Text of US HB 4249 (2021)

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 4249 To protect the dignity and privacy of transgender and other minority travelers at airport security checkpoints, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 30, 2021 Miss RICE of New York (for herself, Mr. PETERS, Ms. NEWMAN, Ms. JAYAPAL, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, and Ms. WEXTON) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security A BILL To protect the dignity and privacy of transgender and other minority travelers at airport security checkpoints, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Screening With Dig- 4 nity Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. TSA SCREENING PROCEDURES AND TRAINING. 6 (a) DEVELOPMENT OF PROCEDURES.— 7 (1) TRANSGENDER PASSENGERS.—Not later 8 than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:23 Jul 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4249.IH H4249 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 4249 IH Act, the Administrator shall develop procedures to 1 appropriately and respectfully screen self-identified 2 transgender passengers. In developing such proce- 3 dures, the Administrator shall take into consider- 4 ation the particular needs of persons whose gender 5 identity is different or is perceived to be different 6 from their assigned sex at birth and the particular 7 impact of screening on transgender passengers as 8 opposed to the general population of passengers. 9 (2) PASSENGERS WITH RELIGIOUS HEADWEAR 10 AND OTHER ARTICLES OF FAITH.—Not later than 11 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 12 the Administrator shall develop procedures to appro- 13 priately and respectfully screen individuals traveling 14 with religious headwear or other articles of faith. In 15 developing such procedures, the Administrator shall 16 take into consideration the particular needs of per- 17 sons whose religious faith requires traveling with ar- 18 ticles of faith and the particular impact of screening 19 on these passengers as opposed to the general popu- 20 lation of passengers. 21 (b) TRAINING OF TSOS AND IMPLEMENTATION OF 22 PROCEDURES.—Not later than 90 days after the date of 23 the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall begin 24 conducting in-person training of all Transportation Secu- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:23 Jul 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4249.IH H4249 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 4249 IH rity Officers on the screening procedures developed under 1 subsection (a) and shall implement such procedures. Such 2 training shall be designed and, wherever practicable, deliv- 3 ered with the participation of community groups rep- 4 resenting the relevant traveler populations. 5 SEC. 3. PROTECTION OF PASSENGERS. 6 The Administrator shall take such steps as may be 7 necessary to ensure each of the following with respect to 8 passenger screening: 9 (1) The prohibition on human viewing of indi- 10 vidual passenger images. 11 (2) The prohibition on retention of individual 12 passenger image data. 13 (3) That passengers are provided with an alter- 14 native to advanced imaging technology scans. 15 (4) That pat-downs of passengers are required 16 to be conducted by an officer of the gender re- 17 quested by the passenger. 18 (5) That each passenger is provided with the 19 option of a private screening in an area with a mir- 20 ror and with the witness of the passenger’s choice. 21 (6) That passengers are not required to lift or 22 remove clothing exposing sensitive areas of the body 23 or lift or remove religious headwear or to remove 24 prostheses unless no less intrusive screening method 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:23 Jul 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4249.IH H4249 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 4249 IH is available and the passenger is provided with visual 1 privacy via a drape or other means in a private 2 screening area. 3 (7) That pat-downs or other secondary screen- 4 ing measures shall be no more intrusive than nec- 5 essary to resolve an alarm or other concern raised 6 by primary screening (including consideration of less 7 intrusive alternatives such as a self pat-down with 8 explosive trace detection, a limited pat-down, or ca- 9 nine detection and consideration of the sensitivity of 10 the groin, chest, and other body areas and the sensi- 11 tivity of religious articles of faith, including religious 12 headwear). 13 (8) The prohibition of profiling or other dis- 14 crimination on the basis of race, color, national ori- 15 gin, religion, age, disability, genetic information, pa- 16 rental status, or sex (including on the basis of sexual 17 orientation or gender identity). 18 SEC. 4. REPORT ON SCREENING EQUIPMENT. 19 (a) STUDY.—Not later than 180 days after the date 20 of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall con- 21 duct a study on the cost and feasibility of retrofitting ad- 22 vanced image technology screening equipment, or of devel- 23 oping new such equipment, with the capability to distin- 24 guish between foreign objects and human body parts (in- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:23 Jul 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4249.IH H4249 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 4249 IH cluding hair) in a manner that is effectively gender neutral 1 or which operates in some other gender neutral manner. 2 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 3 of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall sub- 4 mit to the Committee on Homeland Security of the House 5 of Representatives, the Committee on Commerce, Science, 6 and Transportation of the Senate, and the Comptroller 7 General of the United States a report containing the re- 8 sults of the study conducted under subsection (a). 