II 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 719 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
FEBRUARY 11, 2015 
Received 
AN ACT 
To require the Transportation Security Administration to 
conform to existing Federal law and regulations regard-
ing criminal investigator positions, and for other pur-
poses. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘TSA Office of Inspec-
tion Accountability Act of 2015’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress makes the following findings: 
(1) Consistent with Federal law and regula-
tions, for law enforcement officers to qualify for pre-
mium pay as criminal investigators, the officers 
must, in general, spend on average at least 50 per-
cent of their time investigating, apprehending, or de-
taining individuals suspected or convicted of offenses 
against the criminal laws of the United States. 
(2) According to the Inspector General of the 
Department of Homeland Security (DHS IG), the 
Transportation Security Administration (TSA) does 
not ensure that its cadre of criminal investigators in 
the Office of Inspection are meeting this require-
ment, even though they are considered law enforce-
ment officers under TSA policy and receive premium 
pay. 
(3) Instead, TSA criminal investigators in the 
Office of Inspection primarily monitor the results of 
criminal investigations conducted by other agencies, 
investigate administrative cases of TSA employee 
misconduct, and carry out inspections, covert tests, 
and internal reviews, which the DHS IG asserts 
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could be performed by employees other than criminal 
investigators at a lower cost. 
(4) The premium pay and other benefits af-
forded to TSA criminal investigators in the Office of 
Inspection who are incorrectly classified as such will 
cost the taxpayer as much as $17 million over 5 
years if TSA fails to make any changes to the num-
ber of criminal investigators in the Office of Inspec-
tion, according to the DHS IG. 
(5) This may be a conservative estimate, as it 
accounts for the cost of Law Enforcement Avail-
ability Pay, but not the costs of law enforcement 
training, statutory early retirement benefits, police 
vehicles, and weapons. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) ADMINISTRATION.—The term ‘‘Administra-
tion’’ means the Transportation Security Adminis-
tration. 
(2) ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Assist-
ant Secretary’’ means the Assistant Secretary of 
Homeland Security (Transportation Security) of the 
Department of Homeland Security. 
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(3) INSPECTOR GENERAL.—The term ‘‘Inspec-
tor General’’ means the Inspector General of the De-
partment of Homeland Security. 
SEC. 4. INSPECTOR GENERAL REVIEW. 
(a) REVIEW.—Not later than 60 days after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the Inspector General shall 
analyze the data and methods that the Assistant Secretary 
uses to identify employees of the Administration who meet 
the requirements of sections 8331(20), 8401(17), and 
5545a of title 5, United States Code, and provide the rel-
evant findings to the Assistant Secretary, including a find-
ing on whether the data and methods are adequate and 
valid. 
(b) PROHIBITION ON HIRING.—If the Inspector Gen-
eral finds that such data and methods are inadequate or 
invalid, the Administration may not hire any new em-
ployee to work in the Office of Inspection of the Adminis-
tration until— 
(1) the Assistant Secretary makes a certifi-
cation described in section 5 to the Committee on 
Homeland Security of the House of Representatives 
and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation of the Senate; and 
(2) the Inspector General submits to such Com-
mittees a finding, not later than 30 days after the 
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Assistant Secretary makes such certification, that 
the Assistant Secretary utilized adequate and valid 
data and methods to make such certification. 
SEC. 5. TSA OFFICE OF INSPECTION WORKFORCE CERTIFI-
CATION. 
(a) CERTIFICATION TO CONGRESS.—The Assistant 
Secretary shall, by not later than 90 days after the date 
the Inspector General provides its findings to the Assist-
ant Secretary under section 4(a), document and certify in 
writing to the Committee on Homeland Security of the 
House of Representatives and the Committee on Com-
merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate that 
only those employees of the Administration who meet the 
requirements of sections 8331(20), 8401(17), and 5545a 
of title 5, United States Code, are classified as criminal 
investigators and are receiving premium pay and other 
benefits associated with such classification. 
(b) EMPLOYEE RECLASSIFICATION.—The Assistant 
Secretary shall reclassify criminal investigator positions in 
the Office of Inspection as noncriminal investigator posi-
tions or non-law enforcement positions if the individuals 
in those positions do not, or are not expected to, spend 
an average of at least 50 percent of their time performing 
criminal investigative duties. 
(c) PROJECTED COST SAVINGS.— 
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(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Assistant Secretary 
shall estimate the total long-term cost savings to the 
Federal Government resulting from the implementa-
tion of subsection (b), and provide such estimate to 
the Committee on Homeland Security of the House 
of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 
Science, and Transportation of the Senate by not 
later than 180 days after the date of enactment of 
this Act. 
(2) CONTENTS.—Such estimate shall identify 
savings associated with the positions reclassified 
under subsection (b) and include, among other fac-
tors the Assistant Secretary considers appropriate, 
savings from— 
(A) law enforcement training; 
(B) early retirement benefits; 
(C) law enforcement availability pay; and 
(D) weapons, vehicles, and communications 
devices. 
SEC. 6. INVESTIGATION OF FEDERAL AIR MARSHAL SERV-
ICE MISCONDUCT. 
Not later than 90 days after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, or as soon as practicable, the Assistant 
Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Se-
curity of the House of Representatives and the Committee 
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on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Sen-
ate— 
(1) any materials in the possession or control of 
the Department of Homeland Security associated 
with the Office of Inspection’s review of instances in 
which Federal Air Marshal Service officials obtained 
discounted or free firearms for personal use; and 
(2) information on specific actions that will be 
taken to prevent Federal Air Marshal Service offi-
cials from using their official positions, or exploiting, 
in any way, the Service’s relationships with private 
vendors to obtain discounted or free firearms for 
personal use. 
Passed the House of Representatives February 10, 
2015. 
Attest: 
KAREN L. HAAS, 
Clerk. 
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