Registered Traveler Act of 2020

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 3730 To amend title 49, United States Code, to authorize and modernize the registered traveler program of the Transportation Security Administra- tion, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 13, 2020 Mr. SULLIVAN (for himself, Ms. SINEMA, Mr. YOUNG, Ms. ROSEN, and Mr. WICKER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation A BILL To amend title 49, United States Code, to authorize and modernize the registered traveler program of the Trans- portation Security Administration, and for other pur- poses. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Registered Traveler 4 Act of 2020’’. 5 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 6 It is the sense of Congress that— 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:51 Jun 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3730.IS S3730 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 3730 IS (1) the Administrator of the Transportation Se- 1 curity Administration should support the continued 2 operation of trusted passenger programs authorized 3 under section 109(a)(3) of the Aviation and Trans- 4 portation Security Act (49 U.S.C. 114 note), includ- 5 ing the registered traveler program of the Transpor- 6 tation Security Administration; 7 (2) the registered traveler program of the 8 Transportation Security Administration is estab- 9 lished to authorize and encourage the Administra- 10 tion to partner with private sector registered traveler 11 services providers to drive innovations that strength- 12 en security and enhance the traveler experience to 13 improve commercial air travel while continuing to 14 safeguard transportation and national security; and 15 (3) passengers and airports participating in the 16 registered traveler program may receive significant 17 security and efficiency benefits. 18 SEC. 3. REGISTERED TRAVELER PROGRAM. 19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 449 of 20 title 49, United States Code, is amended by inserting after 21 section 44920 the following: 22 ‘‘§ 44920a. Registered traveler program 23 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—An airport operator may enter 24 into a contract with a qualified registered traveler services 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:51 Jun 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3730.IS S3730 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 3730 IS provider to provide registered traveler services under sub- 1 section (d) to registered traveler program participants, if 2 the Administrator of the Transportation Security Admin- 3 istration approves the application of the qualified reg- 4 istered traveler services provider under subsection (c)(2). 5 ‘‘(b) QUALIFIED REGISTERED TRAVELER SERVICES 6 PROVIDER.— 7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A private entity is a quali- 8 fied registered traveler services provider if— 9 ‘‘(A) the entity is in compliance with sec- 10 tion 536 of the Department of Homeland Secu- 11 rity Appropriations Act, 2015 (49 U.S.C. 114 12 note); 13 ‘‘(B) the Administrator has approved an 14 application for the entity under subsection 15 (c)(2); and 16 ‘‘(C) the entity meets such other require- 17 ments as the Administrator may establish. 18 ‘‘(2) TREATMENT OF EXISTING REGISTERED 19 TRAVELER SERVICES PROVIDERS.— 20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding para- 21 graph (1), a private entity providing registered 22 traveler services as of the date of the enactment 23 of this section shall be deemed to be a qualified 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:51 Jun 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3730.IS S3730 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 3730 IS registered traveler services provider for pur- 1 poses of this subsection if the entity— 2 ‘‘(i) meets the requirement under 3 paragraph (1)(A); and 4 ‘‘(ii) is operating pursuant to the re- 5 quirements established by the Adminis- 6 trator for the registered traveler program 7 of the Administration as of the date of the 8 enactment of this section. 9 ‘‘(B) CONTINUATION OF CONTRACTS.—A 10 contract entered into before the date of the en- 11 actment of this section with a private entity 12 that meets the requirements of subparagraph 13 (A) shall remain in effect on and after that 14 date in accordance with the terms of the con- 15 tract. 16 ‘‘(c) APPLICATIONS.— 17 ‘‘(1) SUBMISSION.—A private entity seeking to 18 become a qualified registered traveler services pro- 19 vider shall submit to the Administrator an applica- 20 tion at such time, in such manner, and containing 21 such information as the Administrator may require. 22 ‘‘(2) APPROVAL.— 23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 24 days after the date of receipt of an application 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:51 Jun 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3730.IS S3730 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 3730 IS submitted by an entity under paragraph (1), 1 the Administrator shall approve or deny the ap- 2 plication. 3 ‘‘(B) STANDARDS.—The Administrator 4 shall approve an application submitted by an 5 entity under paragraph (1) if the Administrator 6 determines that— 7 ‘‘(i) the level of security provided by 8 the entity will be equal to or greater than 9 the level that would be provided by Federal 10 Government personnel; and 11 ‘‘(ii) the approval would not detrimen- 12 tally affect the cost efficiency or the effec- 13 tiveness of identity verification, traveler 14 vetting status authentication, or provision 15 of access to physical screening at an air- 16 port. 17 ‘‘(C) REPORTS ON DENIALS OF APPLICA- 18 TIONS.— 19 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If the Adminis- 20 trator denies an application submitted by 21 an entity under paragraph (1), the Admin- 22 istrator shall provide to the entity, not 23 later than 60 days after the date of the de- 24 nial, a written report that sets forth— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:51 Jun 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3730.IS S3730 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 3730 IS ‘‘(I) the findings that served as 1 the basis for the denial; 2 ‘‘(II) the results of any cost or 3 security analysis conducted in consid- 4 ering the application; and 5 ‘‘(III) recommendations on how 6 the entity can address the reasons for 7 the denial. 8 ‘‘(ii) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.— 9 The Administrator shall submit to the 10 Committee on Commerce, Science, and 11 Transportation of the Senate and the 12 Committee on Homeland Security of the 13 House of Representatives a copy of any re- 14 port provided to an entity under clause (i). 15 ‘‘(d) REGISTERED TRAVELER SERVICES.—For pur- 16 poses of this section, registered traveler services provided 17 by a qualified registered traveler services provider include 18 the following: 19 ‘‘(1) IDENTITY VERIFICATION.—The use of 20 identity verification procedures or technologies, in- 21 cluding the use of biometrics, to securely verify the 22 identity of a registered traveler program participant 23 who has entered an airport security checkpoint or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:51 Jun 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3730.IS S3730 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 3730 IS any other area under the control or authority of the 1 Administrator. 2 ‘‘(2) TRAVELER VETTING STATUS AUTHENTICA- 3 TION.—The authentication, by manual or electronic 4 means, of the vetting status, as determined by the 5 Transportation Security Administration, of a reg- 6 istered traveler program participant whose identity 7 has been verified under paragraph (1), which may 8 include authentication of paper or electronic travel 9 documentation or electronic confirmation of travel 10 information by the qualified registered traveler serv- 11 ices provider. 12 ‘‘(3) ACCESS TO PHYSICAL SCREENING.— 13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The direction, from 14 an employee of the qualified registered traveler 15 services provider or through an automated proc- 16 ess operated by the qualified registered traveler 17 services provider, for a registered traveler pro- 18 gram participant, whose identity has been 19 verified under paragraph (1) and whose vetting 20 status has been authenticated under paragraph 21 (2), to proceed directly, in an unimpeded man- 22 ner, without re-verification of the identity or re- 23 authentication of the vetting status of the trav- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:51 Jun 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3730.IS S3730 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 3730 IS eler, to the appropriate area for physical screen- 1 ing designated by the Administrator. 2 ‘‘(B) PHYSICAL SCREENING DEFINED.—In 3 this subsection, the term ‘area for physical 4 screening’ means an area, including a lane 5 within an airport security checkpoint or any 6 other area, at which an individual and the per- 7 sonal property of an individual are screened by 8 an agent of the Transportation Security Admin- 9 istration. 10 ‘‘(4) ADDITIONAL SERVICES.—Such other addi- 11 tional services at the airport security checkpoint or 12 any other area under the control or authority of the 13 Administrator as the Administrator may approve. 14 ‘‘(e) REGISTERED TRAVELER SERVICES PRO- 15 VIDED.—The Administrator shall— 16 ‘‘(1) develop policies, procedures, and capabili- 17 ties that allow qualified registered traveler services 18 providers to provide to registered traveler services 19 program participants the full extent of registered 20 traveler services; and 21 ‘‘(2) undertake audits under subsection (f) of 22 the performance of qualified registered traveler serv- 23 ices providers providing registered traveler services 24 at airports under this section, and allow providers to 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:51 Jun 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3730.IS S3730 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 3730 IS correct any deficiencies identified during such au- 1 dits. 2 ‘‘(f) AUDITS OF QUALIFIED REGISTERED TRAVELER 3 SERVICES PROVIDERS.— 4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not less frequently than 5 once every 5 years, the Administrator shall conduct 6 an audit, which shall last not more than 1 month, 7 of each qualified registered traveler services provider 8 to determine if the provider is meeting the standards 9 described in subsection (c)(2)(B). 10 ‘‘(2) STRATEGY REQUIRED.— 11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out para- 12 graph (1), the Administrator shall develop a 13 strategy for conducting audits under that para- 14 graph to determine if qualified registered trav- 15 eler services providers are meeting the stand- 16 ards described in subsection (c)(2)(B). 17 ‘‘(B) ELEMENTS.—The strategy required 18 by subparagraph (A) may include the examina- 19 tion of a percentage of registered traveler serv- 20 ices program participants, not to exceed 5 per- 21 cent of the average number of such participants 22 traveling on a daily basis, who are screened 23 under procedures of the Transportation Secu- 24 rity Administration applicable to travelers who 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:51 Jun 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3730.IS S3730 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 3730 IS are not registered traveler services program 1 participants. Subsection (d)(3) shall not apply 2 to registered traveler services program partici- 3 pants screened under such procedures. 4 ‘‘(3) IMPROVEMENT PLANS.— 5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If, after completing 6 an audit under paragraph (1) of a qualified reg- 7 istered traveler services provider, the Adminis- 8 trator determines that the provider does not 9 meet the standards described in subsection 10 (c)(2)(B), the Administrator shall develop an 11 improvement plan with the provider to bring 12 the provider into compliance with those stand- 13 ards by the date that is 12 months after the 14 Administrator provides the plan to the provider. 15 ‘‘(B) COMPLETION OF IMPROVEMENT 16 PLANS.—If a provider for which an improve- 17 ment plan was developed under subparagraph 18 (A) does not come into compliance with the 19 standards described in subsection (c)(2)(B) by 20 the date required by that subparagraph, the 21 Administrator may— 22 ‘‘(i) provide the provider with addi- 23 tional time to come into compliance with 24 those standards; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:51 Jun 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3730.IS S3730 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 3730 IS ‘‘(ii) take administrative action 1 against the provider; or 2 ‘‘(iii) require the suspension or termi- 3 nation under subsection (g) of the contract 4 between the provider and the airport oper- 5 ator entered into under subsection (a). 6 ‘‘(4) AUTHORITY FOR IMMEDIATE CONTRACT 7 TERMINATION.—If, during an audit conducted under 8 paragraph (1), the Administrator determines that a 9 qualified registered traveler services provider has 10 acted with gross negligence or failed repeatedly to 11 comply with any standard, regulation, directive, 12 order, or applicable law, the Administrator may re- 13 quire the immediate suspension or termination under 14 subsection (g) of the contract between the provider 15 and the airport operator entered into under sub- 16 section (a). 17 ‘‘(g) TERMINATION OR SUSPENSION OF CON- 18 TRACTS.— 19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator may re- 20 quire an airport operator to suspend or terminate, 21 as appropriate, any contract entered into under sub- 22 section (a) with a qualified registered traveler serv- 23 ices provider to provide registered traveler services 24 at an airport if the Administrator determines that 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:51 Jun 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3730.IS S3730 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 3730 IS the provider has acted with gross negligence or 1 failed repeatedly to comply with any standard, regu- 2 lation, directive, order, or law applicable to— 3 ‘‘(A) the hiring or training of personnel to 4 provide such services; 5 ‘‘(B) the handling of personal information; 6 or 7 ‘‘(C) the provision of such services at the 8 airport. 9 ‘‘(2) REPORT REQUIRED.—If the Administrator 10 requires the termination or suspension of the con- 11 tract of a registered traveler services provider under 12 paragraph (1), the Administrator shall, not later 13 than 30 days after requiring the termination or sus- 14 pension, submit to the Committee on Commerce, 15 Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the 16 Committee on Homeland Security of the House of 17 Representatives a report that describes in detail— 18 ‘‘(A) the reasons the contract was termi- 19 nated or suspended; 20 ‘‘(B) if the contract was suspe [Text truncated for display. 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