Title: Screening Partnership Reform Act
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works

Summary:
Screening Partnership Reform Act
This bill revises the Screening Partnership Program of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).
Specifically, the bill authorizes the operator of an airport to select a qualified private screening company with which the operator prefers the TSA enter into a contract for screening services at that airport.
The TSA must enter into a contract with a private screening company only if the cost of providing screening services at the airport is equal to or less than the cost to the federal government of providing the same screening services, and entering into the contract would not compromise aviation security or the effectiveness of the screening of passengers or property at the airport.
A private screening company may use screening supervisors who have been trained and certified at a Federal Law Enforcement Training Center to administer comparable on-site training and certification to private security screeners at an airport that is participating in the screening partnership program.
Finally, the bill requires a private screening company that is participating in the program to annually submit recommendations to the TSA on new approaches to screening processes and procedures that would enhance the screening of passengers and property at the airport.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1184 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1184

  To improve the program providing for private screening companies to 
    conduct security screening at airports, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 15, 2021

    Mr. Lee introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To improve the program providing for private screening companies to 
    conduct security screening 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 ``Screening Partnership Reform Act''.

SEC. 2. SCREENING PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--Section 44920 of title 49, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:
    ``(b) Selection of Qualified Private Screening Companies.--
            ``(1) List of qualified private screening companies.--Not 
        later than 30 days after receiving an application from the 
        operator of an airport under subsection (a), the Administrator 
        shall provide the operator of such airport with an 
        opportunity--
                    ``(A) for the operator to select a qualified 
                private screening company with which the operator 
                prefers the Administrator enter into a contract for 
                screening services at such airport; or
                    ``(B) to request that the Administrator select a 
                qualified private screening company with which to enter 
                into such a contract.
            ``(2) Entry into contract.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Subject to subsections (c) and 
                (d), not later than 60 days after the date on which the 
                operator of an airport selects a qualified private 
                screening company under paragraph (1)(A) or clause (ii) 
                or requests the Administrator to select such a company 
                under paragraph (1)(B)--
                            ``(i) the Administrator shall enter into a 
                        contract for screening services at that airport 
                        with the qualified private screening company 
                        selected by the airport or the company selected 
                        by the Administrator, as the case may be; or
                            ``(ii) in the case of a company selected by 
                        the operator of the airport, if the 
                        Administrator rejects the bid from that 
                        company, or is otherwise unable to enter into a 
                        contract with that company, the Administrator 
                        shall provide the operator of the airport 
                        another 60 days to select another qualified 
                        private screening company.
                    ``(B) Rejection of bids.--If the Administrator 
                rejects a bid from a private screening company selected 
                by the operator of an airport under paragraph (1)(A) or 
                subparagraph (A)(ii), the Administrator shall, not 
                later than 30 days after rejecting such bid, submit a 
                report to the operator, the Committee on Commerce, 
                Science, and Transportation of the Senate, and the 
                Committee on Homeland Security of the House of 
                Representatives that includes--
                            ``(i) the findings that served as the basis 
                        for rejecting such bid;
                            ``(ii) the results of any cost or security 
                        analyses conducted in relation to such bid; and
                            ``(iii) recommendations for how the 
                        operator of the airport can address the reasons 
                        the Administrator rejected such bid.'';
            (2) in subsection (c), by striking ``and will provide'' and 
        all that follows through ``with this chapter'';
            (3) in subsection (d)--
                    (A) by striking paragraph (1);
                    (B) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as 
                paragraphs (1) and (2), respectively;
                    (C) in paragraph (1), as redesignated--
                            (i) in the matter preceding subparagraph 
                        (A), by striking ``The Administrator'' and all 
                        that follows and inserting ``The Administrator 
                        shall enter into a contract with a qualified 
                        private screening company only if--'';
                            (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 
                        ``and'' at the end; and
                            (iii) by striking subparagraph (C) and 
                        inserting the following:
                    ``(C) the cost of providing screening services at 
                the airport under the contract is equal to or less than 
                the cost to the Federal Government of providing 
                screening services at that airport during the term of 
                the contract; and
                    ``(D) entering into the contract would not 
                compromise aviation security or the effectiveness of 
                the screening of passengers or property at the 
                airport.'';
                    (D) in paragraph (2), as redesignated, by striking 
                the second sentence; and
                    (E) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(3) Training and certification.--
                    ``(A) In general.--A private screening company may 
                fulfill the requirement under paragraph (1)(A) by using 
                screening supervisors who have been trained and 
                certified at a Federal Law Enforcement Training Center 
                to administer comparable on-site training and 
                certification to private security screeners at an 
                airport that is participating in the screening 
                partnership program.
                    ``(B) Authorized trainers.--If a private screening 
                company elects to conduct on-site training and 
                certification in accordance with subparagraph (A), such 
