[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4681 Reported in Senate (RS)]

<DOC>





                                                       Calendar No. 738
118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4681

                          [Report No. 118-318]

   To ensure a timely, fair, meaningful, and transparent process for 
 individuals to seek redress because they were wrongly identified as a 
     threat under the screening and inspection regimes used by the 
      Department of Homeland Security, to require a report on the 
   effectiveness of enhanced screening programs of the Department of 
               Homeland Security, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                July 11 (legislative day, July 10), 2024

  Mr. Peters introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

            December 19 (legislative day, December 16), 2024

               Reported by Mr. Peters, with an amendment
 [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed 
                               in italic]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To ensure a timely, fair, meaningful, and transparent process for 
 individuals to seek redress because they were wrongly identified as a 
     threat under the screening and inspection regimes used by the 
      Department of Homeland Security, to require a report on the 
   effectiveness of enhanced screening programs of the Department of 
               Homeland Security, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

<DELETED>SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    This Act may be cited as the ``Enhanced Oversight and 
Accountability in Screening Act''.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    In this Act:</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The 
        term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) the Committee on Homeland Security and 
                Governmental Affairs of the Senate;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 
                Senate;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) the Committee on Armed Services of the 
                Senate;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (D) the Select Committee on Intelligence 
                of the Senate;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (E) the Committee on Foreign Relations of 
                the Senate;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (F) the Committee on Homeland Security of 
                the House of Representatives;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (G) the Committee on Oversight and 
                Accountability of the House of 
                Representatives;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (H) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 
                House of Representatives;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (I) the Committee on Armed Services of the 
                House of Representatives;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (J) the Permanent Select Committee on 
                Intelligence of the House of Representatives; 
                and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (K) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 
                the House of Representatives.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Committee.--The term ``Committee'' means the 
        Screening and Watchlisting Advisory Committee established under 
        section 3(a).</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) Consolidated terrorist watchlist.--The term 
        ``consolidated terrorist watchlist'' means any database or 
        watchlist maintained by the Terrorist Screening Center for the 
        purpose of monitoring individuals suspected of engaging in 
        terrorist activity, including the terrorist screening database 
        and any successor database.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) Covered processes.--The term ``covered 
        processes'' means the practices, policies, and programs used to 
        conduct primary, secondary, enhanced, and additional 
        screenings, vettings, inspections, and other processes related 
        to watchlists maintained by any Federal agency.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (5) Department.--The term ``Department'' means the 
        Department of Homeland Security.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (6) Enhanced redress.-- The term ``enhanced 
        redress'' means the process by which the Department confirms 
        whether a United States person, who has been denied boarding 
        and has applied for redress, is on the No Fly List maintained 
        by the Terrorist Screening Center.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (7) Homeland security congressional committees.--
        The term ``homeland security congressional committees'' means--
        </DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) the Committee on Homeland Security and 
                Governmental Affairs of the Senate; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) the Committee on Homeland Security of 
                the House of Representatives.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (8) Redress.-- The term ``redress'' means the 
        process established by the Department to assist individuals to 
        resolve travel-related issues, such as being--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) denied or delayed airline 
                boarding;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) denied or delayed entry into or exit 
                from the United States at a port of entry or border 
                crossing; or</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) repeatedly referred to additional 
                screening or inspection.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (9) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the 
        Secretary of Homeland Security.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 3. SCREENING AND WATCHLISTING ADVISORY 
              COMMITTEE.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) Establishment.--Not later than 60 days after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish a Screening and 
Watchlisting Advisory Committee.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Membership.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) Composition.--The Committee shall be composed 
        of an odd number of members of not less than 15 and not more 
        than 23 members appointed by the Secretary as 
        follows:</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) 2 members shall be the Civil Rights 
                and Civil Liberties Officer of the Department and a 
                representative from a nonprofit organization, academia, 
                or civil society, who shall serve as Co-Chairs of the 
                Committee.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) Not less than 1 member shall be 
                appointed from each of the following components of the 
                Department:</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) The Transportation Security 
                        Administration.</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) U.S. Customs and Border 
                        Protection;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (iii) The Privacy 
                        Office.</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (iv) The Office of Strategy, 
                        Policy, and Plans.</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (v) The Office of Intelligence and 
                        Analysis.</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (vi) Any other relevant component 
                        germane to Department screening, inspections, 
                        and redress, as determined appropriate by the 
                        Secretary.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) 3 members shall be the following 
                agency heads or their representatives:</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) The Director of the Federal 
                        Bureau of Investigation.</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) The Director of the Terrorist 
                        Screening Center.</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (iii) The Director of the National 
                        Counterterrorism Center.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (D) Members of the nonprofit, academia, or 
                civil society sectors representing the 
                following:</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) Individuals of diverse 
                        backgrounds in race, ethnicity, religion, and 
                        gender.</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) Individuals from various 
                        geographic regions within the United 
                        States.</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (iii) National organizations that 
                        represent diverse racial, ethnic, and religious 
                        communities.</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (iv) Individuals with expertise in 
                        law, transparency, technology, privacy, civil 
                        rights, and civil liberties.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (E) Any other individuals as the Secretary 
