Title: Expanding Private Airport Security Screening Act
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works

Summary:
Expanding Private Airport Security Screening Act
This bill makes various changes to a program that permits private companies to screen passengers and property at airports.
Current law requires airport operators to submit an application to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) in order to use a qualified private screening company. Additionally, under current law, the TSA (rather than airport operators) must enter into the contracts for screening services with such companies.
Under this bill, the TSA must maintain a publicly available list of qualified private screening companies, and airport operators may directly enter into contracts for screening services with any company on the list.
The bill also requires reporting related to the screening program. The TSA must annually report to Congress about the relative performance and costs of screening services carried out by private companies versus by federal government personnel. Additionally, the TSA must provide on a quarterly basis a comparison of the cost of providing services using the private company versus federal government personnel to airports that contract with private screening companies.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3213 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3213

 To amend title 49, United States Code, to allow airport operators to 
  enter into contracts with qualified private screening companies to 
carry out the screening of passengers and property at airports, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 13, 2021

  Mr. Perry introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Homeland Security

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend title 49, United States Code, to allow airport operators to 
  enter into contracts with qualified private screening companies to 
carry out the screening of passengers and property at airports, 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 ``Expanding Private Airport Security 
Screening Act''.

SEC. 2. QUALIFIED PRIVATE SCREENING COMPANY SERVICES.

    Section 44920 of title 49, United States Code, is amended to read 
as follows:
``Sec. 44920. Screening partnership program
    ``(a) Screening Partnership Program Contracts.--
            ``(1) In general.--An airport operator may enter into a 
        contract with a qualified private screening company on the list 
        maintained under subsection (b) to carry out the screening of 
        passengers and property at the airport under section 44901.
            ``(2) Notification.--Not less than 7 days after entering 
        into a contract with a qualified private screening company 
        under paragraph (1), an airport operator shall notify the 
        Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration.
    ``(b) Public List of Qualified Private Screening Companies.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Administrator shall maintain a 
        publicly available list of qualified private screening 
        companies that meet the requirements of paragraph (3).
            ``(2) Application.--To be included in the list maintained 
        under paragraph (1), a qualified private screening company 
        shall submit an application to the Administrator in such form, 
        in such manner, and containing such information as the 
        Administrator may require.
            ``(3) Requirements.--A qualified private screening company 
        is eligible to be included in the list maintained under 
        paragraph (1) if the company--
                    ``(A) only employs individuals to provide such 
                services who meet all the requirements of this chapter 
                applicable to Federal Government personnel who perform 
                passenger and property security screening services at 
                airports under this chapter;
                    ``(B) demonstrates capability of providing 
                passenger and property screening services and 
                protection at the same level provided by Federal 
                Government personnel under this chapter; and
                    ``(C) is owned and controlled by a citizen of the 
                United States, to the extent that the Administrator 
                determines that there are private screening companies 
                owned and controlled by such citizens.
    ``(c) Transition Plan.--Not later than 30 days after the date on 
which an airport operator provides the notification required under 
subsection (a)(2), the airport operator shall create a plan to 
transition the provision of passenger and property screening services 
at such airport to the applicable qualified private screening company.
    ``(d) Supervision of Screening Personnel.--The Administrator 
shall--
            ``(1) provide Federal Government supervisors to oversee all 
        screening at each airport at which passenger and property 
        screening services are provided under this section and provide 
        Federal Government law enforcement officers at the airport 
        pursuant to this chapter; and
            ``(2) undertake covert testing and remedial training 
        support for employees of qualified private screening companies 
        providing passenger and property screening services at 
        airports.
    ``(e) Operator of Airport.--
            ``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
        law, an operator of an airport shall not be liable for any 
        claims for damages filed in State or Federal court (including a 
        claim for compensatory, punitive, contributory, or indemnity 
        damages) related to an act of negligence, gross negligence, or 
        intentional wrongdoing by--
                    ``(A) a qualified private screening company or any 
                of its employees in any case in which the qualified 
                private screening company is acting under a contract 
                entered into with the airport operator; or
                    ``(B) employees of the Federal Government providing 
                supervision of screening personnel at the airport.
            ``(2) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this subsection 
        shall relieve any airport operator from liability for its own 
        acts or omissions related to its security responsibilities, nor 
        except as may be provided by the Support Anti-Terrorism by 
        Fostering Effective Technologies Act of 2002 shall it relieve 
        any qualified private screening company or its employees from 
        any liability related to its own acts of negligence, gross 
        negligence, or intentional wrongdoing.
    ``(f) Report to Congress.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Administrator shall submit an annual 
        report to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
        Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Homeland 
        Security of the House of Representatives that contains--
                    ``(A) a comparison of the mean average screening 
                performance of qualified private screening companies 
                under contract pursuant to this section and the mean 
                average screening performance of all airports using 
                Federal Government passenger and property screening 
                services;
                    ``(B) a comparison of the mean cost of providing 
                passenger and property screening services with Federal 
                Government personnel and the mean cost of contracting 
                with a qualified private screening company for such 
                services under this section delineated by airport 
                category; and
                    ``(C) a comparison of the cost to each airport 
                operator of contracting with a qualified private 
                screening company to provide passenger and property 
                screening services under this section to the estimated 
                cost to the Federal Government to provide passenger and 
                property security screening services at such airport.
            ``(2) Cost estimates.--Any estimate of cost to the Federal 
        Government provided pursuant to paragraph (1) shall reflect the 
        total cost to the Federal Government, including all costs 
        incurred by all Federal agencies of providing passenger and 
        property screening services at an airport.
            ``(3) Publication.--Not later than 7 days after the date on 
        which the Administrator submits a report required under 
        paragraph (1), the Administrator shall publish such report on a 
        website of the Transportation Security Administration.''.

SEC. 3. PROVIDING EFFECTIVE COST COMPARISONS TO AIRPORT OPERATORS.

    Section 1947 of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 (49 U.S.C. 
44901 note) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1) by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (2) in paragraph (2)(B)(iii) by striking the period at the 
        end and inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(3) in the case of an airport operator that contracts 
        with a qualified private screening company to provide passenger 
        and property screening services at such airport, a comparison 
        of the cost of such contract and an estimate of the cost to 
        such airport operator of providing passenger and property 
        screening services with Federal Government personnel.''.
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