                training shall be conducted by--
                            ``(i) a Federal employer or contractor who 
                        is authorized to train and certify security 
                        screeners; or
                            ``(ii) an employee of a private screening 
                        company who has successfully completed security 
                        supervisor training at a Federal Law 
                        Enforcement Training Center.
                    ``(C) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this 
                paragraph may be construed to require security 
                screeners employed by a private screening company who 
                have received on-site training and certification in 
                accordance with subparagraph (A) to receive any 
                additional training at a Federal Law Enforcement 
                Training Center.
            ``(4) Part-time positions.--None of the standards required 
        to be a qualified private screening company may be construed to 
        prohibit a private screening company from employing screeners 
        for part-time positions.
            ``(5) Calculation of federal costs.--For purpose of the 
        comparison of costs required under paragraph (1)(C), the 
        Administrator shall incorporate a cost estimate that reflects 
        the total cost to the Federal Government, including all costs 
        incurred by all Federal agencies and not only by the 
        Transportation Security Administration, of providing screening 
        services at an airport.'';
            (4) by striking subsection (i) (as added by section 
        1946(a)(7) of the TSA Modernization Act (division K of Public 
        Law 115-254)); and
            (5) by striking subsection (i) (as added by section 
        1991(d)(17)(B) of the TSA Modernization Act (division K of 
        Public Law 115-254)) and inserting the following:
    ``(i) Consideration of Recommendations by Private Screening 
Companies for Improving Aviation Security.--
            ``(1) Recommendations.--The Administrator shall request 
        each qualified private screening company that enters into a 
        contract with the Transportation Security Administration under 
        this section to provide screening services at an airport to 
        submit to the Administrator an annual report that includes 
        recommendations for--
                    ``(A) new approaches to prioritize and streamline 
                requirements for aviation security;
                    ``(B) new or more efficient processes for the 
                screening of all passengers and property at the airport 
                under section 44901;
                    ``(C) processes and procedures that would enhance 
                the screening of passengers and property at the 
                airport; or
                    ``(D) screening processes and procedures that would 
                better enable the Administrator and the private 
                screening company to respond to threats and emerging 
                threats to aviation security.
            ``(2) Testing.--The Administrator shall conduct a field 
        demonstration at an airport of each recommendation submitted 
        under paragraph (1) to determine the effectiveness of the 
        approach, process, or procedure recommended, unless the 
        Administrator determines that conducting such a demonstration 
        would compromise aviation security.
            ``(3) Consideration of adoption.--
                    ``(A) In general.--After conducting a field 
                demonstration under paragraph (2) with respect to a 
                recommendation submitted under paragraph (1) by a 
                private screening company, the Administrator--
                            ``(i) shall consider adopting the 
                        recommendation; and
                            ``(ii) may adopt the recommendation at all 
                        or some airports.
                    ``(B) Report.--If the Administrator does not adopt 
                a recommendation submitted under paragraph (1) by a 
                private screening company, the Administrator shall 
                submit a report to Congress and the private screening 
                company that includes--
                            ``(i) a description of the specific reasons 
                        the Administrator chose not to adopt the 
                        recommendation; and
                            ``(ii) recommendations for how the private 
                        screening company could improve the approach, 
                        process, or procedure recommended.
    ``(j) Restrictions on Relocation Payments.--
            ``(1) In general.--A security screener employed by the 
        Transportation Security Administration who accepts an offer of 
        employment from a private screening company under this section 
        may not receive any amount of relocation compensation from the 
        Transportation Security Administration.
            ``(2) Coordination and disclosures.--The Administrator 
        shall--
                    ``(A) coordinate with the selected qualified 
                private screening company regarding the terms of the 
                airport transition; and
                    ``(B) publicly disclose compensation and relocation 
                or transfer benefits made available to security 
                screeners that remain employees of the Transportation 
                Security Administration after transferring to an 
                airport that is not participating in the screening 
                partnership program.
            ``(3) Standard hiring process.--Any security screener 
        employed by a private screening company under this section who 
        is a former employee of the Transportation Security 
        Administration shall be subject to the standard hiring process 
        for security screeners employed by the Transportation Security 
        Administration if he or she seeks to transition back to such 
        employment.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendments.--Section 44920 of title 49, United 
States Code, is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a), by inserting ``(referred to in this 
        section as the `Administrator')'' after ``of the Transportation 
        Security Administration''; and
            (2) in subsection (g)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``Secretary of 
                Homeland Security'' and inserting ``Administrator''; 
                and
                    (B) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking ``Secretary of 
                Homeland Security or the Secretary's'' and inserting 
                ``Administrator or the Administrator's''.
    (c) Federal Law Enforcement Training Center.--Section 884(c) of the 
Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 464(c)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (9), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (2) in paragraph (10), by striking the period at the end 
        and inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(11) create and maintain a FLETC training program to 
        certify private security screening supervisors to administer 
        on-site security screening training and certification for the 
        participants in the Screening Partnership Program in accordance 
        with section 44920(d)(3) of title 49, United States Code.''.
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