Abolish TSA Act of 2025

Bill: 119-s-1180
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Lee, Mike [R-UT]
Introduced: 2025-03-27
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works
Latest action: action_date: 2025-03-27
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

Summaries:
action_date: 2025-03-27
action_desc: Introduced in Senate
text: <p><strong>Abolish TSA Act of 2025</strong></p><p>This bill&nbsp;abolishes the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) in three years and directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to&nbsp;develop a reorganization plan for the TSA, which is subject to congressional approval.</p><p>DHS must submit a reorganization plan for the TSA to Congress within 90 days of the bill's enactment.</p><p>The reorganization plan must include</p><ul><li>the establishment of the Office of Aviation Security Oversight within the Federal Aviation Administration;</li><li>the rapid transfer of all aviation security activities and equipment to qualified private screening companies;</li><li>any necessary changes to TSA's Screening Partnership Program, which currently allows commercial airports to use private screening companies for airport screening services;</li><li>proportional reductions of operations and personnel until the transfer is complete; and</li><li>the transfer to the Department of Transportation of TSA&nbsp;functions, personnel, assets, and liabilities&nbsp;related to surface transportation&nbsp;(e.g., activities relating to mass transit and freight rail).</li></ul><p>The bill specifies that no employee of the new office shall conduct airport screening services.</p><p>Further, the plan may not include any agency requirement or regulation compelling private contractors conducting airport security screening services to conduct warrantless searches and seizures.</p><p>DHS must submit a progress report to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and Congress within 60 days of the bill's enactment and every 30 days thereafter. The GAO must submit a report to Congress every 180 days detailing DHS's compliance with this bill.</p><p>In addition, the bill establishes a congressional review and approval process for the reorganization plan.</p>

