Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Helping Heroes Fly 
Act’’. 
SEC. 2. OPERATIONS CENTER PROGRAM FOR SEVERELY IN-
JURED OR DISABLED MEMBERS OF THE 
ARMED FORCES AND SEVERELY INJURED OR 
DISABLED VETERANS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 449 of 
title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 
end the following new section: 
‘‘§ 44927. Expedited screening for severely injured or 
disabled members of the Armed Forces 
and severely injured or disabled veterans 
‘‘(a) PASSENGER SCREENING.—The Assistant Sec-
retary, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, the 
Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and organizations that ad-
vocate on behalf of members of the Armed Forces and vet-
erans, including organizations that advocate on behalf of 
severely injured or disabled members of the Armed Forces 
and severely injured or disabled veterans, shall develop 
and implement a process to facilitate the ease of travel 
and to the extent possible provide expedited passenger 
screening services for severely injured or disabled mem-
bers of the Armed Forces, severely injured or disabled vet-
erans, and their accompanying family members or non-
medical attendants. Such process shall be designed to pro-
tect the privacy of the individual being screened to the 
maximum extent practicable. 
‘‘(b) OPERATIONS CENTER.—As part of the process 
required under subsection (a), the Assistant Secretary 
shall maintain an operations center to provide support and 
facilitate the movement of severely injured or disabled 
members of the Armed Forces and severely injured or dis-
abled veterans through screening prior to boarding a pas-
senger aircraft operated by an air carrier or foreign air 
carrier in air transportation or intrastate air transpor-
tation. Such operations center shall be operational at all 
times. 
‘‘(c) PROTOCOLS.—The Assistant Secretary shall— 
‘‘(1) establish and publish protocols, in con-
sultation with the Secretary of Defense, the Sec-
retary of Veterans Affairs, and organizations that 
advocate on behalf of members of the Armed Forces 
and veterans, including organizations that advocate 
on behalf of severely injured or disabled members of 
the Armed Forces and severely injured or disabled 
veterans, under which a severely injured or disabled 
member of the Armed Forces or severely injured or
disabled veteran, or the family member or other rep-
resentative of such a member or veteran, may con-
tact the operations center maintained under sub-
section (b) and request expedited screening services 
described in subsection (a) for the member or vet-
eran; and 
‘‘(2) upon receipt of such a request, require 
such operations center to notify the appropriate 
Federal security director of the request to facilitate 
the expedited passenger screening services described 
in subsection (a) for the member or veteran. 
‘‘(d) TRAINING.—The Assistant Secretary shall inte-
grate training on the protocols established under sub-
section (c) into the training provided to all employees who 
will provide the screening services described in subsection 
(a). 
‘‘(e) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec-
tion affects the authority of the Assistant Secretary to re-
quire additional screening of a severely injured or disabled 
member of the Armed Forces, a severely injured or dis-
abled veteran, or their accompanying family members or 
nonmedical attendants, if intelligence, law enforcement, or 
other information indicates that additional screening is 
necessary.
‘‘(f) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date 
of the enactment of this section, and annually thereafter, 
the Assistant Secretary shall submit to Congress a report 
on the implementation of this section. Each such report 
shall include each of the following: 
‘‘(1) Information on the training provided 
under subsection (d). 
‘‘(2) Information on the consultations between 
the Assistant Secretary and organizations that advo-
cate on behalf of members of the Armed Forces and 
veterans as described in subsection (a). 
‘‘(3) The number of people who accessed the 
operations center during the period covered by the 
report. 
‘‘(4) Such other information as the Assistant 
Secretary determines is appropriate.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
at the beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting 
after the item relating to section 44926 the following new 
item:
‘‘44927. Expedited screening for severely injured or disabled members of the 
Armed Forces and severely injured or disabled veterans.’’. 
Passed the House of Representatives May 21, 2013. 
Attest: 
Clerk.
113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 1344 
AN ACT 
To amend title 49, United States Code, to direct 
the Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security 
(Transportation Security Administration) to pro-
vide expedited air passenger screening to severely 
injured or disabled members of the Armed 
Forces and severely injured or disabled veterans, 
and for other purposes.