A BILL 
To amend title 49, United States Code, to establish an 
Ombudsman Office within the Transportation Security 
Administration for the purpose of enhancing transpor-
tation security by providing confidential, informal, and 
neutral assistance to address work-place related problems 
of Transportation Security Administration employees, 
and for other purposes. 
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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 ‘‘Transportation Security 
Administration Ombudsman Act of 2011’’. 
SEC. 2. TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADMINISTRATION OM-
BUDSMAN OFFICE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 449 of 
title 49, United States Code is amended by adding at the 
end the following new section: 
‘‘§ 44946. Ombudsman 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 
‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established an 
Office of the Ombudsman in the Transportation Secu-
rity Administration. 
‘‘(2) OMBUDSMAN.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Office shall be 
under the direction of the Ombudsman of the 
Transportation Security Administration, who 
shall be appointed by the Chief Human Capital 
Officer of the Department of Homeland Security 
on behalf of the Secretary of Homeland Security. 
‘‘(B) QUALIFICATIONS.—An individual ap-
pointed as the Ombudsman must have expertise 
in— 
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‘‘(i) labor and employment relations 
with Federal agencies; and 
‘‘(ii) dispute resolution. 
‘‘(C) NOTIFICATION OF APPOINTMENT AND 
REMOVAL.—The Chief Human Capital Officer of 
the Department of Homeland Security shall no-
tify the appropriate congressional committees 
within 30 days after the effective date of any of 
the following actions: 
‘‘(i) The appointment of an individual 
as Ombudsman. 
‘‘(ii) The reappointment as Ombuds-
man of an individual who is serving as 
Ombudsman. 
‘‘(iii) The removal of an individual 
from the position of Ombudsman. 
‘‘(3) ENSURING
INDEPENDENCE
OF
OMBUDS-
MAN.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Ombudsman shall 
report— 
‘‘(i) to the Administrator of the Trans-
portation Security Administration; and 
‘‘(ii) to the Chief Human Capital Offi-
cer of the Department of Homeland Secu-
rity with respect to any dispute between the 
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Ombudsman and the Administrator of 
Transportation 
Security 
Administration 
over matters involving the execution of the 
Ombudsman’s duties as set forth in sub-
section (b). 
‘‘(B) INSPECTOR GENERAL’S AUTHORITY TO 
CONDUCT
INVESTIGATIONS
NOT
AFFECTED.— 
Nothing in this section shall prohibit the Inspec-
tor General of the Department of Homeland Se-
curity from initiating, carrying out, or com-
pleting any investigation. 
‘‘(b) DUTIES.—The Ombudsman shall— 
‘‘(1) conduct outreach to Transportation Secu-
rity Administration employees, including publicizing 
a toll-free telephone number to report complaints; 
‘‘(2) evaluate each complainant’s claim objec-
tively; 
‘‘(3) provide information, advice, and assistance 
to complainants and, as appropriate, initiate infor-
mal, impartial fact-finding and inquiries, on com-
plaints or on the Ombudsman’s own initiative; 
‘‘(4) inform each complainant— 
‘‘(A) when the Ombudsman decides against 
conducting a fact-finding inquiry into the com-
plaint; 
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‘‘(B) on the status of the Ombudsman’s fact- 
finding inquiry to the complainant, on a regular 
basis if requested by the complainant; and 
‘‘(C) of the Ombudsman’s recommendations 
and information, as appropriate, for the com-
plainant to formally complain to the appro-
priate authority; 
‘‘(5) work with the Administrator of the Trans-
portation Security Administration to address issues 
identified through fact-finding and inquiries; 
‘‘(6) maintain confidential any matter related to 
complaints and inquiries, including the identities of 
the complainants and witnesses; and 
‘‘(7) submit an annual report to the appropriate 
congressional committees in accordance with sub-
section (c). 
‘‘(c) ANNUAL REPORT.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Ombudsman shall report 
no later than September 30 each year to the appro-
priate congressional committees on the actions taken 
by the Office of the Ombudsman over the preceding 
year and the objectives of those actions. 
‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—Each such report shall, for the 
period covered by the report, include— 
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‘‘(A) statistical information, by region, on 
the volume of complaints received, general nature 
of complaints, general information on complain-
ants, and the percentage of complaints that re-
sulted in a fact-finding inquiry; 
‘‘(B) a summary of problems encountered 
by complainants, including information on the 
most pervasive or serious types of problems en-
countered by complainants; 
‘‘(C) policy recommendations that the Office 
of the Ombudsman made to the Administrator of 
the Transportation Security Administration; 
‘‘(D) an inventory of the items described in 
subparagraphs (B) and (C) for which action has 
been taken, and the result of such action; 
‘‘(E) an inventory of the items described in 
subparagraphs (B) and (C) for which action re-
mains to be completed; and 
‘‘(F) such other information as the Ombuds-
man considers relevant. 
‘‘(3) REPORT TO BE SUBMITTED DIRECTLY.— 
Each report under this subsection shall be provided 
directly to the committees described in paragraph (1) 
without any prior comment or amendment by the Ad-
ministrator of the Transportation Security Adminis-
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tration. However, the Ombudsman shall seek comment 
from the Administrator to be submitted by the Om-
budsman together with the annual report. 
‘‘(4) OTHER
REPORTS.—Nothing in this sub-
section shall be construed to preclude the Ombudsman 
from issuing other reports on the activities of the Of-
fice of the Ombudsman. 
‘‘(d) CONTACT INFORMATION.—The Administrator of 
the Transportation Security Administration shall make 
publically available on the Internet site of the Administra-
tion information about the Office of the Ombudsman, in-
cluding regarding how to contact the Office. 
‘‘(e) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE DE-
FINED.—In this section the term ‘appropriate congressional 
committee’ means the Committee on Homeland Security of 
the House of Representatives and any committee of the 
House of Representatives or the Senate having legislative 
jurisdiction under the rules of the House of Representatives 
or Senate, respectively, over the matter concerned.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis at the be-
ginning of such chapter is amended by adding at the end 
the items relating to subchapter II the following new item: 
‘‘44946. Ombudsman.’’. 
(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 
authorized to be appropriated for each of fiscal years 2012, 
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2013, and 2014 $575,000 for implementing section 44946 
of title 49, United States Code, as amended by this section. 
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Union Calendar No. 181 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 1165 
[Report No. 112–270] 
A BILL 
To amend title 49, United States Code, to establish 
an Ombudsman Office within the Transportation 
Security Administration for the purpose of en-
hancing transportation security by providing con-
fidential, informal, and neutral assistance to ad-
dress work-place related problems of Transpor-
tation Security Administration employees, and 
for other purposes. 
NOVEMBER 4, 2011 
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Com-
mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 
and ordered to be printed 
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