tv_txt: II 119th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 1180 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES March 27, 2025 Mr. Lee (for himself and Mr. Tuberville ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation A BILL To abolish the Transportation Security Administration, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Abolish TSA Act of 2025 . 2. Definitions In this Act: (1) Administration The term Administration means the Transportation Security Administration. (2) Administrator The term Administrator means the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration. (3) Appropriate congressional committees The term appropriate congressional committees means— (A) the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate; and (B) the Committee on Homeland Security and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives. (4) Secretary The term Secretary means the Secretary of Homeland Security. 3. Policy It shall be the policy of the Secretary— (1) to expeditiously eliminate or transfer all authorities, enforcement functions, and programs of the Administration; and (2) to privatize all commercial airport security to increase cost-efficiency and security. 4. Termination of the Transportation Security Administration On the date that is 3 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Administration shall be abolished, and any program for which the Administrator has administrative responsibility as provided by law or by delegation of authority pursuant to law is repealed. 5. Reorganization plan (a) In general Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall, in consultation with the Secretary of Transportation, submit to Congress a reorganization plan for the Administration. (b) Contents The plan required by subsection (a) shall include the following: (1) A plan for the establishment of the Office of Aviation Security Oversight within the Federal Aviation Administration, which shall— (A) be headed by a Director; and (B) be responsible for the oversight and regulation of all aviation security activities described in section 44920 of title 49, United States Code, except that no employee of the Office shall conduct airport screening services. (2) A plan for the rapid transfer of all aviation security activities and equipment to qualified private screening companies described in section 44920 of title 49, United States Code. (3) A description of any necessary changes, as the Secretary determines, to the program described in section 44920 of title 49, United States Code; (4) Subject to paragraph (2), a plan for proportional reductions of operations and personnel until the transfer is complete and no operations of personnel of the Administration remain. (5) A plan to transfer to the Department of Transportation any functions, personnel, assets, and liabilities of the Administration with respect to surface transportation, including activities relating to mass transit, freight rail, highway motor carriers, and pipelines. (c) Exclusions The plan may not include— (1) any agency requirement or regulation compelling private contractors conducting airport security screening services to conduct warrantless searches and seizures; and (2) an extension of the deadline in section 4. (d) Periodic reports (1) In general Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and every 30 days thereafter, the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Transportation, shall submit a report to the Comptroller General of the United States and the appropriate congressional committees on the progress of compliance with this Act. (2) GAO Report Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, and every 180 days thereafter, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to Congress a report detailing the compliance of the Secretary with this Act. 6. Congressional review of reorganization plan (a) Joint resolution of approval defined In this section, the term joint resolution of approval means only a joint resolution of either House of Congress— (1) the title of which is as follows: A joint resolution approving the Secretary of Homeland Security’s reorganization plan for the Transportation Security Administration. ; and (2) the matter after the resolving clause of which is the following: Congress approves the reorganization plan submitted by the Secretary of Homeland Security to Congress in accordance with section 5 of the Abolish TSA Act of 2025 on ___ relating to___ , with the first blank space being filled with the appropriate date and the second blank space being filled with a detailed description of the proposed reorganization plan required by section 5, including any amendments made by Congress. (b) Introduction and reference of resolution Not later than the first session day following the date on a which a reorganization plan is transmitted to the House of Representatives and the Senate under section 5, a joint resolution of approval shall be introduced by a member of the House or Senate. (c) Consideration in the House of Representatives (1) Committee referral A joint resolution of approval shall be referred to the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives. (2) Floor consideration in House of Representatives If the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives has not reported the joint resolution within 75 continuous session days after the date of referral, that committee shall be discharged from further consideration of the joint resolution. (d) Consideration in the Senate (1) Committee referral A joint resolution of approval introduced in the Senate shall be referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate. (2) Reporting and discharge If the committee to which a joint resolution of approval was referred has not reported the joint resolution within 75 continuous session days after the date of referral of the joint resolution, that committee shall be discharged from further consideration of the joint resolution and the joint resolution shall be placed on the appropriate calendar. (3) Proceeding to consideration Notwithstanding Rule XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate, it is in order at any time after the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation reports a joint resolution of approval to the Senate or has been discharged from consideration of such a joint resolution (even though a previous motion to the same effect has been disagreed to) to move to proceed to the consideration of the joint resolution, and all points of order against the joint resolution (and against consideration of the joint resolution) are waived. The motion to proceed is not debatable. The motion is not subject to a motion to postpone. A motion to reconsider the vote by which the motion is agreed to or disagreed to shall not be in order. (4) Rulings of the chair on procedure Appeals from the decisions of the Chair relating to the application of the rules of the Senate, as the case may be, to the procedure relating to a joint resolution of approval shall be decided without debate. (5) Consideration of veto messages Debate in the Senate of any veto message with respect to a joint resolution of approval, including all debatable motions and appeals in connection with the joint resolution, shall be limited to 10 hours, to be equally divided between, and controlled by, the majority leader and the minority leader or their designees. (e) Rules relating to Senate and House of Representatives (1) Treatment of Senate joint resolution in House In the House of Representatives, the following procedures shall apply to a joint resolution of approval received from the Senate (unless the House has already passed a joint resolution relating to the same proposed action): (A) The joint resolution shall be referred to the appropriate committee. (B) If a committee to which a joint resolution has been referred has not reported the joint resolution within 5 legislative days after the date of referral, that committee shall be discharged from further consideration of the joint resolution. (C) Beginning on the third legislative day after each committee to which a joint resolution has been referred reports the joint resolution to the House or has been discharged from further consideration thereof, it shall be in order to move to proceed to consider the joint resolution in the House. All points of order against the motion are waived. Such a motion shall not be in order after the House has disposed of a motion to proceed on the joint resolution. The previous question shall be considered as ordered on the motion to its adoption without intervening motion. The motion shall not be debatable. A motion to reconsider the vote by which the motion is disposed of shall not be in order. (D) The joint resolution shall be considered as read. All points of order against the joint resolution and against its consideration are waived. The previous question shall be considered as ordered on the joint resolution to final passage without intervening motion except 2 hours of debate equally divided and controlled by the sponsor of the joint resolution (or a designee) and an opponent. A motion to reconsider the vote on passage of the joint resolution shall not be in order. (2) Treatment of House joint resolution in Senate (A) Receipt before passage If, before the passage by the Senate of a joint resolution of approval, the Senate receives an identical joint resolution from the House of Representatives, the following procedures shall apply: (i) That joint resolution shall not be referred to a committee. (ii) With respect to that joint resolution— (I) the procedure in the Senate shall be the same as if no joint resolution had been received from the House of Representatives; but (II) the vote on passage shall be on the joint resolution from the House of Representatives. (B) Receipt after passage If, following passage of a joint resolution of approval in the Senate, the Senate receives an identical joint resolution from the House of Representatives, that joint resolution shall be placed on the appropriate Senate calendar. (C) No companion measure If a joint resolution of approval is received from the House, and no companion joint resolution has been introduced in the Senate, the Senate procedures under this subsection shall apply to the House joint resolution. (3) Application to revenue measures The provisions of this paragraph shall not apply in the House of Representatives to a joint resolution of approval that is a revenue measure. (f) Rules of House of Representatives and Senate This section is enacted by Congress— (1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of the Senate and the House of Representatives, respectively, and as such is deemed a part of the rules of each House, respectively, and supersedes other rules only to the extent that it is inconsistent with such rules; and (2) with full recognition of the constitutional right of either House to change the rules (so far as relating to the procedure of that House) at any time, in the same manner, and to the same extent as in the case of any other rule of that House.