Screening With Dignity Act
Bill: H.R.4249 | Sponsor: Rep. Rice, Kathleen M. (D-NY)
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works

Summary:
Screening With Dignity Act
This bill directs the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to develop procedures to appropriately and respectfully screen self-identified transgender air passengers and passengers traveling with religious headwear or other articles of faith and begin training of all TSA Officers on such procedures.
The TSA must implement protections for such passengers, including (1) prohibiting human viewing of passenger images and conducting pat downs by an officer of the gender requested by the passenger; and (2) ensuring secondary screening measures are no more intrusive than necessary to resolve an alarm or other concern raised by primary screening, including consideration of the sensitivity of the groin, chest, and other body areas and the sensitivity of religious articles of faith such as religious headwear.
The TSA shall separately study and report on (1) the cost and feasibility of retrofitting advanced image technology screening equipment to distinguish between foreign objects and human body parts (including hair) in a manner that is gender neutral; and (2) the impact of imaging technology on transgender passengers, passengers whose religious faith requires them to travel with articles of faith, and passengers traveling with assistive devices.
Additionally, the TSA must identify any policy, procedure, or training changes and complete any testing, certification, and assessment for qualifying additional technology to ensure that any advanced imaging utilized for passenger screening meets certain requirements, including not generating alarms based only on passengers' body parts (including hair), undergarments, or religious headwear.

To protect the dignity and privacy of transgender and other minority 
   travelers at airport security checkpoints, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Screening With Dignity Act''.

SEC. 2. TSA SCREENING PROCEDURES AND TRAINING.

    (a) Development of Procedures.--
            (1) Transgender passengers.--Not later than 60 days after 
        the date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall 
        develop procedures to appropriately and respectfully screen 
        self-identified transgender passengers. In developing such 
        procedures, the Administrator shall take into consideration the 
        particular needs of persons whose gender identity is different 
        or is perceived to be different from their assigned sex at 
        birth and the particular impact of screening on transgender 
        passengers as opposed to the general population of passengers.
            (2) Passengers with religious headwear and other articles 
        of faith.--Not later than 60 days after the date of the 
        enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall develop 
        procedures to appropriately and respectfully screen individuals 
        traveling with religious headwear or other articles of faith. 
        In developing such procedures, the Administrator shall take 
        into consideration the particular needs of persons whose 
        religious faith requires traveling with articles of faith and 
        the particular impact of screening on these passengers as 
        opposed to the general population of passengers.
    (b) Training of TSOs and Implementation of Procedures.--Not later 
than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
Administrator shall begin conducting in-person training of all 
Transportation Security Officers on the screening procedures developed 
under subsection (a) and shall implement such procedures. Such training 
shall be designed and, wherever practicable, delivered with the 
participation of community groups representing the relevant traveler 
populations.

SEC. 3. PROTECTION OF PASSENGERS.

    The Administrator shall take such steps as may be necessary to 
ensure each of the following with respect to passenger screening:
            (1) The prohibition on human viewing of individual 
        passenger images.
            (2) The prohibition on retention of individual passenger 
        image data.
            (3) That passengers are provided with an alternative to 
        advanced imaging technology scans.
            (4) That pat-downs of passengers are required to be 
        conducted by an officer of the gender requested by the 
        passenger.
            (5) That each passenger is provided with the option of a 
        private screening in an area with a mirror and with the witness 
        of the passenger's choice.
            (6) That passengers are not required to lift or remove 
        clothing exposing sensitive areas of the body or lift or remove 
        religious headwear or to remove prostheses unless no less 
        intrusive screening method is available and the passenger is 
        provided with visual privacy via a drape or other means in a 
        private screening area.
            (7) That pat-downs or other secondary screening measures 
        shall be no more intrusive than necessary to resolve an alarm 
        or other concern raised by primary screening (including 
        consideration of less intrusive alternatives such as a self 
        pat-down with explosive trace detection, a limited pat-down, or 
        canine detection and consideration of the sensitivity of the 
        groin, chest, and other body areas and the sensitivity of 
        religious articles of faith, including religious headwear).
            (8) The prohibition of profiling or other discrimination on 
        the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, age, 
        disability, genetic information, parental status, or sex 
        (including on the basis of sexual orientation or gender 
        identity).

SEC. 4. REPORT ON SCREENING EQUIPMENT.

    (a) Study.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, the Administrator shall conduct a study on the cost and 
feasibility of retrofitting advanced image technology screening 
equipment, or of developing new such equipment, with the capability to 
distinguish between foreign objects and human body parts (including 
hair) in a manner that is effectively gender neutral or which operates 
in some other gender neutral manner.
    (b) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit to the Committee 
on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives, the Committee on 
Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate, and the 
Comptroller General of the United States a report containing the 
results of the study conducted under subsection (a).

SEC. 5. REPORT ON ADVANCED IMAGING TECHNOLOGY.

    (a) Study.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, the Administrator shall conduct a study that evaluates the 
particular impact that advanced imaging technology has on transgender 
and gender nonconforming passengers, passengers whose religious faith 
requires them to travel with articles of faith including religious 
headwear, and passengers traveling with assistive devices, as opposed 
to the general population of passengers. Such study shall include an 
examination of instances since 2010 in which a self-identified 
transgender or gender nonconforming passenger or a passenger with 
religious headwear was required to undergo an additional screening 
procedure after screening with advanced imaging technology resulted in 
an alarm.
    (b) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit to the Committee 
on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives and the Committee 
on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report 
containing the results of the study conducted under subsection (a). 
Such report shall include recommendations to reduce any particular 
impact of screening on transgender passengers and on racial, ethnic, 
and religious minorities, including passengers with religious headwear 
and other articles of faith and involve the consultation and input of 
community groups representing the transgender traveler population and 
racial, ethnic, and religious minorities.

SEC. 6. NEXT GENERATION PASSENGER SCREENING.

    (a) Qualification.--No later than 1 year after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall identify any policy, 
procedure, or training changes and complete any testing, certification, 
and assessment for qualifying additional technology (if needed) to 
ensure that any advanced imaging technology utilized for passenger 
screening, together with any procedures for clearing alarms by such 
technology--
            (1) does not require or provide for designating passengers 
        by gender for screening;
            (2) does not utilize passenger gender as a factor in its 
        detection algorithms;
            (3) does not generate alarms based only on passengers' body 
        parts (including hair), undergarments, or religious headwear;
            (4) allows for the screening of individuals using assistive 
        devices such as wheelchairs in a manner no more intrusive than 
        for other individuals; and
            (5) reduces physical pat-downs of passengers to the 
        greatest degree practicable given currently available screening 
        methods.
    (b) Notification to Congress.--Not later than 60 days after the 
completion of the assessment pursuant to subsection (a), the 
Administrator shall notify the Committee on Homeland Security of the 
House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation of the Senate in writing of the results. This 
notification shall include--
            (1) a list of all advanced imaging technologies, which have 
        the ability to conduct screening without designating passengers 
        by gender and do not utilize passenger gender in any detection 
        algorithms, that qualified;
            (2) an analysis of false alarm rates and pat-down rates for 
        the advanced imaging technologies and procedures listed in 
        subsection (b)(1), including the false alarm rate for 
        transgender and gender nonconforming passengers, compared to 
        current advanced imaging technology and procedures deployed at 
        TSA checkpoints;
            (3) any plans to procure or open an acquisition program of 
        record for any advanced imaging technology listed in subsection 
        (b)(1); and
            (4) a detailed summary of all policy, procedure, or 
        training changes adopted or identified pursuant to subsection 
        (a), and a timeline for implementing any remaining changes.

SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
        Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration.
            (2) Advanced imaging technology.--The term ``advanced 
        imaging technology'' has the meaning given the term in section 
        826(l)(1)(A) of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 
        (49 U.S.C. 44901(l)(1)(A)).
            (3) Gender identity.--The term ``gender identity'' means 
        the gender-related identity, appearance, mannerisms, or other 
        gender-related characteristics of an individual, regardless of 
        the individual's designated sex at birth.
            (4) Pat-down.--The term ``pat-down'' means a physical 
        inspection of a passenger's body, including the inspection of 
        the head, hair, torso, breasts, groin, buttocks, or other body 
        parts.
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