I 
113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1344 
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. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 21, 2013 
Ms. GABBARD (for herself, Mr. JOYCE, and Mr. RICHMOND) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security 
A BILL 
To amend title 49, United States Code, to direct the Assist-
ant Secretary of Homeland Security (Transportation Se-
curity Administration) to provide expedited air passenger 
screening to severely injured or disabled members of 
the Armed Forces and severely injured or disabled vet-
erans, 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. 
This Act may cited as the ‘‘Helping Heroes Fly Act’’. 
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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 provide expedited passenger 
screening services for severely injured or disabled mem-
bers of the Armed Forces and severely injured or disabled 
veterans. Such process shall be designed to protect the pri-
vacy of the individual being screened to the maximum ex-
tent 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 
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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 
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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 new employees 
and recurrent training for all employees who provide pas-
senger screening services. 
‘‘(e) 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.’’. 
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(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
at the beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting 
after the item relating to section 44926 following new 
item: 
‘‘44927. Expedited screening for severely injured or disabled members of the 
Armed Forces and severely injured or disabled veterans.’’. 
Æ 
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