[Senate Report 115-334]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 566
115th Congress } { Report
SENATE
2d Session } { 115-334
_______________________________________________________________________
SCREENING AND VETTING PASSENGER EXCHANGE ACT
__________
R E P O R T
of the
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND
GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
UNITED STATES SENATE
to accompany
H.R. 4581
TO REQUIRE THE SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY TO
DEVELOP BEST PRACTICES FOR UTILIZING ADVANCED
PASSENGER INFORMATION AND PASSENGER NAME RECORD DATA
FOR COUNTERTERRORISM SCREENING AND VETTING OPERATIONS, AND FOR OTHER
PURPOSES
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
September 4, 2018.--Ordered to be printed
______
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
79-010 WASHINGTON : 2018
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin, Chairman
JOHN McCAIN, Arizona CLAIRE McCASKILL, Missouri
ROB PORTMAN, Ohio THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware
RAND PAUL, Kentucky HEIDI HEITKAMP, North Dakota
JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma GARY C. PETERS, Michigan
MICHAEL B. ENZI, Wyoming MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire
JOHN HOEVEN, North Dakota KAMALA D. HARRIS, California
STEVE DAINES, Montana DOUG JONES, Alabama
Christopher R. Hixon, Staff Director
Gabrielle D'Adamo Singer, Chief Counsel
Melissa C. Egred, Professional Staff Member
Margaret E. Daum, Minority Staff Director
Charles A. Moskowitz, Minority Senior Legislative Counsel
Subhasri Ramanathan, Minority Counsel
Laura W. Kilbride, Chief Clerk
Calendar No. 566
115th Congress } { Report
SENATE
2d Session } { 115-334
======================================================================
SCREENING AND VETTING PASSENGER EXCHANGE ACT
_______
September 4, 2018.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Johnson, from the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 4581]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (H.R. 4581) to require
the Secretary of Homeland Security to develop best practices
for utilizing advanced passenger information and passenger name
record data for counterterrorism screening and vetting
operations, and for other purposes, having considered the same,
reports favorably thereon with an amendment in the nature of a
substitute and recommends that the bill, as amended, do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
I. Purpose and Summary..............................................1
II. Background and Need for the Legislation..........................2
III. Legislative History..............................................3
IV. Section-by-Section Analysis......................................3
V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact..................................3
VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................4
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Act, as Reported.............4
I. PURPOSE AND SUMMARY
H.R. 4581, the Screening and Vetting Passenger Exchange Act
of 2017, requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to develop
best practices for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS or
the Department) when using passenger name record data and
advance passenger information for counterterrorism screening
and vetting operations. It also directs DHS to make
unclassified versions of best practices available to Visa
Waiver Program (VWP) countries and other appropriate countries,
and provide assistance to those countries in implementing such
best practices.
II. BACKGROUND AND THE NEED FOR LEGISLATION
DHS's Customs and Border Protection and Transportation
Security Administration use advance passenger information data
and passenger name record data to confirm a traveler's identity
and their travel patterns before the passenger enters the
United States. These data sets are vital to identify travelers
with potential ties to criminal organizations and terrorist
groups and to determine whether stopping them from traveling is
necessary. In addition to our own data, the European Union
agreed in 2012 to provide passenger name record data for
passengers flying to the United States to ensure safety and
prevent transnational crime and terrorism, and on guidelines
for the use and transfer of the information.\1\ This agreement
allowed DHS to receive additional information on passengers
flying to the United States.
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\1\2012 O.J. (L 174) 1, available at https://eur-lex.europa.eu/
legal-content/en/TXT/?uri=CELEX:22012X0704(01).
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Currently, the United States has not developed best
practices for using passenger data. Identifying best practices
will allow DHS and its components to screen and vet travelers
in the most effective and efficient way.
Additionally, many of our allies, including those that
participate in the VWP,\2\ do not have the capabilities or
procedures needed to utilize this sort of advanced data for
screening and vetting purposes.
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\2\The Visa Waiver Program allows temporary visitors from certain
European countries to enter the United States as nonimmigrant visitors
for business or pleasure without obtaining a visa. The VWP sets a
standard for participating countries; travelers are required to present
e-passports (passports with a chip containing biometric information),
requires information sharing on criminal and security concerns, and
requires reporting on lost and stolen travel documents.
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The Committee has held several hearings examining the need
for strong information sharing with partner governments to
identify and screen potential security threats. For example, in
2015, the Committee held a roundtable with officials from the
Department, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the U.S.
Department of State, as well as a private sector expert, about
the VWP.\3\ Participants discussed the need to enhance the VWP
in light of the recent terrorist attacks in Europe, including
the November 13, 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris, France. Dr.
