§ 44901. Screening passengers and property

Pub. L. 108–458, title IV, § 4052, Dec. 17, 2004, 118 Stat. 3728, provided that: “(a) Air Cargo Screening Technology.—The Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security (Transportation Security Administration) shall develop technology to better identify, track, and screen air cargo. “(b) Improved Air Cargo and Airport Security.—There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Homeland Security for the use of the Transportation Security Administration, in addition to any amounts otherwise authorized by law, for the purpose of improving aviation security related to the transportation of cargo on both passenger aircraft and all-cargo aircraft—“(1) $200,000,000 for fiscal year 2005; “(2) $200,000,000 for fiscal year 2006; and “(3) $200,000,000 for fiscal year 2007. Such sums shall remain available until expended. “(c) Research, Development, and Deployment.—To carry out subsection (a), there is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary, in addition to any amounts otherwise authorized by law, for research and development related to enhanced air cargo security technology as well as for deployment and installation of enhanced air cargo security technology—“(1) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2005; “(2) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2006; and “(3) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2007. Such sums shall remain available until expended. “(d) Advanced Cargo Security Grants.—“(1) In general.—The Secretary shall establish and carry out a program to issue competitive grants to encourage the development of advanced air cargo security technology, including use of innovative financing or other means of funding such activities. The Secretary may make available funding for this purpose from amounts appropriated pursuant to subsection (c). “(2) Eligibility criteria, etc.—The Secretary shall establish such eligibility criteria, establish such application and administrative procedures, and provide for such matching funding requirements, if any, as may be necessary and appropriate to ensure that the technology is deployed as fully and rapidly as possible.”

Identification Standards

Pub. L. 108–458, title VII, § 7220, Dec. 17, 2004, 118 Stat. 3835, provided that: “(a) Proposed Standards.—“(1) In general.—The Secretary of Homeland Security—“(A) shall propose minimum standards for identification documents required of domestic commercial airline passengers for boarding an aircraft; and “(B) may, from time to time, propose minimum standards amending or replacing standards previously proposed and transmitted to Congress and approved under this section. “(2) Submission to congress.—Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment of this Act [Dec. 17, 2004], the Secretary shall submit the standards under paragraph (1)(A) to the Senate and the House of Representatives on the same day while each House is in session. “(3) Effective date.—Any proposed standards submitted to Congress under this subsection shall take effect when an approval resolution is passed by the House and the Senate under the procedures described in subsection (b) and becomes law. “(b) Congressional Approval Procedures.—“(1) Rulemaking power.—This subsection is enacted by Congress—“(A) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of the Senate and the House of Representatives, respectively, and as such they are deemed a part of the rules of each House, respectively, but applicable only with respect to the procedure to be followed in that House in the case of such approval resolutions; and it supersedes other rules only to the extent that they are inconsistent therewith; and “(B) 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. “(2) Approval resolution.—For the purpose of this subsection, the term ‘approval resolution’ means a joint resolution of Congress, the matter after the resolving clause of which is as follows: ‘That the Congress approves the proposed standards issued under section 7220 of the 9/11 Commission Implementation Act of 2004, transmitted by the President to the Congress on ______’, the blank space being filled in with the appropriate date. “(3) Introduction.—Not later than the first day of session following the day on which proposed standards are transmitted to the House of Representatives and the Senate under subsection (a), an approval resolution—“(A) shall be introduced (by request) in the House by the Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, for himself or herself and the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, or by Members of the House of Representatives designated by the Majority Leader and Minority Leader of the House; and “(B) shall be introduced (by request) in the Senate by the Majority Leader of the Senate, for himself or herself and the Minority Leader of the Senate, or by Members of the Senate designated by the Majority Leader and Minority Leader of the Senate. “(4) Prohibitions.—“(A) Amendments.—No amendment to an approval resolution shall be in order in either the House of Representatives or the Senate. “(B) Motions to suspend.—No motion to suspend the application of this paragraph shall be in order in either House, nor shall it be in order in either House for the Presiding Officer to entertain a request to suspend the application of this paragraph by unanimous consent. “(5) Referral.—“(A) In general.—An approval resolution shall be referred to the committees of the House of Representatives and of the Senate with jurisdiction. Each committee shall make its recommendations to the House of Representatives or the Senate, as the case may be, within 45 days after its introduction. Except as provided in subparagraph (B), if a committee to which an approval resolution has been referred has not reported it at the close of the 45th day after its introduction, such committee shall be automatically discharged from further consideration of the resolution and it shall be placed on the appropriate calendar. “(B) Final passage.—A vote on final passage of the resolution shall be taken in each House on or before the close of the 15th day after the resolution is reported by the committee or committees of that House to which it was referred, or after such committee or committees have been discharged from further consideration of the resolution. “(C) Computation of days.—For purposes of this paragraph, in computing a number of days in either House, there shall be excluded any day on which that House is not in session. “(6) Coordination with action of other house.—If prior to the passage by one House of an approval resolution of that House, that House receives the same approval resolution from the other House, then the procedure in that House shall be the same as if no approval resolution has been received from the other House, but the vote on final passage shall be on the approval resolution of the other House. “(7) Floor consideration in the house of representatives.—“(A) Motion to proceed.—A motion in the House of Representatives to proceed to the consideration of an approval resolution shall be highly privileged and not debatable. An amendment to the motion shall not be in order, not shall it be in order to move to reconsider the vote by which the motion is agreed to or disagreed to. “(B) Debate.—Debate in the House of Representatives on an implementing bill or approval resolution shall be limited to not more than 4 hours, which shall be divided equally between those favoring and those opposing the resolution. A motion to further limit debate shall not be debatable. It shall not be in order to move to recommit an approval resolution or to move to reconsider the vote by which an approval resolution is agreed to or disagreed to. “(C) Motion to postpone.—Motions to postpone made in the House of Representatives with respect to the consideration of an approval resolution and motions to proceed to the consideration of other business shall be decided without debate. “(D) Appeals.—All appeals from the decisions of the Chair relating to the application of the Rules of the House of Representatives to the procedure relating to an approval resolution shall be decided without debate. “(E) Rules of the house of representatives.—Except to the extent specifically provided in subparagraphs (A) through (D), consideration of an approval resolution shall be governed by the Rules of the House of Representatives applicable to other resolutions in similar circumstances. “(8) Floor consideration in the Senate.—“(A) Motion to proceed.—A motion in the Senate to proceed to the consideration of an approval resolution shall be privileged and not debatable. An amendment to the motion shall not be in order, nor shall it be in order to move to reconsider the vote by which the motion is agreed to or disagreed to. “(B) Debate on resolution.—Debate in the Senate on an approval resolution, and appeals in connection therewith, shall be limited to not more than 10 hours, which shall be equally divided between, and controlled by, the Majority Leader and the Minority Leader, or their designees. “(C) Debate on motions and appeals.—Debate in the Senate on any debatable motion or appeal in connection with an approval resolution shall be limited to not more than 1 hour, which shall be equally divided between, and controlled by, the mover and the manager of the resolution, except that in the event the manager of the resolution is in favor of any such motion or appeal, the time in opposition thereto, shall be controlled by the Minority Leader or designee. Such leaders, or either of them, may, from time under their control on the passage of an approval resolution, allot additional time to any Senator during the consideration of any debatable motion or appeal. “(D) Limit on debate.—A motion in the Senate to further limit debate is not debatable. A motion to recommit an approval resolution is not in order. “(c) Default Standards.—“(1) In general.—If the standards proposed under subsection (a)(1)(A) are not approved pursuant to the procedures described in subsection (b), then not later than 1 year after rejection by a vote of either House of Congress, domestic commercial airline passengers seeking to board an aircraft shall present, for identification purposes—“(A) a valid, unexpired passport; “(B) domestically issued documents that the Secretary of Homeland Security designates as reliable for identification purposes; “(C) any document issued by the Attorney General or the Secretary of Homeland Security under the authority of 1 of the immigration laws (as defined under section 101(a)(17) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(17))[)]; or “(D) a document issued by the country of nationality of any alien not required to possess a passport for admission to the United States that the Secretary designates as reliable for identifications purposes “(2) Exception.—The documentary requirements described in paragraph (1)—“(A) shall not apply to individuals below the age of 17, or such other age as determined by the Secretary of Homeland Security; “(B) may be waived by the Secretary of Homeland Security in the case of an unforeseen medical emergency. “(d) Recommendation to Congress.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act [Dec. 17, 2004], the Secretary of Homeland Security shall recommend to Congress—“(1) categories of Federal facilities that the Secretary determines to be at risk for terrorist attack and requiring minimum identification standards for access to such facilities; and “(2) appropriate minimum identification standards to gain access to those facilities.”

Deadline for Deployment of Federal Screeners

Pub. L. 107–71, title I, § 110(c), Nov. 19, 2001, 115 Stat. 616, provided that, not later than 1 year after Nov. 19, 2001, the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration would deploy at all airports in the United States where screening is required under this section a sufficient number of Federal screeners, Federal Security Managers, Federal security personnel, and Federal law enforcement officers to conduct the screening of all passengers and property under this section and also not later than 1 year after Nov. 19, 2001, certify to Congress that this requirement was met.

Reports

Pub. L. 107–71, title I, § 110(d), Nov. 19, 2001, 115 Stat. 616, provided that: “(1) Deployment.—Within 6 months after the date of enactment of this Act [Nov. 19, 2001], the Under Secretary of Transportation for Security [now Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration] shall report to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives on the deployment of the systems required by section 44901(c) of title 49, United States Code. The Under Secretary shall include in the report—“(A) an installation schedule; “(B) the dates of installation of each system; and “(C) the date on which each system installed is operational. “(2) Screening of small aircraft.—Within 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act [Nov. 19, 2001], the Under Secretary of Transportation for Security [now Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration] shall transmit a report to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives on the screening requirements applicable to passengers boarding, and property being carried aboard, aircraft with 60 seats or less used in scheduled passenger service with recommendations for any necessary changes in those requirements.”

Installation of Advanced Security Equipment; Agreements

Pub. L. 104–264, title III, § 305(b), Oct. 9, 1996, 110 Stat. 3252, provided that: “The Administrator is authorized to use noncompetitive or cooperative agreements with air carriers and airport authorities that provide for the Administrator to purchase and assist in installing advanced security equipment for the use of such entities.”

Passenger Profiling

Pub. L. 104–264, title III, § 307, Oct. 9, 1996, 110 Stat. 3253, which related to developing computer-assisted passenger profiling programs and other appropriate passenger profiling programs, was repealed by Pub. L. 118–63, title II, § 218(g), May 16, 2024, 138 Stat. 1056.

Authority To Use Certain Funds for Airport Security Programs and Activities

Pub. L. 104–264, title III, § 308, Oct. 9, 1996, 110 Stat. 3253, which provided that funds from project grants made under subchapter I of chapter 471 of this title and passenger facility fees collected under section 40117 of this title could be used for the improvement of facilities and the purchase and deployment of equipment to enhance and ensure safe air travel, was repealed by Pub. L. 108–176, title I, § 143, Dec. 12, 2003, 117 Stat. 2503.

Installation and Use of Explosive Detection Equipment

Pub. L. 101–45, title I, June 30, 1989, 103 Stat. 110, provided in part that: “Not later than thirty days after the date of the enactment of this Act [June 30, 1989], the Federal Aviation Administrator shall initiate action, including such rulemaking or other actions as necessary, to require the use of explosive detection equipment that meets minimum performance standards requiring application of technology equivalent to or better than thermal neutron analysis technology at such airports (whether located within or outside the United States) as the Administrator determines that the installation and use of such equipment is necessary to ensure the safety of air commerce. The Administrator shall complete these actions within sixty days of enactment of this Act”.

Research and Development of Improved Airport Security Systems

Pub. L. 100–649, § 2(d), Nov. 10, 1988, 102 Stat. 3817, required the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to conduct such research and development as necessary to improve airport security metal detectors and airport security x-ray systems in detecting firearms that were subject to the prohibitions of section 922(p) of Title 18, Crimes and Criminal Procedure.

Definitions of Terms in Title IV of Pub. L. 108–458

Pub. L. 108–458, title IV, § 4081, Dec. 17, 2004, 118 Stat. 3731, provided that: “In this title [enacting section 44925 of this title, amending sections 114, 44903, 44904, 44909, 44917, 44923, 46301 to 46303, and 48301 of this title and sections 70102 and 70103 of Title 46, Shipping, and enacting provisions set out as notes under this section, sections 114, 44703, 44913, 44917, 44923, 44925, and 44935 of this title, section 2751 of Title 22, Foreign Relations and Intercourse, and section 70101 of Title 46] (other than in sections 4001 and 4026 [amending sections 114 and 44904 of this title and enacting provisions set out as a note under section 2751 of Title 22]), the following definitions apply: “(1) Appropriate congressional committees.—The term ‘appropriate congressional committees’ means the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives. “(2) Aviation definitions.—The terms ‘air carrier’, ‘air transportation’, ‘aircraft’, ‘airport’, ‘cargo’, ‘foreign air carrier’, and ‘intrastate air transportation’ have the meanings given such terms in section 40102 of title 49, United States Code. “(3) Secure area of an airport.—The term ‘secure area of an airport’ means the sterile area and the Secure Identification Display Area of an airport (as such terms are defined in section 1540.5 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor regulations).”

Definitions of Terms in Pub. L. 107–71

For definitions of terms used in sections 101(g) and 110(c), (d), of Pub. L. 107–71, set out above, see section 133 of Pub. L. 107–71, set out as a note under section 40102 of this title.