9 SEC. 5. REPORT ON ADVANCED IMAGING TECHNOLOGY. 10 (a) STUDY.—Not later than 180 days after the date 11 of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall con- 12 duct a study that evaluates the particular impact that ad- 13 vanced imaging technology has on transgender and gender 14 nonconforming passengers, passengers whose religious 15 faith requires them to travel with articles of faith includ- 16 ing religious headwear, and passengers traveling with as- 17 sistive devices, as opposed to the general population of 18 passengers. Such study shall include an examination of in- 19 stances since 2010 in which a self-identified transgender 20 or gender nonconforming passenger or a passenger with 21 religious headwear was required to undergo an additional 22 screening procedure after screening with advanced imag- 23 ing technology resulted in an alarm. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:23 Jul 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4249.IH H4249 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 4249 IH (b) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 1 of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall sub- 2 mit to the Committee on Homeland Security of the House 3 of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 4 Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report con- 5 taining the results of the study conducted under sub- 6 section (a). Such report shall include recommendations to 7 reduce any particular impact of screening on transgender 8 passengers and on racial, ethnic, and religious minorities, 9 including passengers with religious headwear and other ar- 10 ticles of faith and involve the consultation and input of 11 community groups representing the transgender traveler 12 population and racial, ethnic, and religious minorities. 13 SEC. 6. NEXT GENERATION PASSENGER SCREENING. 14 (a) QUALIFICATION.—No later than 1 year after the 15 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall 16 identify any policy, procedure, or training changes and 17 complete any testing, certification, and assessment for 18 qualifying additional technology (if needed) to ensure that 19 any advanced imaging technology utilized for passenger 20 screening, together with any procedures for clearing 21 alarms by such technology— 22 (1) does not require or provide for designating 23 passengers by gender for screening; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:23 Jul 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4249.IH H4249 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 4249 IH (2) does not utilize passenger gender as a fac- 1 tor in its detection algorithms; 2 (3) does not generate alarms based only on pas- 3 sengers’ body parts (including hair), undergarments, 4 or religious headwear; 5 (4) allows for the screening of individuals using 6 assistive devices such as wheelchairs in a manner no 7 more intrusive than for other individuals; and 8 (5) reduces physical pat-downs of passengers to 9 the greatest degree practicable given currently avail- 10 able screening methods. 11 (b) NOTIFICATION TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 60 12 days after the completion of the assessment pursuant to 13 subsection (a), the Administrator shall notify the Com- 14 mittee on Homeland Security of the House of Representa- 15 tives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 16 Transportation of the Senate in writing of the results. 17 This notification shall include— 18 (1) a list of all advanced imaging technologies, 19 which have the ability to conduct screening without 20 designating passengers by gender and do not utilize 21 passenger gender in any detection algorithms, that 22 qualified; 23 (2) an analysis of false alarm rates and pat- 24 down rates for the advanced imaging technologies 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:23 Jul 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4249.IH H4249 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 4249 IH and procedures listed in subsection (b)(1), including 1 the false alarm rate for transgender and gender non- 2 conforming passengers, compared to current ad- 3 vanced imaging technology and procedures deployed 4 at TSA checkpoints; 5 (3) any plans to procure or open an acquisition 6 program of record for any advanced imaging tech- 7 nology listed in subsection (b)(1); and 8 (4) a detailed summary of all policy, procedure, 9 or training changes adopted or identified pursuant 10 to subsection (a), and a timeline for implementing 11 any remaining changes. 12 SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS. 13 In this Act: 14 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis- 15 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Transpor- 16 tation Security Administration. 17 (2) ADVANCED IMAGING TECHNOLOGY.—The 18 term ‘‘advanced imaging technology’’ has the mean- 19 ing given the term in section 826(l)(1)(A) of the 20 FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (49 21 U.S.C. 44901(l)(1)(A)). 22 (3) GENDER IDENTITY.—The term ‘‘gender 23 identity’’ means the gender-related identity, appear- 24 ance, mannerisms, or other gender-related character- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:23 Jul 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4249.IH H4249 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 4249 IH istics of an individual, regardless of the individual’s 1 designated sex at birth. 2 (4) PAT-DOWN.—The term ‘‘pat-down’’ means 3 a physical inspection of a passenger’s body, includ- 4 ing the inspection of the head, hair, torso, breasts, 5 groin, buttocks, or other body parts. 6 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:23 Jul 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H4249.IH H4249 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS