRENT LISTS OF DUAL USE ITEMS.—
Current lists of dual use items shall be part of the 
ongoing training for screeners. 
‘‘(4) DUAL
USE
DEFINED.—For purposes of 
this subsection, the term ‘dual use’ item means an 
item that may seem harmless but that may be used 
as a weapon.
129
‘‘(i) LIMITATION ON RIGHT TO STRIKE.—An indi-
vidual that screens passengers or property, or both, at an 
airport under this section may not participate in a strike, 
or assert the right to strike, against the person (including 
a governmental entity) employing such individual to per-
form such screening. 
‘‘(j) UNIFORMS.—The Under Secretary shall require 
any individual who screens passengers and property pur-
suant to section 1501 to be attired while on duty in a 
uniform approved by the Under Secretary. 
‘‘(k) ACCESSIBILITY OF COMPUTER-BASED TRAIN-
ING FACILITIES.—The Under Secretary shall work with 
air carriers and airports to ensure that computer-based 
training facilities intended for use by security screeners 
at an airport regularly serving an air carrier holding a 
certificate issued by the Secretary of Transportation are 
conveniently located for that airport and easily accessible. 
‘‘(l) SCREENER PERSONNEL.—Notwithstanding any 
other provision of law, the Under Secretary may employ, 
appoint, discipline, terminate, and fix the compensation, 
terms, and conditions of employment of Federal service 
for such a number of individuals as the Under Secretary 
determines to be necessary to carry out the screening 
functions of the Under Secretary under section 1501. The
130
Under Secretary shall establish levels of compensation and 
other benefits for individuals so employed. 
‘‘§ 1536. Employment investigations and restrictions 
‘‘(a) 
EMPLOYMENT
INVESTIGATION
REQUIRE-
MENT.—
‘‘(1) TYPES OF EMPLOYEES.—
‘‘(A) SECURITY
SCREENERS
AND
POSI-
TIONS WITH UNESCORTED ACCESS.—The Under 
Secretary for Border and Transportation Secu-
rity shall require by regulation that an employ-
ment investigation (including a criminal history 
record check and a review of available law en-
forcement data bases and records of other gov-
ernmental and international agencies to the ex-
tent determined practicable by the Under Sec-
retary) shall be conducted of each individual 
employed in, or applying for, a position as a se-
curity screener under section 1535(e) or a posi-
tion in which the individual has unescorted ac-
cess, or may permit other individuals to have 
unescorted access, to—
‘‘(i) aircraft of an air carrier or for-
eign air carrier; or 
‘‘(ii) a secured area of an airport in 
the United States the Under Secretary
131
designates that serves an air carrier or for-
eign air carrier. 
‘‘(B) SUPERVISORS, POSITIONS WITH ES-
CORTED ACCESS, AND SECURITY PERSONNEL.—
The Under Secretary shall require by regulation 
that an employment investigation (including a 
criminal history record check and a review of 
available law enforcement data bases and 
records of other governmental and international 
agencies to the extent determined practicable by 
the Under Secretary) be conducted for—
‘‘(i) individuals who are responsible 
for screening passengers or property under 
section 1501; 
‘‘(ii) supervisors of the individuals de-
scribed in clause (i); 
‘‘(iii) individuals who regularly have 
escorted access to aircraft of an air carrier 
or foreign air carrier or a secured area of 
an airport in the United States the Under 
Secretary designates that serves an air car-
rier or foreign air carrier; and 
‘‘(iv) such other individuals who exer-
cise security functions associated with bag-
gage or cargo, as the Under Secretary de-
132
termines is necessary to ensure air trans-
portation security. 
‘‘(C) BACKGROUND CHECKS OF CURRENT 
EMPLOYEES.—
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A new background 
check (including a criminal history record 
check and a review of available law en-
forcement data bases and records of other 
governmental and international agencies to 
the extent determined practicable by the 
Under Secretary) shall be required for any 
individual who is employed in a position 
described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) on 
November 19, 2001. 
‘‘(ii) PHASED IN IMPLEMENTATION.—
The Under Secretary may provide by order 
(without regard to the provisions of chap-
ter 5 of title 5, United States Code) for a 
phased-in implementation of the require-
ments of this subparagraph. 
‘‘(D) EXEMPTION.—An employment inves-
tigation, including a criminal history record 
check, shall not be required under this sub-
section for an individual who is exempted under 
section 107.31(m)(1) or (2) of title 14, Code of
133
Federal Regulations, as in effect on November 
22, 2000. The Under Secretary shall work with 
the International Civil Aviation Organization 
and with appropriate authorities of foreign 
countries to ensure that individuals exempted 
under this subparagraph do not pose a threat 
to aviation or national security. 
‘‘(2) CONTRACT SERVICES.—An air carrier, for-
eign air carrier, airport operator, or government that 
employs, or authorizes or makes a contract for the 
services of, an individual in a position described in 
paragraph (1) shall ensure that the investigation the 
Under Secretary requires is conducted. 
‘‘(3) AUDIT.—The Under Secretary shall pro-
vide for the periodic audit of the effectiveness of 
criminal history record checks conducted under 
paragraph (1). 
‘‘(b) PROHIBITED EMPLOYMENT.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (3), an air carrier, foreign air carrier, airport 
operator, or government may not employ, or author-
ize or make a contract for the services of, an indi-
vidual in a position described in subsection (a)(1) 
if—
134
‘‘(A) the investigation of the individual re-
quired under this section has not been con-
ducted; or 
‘‘(B) the results of that investigation es-
tablish that, in the 10-year period ending on 
the date of the investigation, the individual was 
convicted (or found not guilty by reason of in-
sanity) of—
‘‘(i) a crime referred to in section 
46306, 46308, 46312, 46314, or 46315 or 
chapter 465 of this title or section 32 of 
title 18; 
‘‘(ii) murder; 
‘‘(iii) assault with intent to murder; 
‘‘(iv) espionage; 
‘‘(v) sedition; 
‘‘(vi) treason; 
‘‘(vii) rape; 
‘‘(viii) kidnapping; 
‘‘(ix) unlawful possession, sale, dis-
tribution, or manufacture of an explosive 
or weapon; 
‘‘(x) extortion; 
‘‘(xi) armed or felony unarmed rob-
bery;
135
‘‘(xii) distribution of, or intent to dis-
tribute, a controlled substance; 
‘‘(xiii) a felony involving a threat; 
‘‘(xiv) a felony involving—
‘‘(I) willful destruction of prop-
erty; 
‘‘(II) importation or manufacture 
of a controlled substance; 
‘‘(III) burglary; 
‘‘(IV) theft; 
‘‘(V) dishonesty, fraud, or mis-
representation; 
‘‘(VI) possession or distribution 
of stolen property; 
‘‘(VII) aggravated assault; 
‘‘(VIII) bribery; and 
‘‘(IX) illegal possession of a con-
trolled substance punishable by a 
maximum term of imprisonment of 
more than 1 year, or any other crime 
classified as a felony that the Under 
Secretary determines indicates a pro-
pensity for placing contraband aboard 
an aircraft in return for money; or
136
‘‘(xv) conspiracy to commit any of the 
acts referred to in clauses (i) through 
(xiv). 
‘‘(2) OTHER FACTORS.—The Under Secretary 
may specify other factors that are sufficient to pro-
hibit the employment of an individual in a position 
described in subsection (a)(1). 
‘‘(3) PLAN
FOR
ALTERNATE
SECURITY
AR-
RANGEMENTS.—An air carrier, foreign air carrier, 
airport operator, or government may employ, or au-
thorize or contract for the services of, an individual 
in a position described in subsection (a)(1) without 
carrying out the investigation required under this 
section, if the Under Secretary approves a plan to 
employ the individual that provides alternate secu-
rity arrangements. 
‘‘(c) FINGERPRINTING AND RECORD CHECK INFOR-
MATION.—
‘‘(1) DESIGNATED INDIVIDUAL.—If the Under 
Secretary requires an identification and criminal his-
tory record check, to be conducted by the Attorney 
General, as part of an investigation under this sec-
tion, the Under Secretary shall designate an indi-
vidual to obtain fingerprints and submit those fin-
gerprints to the Attorney General. The Attorney
137
General may make the results of a check available 
to an individual the Under Secretary designates. Be-
fore designating an individual to obtain and submit 
fingerprints or receive results of a check, the Under 
Secretary shall consult with the Attorney General. 
All Federal agencies shall cooperate with the Under 
Secretary and the Under Secretary’s designee in the 
process of collecting and submitting fingerprints. 
‘‘(2) FINGERPRINTING PROCEDURES AND USE 
OF INFORMATION.—The Under Secretary shall pre-
scribe regulations on—
‘‘(A) procedures for taking fingerprints; 
and 
‘‘(B) requirements for using information 
received from the Attorney General under para-
graph (1)—
‘‘(i) to limit the dissemination of the 
information; and 
‘‘(ii) to ensure that the information is 
used only to carry out this section. 
‘‘(3) REVIEW
OF
INFORMATION
BY
INDI-
VIDUAL.—If an identification and criminal history 
record check is conducted as part of an investigation 
of an individual under this section, the individual—
138
‘‘(A) shall receive a copy of any record re-
ceived from the Attorney General; and 
‘‘(B) may complete and correct the infor-
mation contained in the check before a final 
employment decision is made based on the 
check. 
‘‘(d) FEES AND CHARGES.—The Under Secretary 
and the Attorney General shall establish reasonable fees 
and charges to pay expenses incurred in carrying out this 
section. The employer of the individual being investigated 
shall pay the costs of a record check of the individual. 
Money collected under this section shall be credited to the 
account in the Treasury from which the expenses were in-
curred and are available to the Under Secretary and the 
Attorney General for those expenses. 
‘‘(e) WHEN INVESTIGATION OR RECORD CHECK NOT 
REQUIRED.—This section does not require an investiga-
tion or record check when the investigation or record check 
is prohibited by a law of a foreign country. 
‘‘(f) REVISED PROCEDURES.—The Under Secretary 
shall revise the procedures established under subsection 
(c) to ensure that—
‘‘(1) information received from the Attorney 
General under subsection (c) is released only to the
139
Under Secretary or the designee of the Under Sec-
retary; and 
‘‘(2) the Under Secretary or designee informs 
the employer or prospective employer of an indi-
vidual, within 3 days (excluding weekends and holi-
days) of receiving information from the Attorney 
General concerning the individual, whether the in-
vestigation of the individual under subsection (c) es-
tablishes that, in the 10-year period ending on the 
date of the investigation, the individual was con-
victed (or found not guilty by reason of insanity) of 
any of the crimes listed in subsection (b). 
‘‘(g) LIMITATION ON DESIGNEE.—A designee of the 
Under Secretary under subsection (c)(1) or under sub-
section (f) may not be—
‘‘(1) an employer or prospective employer of the 
individual who is subject to fingerprinting, a record 
check, or an investigation; or 
‘‘(2) an entity that represents or is otherwise 
associated with the employer or prospective em-
ployer. 
‘‘(h) WAIVER PROCESS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary shall 
establish a process to permit an individual who was 
convicted of a crime listed in subsection (b) to ob-
140
tain a waiver from the Under Secretary to permit 
that individual’s employment. 
‘‘(2) FACTORS.—In deciding whether to grant a 
waiver under this subsection, the Under Secretary 
shall give consideration to the circumstances of the 
disqualifying crime, restitution made by the indi-
vidual, Federal and State mitigation remedies, and 
other factors that would tend to indicate that the in-
dividual does not pose a security or terrorism risk. 
‘‘(3) APPEALS PROCESS.—The Under Secretary 
shall establish an appeals process, including a hear-
ing on the record, for individuals who are denied 
waivers under this subsection. 
‘‘(h) MINIMIZATION OF DUPLICATIVE BACKGROUND 
CHECKS.—The Under Secretary shall take such action as 
may be necessary to ensure that a person who works at 
an airport is not subject to separate background checks 
by each Federal agency that operates at that airport. 
‘‘§ 1537. Prohibition 
on 
transferring 
duties 
and
powers 
‘‘Except as specifically provided by law, the Under 
Secretary for Border and Transportation Security may 
not transfer a duty or power under section 1503(a), (b), 
(c), or (e), 1506, 1512, 1535, 1536, or 1538(b)(3) to an-
141
other department, agency, or instrumentality of the 
United States Government. 
‘‘§ 1538. Reports 
‘‘(a) TRANSPORTATION SECURITY.—Not later than 
March 31 of each year, the Secretary of Homeland Secu-
rity shall submit to Congress a report on transportation 
security with recommendations the Secretary considers ap-
propriate. The report shall be prepared in conjunction 
with the biennial report the Under Secretary for Border 
and Transportation Security submits under subsection (b) 
in each year the Under Secretary submits the biennial re-
port, but may not duplicate the information submitted 
under subsection (b) or section 1507(a)(3). The Secretary 
may submit the report in classified and unclassified parts. 
The report shall include—
‘‘(1) an assessment of trends and developments 
in terrorist activities, methods, and other threats to 
transportation; 
‘‘(2) an evaluation of deployment of explosive 
detection devices; 
‘‘(3) recommendations for research, engineer-
ing, and development activities related to transpor-
tation security, except research engineering and de-
velopment activities related to aviation security to 
the extent those activities are covered by the na-
142
tional aviation research plan required under section 
44501(c); 
‘‘(4) identification and evaluation of cooperative 
efforts with other departments, agencies, and instru-
mentalities of the United States Government; 
‘‘(5) an evaluation of cooperation with foreign 
transportation and security authorities; 
‘‘(6) the status of the extent to which the rec-
ommendations of the President’s Commission on 
Aviation Security and Terrorism have been carried 
out and the reasons for any delay in carrying out 
those recommendations; 
‘‘(7) an assessment of financial and staffing re-
quirements, and attainment of existing staffing 
goals, for carrying out duties and powers of the 
Under Secretary related to security; and 
‘‘(8) appropriate legislative and regulatory rec-
ommendations. 
‘‘(b) SCREENING AND FOREIGN AIR CARRIER AND 
AIRPORT SECURITY.—The Under Secretary shall submit 
biennially to Congress a report—
‘‘(1) on the effectiveness of procedures under 
section 1501;
143
‘‘(2) that includes a summary of the assess-
ments conducted under section 1507(a)(1) and (2); 
and 
‘‘(3) that includes an assessment of the steps 
being taken, and the progress being made, in ensur-
ing compliance with section 1506 for each foreign 
air carrier security program at airports outside the 
United States—
‘‘(A) at which the Under Secretary decides 
that Foreign Security Liaison Officers are nec-
essary for air transportation security; and 
‘‘(B) for which extraordinary security 
measures are in place. 
