•HRES 255 RH 
land Security must maintain the information sharing 
standards required under the 2007 Passenger Name 
Record Agreement between the United States and the 
European Union. 
Whereas the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon 
the United States— 
(1) found that ‘‘[t]argeting travel is at least as pow-
erful a weapon against terrorists as targeting their 
money’’; and 
(2) recommended that the United States ‘‘combine 
terrorist travel intelligence, operations, and law enforce-
ment in a strategy to intercept terrorist, find terrorist 
travel facilitators, and constrain terrorist mobility’’; 
Whereas terrorists continue to target international travel to 
the United States, as evidenced by Umar Farouk 
Abdulmutallab’s attempt to detonate a bomb on board 
Northwest Airlines Flight 253 on December 25, 2009, en 
route from Amsterdam to Detroit; 
Whereas Congress responded to the attacks of September 11, 
2001, by mandating that all air carriers flying into the 
United States provide passenger name record (referred to 
in this resolution as ‘‘PNR’’) data concerning all inbound 
passengers to U.S. Customs and Border Protection to as-
sist the Department of Homeland Security in fulfilling its 
missions of protecting the border and enhancing border 
security; 
Whereas there is bipartisan agreement on the need to collect 
and share passenger travel data, which— 
(1) has served as a cornerstone for interdicting ter-
rorists by the administrations of President Barack 
Obama and former President George W. Bush; and 
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•HRES 255 RH 
(2) continues to fulfill the mandate for increased in-
formation sharing set by Congress in— 
(A) the Aviation and Transportation Security 
Act (Public Law 107–71); 
(B) the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Pre-
vention Act of 2004 (Public Law 108–458); 
(C) the Implementing Recommendations of the 
9/11 Commission Act of 2007 (Public Law 110–53); 
and 
(D) other laws requiring information sharing 
internationally and within the United States Govern-
ment to promote greater security; 
Whereas international law and treaties have recognized 
that— 
(1) advance information about travelers is a critical 
tool in identifying high-risk passengers; and 
(2) the intelligence gained from the analysis of pas-
senger travel data is critical for— 
(A) protecting the United States against terror-
ists entering the United States; and 
(B) preventing terrorists from boarding inter-
national flights bound for the United States; 
Whereas the Agreement Between the United States of Amer-
ica and the European Union on the Processing and 
Transfer of Passenger Name Record (PNR) Data by Air 
Carriers to the United States Department of Homeland 
Security (DHS), done at Brussels and Washington on 
July 23 and 26, 2007 (referred to in this resolution as 
the ‘‘EU-U.S. PNR Agreement’’)— 
(1) succeeded a series of agreements between 2002 
and October 2006; 
(2) was intended to remain in effect until 2014; and 
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•HRES 255 RH 
(3) complied with European Union and United 
States privacy laws by providing assurances that the 
United States would use PNR data for limited purposes; 
Whereas PNR data gathered pursuant to the EU-U.S. PNR 
Agreement has been used to identify and arrest a number 
of dangerous terrorists, including— 
(1) David Headley, who was planning an attack on 
Denmark and who contributed to the tragedy in Mumbai; 
and 
(2) Faisal Shahzad, who was attempting to flee the 
country after attempting to set off a car-bomb in Times 
Square; 
Whereas PNR data has been used to prevent the travel of 
many other individuals considered to be national security 
threats or otherwise inadmissible to the United States; 
Whereas the privacy protections in the current EU-U.S. PNR 
Agreement are robust, and a February 2010 joint review 
by both signatories found no privacy violations, misuse, 
or injury from the collection of PNR data by the Depart-
ment of Homeland Security; 
Whereas although the United States and the European Union 
have different governing mechanisms that lead to dif-
ferences in how oversight is conducted, both governments 
have a firm commitment to the protection of data and 
the respect of individual privacy; 
Whereas in February 2011, the European Commission pro-
posed that the European Union create its own PNR sys-
tem in order to identify potential terrorists and other 
dangerous criminals; and 
Whereas in November 2010, the Washington Post— 
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•HRES 255 RH 
(1) recognized the important role that PNR data 
plays in securing international aviation; and 
(2) recommended that data sharing should not be 
restricted without demonstrating specific problems with 
the operation of current agreement: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) acknowledges the grave threat posed by ter-
rorists and other dangerous criminals who seek to 
target the United States aviation system; 
(2) urges the Department of Homeland Secu-
rity to respond to any modification of passenger 
name record (PNR) data sharing that degrades the 
ability to identify terrorists with stronger security 
requirements; 
(3) urges the Department of Homeland Secu-
rity to not enter into any agreement that would im-
pose European oversight structures on the United 
States; and 
(4) strongly urges the Department of Homeland 
Security to oppose any effort by the European 
Union to frustrate counterterrorism cooperation and 
information sharing between the Department of 
Homeland Security and non-European countries. 
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House Calendar No. 87 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 255 
[Report No. 112–272] 
RESOLUTION 
Expressing the sense of the House of Representa-
tives that effective sharing of passenger informa-
tion from inbound international flight manifests 
is a crucial component of our national security 
and that the Department of Homeland Security 
must maintain the information sharing standards 
required under the 2007 Passenger Name Record 
Agreement between the United States and the 
European Union. 
NOVEMBER 4, 2011 
Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be 
printed 
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