[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3289 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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114th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3289
To prohibit scheduled passenger air transportation between the United
States and Cuba until a study has been completed regarding security
measures and equipment at Cuba's airports and certain agreements have
been established with the Government of Cuba, to amend title 49, United
States Code, to clarify the role of the Secretary of Homeland Security
regarding security standards at foreign airports, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 6, 2016
Mr. Rubio (for himself and Mr. Menendez) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To prohibit scheduled passenger air transportation between the United
States and Cuba until a study has been completed regarding security
measures and equipment at Cuba's airports and certain agreements have
been established with the Government of Cuba, to amend title 49, United
States Code, to clarify the role of the Secretary of Homeland Security
regarding security standards at foreign 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 ``Cuban Airport Security Act of
2016''.
SEC. 2. FLIGHTS BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND CUBA.
(a) In General.--The Administrator of the Transportation Security
Administration shall submit a report to the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Homeland
Security of the House of Representatives on the following aspects of
security measures at all Cuban airports served by United States
aircraft operators and Cuban airports serving as last point of
departure locations for foreign air carriers:
(1) Details about the type of equipment used at screening
checkpoints and an analysis of such equipment's capabilities
and weaknesses.
(2) Information about each airport's canine program, if
used.
(3) The frequency of training for screening and security
personnel.
(4) Access controls in place to ensure only credentialed
personnel have access to the secure and sterile areas of such
airports.
(5) An assessment of the ability of known or suspected
terrorists to use Cuba as a gateway to entering the United
States.
(6) Perimeter security at such airports.
(7) A mitigation assessment regarding man-portable air
defense systems.
(8) The vetting practices and procedures for airport
employees.
(9) Compliance with United States security standards and
procedures.
(10) Any other information determined relevant to the
security practices, procedures, and equipment in place at such
airports.
(b) GAO Audit.--The Comptroller General of the United States shall
submit an audit of the report required under subsection (a) to the
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and
the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives.
(c) Federal Air Marshal Service.--The Secretary of Homeland
Security shall seek to enter into an agreement with the Government of
Cuba allowing the Federal Air Marshal Service to conduct missions on
regularly scheduled passenger air transportation between a place in the
United States and a place in Cuba.
(d) TSA Access to Cuban Last Point of Departure Airports.--The
Secretary of Homeland Security shall seek to enter into an agreement
with the Government of Cuba that allows Transportation Security
Administration inspectors to access all areas of last point of
departure airports in Cuba for the purposes of security assessments.
(e) Hiring and Training Requirements.--Scheduled passenger air
carriers--
(1) shall be permitted to directly recruit, hire, and train
local personnel in Cuba; and
(2) such recruitment, hiring, or training may not be
carried out through entities that are owned, operated, or
controlled, in whole or in part, by Cuba's Council of State,
Council of Ministers, Communist Party, Ministry of the
Revolutionary Armed Forces, or Ministry of the Interior.
(f) Prohibition.--No agreement dated on or after January 1, 2016,
to expand regularly scheduled passenger air transportation between a
place in the United States and a place in Cuba may be permitted until
after--
(1) the report and audit described in subsections (a) and
(b) have been submitted;
(2) the Secretary of Homeland Security has entered into the
agreements described in subsections (c) and (d); and
(3) the requirements under subsection (e) have been met.
(g) Statutory Construction.--Nothing in this section may be
constructed to affect charter passenger air transportation between a
place in the United States and a place in Cuba.
SEC. 3. SECURITY STANDARDS AT FOREIGN AIRPORTS.
Section 44907 of title 49, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in subsections (a) through (d), by striking ``Secretary
of Transportation'' each place it appears and inserting
``Secretary of Homeland Security''; and
(2) in subsection (e), in the matter preceding paragraph
(1)--
(A) by striking ``the Secretary of Transportation,
with the approval of the Secretary of State and without
notice or a hearing, shall'' and inserting ``at the
request of the Secretary of Homeland Security and with
the approval of the Secretary of State and without
notice or a hearing, the Secretary of Transportation
shall''; and
(B) by striking ``when the Secretary of
Transportation decides'' and inserting ``when the
Secretary of Homeland Security decides''.
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