Helping Families Fly Act of 2019

IIB 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3694 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES OCTOBER 15, 2019 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation AN ACT To require the Transportation Security Administration to implement training for frontline Administration per- sonnel regarding the screening of pregnant women and families with young children at passenger screening checkpoints, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:58 Oct 15, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3694.RFS H3694 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 HR 3694 RFS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Helping Families Fly 2 Act of 2019’’. 3 SEC. 2. TRAINING REQUIRED. 4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 5 date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall 6 develop and implement training for frontline Administra- 7 tion personnel regarding the screening of pregnant women 8 and families with young children at passenger screening 9 checkpoints. Such training shall include the following: 10 (1) Information relating to concerns of preg- 11 nant women relating to the use of Advanced Imag- 12 ing Technology and appropriate opt-out procedures 13 and alternative screening procedures. 14 (2) Guidelines to assist pregnant women and 15 families traveling with young children effectively and 16 efficiently complete the screening process in a man- 17 ner that is respectful and improves the overall func- 18 tioning of the screening checkpoint. 19 (3) Communication and procedural guidelines 20 for frontline Administration personnel to assist with 21 passenger divestiture for pregnant women and fami- 22 lies traveling with young children to improve the ef- 23 fectiveness and overall passenger experience at the 24 screening checkpoint. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:58 Oct 15, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3694.RFS H3694 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 HR 3694 RFS (b) COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY.—In conjunction 1 with the implementation of the training required under 2 subsection (a), the Administrator shall develop and imple- 3 ment a communications strategy for pregnant women and 4 families traveling with young children to inform such 5 women and families of the procedures and guidelines de- 6 scribed in such subsection, including providing informa- 7 tion to relevant passengers through social media, the Ad- 8 ministration’s public website, the Administration’s cus- 9 tomer service call center, and partnerships with aviation 10 stakeholders, including air carriers and airport operators. 11 (c) PASSENGER SUPPORT SPECIALISTS.—In carrying 12 out subsections (a) and (b), the Administrator shall, to 13 the extent possible, make available passenger support spe- 14 cialists, upon request, to pregnant women and families 15 traveling with young children to assist with screening 16 checkpoint information, concerns, and procedures. 17 (d) TSA FAMILY LANES FEASIBILITY ASSESS- 18 MENT.—Not later than 180 days after the date of the en- 19 actment of this Act, the Administrator shall conduct a fea- 20 sibility assessment to determine whether screening proc- 21 esses and the screening experience may be improved for 22 travelers by developing optional, dedicated screening lanes 23 for families traveling with young children at airports 24 where the checkpoint configuration would allow and where 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:58 Oct 15, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3694.RFS H3694 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 HR 3694 RFS the overall functioning of the checkpoint would not be in- 1 hibited in terms of passenger throughput or security effec- 2 tiveness. 3 (e) BRIEFING TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 30 4 days after the implementation of the training required 5 under subsection (a), the Administrator shall brief the ap- 6 propriate congressional committees on progress regarding 7 the implementation of this Act and improvements made 8 to the screening process for pregnant women and families 9 traveling with young children. 10 (f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 11 (1) ADMINISTRATION.—The term ‘‘Administra- 12 tion’’ means the Transportation Security Adminis- 13 tration. 14 (2) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis- 15 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Transpor- 16 tation Security Administration. 17 (3) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT- 18 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com- 19 mittees’’ means the Committee on Homeland Secu- 20 rity of the House of Representatives and the Com- 21 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:58 Oct 15, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3694.RFS H3694 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 HR 3694 RFS mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 1 the Senate. 2 Passed the House of Representatives September 26, 2019. Attest: CHERYL L. JOHNSON, Clerk. VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:58 Oct 15, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3694.RFS H3694 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS