Unruly Passenger Restraint Review Act
Bill: H.R.5357 | Sponsor: Rep. Van Duyne, Beth (R-TX)
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works

Summary:
Unruly Passenger Restraint Review Act
This bill requires the Government Accountability Office to review and recommend ways to improve passenger air carriers' policies, training, and related procedures concerning unruly passengers. It also requires the Federal Aviation Administration to develop, taking into account the review's findings and recommendations, best practices for such procedures.

To ensure the effective response by passenger air carrier personnel to 
      an unruly passenger on an aircraft, 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 ``Unruly Passenger Restraint Review 
Act''.

SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) incidents of unruly passenger conduct pose substantial 
        operational and safety risks to passenger air carrier (as 
        defined in section 3(f)) personnel and passengers on board an 
        aircraft;
            (2) the forcible restraint of unruly passengers, while 
        sometimes necessary, should only occur as a last resort to 
        ensure the safety of passenger air carrier personnel and 
        passengers on board an aircraft;
            (3) individuals who perpetrate such incidents, especially 
        those that require forcible restraint, should be held fully 
        accountable under all applicable Federal and State laws;
            (4) particular caution and judgement should be exercised by 
        passenger air carrier personnel when determining whether a 
        situation requires the forcible restraint of an unruly minor 
        passenger or passenger experiencing mental distress;
            (5) the Federal Aviation Administration, in coordination 
        with appropriate Federal Agencies, should provide guidance and 
        establish procedures for passenger air carrier personnel to 
        address incidents of unruly passenger conduct, including the 
        procedures, equipment, and training requirements for passenger 
        air carrier personnel to--
                    (A) recognize and respond to an instance of an 
                unruly passenger behavior in a manner that attempts to 
                de-escalate a situation;
                    (B) properly and safely, if necessary, restrain an 
                unruly passenger;
                    (C) appropriately differentiate between unruly 
                conduct from an adult passenger, a minor passenger, and 
                a passenger experiencing mental distress and respond 
                accordingly;
                    (D) facilitate the reporting of such incidents to 
                appropriate law enforcement agencies;
                    (E) communicate expectations of conduct to air 
                carrier passengers; and
                    (F) communicate the rights of air carrier 
                passengers with respect to passenger conduct towards 
                passenger air carrier personnel; and
            (6) each passenger air carrier should have the procedures, 
        equipment, and training in place to comply with the Federal 
        Aviation Administration's guidance and requirements described 
        in paragraph (5).

SEC. 3. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE REPORT.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall 
initiate a study to review current passenger air carrier procedures 
related to unruly passengers, including all policies, training, and 
equipment requirements put in place by the Federal Government and 
provide recommendations to address and mitigate the impacts of such 
incidents, including significant operational disruptions, safety risks, 
and the need to restrain a disruptive passenger aboard an aircraft.
    (b) Considerations.--In carrying out the study required under 
subsection (a), the Comptroller General shall, at a minimum--
            (1) review current passenger air carrier procedures and 
        protocols for responding to unruly passenger behavior;
            (2) examine current passenger air carrier personnel 
        training requirements as put in place by the Federal Government 
        and programs related to de-escalation techniques for passenger 
        disruptions and provide recommendations for improvement; and
            (3) review current passenger air carrier and Federal 
        Government procedures for restraining an unruly adult 
        passenger, an unruly minor passenger, and a passenger 
        experiencing mental distress in a situation in which Federal 
        law enforcement is unable to intervene.
    (c) Report.--Upon completion of the study required under subsection 
(a), the Comptroller General shall submit to the Committee of 
Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and 
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a 
report on the findings and recommendations of the study.
    (d) Best Practices.--Not later than 1 year after the completion of 
the study required under subsection (a), the Administrator of the 
Federal Aviation Administration shall--
            (1) develop, in consultation with passenger air carriers 
        and labor unions representing passenger air carrier personnel, 
        best practices to address and mitigate the impacts of unruly 
        passenger incidents; and
            (2) take the findings and recommendations of the report 
        submitted under subsection (c) into consideration when 
        developing such best practices.
    (e) Consultation.--In developing best practices under subsection 
(d), the Administrator shall consult with the heads of such other 
Federal agencies as the Administrator determines appropriate.
    (f) Passenger Air Carrier Defined.--In this Act, the term 
``passenger air carrier'' means an air carrier that provides scheduled 
passenger air transportation.
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