[House Report 112-272]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
112th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session 112-272
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EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES THAT EFFECTIVE
SHARING OF PASSENGER INFORMATION FROM INBOUND INTERNATIONAL FLIGHT
MANIFESTS IS A CRUCIAL COMPONENT OF OUR NATIONAL SECURITY AND THAT THE
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY MUST MAINTAIN THE INFORMATION SHARING
STANDARDS REQUIRED UNDER THE 2007 PASSENGER NAME RECORD AGREEMENT
BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND THE EUROPEAN UNION
_______
November 4, 2011.--Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be
printed
_______
Mr. King of New York, from the Committee on Homeland Security,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H. Res. 255]
The Committee on Homeland Security, to whom was referred
the resolution (H. Res. 255) expressing the sense of the House
of Representatives that effective sharing of passenger
information from inbound international flight manifests is a
crucial component of our national security and that the
Department of Homeland Security must maintain the information
sharing standards required under the 2007 Passenger Name Record
Agreement between the United States and the European Union,
having considered the same, report favorably thereon without
amendment and recommend that the resolution be agreed to.
CONTENTS
Page
Purpose and Summary.............................................. 2
Background and Need for Legislation.............................. 2
Hearings......................................................... 3
Committee Consideration.......................................... 3
Committee Votes.................................................. 3
Committee Oversight Findings..................................... 3
New Budget Authority, Entitlement Authority, and Tax Expenditures 3
Congressional Budget Office Estimate............................. 3
Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives............ 3
Congressional Earmarks, Limited Tax Benefits, and Limited Tariff
Benefits....................................................... 3
Federal Mandates Statement....................................... 3
Preemption Clarification......................................... 3
Advisory Committee Statement..................................... 4
Applicability to Legislative Branch.............................. 4
Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation................... 4
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............ 4
PURPOSE AND SUMMARY
The purpose of H. Res. 255 is to express the sense of the
House of Representatives that effective sharing of passenger
information from inbound international flight manifests is a
crucial component of our national security and that the
Department of Homeland Security must maintain the information
sharing standards required under the 2007 Passenger Name Record
Agreement between the United States and the European Union.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
In response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001,
Congress passed several laws to strengthen homeland security,
including the Aviation and Transportation Security Act of 2001
(ATSA). In relevant part, ATSA required air carriers entering
the United States to provide U.S. Customs and Border Protection
(CBP) with electronic access to Passenger Name Record data
(PNR) on persons traveling on flights to, from, or through the
United States. PNR data includes information such as travel
dates, contact details, means of payment, number of bags, and
seat number.
Both the Bush and Obama Administrations concurred that PNR
data is vital for national security. In 2008 and 2009, PNR
helped the United States identify individuals with potential
ties to terrorism in more than 3,000 cases, including the
November 2008 Mumbai attack plotter, David Headley, and the
perpetrator of the failed May 2010 Times Square bombing, Faisal
Shazad. In FY2010, approximately one quarter of those
individuals denied entry to the United States for having ties
to terrorism were initially identified through PNR data.
Following the passage of ATSA, the Department of Homeland
Security (DHS) began negotiating with the European Union (EU)
to govern the processing of PNR data subject to EU law. After
signing provisional agreements in 2002 and 2004, the U.S. and
the EU reached terms on an agreement in 2007 (the EU-US PNR
Agreement), which fully complied with EU and U.S. privacy law
and was scheduled to expire in 2014. However, in 2009, the EU
enacted the Treaty of Lisbon, which altered its political
governance and granted new powers to the European Parliament.
At that time, 24 of 27 nations had ratified the EU-US PNR
Agreement. As a consequence, EU law now required the European
Parliament to approve proposed security agreements, like the
EU-US PNR Agreement. Thereafter, the European Parliament voted
to reject the current EU-US PNR Agreement. Those negotiations
remain ongoing.
The Committee supports the continuation of a PNR agreement
with robust protections for U.S. citizens and non-citizens.
Accordingly, on September 21, 2011, the House Homeland Security
Committee approved a bipartisan resolution (H. Res. 255)
affirming that the effective sharing of passenger information
from inbound international flight manifests is crucial to our
national security and urging DHS to oppose any effort by the EU
to frustrate counterterrorism cooperation and information
sharing as reflected in the 2007 EU-US PNR agreement. In May
2011, the Senate passed a companion resolution.
HEARINGS
No hearings were held on H. Res. 255 in the 112th Congress.
COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION
The Committee met on September 21, 2011, to consider H.
Res. 255, and ordered the measure to be reported to the House
with a favorable recommendation, without amendment, by voice
vote.
COMMITTEE VOTES
Clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives requires the Committee to list the recorded
votes on the motion to report legislation and amendments
thereto.
No recorded votes were requested during consideration of H.
Res. 255.
COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, the Committee has held oversight
hearings and made findings that are reflected in this report.
NEW BUDGET AUTHORITY, ENTITLEMENT AUTHORITY, AND TAX EXPENDITURES
In compliance with clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules
of the House of Representatives, the Committee finds that H.
Res. 255, would result in no new or increased budget authority,
entitlement authority, or tax expenditures or revenues.
CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE ESTIMATE
Clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives, and Section 402 of the Congressional Budget
Act of 1974 do not apply, as H. Res. 255 is not a bill or joint
resolution.
STATEMENT OF GENERAL PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, H. Res. 255 contains no general
performance goals, and objectives, including outcome related
goals and objectives authorized.
CONGRESSIONAL EARMARKS, LIMITED TAX BENEFITS, AND LIMITED TARIFF
BENEFITS
In compliance with rule XXI of the Rules of the House of
Representatives, this bill, as reported, contains no
congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff
benefits as defined in clause 9(e), 9(f), or 9(g) of the rule
XXI.
FEDERAL MANDATES STATEMENT
H. Res. 255 provides no Federal mandates.
PREEMPTION CLARIFICATION
In compliance with section 423 of the Congressional Budget
Act of 1974, requiring the report of any Committee on a bill or
joint resolution to include a statement on the extent to which
the bill or joint resolution in intended to preempt State,
local, or Tribal law, the Committee finds that H. Res. 255 does
not preempt any State, local, or Tribal law.
ADVISORY COMMITTEE STATEMENT
No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b)
of the Federal Advisory Committee Act were created by this
legislation.
APPLICABILITY TO LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to
the terms and conditions of employment or access to public
services or accommodations within the meaning of section
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF THE LEGISLATION
The Resolution expresses the sense of the House of
Representatives that effective sharing of passenger information
from inbound international flight manifests is a crucial
component of our national security and that the Department of
Homeland Security must maintain the information sharing
standards required under the 2007 Passenger Name Record
Agreement between the United States and the European Union.
The Resolution resolves that the House of Representatives
acknowledge the threat posed by terrorists targeting the U.S.
aviation system, urges the Department of Homeland Security to
respond to any modification of the passenger name record data
sharing agreement that degrades security capability with
stronger security requirements, urges the Department not to
enter into any agreement that would impose European oversight
structures on the United States, and strongly urges the
Department to oppose any effort by the European Union to
frustrate counterterrorism and information sharing between the
Department and non-European countries.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED
H. Res. 255 makes no changes to existing law.