‘‘§ 1539. Training to operate certain aircraft 
‘‘(a) WAITING PERIOD.—A person operating as a 
flight instructor, pilot school, or aviation training center 
or subject to regulation under this part may provide train-
ing in the operation of any aircraft having a maximum 
certificated takeoff weight of more than 12,500 pounds 
to an alien (as defined in section 101(a)(3) of the Immi-
gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(3))) or to 
any other individual specified by the Under Secretary for 
Border and Transportation Security only if—
‘‘(1) that person has first notified the Under 
Secretary that the alien or individual has requested
144
such training and submitted to the Under Secretary, 
in such form as the Under Secretary may prescribe, 
the following information about the alien or indi-
vidual: 
‘‘(A) full name; 
‘‘(B) passport and visa information; 
‘‘(C) country of citizenship; 
‘‘(D) date of birth; 
‘‘(E) dates of training; and 
‘‘(F) verification that fingerprints have 
been taken by, or under the supervision of, a 
Federal, State, or local law enforcement agency 
or by another entity approved by the Federal 
Bureau of Investigation, including finger prints 
taken by United States Government personnel 
at a United States embassy or consulate; and 
‘‘(2) the Under Secretary has not directed, 
within 45 days after being notified under paragraph 
(1), that person not to provide the requested train-
ing because the Under Secretary has determined 
that the individual presents a risk to aviation or na-
tional security. 
‘‘(b) INTERRUPTION OF TRAINING.—If the Under 
Secretary, more than 45 days after receiving notification 
under subsection (a) from a person providing training de-
145
scribed in subsection (a), determines that the individual 
presents a risk to aviation or national security, the Under 
Secretary shall immediately notify the person providing 
the training of the determination and that person shall 
immediately terminate the training. 
‘‘(c) SECURITY AWARENESS TRAINING FOR EMPLOY-
EES.—The Under Secretary shall require flight schools to 
conduct a security awareness program for flight school 
employees to increase their awareness of suspicious cir-
cumstances and activities of individuals enrolling in or at-
tending flight school. 
‘‘(d) TRAINING.—In subsection (a), the term ‘train-
ing’ means training received from an instructor in an air-
craft or aircraft simulator and does not include recurrent 
training, ground training, or demonstration flights for 
marketing purposes. 
‘‘§ 1541. Immunity for reporting suspicious activities 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Any air carrier or foreign air 
carrier or any employee of an air carrier or foreign air 
carrier who makes a voluntary disclosure of any suspicious 
transaction relevant to a possible violation of law or regu-
lation, relating to air piracy, a threat to aircraft or pas-
senger safety, or terrorism, as defined by section 3077 of 
title 18, to any employee or agent of the Department of 
Homeland Security, the Department of Transportation,
146
the Department of Justice, any Federal, State, or local 
law enforcement officer, or any airport or airline security 
officer shall not be civilly liable to any person under any 
law or regulation of the United States, any constitution, 
law, or regulation of any State or political subdivision of 
any State, for such disclosure. 
‘‘(b) APPLICATION.—Subsection (a) shall not apply 
to—
‘‘(1) any disclosure made with actual knowledge 
that the disclosure was false, inaccurate, or mis-
leading; or 
‘‘(2) any disclosure made with reckless dis-
regard as to the truth or falsity of that disclosure. 
‘‘§ 1542. Performance goals and objectives 
‘‘(a) SHORT-TERM TRANSITION.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary for 
Border and Transportation Security, in consultation 
with Congress, may—
‘‘(A) establish acceptable levels of perform-
ance for aviation security, including screening 
operations and access control; and 
‘‘(B) provide Congress with an action plan, 
containing measurable goals and milestones, 
that outlines how those levels of performance 
will be achieved.
147
‘‘(2) BASICS
OF
ACTION
PLAN.—The action 
plan shall clarify the responsibilities of the Trans-
portation Security Administration, the Federal Avia-
tion Administration, and any other agency or organi-
zation that may have a role in ensuring the safety 
and security of the civil air transportation system. 
‘‘(b) LONG-TERM RESULTS-BASED MANAGEMENT.—
‘‘(1) PERFORMANCE PLAN.—
‘‘(A) MEASURABLE
GOALS
AND
OBJEC-
TIVES.—Each year, consistent with the require-
ments of the Government Performance and Re-
sults Act of 1993 (in this subsection referred to 
as the ‘GPRA’), the Secretary of Homeland Se-
curity, the Under Secretary, and the Adminis-
trator of the Transportation Security Adminis-
tration shall agree on a performance plan for 
the succeeding 5 years that establishes measur-
able goals and objectives for aviation security. 
The plan shall identify action steps necessary to 
achieve such goals. 
‘‘(B) CLARIFICATION
OF
RESPONSIBIL-
ITIES.—In addition to meeting the require-
ments of GPRA, the performance plan should 
clarify the responsibilities of the Secretary, the 
Under Secretary, the Administrator, and the
148
head of any other agency or organization that 
may have a role in ensuring the security of the 
civil air transportation system. 
‘‘(2) PERFORMANCE REPORT.—Each year, con-
sistent with the requirements of GPRA, the Under 
Secretary shall prepare and submit to Congress an 
annual report including an evaluation of the extent 
goals and objectives were met. The report shall in-
clude the results achieved during the year relative to 
the goals established in the performance plan. 
‘‘§ 1543. Performance management system 
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHING A FAIR AND EQUITABLE SYS-
TEM
FOR
MEASURING
STAFF
PERFORMANCE.—The 
Under Secretary for Border and Transportation Security 
shall establish a performance management system which 
strengthens the organization’s effectiveness by providing 
for the establishment of goals and objectives for managers, 
employees, and organizational performance consistent 
with the performance plan. 
‘‘(b) ESTABLISHING MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTABILITY 
FOR MEETING PERFORMANCE GOALS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each year, the Secretary of 
Homeland Security, the Under Secretary, and the 
Administrator of the Transportation Security Ad-
ministration shall enter into an annual performance
149
agreement that shall set forth organizational and in-
dividual performance goals for the Under Secretary 
and the Administrator. 
‘‘(2) GOALS.—Each year, the Under Secretary, 
the Administrator, and each senior manager who re-
ports to the Under Secretary or the Administrator 
shall enter into an annual performance agreement 
that sets forth organization and individual goals for 
those managers. All other employees hired under the 
authority of the Under Secretary or the Adminis-
trator shall enter into an annual performance agree-
ment that sets forth organization and individual 
goals for those employees. 
‘‘(c) 
PERFORMANCE-BASED
SERVICE
CON-
TRACTING.—To the extent contracts, if any, are used to 
implement this part, the Under Secretary shall, to the ex-
tent practical, maximize the use of performance-based 
service contracts. These contracts should be consistent 
with guidelines published by the Office of Federal Pro-
curement Policy. 
‘‘§ 1544. Voluntary provision of emergency services 
‘‘(a) PROGRAM
FOR PROVISION
OF VOLUNTARY 
SERVICES.—
‘‘(1) PROGRAM.—The Under Secretary for Bor-
der and Transportation Security shall carry out a
150
program to permit qualified law enforcement offi-
cers, firefighters, and emergency medical technicians 
to provide emergency services on commercial air 
flights during emergencies. 
‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The Under Secretary 
shall establish such requirements for qualifications 
of providers of voluntary services under the program 
under paragraph (1), including training require-
ments, as the Under Secretary considers appro-
priate. 
‘‘(3) CONFIDENTIALITY
OF
REGISTRY.—If as 
part of the program under paragraph (1) the Under 
Secretary requires or permits registration of law en-
forcement officers, firefighters, or emergency med-
ical technicians who are willing to provide emergency 
services on commercial flights during emergencies, 
the Under Secretary shall take appropriate actions 
to ensure that the registry is available only to appro-
priate airline personnel and otherwise remains con-
fidential. 
‘‘(4) CONSULTATION.—The Under Secretary 
shall consult with appropriate representatives of the 
commercial airline industry, and organizations rep-
resenting community-based law enforcement, fire-
fighters, and emergency medical technicians, in car-
151
rying out the program under paragraph (1), includ-
ing the actions taken under paragraph (3). 
‘‘(b) EXEMPTION FROM LIABILITY.—An individual 
shall not be liable for damages in any action brought in 
a Federal or State court arising out of the acts or omis-
sions of the individual in providing or attempting to pro-
vide assistance in the case of an in-flight emergency unless 
the individual, while rendering such assistance, is guilty 
of gross negligence or willful misconduct. 
‘‘CHAPTER 17—INVESTIGATIONS AND 
PROCEEDINGS
‘‘Sec. 
‘‘1701. Complaints and investigations. 
‘‘1702. Proceedings. 
‘‘1703. Service of notice, process, and actions. 
‘‘1704. Evidence. 
‘‘1705. Regulations and orders. 
‘‘1706. Certificate actions in response to a security threat. 
‘‘1707. Enforcement by Transportation Security Administration. 
‘‘1708. Enforcement by Attorney General. 
‘‘1709. Joinder and intervention. 
‘‘1710. Judicial review.
‘‘§ 1701. Complaints and investigations 
‘‘(a) GENERAL.—
‘‘(1) FILING OF COMPLAINT AND INVESTIGA-
TION.—A person may file a complaint in writing 
with the Under Secretary for Border and Transpor-
tation Security about a person violating this part or 
a requirement prescribed under this part. Except as 
provided in subsection (b), the Under Secretary shall
152
investigate the complaint if a reasonable ground ap-
pears to the Under Secretary for the investigation. 
‘‘(2) INVESTIGATION ON INITIATIVE OF UNDER 
SECRETARY.—On the initiative of the Under Sec-
retary, the Under Secretary may conduct an inves-
tigation, if a reasonable ground appears to the 
Under Secretary for the investigation, about—
‘‘(A) a person violating this part or a re-
quirement prescribed under this part; or 
‘‘(B) any question that may arise under 
this part. 
‘‘(3) DISMISSAL
OF
COMPLAINT.—The Under 
Secretary may dismiss a complaint without a hear-
ing when the Under Secretary is of the opinion that 
the complaint does not state facts that warrant an 
investigation or action. 
‘‘(4) ORDER.—After notice and an opportunity 
for a hearing, the Under Secretary shall issue an 
order to compel compliance with this part if the 
Under Secretary finds in an investigation under this 
subsection that a person is violating this part. 
‘‘(5) 
INTERNATIONAL
OBLIGATIONS.—In 
issuing orders under paragraph (4), the Under Sec-
retary—
153
‘‘(A) shall act consistently with obligations 
of the United States Government; and 
‘‘(B) shall consider applicable laws and re-
quirements of a foreign country. 
‘‘(b) COMPLAINTS AGAINST MEMBERS OF ARMED 
FORCES.—The Under Secretary shall refer a complaint 
against a member of the armed forces of the United States 
performing official duties to the Secretary of the depart-
ment concerned for action. Not later than 90 days after 
receiving the complaint, the Secretary of that department 
shall inform the Under Secretary of the action taken on 
the complaint, including any corrective or disciplinary ac-
tion taken. 
‘‘§ 1702. Proceedings 
‘‘(a) CONDUCTING PROCEEDINGS.—Subject to sub-
chapter II of chapter 5 of title 5, the Under Secretary 
for Border and Transportation Security may conduct pro-
ceedings in a way conducive to justice and the proper dis-
patch of business. 
‘‘(b) APPEARANCE.—A person may appear and be 
heard before the Under Secretary in person or by an attor-
ney. 
‘‘(c) RECORDING AND PUBLIC ACCESS.—Official ac-
tion taken by the Under Secretary under this part shall 
be recorded. Proceedings before the Under Secretary shall
154
be open to the public on the request of an interested party 
unless the Under Secretary decides that secrecy is re-
quired because of national defense. 
‘‘(d) CONFLICTS
OF INTEREST.—The Under Sec-
retary may not participate in a proceeding referred to in 
subsection (a) in which the Under Secretary has a pecu-
niary interest. 
‘‘§ 1703. Service of notice, process, and actions 
‘‘(a) DESIGNATING AGENTS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each air carrier and for-
eign air carrier shall designate an agent on whom 
service of notice and process in a proceeding before, 
and an action of, the Under Secretary for Border 
and Transportation Security may be made. 
‘‘(2) PROCEDURAL REQUIREMENTS.—The des-
ignation—
‘‘(A) shall be in writing and filed with the 
Under Secretary; and 
‘‘(B) may be changed in the same way as 
originally made. 
‘‘(b) SERVICE.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Service may be made—
‘‘(A) by personal service; 
‘‘(B) on a designated agent; or
155
‘‘(C) by certified or registered mail to the 
person to be served or the designated agent of 
the person. 
‘‘(2) DATE OF SERVICE.—The date of service 
made by certified or registered mail is the date of 
mailing. 
‘‘(c) SERVING AGENTS.—Service on an agent des-
ignated under this section shall be made at the office or 
usual place of residence of the agent. If an air carrier or 
foreign air carrier does not have a designated agent, serv-
ice may be made by posting the notice, process, or action 
in the office of the Under Secretary. 
‘‘§ 1704. Evidence 
‘‘(a) GENERAL.—In conducting a hearing or inves-
tigation under this chapter, the Under Secretary for Bor-
der and Transportation Security may—
‘‘(1) subpoena witnesses and records related to 
a matter involved in the hearing or investigation 
from any place in the United States to the des-
ignated place of the hearing or investigation; 
‘‘(2) administer oaths; 
‘‘(3) examine witnesses; and 
‘‘(4) receive evidence at a place in the United 
States the Under Secretary designates.
156
‘‘(b) COMPLIANCE WITH SUBPOENAS.—If a person 
disobeys a subpoena, the Under Secretary, or a party to 
a proceeding before the Under Secretary may petition a 
court of the United States to enforce the subpoena. A judi-
cial proceeding to enforce a subpoena under this section 
may be brought in the jurisdiction in which the proceeding 
or investigation is conducted. The court may punish a fail-
ure to obey an order of the court to comply with the sub-
poena as a contempt of court. 
‘‘(c) DEPOSITIONS.—
‘‘(1) ORDER.—In a proceeding or investigation, 
the Under Secretary may order a person to give tes-
timony by deposition and to produce records. If a 
person fails to be deposed or to produce records, the 
order may be enforced in the same way a subpoena 
may be enforced under subsection (b). 
‘‘(2) PERSON
TAKING.—A deposition may be 
taken before an individual designated by the Under 
Secretary and having the power to administer oaths. 
‘‘(3) NOTICE.—Before taking a deposition, the 
party or the attorney of the party proposing to take 
the deposition must give reasonable notice in writing 
to the opposing party or the attorney of record of 
that party. The notice shall state the name of the
157
witness and the time and place of taking the deposi-
tion. 
‘‘(4) UNDER
OATH; TRANSCRIPT.—The testi-
mony of a person deposed under this subsection 
shall be under oath. The person taking the deposi-
tion shall prepare, or cause to be prepared, a tran-
script of the testimony taken. The transcript shall be 
subscribed by the deponent. Each deposition shall be 
filed promptly with the Under Secretary. 
‘‘(5) SPECIAL
RULES
FOR
FOREIGN
COUN-
TRIES.—If the laws of a foreign country allow, the 
testimony of a witness in that country may be taken 
by deposition—
‘‘(A) by a consular officer or an individual 
commissioned by the Under Secretary or agreed 
on by the parties by written stipulation filed 
with the Under Secretary; or 
‘‘(B) under letters rogatory issued by a 
court of competent jurisdiction at the request of 
the Under Secretary. 
‘‘(d) WITNESS FEES AND MILEAGE AND CERTAIN 
FOREIGN COUNTRY EXPENSES.—A witness summoned 
before the Under Secretary or whose deposition is taken 
under this section and the individual taking the deposition 
are each entitled to the same fee and mileage that the
158
witness and individual would have been paid for those 
services in a court of the United States. Under regulations 
of the Under Secretary, the Under Secretary shall pay the 
necessary expenses incident to executing, in another coun-
try, a commission or letter rogatory issued at the initiative 
of the Under Secretary. 
‘‘(e) DESIGNATING EMPLOYEES TO CONDUCT HEAR-
INGS.—When designated by the Under Secretary, an em-
ployee appointed under section 3105 of title 5 may con-
duct a hearing, subpoena witnesses, administer oaths, ex-
amine witnesses, and receive evidence at a place in the 
United States the Under Secretary designates. On request 
of a party, the Under Secretary shall hear or receive argu-
ment. 
‘‘§ 1705. Regulations and orders 
‘‘(a) EFFECTIVENESS OF ORDERS.—Except as pro-
vided in this part, a regulation prescribed or order issued 
by the Under Secretary for Border and Transportation Se-
curity with respect to security duties and powers des-
ignated to be carried out by the Under Secretary takes 
effect within a reasonable time prescribed by the Under 
Secretary. The regulation or order remains in effect under 
its own terms or until superseded. Except as provided in 
this part, the Under Secretary may amend, modify, or sus-
159
pend an order in the way, and by giving the notice, the 
Under Secretary decides. 
‘‘(b) CONTENTS
AND SERVICE
OF ORDERS.—An 
order of the Under Secretary shall include the findings 
of fact on which the order is based and shall be served 
on the parties to the proceeding and the persons affected 
by the order. 
‘‘§ 1706. Certificate actions in response to a security 
threat 
‘‘(a) ORDERS.—The Administrator of Federal Avia-
tion Administration shall issue an order amending, modi-
fying, suspending, or revoking any part of a certificate 
issued under this title if the Administrator is notified by 
the Under Secretary for Border and Transportation Secu-
rity that the holder of the certificate poses, or is suspected 
of posing, a risk of air piracy or terrorism or a threat 
to airline or passenger safety. If requested by the Under 
Secretary, the order shall be effective immediately. 
‘‘(b) HEARINGS FOR CITIZENS.—An individual who 
is a citizen of the United States who is adversely affected 
by an order of the Administrator under subsection (a) is 
entitled to a hearing on the record. 
‘‘(c) HEARINGS.—When conducting a hearing under 
this section, the administrative law judge shall not be
160
bound by findings of fact or interpretations of laws and 
regulations of the Administrator or the Under Secretary. 
‘‘(d) APPEALS.—An appeal from a decision of an ad-
ministrative law judge as the result of a hearing under 
subsection (b) shall be made to the Transportation Secu-
rity Oversight Board established by section 1312. The 
Board shall establish a panel to review the decision. The 
members of this panel (1) shall not be employees of the 
Transportation Security Administration, (2) shall have the 
level of security clearance needed to review the determina-
tion made under this section, and (3) shall be given access 
to all relevant documents that support that determination. 
The panel may affirm, modify, or reverse the decision. 
‘‘(e) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—A person substantially af-
fected by an action of a panel under subsection (d), or 
the Under Secretary when the Under Secretary decides 
that the action of the panel under this section will have 
a significant adverse impact on carrying out this part, may 
obtain judicial review of the order under section 1710. The 
Under Secretary and the Administrator shall be made a 
party to the judicial review proceedings. Findings of fact 
of the panel are conclusive if supported by substantial evi-
dence. 
‘‘(f) EXPLANATION OF DECISIONS.—An individual 
who commences an appeal under this section shall receive
161
a written explanation of the basis for the determination 
or decision and all relevant documents that support that 
determination to the maximum extent that the national 
security interests of the United States and other applica-
ble laws permit.
‘‘(g) CLASSIFIED EVIDENCE.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary, in 
consultation with the Administrator, shall issue reg-
ulations to establish procedures by which the Under 
Secretary, as part of a hearing conducting under 
this section, may substitute an unclassified summary 
of classified evidence upon the approval of the ad-
ministrative law judge. 
‘‘(2) APPROVAL
AND
DISAPPROVAL
OF
SUM-
MARIES.—Under the procedures, an administrative 
law judge shall—
‘‘(A) approve a summary if the judge finds 
that it is sufficient to enable the certificate 
holder to appeal an order issued under sub-
section (a); or 
‘‘(B) disapprove a summary if the judge 
finds that it is not sufficient to enable the cer-
tificate holder to appeal such an order. 
‘‘(3) MODIFICATIONS.—If an administrative law 
judge disapproves a summary under paragraph
162
(2)(B), the judge shall direct the Under Secretary to 
modify the summary and resubmit the summary for 
approval. 
‘‘(4) INSUFFICIENT MODIFICATIONS.—If an ad-
ministrative law judge is unable to approve a modi-
fied summary, the order issued under subsection (a) 
that is the subject of the hearing shall be set aside 
unless the judge finds that such a result—
‘‘(A) would likely cause serious and irrep-
arable harm to the national security; or 
‘‘(B) would likely cause death or serious 
bodily injury to any person. 
‘‘(5) SPECIAL PROCEDURES.—If an administra-
tive law judge makes a finding under subparagraph 
(A) or (B) of paragraph (4), the hearing shall pro-
ceed without an unclassified summary provided to 
the certificate holder. In such a case, subject to pro-
cedures established by regulation by the Under Sec-
retary in consultation with the Administrator, the 
administrative law judge shall appoint a special at-
torney to assist the accused by—
‘‘(A) reviewing in camera the classified evi-
dence; and
163
‘‘(B) challenging, through an in camera 
proceeding, the veracity of the evidence con-
tained in the classified information.’’. 
‘‘§ 1707. Enforcement by Transportation Security Ad-
ministration 
‘‘The Under Secretary for Border and Transpor-
tation Security may bring a civil action against a person 
in a district court of the United States to enforce this part 
or a requirement or regulation prescribed, or an order or 
any term of a certificate or permit issued, under this part. 
The action may be brought in the judicial district in which 
the person does business or the violation occurred. 
‘‘§ 1708. Enforcement by Attorney General 
‘‘(a) CIVIL ACTIONS TO ENFORCE THIS PART.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—On request of the Under 
Secretary for Border and Transportation Security, 
the Attorney General may bring a civil action in an 
appropriate court—
‘‘(A) to enforce this part or a requirement 
or regulation prescribed, or an order or any 
term of a certificate or permit issued, under 
this part; and 
‘‘(B) to prosecute a person violating this 
part or a requirement or regulation prescribed,
164
or an order or any term of a certificate or per-
mit issued, under this part. 
‘‘(2) PAYMENT OF COSTS AND EXPENSES.—The 
costs and expenses of a civil action shall be paid out 
of the appropriations for the expenses of the courts 
of the United States. 
‘‘(c) PARTICIPATION OF SECRETARY, UNDER SEC-
RETARY, OR ADMINISTRATOR.—On request of the Attor-
ney General, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the 
Under Secretary, the Administrator of the Transportation 
Security Administration, or the Administrator of the Fed-
eral Aviation Administration may participate in a civil ac-
tion under this part. 
‘‘§ 1709. Joinder and intervention 
‘‘A person interested in or affected by a matter under 
consideration in a proceeding before the Under Secretary 
for Border and Transportation Security or civil action to 
enforce this part or a requirement or regulation pre-
scribed, or an order or any term of a certificate or permit 
issued, under this part may be joined as a party or per-
mitted to intervene in the proceeding or civil action. 
‘‘§ 1710. Judicial review 
‘‘(a) FILING AND VENUE.—A person disclosing a 
substantial interest in an order issued by the Under Sec-
retary for Border and Transportation Security with re-
165
spect to security duties and powers designated to be car-
ried out by the Under Secretary under this part may apply 
for review of the order by filing a petition for review in 
the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Co-
lumbia Circuit or in the court of appeals of the United 
States for the circuit in which the person resides or has 
its principal place of business. The petition must be filed 
not later than 60 days after the order is issued. The court 
may allow the petition to be filed after the 60th day only 
if there are reasonable grounds for not filing by the 60th 
day. 
‘‘(b) JUDICIAL PROCEDURES.—When a petition is 
filed under subsection (a), the clerk of the court imme-
diately shall send a copy of the petition to the Under Sec-
retary. The Under Secretary shall file with the court a 
record of any proceeding in which the order was issued, 
as provided in section 2112 of title 28. 
‘‘(c) AUTHORITY OF COURT.—When the petition is 
sent to the Under Secretary, the court has exclusive juris-
diction to affirm, amend, modify, or set aside any part 
of the order and may order the Under Secretary to con-
duct further proceedings. After reasonable notice to the 
Under Secretary, the court may grant interim relief by 
staying the order or taking other appropriate action when 
good cause for its action exists. Findings of fact by the
166
Under Secretary, if supported by substantial evidence, are 
conclusive. 
‘‘(d) REQUIREMENT FOR PRIOR OBJECTION.—In re-
viewing an order under this section, the court may con-
sider an objection to an order of the Secretary of Home-
land Security, the Under Secretary, or the Administrator 
of the Transportation Security Administration only if the 
objection was made in the proceeding conducted by the 
Secretary, the Under Secretary, or the Administrator or 
if there was a reasonable ground for not making the objec-
tion in the proceeding. 
‘‘(e) SUPREME COURT REVIEW.—A decision by a 
court under this section may be reviewed only by the Su-
preme Court under section 1254 of title 28. 
‘‘CHAPTER 19—PENALTIES
‘‘Sec. 
‘‘1901. Civil penalties. 
‘‘1902. Carrying a weapon. 
‘‘1903. Liens on aircraft. 
‘‘1904. Actions to recover civil penalties. 
‘‘1905. Unlawful disclosure of information. 
‘‘1906. Refusing to appear or produce records. 
‘‘1907. Entering aircraft or airport area in violation of security requirements. 
‘‘1908. General criminal penalty when specific penalty not provided.
‘‘§ 1901. Civil penalties 
‘‘(a) GENERAL PENALTY.—
‘‘(1) VIOLATIONS OF CHAPTER 15.—A person is 
liable to the United States Government for a civil 
penalty of not more than $10,000 for violating—
167
‘‘(A) chapter 15 (except sections 1502, 
1503(d), 
1504, 
1507(a)–(d)(1)(A) 
and 
(d)(1)(C)–(f), and 1508) or another require-
ment under this part administered by the 
Under Secretary for Border and Transportation 
Security; 
‘‘(B) a regulation prescribed or order 
issued under any provision to which subpara-
graph (A) applies. 
‘‘(2) VIOLATIONS BY PILOTS.—A person oper-
ating an aircraft for the transportation of pas-
sengers or property for compensation (except an air-
man serving as an airman) is liable to the Govern-
ment for a civil penalty of not more than $25,000 
for violating—
‘‘(A) chapter 15 (except sections 1502, 
1503(d), 1504, and 1507–1509) or another re-
quirement under this title administered by the 
Under Secretary; or 
‘‘(B) a regulation prescribed or order 
issued under any provision to which subpara-
graph (A) applies. 
‘‘(3) OCCURRENCE OF SEPARATE VIOLATION.—
A separate violation occurs under this subsection for
168
each day the violation continues or, if applicable, for 
each flight involving the violation. 
‘‘(b) ADMINISTRATIVE IMPOSITION OF PENALTIES.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary for 
Border and Transportation Security may impose a 
civil penalty for a violation of chapter 15 (except 
sections 
1502, 
1503(d), 
1507(a)–(d)(1)(A), 
1507(d)(1)(C)–(f), 1508, and 1509) or a regulation 
prescribed or order issued under this part. The 
Under Secretary shall give written notice of the find-
ing of a violation and the penalty. 
‘‘(2) LIMITATION ON REVIEW.—In a civil action 
to collect a civil penalty imposed by the Under Sec-
retary under this subsection, the issues of liability 
and the amount of the penalty may not be reexam-
ined. 
‘‘(3) EXCLUSION
JURISDICTION
OF
DISTRICT 
COURT.—Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the dis-
trict courts of the United States have exclusive juris-
diction of a civil action involving a penalty the 
Under Secretary initiates if—
‘‘(A) the amount in controversy is more 
than $50,000;
169
‘‘(B) the action is in rem or another action 
in rem based on the same violation has been 
brought; 
‘‘(C) the action involves an aircraft subject 
to a lien that has been seized by the Govern-
ment; or 
‘‘(D) another action has been brought for 
an injunction based on the same violation. 
‘‘(4) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—The maximum civil 
penalty the Under Secretary may impose under this 
subsection is $50,000. 
