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Transportation Security Administration Reform and Improvement Act of 2015
TITLE I--AVIATION SECURITY
(Sec. 101) This bill directs the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to operate a trusted passenger-screening TSA PreCheck Program that provides expedited screening for low-risk passengers and their accessible property based on a comprehensive and continuous analysis of specified factors.
The TSA shall publish PreCheck application enrollment standards to add multiple private sector application capabilities for the program to increase the public's enrollment access to the program.
Upon publication of such standards, the TSA must:
The TSA must also:
(Sec. 102) The TSA shall:
(Sec. 103) The TSA shall permit access to expedited airport security screening at airport security checkpoints only to a passenger who:
Implementation of such expedited security screening may be delayed by up to one year for passengers who did not voluntarily submit biographic and biometric information for security risk assessments but who receive expedited airport security screening because they are designated as frequent fliers.
TSA may provide alternate methods of expedited airport security screening access to additional passengers upon an independent assessment of its security effectiveness.
TSA shall report annually to Congress on the percentages of passengers given expedited security screening, including those participating in the PreCheck, DHS-trusted traveler and traveler number, PreCheck security lane, and alternative method programs.
(Sec. 104) TSA shall develop:
(Sec. 105) TSA shall conduct an efficiency review of itself.
(Sec. 106) TSA may donate security screening equipment to a foreign last-point-of-departure airport operator if it can be reasonably expected to mitigate a specific vulnerability to U.S. security or to U.S. citizens.
(Sec. 107) TSA shall review annually, from a risk-based perspective, the necessity of TSA security directives in effect for longer than one year.
(Sec. 108) This bill amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to direct TSA to develop and implement a preventive maintenance validation process for security-related technology deployed at airports.
(Sec. 109) The TSA shall request from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence access to additional data from the Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment data and any or other terrorism-related information to improve the credential vetting program for individuals with unescorted access to sensitive areas of airports.
The TSA shall:
The TSA may coordinate with the FBI Director to conduct a pilot program of the Rap Back Service to determine if a similar service can be implemented fully. (The FBI Rap Back Service provides authorized agencies with notification of criminal, and, in limited cases, civil activity of individuals that occurs after the initial processing and retention of criminal or civil transactions.)
(Sec. 110) The TSA shall consult with its Aviation Security Advisory Committee regarding any modification to the prohibited item list before issuing a determination about any such modification.
(Sec. 111) The TSA shall establish a pilot program to evaluate the effectiveness of privately-operated explosives detection canine teams using both the passenger screening canine and traditional explosives detection canine methods.
(Sec. 112) The TSA shall annually conduct covert testing of vulnerabilities and weaknesses of measures used to secure U.S. airports. In addition the DHS Inspector General shall conduct an independent covert testing of TSA protocols at such airports.
The TSA shall make recommendations and implement corrective actions to mitigate vulnerabilities identified by such testing.
(Sec. 113) The TSA shall periodically brief Congress on the status of efforts to enhance initial and recurrent training of Transportation Security Officers.
TITLE II--SURFACE TRANSPORTATION SECURITY AND OTHER MATTERS
(Sec. 201) The Government Accountability Office (GAO) shall report to Congress on the efficiency and effectiveness of TSA's Surface Transportation Security Inspectors Program.
(Sec. 202) The DHS Inspector General shall analyze the data and methods DHS uses to identify DHS Office of Inspection employees who meet specified requirements for law enforcement officers and criminal investigators.
The TSA shall:
The DHS Inspector General shall:
(Sec. 203) The bill repeals the mandate for a biennial GAO report on the satisfaction of recipients of transportation intelligence reports disseminated under the Transportation Security Information Sharing Plan.
(Sec. 204) The TSA shall report to Congress on the status of DHS implementation of certain requirements of the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007, including challenges TSA has encountered with respect to establishing regulations to provide security training to public transportation frontline employees and over-the-road bus frontline employees.
(Sec. 205) The TSA shall assess the feasibility of partnering with an independent, not-for-profit organization to provide venture capital to businesses, particularly small businesses, for commercialization of innovative homeland security technologies within the next 36 months.
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