                determines appropriate.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Nongovernment members.--There shall be not 
        less than 1 more member of the Committee appointed under 
        paragraph (1)(D) than the total number of members appointed 
        under subparagraphs (A), (B), (C), and (E) of paragraph 
        (1).</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) Date.--The appointments of members of the 
        Committee shall be made not later than 120 days after the date 
        of enactment of this Act.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) Voluntary service.--The members of the 
        Committee shall serve on the Committee on a voluntary 
        basis.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (5) Publication of list of members.--The Committee 
        shall publish an updated list of members of the Committee on a 
        publicly available website before each meeting of the 
        Committee.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (c) Period of Appointment; Vacancies.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) Term.--The term of a member of the Committee 
        shall be 3 years, except that a member may continue to serve 
        until a successor is appointed.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Vacancies.--A vacancy in the Committee--
        </DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) shall not affect the powers of the 
                Committee; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) shall be filled in the same manner as 
                the original appointment.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) Reappointment.--A member of the Advisory 
        Committee may be reappointed for not more than 1 
        term.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (d) Meetings.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) Initial meeting.--Not later than 30 days after 
        the date on which all members of the Committee have been 
        appointed, the Committee shall hold the first meeting of the 
        Committee.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Frequency; manner.--The Committee--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) shall meet--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) not less frequently than 
                        quarterly; and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) at the call of the Co-Chairs 
                        of the Committee or the Secretary; 
                        and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) may meet remotely.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (e) Duties.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) In general.--The Committee shall--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) advise, consult with, and make 
                recommendations to the Secretary, as appropriate, on 
                the development, refinement, implementation, and 
                evaluation of policies, programs, and planning 
                pertaining to covered processes of the Department, 
                including--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) all covered processes 
                        implemented by the Transportation Security 
                        Administration;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) all covered processes 
                        implemented by U.S. Customs and Border 
                        Protection at ports of entry and their 
                        equivalents;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (iii) trainings associated with 
                        these covered processes;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (iv) the intelligence used to 
                        support these covered processes;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (v) how data related to these 
                        covered processes is used, collected, retained, 
                        analyzed, and shared;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (vi) internal Department oversight 
                        over these covered processes;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (vii) metrics to assess the 
                        effectiveness of covered processes, including 
                        any metrics outlined in policy 
                        documents;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (viii) redress processes related 
                        to these covered processes; and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ix) any other matter related to 
                        covered processes as the Committee may 
                        determine relevant;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) disclose to the public and Congress 
                information about the covered processes described in 
                subparagraph (A), and the data and analytical system 
                related to those processes, including materials 
                explaining how those processes work and legal and 
                policy analyses of the processes;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) provide recommendations for the plan 
                required under section 4(a), including--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) all recommendations agreed 
                        upon by a simple majority of members of the 
                        Committee; and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) an identification of each of 
                        the members of the Committee that agreed on 
                        each recommendation; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (D) consider, when providing 
                recommendations for the plan required under section 
                4(a)--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) the use of external advocates 
                        who are granted security clearances and may 
                        access classified information to assist 
                        passengers;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) the establishment of a 
                        Federal office to serve as advocates for 
                        passengers;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (iii) the establishment of an 
                        independent ombudsman office to assist 
                        passengers with the redress process;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (iv) expanding the enhanced 
                        redress process to include United States 
                        persons who wish to contest their placement on 
                        the Selectee List, the Expanded Selectee List, 
                        or the consolidated terrorist 
                        watchlist;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (v) how to provide United States 
                        persons subject to the enhanced redress process 
                        with a significant amount of information about 
                        the placement of the person on the No Fly List 
                        and what a reasonable amount of time for this 
                        disclosure should be;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (vi) whether it is advisable to 
                        create a system that would allow an individual 
                        to demonstrate that the individual does not 
                        pose a threat to aviation or border security, 
                        and if advisable, the options for developing 
                        such a system;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (vii) the extent to which an 
                        applicant for redress can be notified about 
                        placement on any other lists maintained by the 
                        Department or other Federal agencies aside from 
                        those described in clause (iv), and a summary 
                        of the basis for that placement;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (viii) which policies, procedures, 
                        and guidelines related to covered processes and 
                        redress can be made available to the public 
                        and, for those policies, procedures, and 
                        guidelines that are required to be withheld in 
                        part or in full, how the Department and other 
                        Federal agencies can release summaries of those 
                        policies, procedures, and guidelines to the 
                        public;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ix) notifying applicants for 
                        redress of whether any records have changed as 
                        a result of the application; and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (x) the potential for redress for 
                        an applicant who opts in to receive an 
                        expedited or discounted review of an 
                        application for a trusted traveler program of 
                        the Department.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Consultation.--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) In general.--To ensure input and 
                coordination from relevant components of the Department 
                and the public, the Secretary shall regularly consult 
                and work with the Committee on the administrati