Marc Frey, who previously served as the Director of the VWP
from 2007-2010, explained that ``DHS and Congress must ensure
that participating countries are fully meeting their
information-sharing obligations.'' In 2016, the Committee held
a hearing with officials from the Department of State, U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services, U.S. Immigration and
Customs Enforcement, and the DHS Inspector General about the
security of visa programs in the United States. Witnesses
discussed the roles they play in determining if an applicant is
eligible for a visa and the need to enhance screening.\4\
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\3\Strengthening the Visa Waiver Program After the Paris Attacks:
Roundtable Before the S. Comm. On Homeland Sec. & Governmental Affairs,
114th Cong. (2015), available at https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/hearings/
roundtable_-strengthening-the-visa-waiver-program-after-the-paris-
attacks.
\4\The Security of U.S. Visa Program: Hearing Before the S. Comm.
On Homeland Sec. & Governmental Affairs, 114th Cong. (2016), available
at https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/hearings/the- security-of-us-visa-
programs.
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The Act would direct DHS to improve information sharing and
screening by and with foreign partners by sharing best
practices and assisting countries with the implementation of
those best practices. By sharing unclassified versions of these
best practices with countries that participate in the VPM, and
others as appropriate, we will help limit the travel of
individuals who may pose a threat before they arrive in the
United States, and assist in strengthening the security of the
partner country.
III. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
Representative Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA-8) introduced H.R.
4581, the Screening and Vetting Passenger Exchange Act of 2017,
on December 7, 2017, with Rep. Kathleen Rice (D-NY-4), Rep.
John Katko (R-NY-24), Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI-8), Rep. Clay
Higgins (R-LA-3), Rep. John Rutherford (R-FL-4), Rep. Thomas
Garrett Jr. (R-VA-5), and Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX-10). On
December 12, 2017, Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ-12) and
Rep. Val Butler Demings (D-FL-10) joined as cosponsors of the
bill. On January 9, 2018, H.R. 4581 passed the House by a vote
of 415 to 1.
H.R. 4581 was referred to the Committee on Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs. The Committee considered the
Act at a business meeting on June 13, 2018. During the business
meeting, a substitute amendment was offered by Chairman Ron
Johnson. The bill and the substitute amendment were agreed to
by voice vote en bloc. Senators Johnson, Portman, Lankford,
Enzi, McCaskill, Carper, Peters, Hassan, Harris and Jones were
present for both votes.
IV. SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF THE ACT, AS REPORTED
Section 1. Short title
This section establishes the short title of the Act as the
``Screening and Vetting Passenger Exchange Act of 2017.''
Section 2. Passenger screening best practices
Subsection (a) directs DHS to develop best practices for
using passenger name record data and advanced passenger
information for the purpose of counterterrorism screening and
vetting.
Subsection (b) requires that DHS, to the greatest extent
practicable, make available unclassified versions of best
practices to appropriate countries, including VWP countries,
and assist those countries with implementing the best
practices.
V. EVALUATION OF REGULATORY IMPACT
Pursuant to the requirements of paragraph 11(b) of rule
XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee has
considered the regulatory impact of this Act and determined
that the Act will have no regulatory impact within the meaning
of the rules. The Committee agrees with the Congressional
Budget Office's statement that the Act contains no
intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would impose no costs
on state, local, or tribal governments.
VI. CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, June 22, 2018.
Hon. Ron Johnson,
Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S.
Senate, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 4581, the
Screening and Vetting Passenger Exchange Act of 2017.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Mark
Grabowicz.
Sincerely,
Keith Hall,
Director.
Enclosure.
H.R. 4581--Screening and Vetting Passenger Exchange Act of 2017
H.R. 4581 would require the Department of Homeland Security
(DHS) to develop effective practices for screening certain
people entering the United States through the review of
information provided by those travelers. The act would direct
DHS to share those practices with certain other countries. DHS
is currently carrying out activities similar to those that
would be required by the act; thus, CBO estimates that
implementing H.R. 4581 would not significantly affect spending
by DHS.
Enacting H.R. 4581 would not affect direct spending or
revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 4581 would not increase
net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four
consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2029.
H.R. 4581 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
On February 12, 2018, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for
H.R. 4581 as passed by the House of Representatives on January
9, 2018. CBO's estimates of the budgetary effects of the two
versions of the legislation are the same.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Mark Grabowicz.
The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
VII. CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE ACT, AS REPORTED
Because H.R. 4581 would not repeal or amend any provision
of current law, it would not make changes in existing law
within the meaning of clauses (a) and (b) of paragraph 12 of
rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate.
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