[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 550 Introduced in House (IH)]
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115th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 550
To amend title 49, United States Code, to require the deployment of law
enforcement personnel at airport screening locations at very large
airports, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 13, 2017
Mr. Engel (for himself, Mr. Donovan, Mr. Zeldin, Ms. Sinema, Mr.
Swalwell of California, Ms. Meng, Mr. Lowenthal, Mr. King of New York,
Ms. Shea-Porter, and Mr. Pascrell) introduced the following bill; which
was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 49, United States Code, to require the deployment of law
enforcement personnel at airport screening locations at very large
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 ``Checkpoint Safety Act of 2017''.
SEC. 2. DEPLOYMENT OF LAW ENFORCEMENT PERSONNEL AT AIRPORT SCREENING
LOCATIONS AT VERY LARGE AIRPORTS.
Section 44901 of title 49, United States Code, is amended--
(1) by striking ``Under Secretary of Transportation for
Security'' each place it appears and inserting ``Administrator
of the Transportation Security Administration'';
(2) by striking ``Under Secretary'' each place it appears
and inserting ``Administrator''; and
(3) in subsection (h), by amending paragraph (2) to read as
follows:
``(2) Minimum requirements.--
``(A) In general.--Except at airports required to
enter into agreements under subsection (c), the
Administrator shall order the deployment of at least
one law enforcement officer authorized to carry
firearms within 300 feet of each airport security
screening location and within the terminal during
operating hours at each airport at which the number of
annual enplanements for the most recent calendar year
for which data are available is 8 million or more or
the number of international enplanements is 1 million
or more. The Administrator shall order the deployment
of additional law enforcement officers authorized to
carry firearms at such airports if the Administrator
determines that such additional deployment is necessary
to ensure airport security.
``(B) Waiver.--The Administrator may waive the
application of all or part of the requirements of
subparagraph (A) only if the relevant law enforcement
agency with jurisdiction over an airport described in
such subparagraph certifies in a written application to
the Administrator that adherence to all or part of such
requirements would--
``(i) make provision of adequate security
for such airport impossible; and
``(ii) cause extreme hardship to such law
enforcement agency that would severely impair
its ability to perform its duties.''.
SEC. 3. LAW ENFORCEMENT ASSISTANCE IN FEDERAL AIRPORT SECURITY.
Section 44903 of title 49, United States Code, is amended--
(1) by striking ``Under Secretary of Transportation for
Security'' each place it appears and inserting ``Administrator
of the Transportation Security Administration'';
(2) by striking ``Under Secretary'' each place it appears
and inserting ``Administrator'';
(3) in subsection (b), in the matter preceding paragraph
(1), by striking ``passengers'' and inserting ``persons''; and
(4) in subsection (c)(1)--
(A) in the first sentence, as amended by paragraph
(2)--
(i) by striking ``The Administrator'' and
inserting ``(A) The Administrator''; and
(ii) by striking ``passengers'' and
inserting ``all persons and property''; and
(B) by adding at the end the following new
subparagraph:
``(B) Any air transportation security program established pursuant
to subparagraph (A) shall be adequate to ensure--
``(i) close cooperation between all relevant parties in
ensuring airport security;
``(ii) high training standards for all security and law
enforcement personnel;
``(iii) prompt notification of and law enforcement response
to any security incidents which may arise at the airport,
including detention of persons who may attempt to evade
transportation security screening; and
``(iv) multiple means for Transportation Security Officers
or members of the public to request prompt law enforcement
assistance in the airport.''.
SEC. 4. STATIONING OF DEPUTIZED LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS.
Section 44922 of title 49, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in subsection (a), by striking ``Under Secretary of
Transportation for Security'' and inserting ``Administrator of
the Transportation Security Administration'';
(2) by striking ``Under Secretary'' each place it appears
and inserting ``Administrator''; and
(3) by striking subsection (f).
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