‘‘(5) PROCEDURAL RULES FOR PILOTS, FLIGHT 
ENGINEERS, MECHANICS, AND REPAIRMEN.—
‘‘(A) NOTICE
OF
CHANGES
AND
REA-
SONS.—The Under Secretary may issue an 
order imposing a penalty under this subsection 
against an individual acting as a pilot, flight 
engineer, mechanic, or repairman only after ad-
vising the individual of the charges or any rea-
son the Under Secretary relied on for the pro-
posed penalty and providing the individual an 
opportunity to answer the charges and be heard 
about why the order shall not be issued. 
‘‘(B) APPEAL
TO
NTSB.—An individual 
acting as a pilot, flight engineer, mechanic, or
170
repairman may appeal an order imposing a pen-
alty under this subsection to the National 
Transportation Safety Board. After notice and 
an opportunity for a hearing on the record, the 
Board shall affirm, modify, or reverse the 
order. The Board may modify a civil penalty 
imposed to a suspension or revocation of a cer-
tificate. 
‘‘(C) HEARINGS
OF
NTSB.—When con-
ducting a hearing under this paragraph, the 
Board is not bound by findings of fact of the 
Under Secretary but is bound by all validly 
adopted interpretations of laws and regulations 
the Under Secretary carries out and of written 
agency policy guidance available to the public 
related to sanctions to be imposed under this 
section unless the Board finds an interpretation 
is arbitrary, capricious, or otherwise not accord-
ing to law. 
‘‘(D) STAY OF ORDER PENDING APPEAL.—
When an individual files an appeal with the 
Board under this paragraph, the order of the 
Under Secretary is stayed. 
‘‘(6) JUDICIAL
REVIEW.—An individual sub-
stantially affected by an order of the Board under
171
paragraph (5), or the Under Secretary when the 
Under Secretary decides that an order of the Board 
under paragraph (5) will have a significant adverse 
impact on carrying out this part, may obtain judicial 
review of the order under section. The Under Sec-
retary shall be made a party to the judicial review 
proceedings. Findings of fact of the Board are con-
clusive if supported by substantial evidence. 
‘‘(7) PROCEDURAL RULES FOR OTHERS.—
‘‘(A) NOTICE OF OPPORTUNITY FOR HEAR-
ING.—The Under Secretary may impose a pen-
alty on a person (except an individual acting as 
a pilot, flight engineer, mechanic, or repairman) 
only after notice and an opportunity for a hear-
ing on the record. 
‘‘(B) STANDARDS OF REVIEW.—In an ap-
peal from a decision of an administrative law 
judge as the result of a hearing under subpara-
graph (A), the Under Secretary shall consider 
only whether—
‘‘(i) each finding of fact is supported 
by a preponderance of reliable, probative, 
and substantial evidence;
172
‘‘(ii) each conclusion of law is made 
according to applicable law, precedent, and 
public policy; and 
‘‘(iii) the judge committed a preju-
dicial error that supports the appeal. 
‘‘(C) DEADLINE FOR INITIATION OF CIVIL 
ACTION.—Except for good cause, a civil action 
involving a penalty under this paragraph may 
not be initiated later than 2 years after the vio-
lation occurs. 
‘‘(c) COMPROMISE AND SETOFF.—
‘‘(1) COMPROMISE.—The Under Secretary may 
compromise the amount of a civil penalty imposed 
for violating—
‘‘(A) chapter 15 (except sections 1502, 
1503(d), 1504, and 1507–1509) or another re-
quirement under this title administered by the 
Under Secretary; or 
‘‘(B) a regulation prescribed or order 
issued under any provision to which subpara-
graph (A) applies. 
‘‘(2) SETOFF.—The Government may deduct 
the amount of a civil penalty imposed or com-
promised under this subsection from amounts it 
owes the person liable for the penalty.
173
‘‘(d) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—An order of the Under Sec-
retary imposing a civil penalty may be reviewed judicially 
only under section 1710. 
‘‘(e) NONAPPLICATION TO MILITARY PERSONNEL.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—This section does not apply 
to the following when performing official duties: 
‘‘(A) A member of the armed forces of the 
United States. 
‘‘(B) A civilian employee of the Depart-
ment of Defense subject to the Uniform Code 
of Military Justice. 
‘‘(2) RESPONSIBILITY
OF
MILITARY
AUTHOR-
ITY.—The appropriate military authority is respon-
sible for taking necessary disciplinary action and 
submitting to the Under Secretary. 
‘‘§ 1902. Carrying a weapon 
‘‘(a) CIVIL PENALTY.—An individual who, when on, 
or attempting to board, an aircraft in, or intended for op-
eration in, air transportation or intrastate air transpor-
tation, has on or about the individual or the property of 
the individual a concealed dangerous weapon that is or 
would be accessible to the individual in flight is liable to 
the United States Government for a civil penalty of not 
more than $10,000 for each violation. 
‘‘(b) COMPROMISE AND SETOFF.—
174
‘‘(1) COMPROMISE.—The Under Secretary may 
compromise the amount of a civil penalty imposed 
under subsection (a). 
‘‘(2) SETOFF.—The Government may deduct 
the amount of a civil penalty imposed or com-
promised under this section from amounts it owes 
the individual liable for the penalty. 
‘‘(c) NONAPPLICATION.—This section does not apply 
to—
‘‘(1) a law enforcement officer of a State or po-
litical subdivision of a State, or an officer or em-
ployee of the Government, authorized to carry arms 
in an official capacity; or 
‘‘(2) another individual the Secretary of Home-
land Security, the Under Secretary, or the Adminis-
trator of the Federal Aviation Administration by 
regulation authorizes to carry arms in an official ca-
pacity. 
‘‘§ 1903. Liens on aircraft 
‘‘(a) AIRCRAFT SUBJECT TO LIENS.—When an air-
craft is involved in a violation referred to in section 
1901(a)(1) or (2) and the violation is by the owner of, 
or individual commanding, the aircraft, the aircraft is sub-
ject to a lien for the civil penalty.
175
‘‘(b) SEIZURE.—An aircraft subject to a lien under 
this section may be seized summarily and placed in the 
custody of a person authorized to take custody of it under 
regulations of the Under Secretary for Border and Trans-
portation Security. A report on the seizure shall be sub-
mitted to the Attorney General. The Attorney General 
promptly shall bring a civil action in rem to enforce the 
lien or notify the Under Secretary that the action will not 
be brought. 
‘‘(c) RELEASE.—An aircraft seized under subsection 
(b) shall be released from custody when—
‘‘(1) the civil penalty is paid; 
‘‘(2) a compromise amount agreed on is paid; 
‘‘(3) the aircraft is seized under a civil action 
in rem to enforce the lien; 
‘‘(4) the Attorney General gives notice that a 
civil action will not be brought under subsection (b); 
or 
‘‘(5) a bond (in an amount and with a surety 
the Under Secretary prescribes), conditioned on pay-
ment of the penalty or compromise, is deposited with 
the Under Secretary. 
‘‘§ 1904. Actions to recover civil penalties 
‘‘A civil penalty under this chapter may be collected 
by bringing a civil action against the person subject to
176
the penalty, a civil action in rem against an aircraft sub-
ject to a lien for a penalty, or both. The action shall con-
form as nearly as practicable to a civil action in admiralty, 
regardless of the place an aircraft in a civil action in rem 
is seized. However, a party may demand a jury trial of 
an issue of fact in an action involving a civil penalty under 
this chapter if the value of the matter in controversy is 
more than $20. Issues of fact tried by a jury may be reex-
amined only under common law rules. 
