[House Report 116-187]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
116th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session } { 116-187
======================================================================
TRAVELING PARENTS SCREENING CONSISTENCY ACT
OF 2019
_______
August 27, 2019.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, from the Committee on Homeland Security,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 3246]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Homeland Security, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 3246) to require GAO review of certain TSA
screening protocols, and for other purposes, having considered
the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and
recommend that the bill do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
Purpose and Summary.............................................. 1
Background and Need for Legislation.............................. 2
Hearings......................................................... 2
Committee Consideration.......................................... 2
Committee Votes.................................................. 2
Committee Oversight Findings..................................... 2
C.B.O. Estimate, New Budget Authority, Entitlement Authority, and
Tax Expenditures............................................... 3
Federal Mandates Statement....................................... 4
Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives............ 4
Duplicative Federal Programs..................................... 4
Congressional Earmarks, Limited Tax Benefits, and Limited Tariff
Benefits....................................................... 4
Advisory Committee Statement..................................... 4
Applicability to Legislative Branch..............................
Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation................... 4
PURPOSE AND SUMMARY
The purpose of H.R. 3246, ``Traveling Parents Screening
Consistency Act of 2019,'' is to require the Government
Accountability Office (GAO) to review certain Transportation
Security Administration (TSA) screening protocols and for other
purposes. This bill requires GAO to conduct a review of TSA's
implementation of the ``Bottles and Breastfeeding Equipment
Screening Act'' (Public Law 114-293), as well as TSA's
effectiveness in ensuring protocol clarity and consistency
relating to the screening of formula, breast milk, purified
deionized water for infants, and juice. Lastly, the bill
requires GAO to issue recommendations for improving TSA's
overall screening practices for such items.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
TSA is charged with protecting passengers and implement
security measures to protect against terrorist threats. To
carry out its mission, TSA conducts airport checkpoint
screening of breast milk, baby formula, juice, and other
childcare products at security checkpoints. In response to
passenger reports of inconsistencies in such screening,
Congress enacted the ``Bottles and Breastfeeding Equipment
Screening Act'' in 2016. However, parents traveling with breast
milk, baby formula, and nursing products continue to report
that receiving consistent treatment from TSA when going through
such screening remains an issue.
This bill seeks to address these concerns by requiring GAO
to review TSA's implementation of the ``Bottles and
Breastfeeding Equipment Screening Act'' as well as TSA's
effectiveness in ensuring screening protocol clarity and
screening consistency relating to the screening of certain
childcare products.
HEARINGS
For the purpose of section 103(i) of H. Res 6. of the 116th
Congress the following related hearing was held:
A subcommittee hearing on February 27, 2018, entitled,
``The Public Face of TSA: Examining the Agency's Outreach and
Traveler Engagement Efforts,'' at which TSA screening
protocols, complaint processes, and communications were
discussed.
COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION
The Committee met on July 17, 2019, with a quorum being
present, to consider H.R. 3246 and ordered the measure to be
reported to the House with a favorable recommendation, without
amendment, by unanimous consent.
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.R. 3246.
COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS
In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules
of the House of Representatives, the Committee advises that the
findings and recommendations of the Committee, based on
oversight activities under clause 2(b)(1) of rule X of the
Rules of the House of Representatives, are incorporated in the
descriptive portions of this report.
CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE ESTIMATE
NEW BUDGET AUTHORITY, ENTITLEMENT AUTHORITY, AND TAX EXPENDITURES
With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(2) of rule
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section
308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 and with respect
to requirements of 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, The Committee adopts as its
own the cost estimate prepared by the Director of the
Congressional Budget Office.
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, August 7, 2019.
Hon. Bennie G. Thompson,
Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 3246 the Traveling
Parents Screening Consistency Act of 2019.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Madeleine
Fox.
Sincerely,
Phillip L. Swagel,
Director.
Enclosure.
H.R. 3246 would require the Government Accountability
Office (GAO) to review the Transportation Security
Administration's implementation of the Bottles and
Breastfeeding Equipment Screening Act. Using information about
the cost of other GAO studies, CBO estimates that the review
would cost less than $500,000.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Madeleine Fox.
The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
FEDERAL MANDATES STATEMENT
The Committee adopts as its own the cost estimate prepared
by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office.
DUPLICATIVE FEDERAL PROGRAMS
Pursuant to clause 3(c) of rule XIII, the Committee finds
that H.R. 3246 does not contain any provision that establishes
or reauthorizes a program known to be duplicative of another
Federal program.
PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
The Committee states that pursuant to clause 3(c)(4) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, H.R.
3246 seeks to ensure that GAO conducts a review to assess TSA's
implementation of Public Law 114-293 as well as TSA's
effectiveness in ensuring the clarity and consistency of
certain screening protocols.
ADVISORY ON EARMARKS
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(d), 9(e), or 9(f) of the rule
XXI.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF THE LEGISLATION
Section 1. Short title
This section provides that this bill may be cited as the
``Traveling Parents Screening Consistency Act of 2019''
Sec 2. Comptroller general review
This section requires the GAO to review TSA's
implementation of the ``Bottles and Breastfeeding Equipment
Screening Act'' as well as the effectiveness of TSA in ensuring
protocol clarity and screening consistency related to the
screening of formula, breast milk, purified deionized water for
infants, and juice. This review will include examining the
effectiveness of TSA's ability to ensure consistency of
screening for protocols related to such items, including the
extent to which TSA officers engage in screening beyond what is
prescribed through relevant policies and training.
Additionally, this section requires GAO to evaluate several
aspects of TSA's activities, including the need for TSA to
update and revise procedures for screening; its tracking of
passenger complaints related to screening inconsistencies; its
communications and information sharing practices for
stakeholders relating to relevant protocols; and its policies
regarding the screening of passengers with nursing products,
including the extent to which such passengers are more likely
to receive secondary screening.