‘‘§ 1905. Unlawful disclosure of information 
‘‘(a) CRIMINAL PENALTY.—The Under Secretary for 
Border and Transportation Security or an officer or em-
ployee of the Under Secretary shall be fined under title 
18, imprisoned for not more than 2 years, or both, if the 
Under Secretary, officer, or employee knowingly and will-
fully discloses information that—
‘‘(1) the Under Secretary, officer, or employee 
acquires when inspecting the records of an air car-
rier; or 
‘‘(2) is withheld from public disclosure under 
section 40115. 
‘‘(b) NONAPPLICATION.—Subsection (a) does not 
apply if—
177
‘‘(1) the officer or employee is directed by the 
Under Secretary to disclose information that the 
Under Secretary had ordered withheld; or 
‘‘(2) the Under Secretary, officer, or employee 
is directed by a court of competent jurisdiction to 
disclose the information. 
‘‘(c) WITHHOLDING
INFORMATION
FROM
CON-
GRESS.—This section does not authorize the Under Sec-
retary to withhold information from a committee of Con-
gress authorized to have the information. 
‘‘§ 1906. Refusing to appear or produce records 
‘‘A person not obeying a subpoena or requirement of 
the Under Secretary for Border and Transportation Secu-
rity to appear and testify or produce records shall be fined 
under title 18, imprisoned for not more than one year, 
or both. 
‘‘§ 1907. Entering aircraft or airport area in violation 
of security requirements 
‘‘(a) PROHIBITION.—A person may not knowingly 
and willfully enter, in violation of security requirements 
prescribed under section 1501, 1503(b) or (c), or 1506, 
an aircraft or an airport area that serves an air carrier 
or foreign air carrier. 
‘‘(b) CRIMINAL PENALTY.—
178
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—A person violating sub-
section (a) shall be fined under title 18, imprisoned 
for not more than one year, or both. 
‘‘(2) SPECIAL RULE FOR INTENT TO COMMIT 
FELONY.—A person violating subsection (a) with in-
tent to commit, in the aircraft or airport area, a fel-
ony under a law of the United States or a State 
shall be fined under title 18, imprisoned for not 
more than 10 years, or both. 
‘‘§ 1908. General criminal penalty when specific pen-
alty not provided 
‘‘(a) CRIMINAL PENALTY.—Except as provided by 
subsection (b), when another criminal penalty is not pro-
vided under this chapter, a person that knowingly and 
willfully violates this part, a regulation prescribed or order 
issued by the Under Secretary for Border and Transpor-
tation Security under this part, or any term of a certificate 
or permit issued under this part, shall be fined under title 
18. A separate violation occurs for each day the violation 
continues. 
‘‘(b) NONAPPLICATION.—Subsection (a) does not 
apply to chapter 15 (except sections 1502, 1503(d), 1504, 
and 1507–1509).
179
‘‘CHAPTER 21—AVIATION SECURITY 
FUNDING
‘‘Sec. 
‘‘2101.
Aviation security funding.
‘‘§ 2101. Aviation security funding 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be ap-
propriated for fiscal years 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005 
such sums as may be necessary to carry out this part and 
related aviation security activities under this title. Any 
amounts appropriated pursuant to this section for fiscal 
year 2002 shall remain available until expended. 
‘‘(b) GRANTS FOR AIRCRAFT SECURITY.—There is 
authorized to be appropriated $500,000,000 to make 
grants to or other agreements with air carriers (including 
intrastate air carriers) to—
‘‘(1) fortify cockpit doors to deny access from 
the cabin to the pilots in the cockpit; 
‘‘(2) provide for the use of video monitors or 
other devices to alert the cockpit crew to activity in 
the passenger cabin; 
‘‘(3) ensure continuous operation of the aircraft 
transponder in the event the crew faces an emer-
gency; and 
‘‘(4) provide for the use of other innovative 
technologies to enhance aircraft security.’’.
180
(b) TRAINING TO OPERATE CERTAIN AIRCRAFT.—
Notwithstanding subsection (f), section 44939 of title 49, 
United States Code, shall remain in effect through the 
60th day following the date of enactment of this Act. Sec-
tion 1539, as added by section 3 of this Act, shall not 
take effect until the day following such 60 day. 
(c) POSITION
OF ADMINISTRATOR
IN EXECUTIVE 
SCHEDULE.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Section 5313 of title 5, 
United States Code, is amended by adding at the 
end the following: 
‘‘Administrator of the Transportation Security 
Administration of the Department of Homeland Se-
curity.’’. 
(2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT TO TITLE 5.—
Section 5313 of title 5, United States Code, is 
amended by striking ‘‘The Under Secretary of 
Transportation for Security’’. 
(d) CHANGE OF CERTAIN NOTICE TO AIRMEN.—The 
Federal Aviation Administration’s Flight Data Center No-
tice to Airmen 3/1862 shall have no effect, and the Admin-
istrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall re-
place such notice with a new notice to airmen to reflect 
section 1524 of title 49, United States Code. 
(e) SECURITY SERVICE FEE.—Title 49 is amended—
181
(1) in section 44940(a)(1)—
(A) by striking ‘‘of Transportation for Se-
curity’’ and inserting ‘‘for Border and Trans-
portation Security of the Department of Home-
land Security’’; 
(B) in subparagraph (A) by striking 
‘‘44901’’ and inserting ‘‘1501’’; 
(C) in subparagraph (F) by striking 
‘‘44903’’ and inserting ‘‘1503’’; 
(D) in subparagraph (G) by striking 
‘‘44903(h)’’ and inserting ‘‘1503(h)’’; 
(E) by inserting after subparagraph (G) 
the following: 
‘‘(H) The costs of training pilots and flight 
attendants under sections 1518 and 1521. 
‘‘(I) The costs of airport security improve-
ment projects under section 1525.’’; and 
(F) by striking ‘‘44922’’ and inserting 
‘‘1522’’; 
(2) in section 44940(d)(4) by inserting after 
‘‘imposed’’ the following: ‘‘, including the cost of ful-
filling letters of intent issued under section 1525,’’; 
(3) in section 44940(h) by striking ‘‘44901’’ 
and inserting ‘‘1501’’;
182
(4) by redesignating section 44940 (as so 
amended) as section 1540; 
(5) by moving such redesignated section from 
subtitle VII to subtitle II; and 
(6) by inserting such redesignated section after 
section 1539 (as inserted by subsection (a) of this 
section). 
(f) REPEAL OF RESTATED PROVISIONS.—The fol-
lowing provisions are repealed: 
(1) Section 114 and the item relating to such 
section in the analysis for chapter 1. 
(2) Section 115 and the item relating to such 
section in the analysis for chapter 1. 
(3) Chapter 449. 
(4) Chapter 483 and the item relating to such 
chapter in the analysis for subtitle VII. 
(5) Sections 101(c)(2) and 111(d) of the Avia-
tion and Transportation Security Act (5 U.S.C. 
5313 note, 49 U.S.C. 44935 note). 
(6) Sections 352 and 367 of the Transportation 
and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2003 
(Public Law 108–7, div. I; 117 Stat. 410, 423). 
(7) Sections 302 and 310 of the Federal Avia-
tion Reauthorization Act of 1996 (49 U.S.C. 44935 
note and 44904 note; 110 Stat. 3250, 3253).