Text of US HB 6659 (2018)

I 115TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 6659 To improve the screening of transgender persons at airport security checkpoints, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AUGUST 7, 2018 Miss RICE of New York (for herself, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Ms. NORTON, Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. CRIST, Mr. CICILLINE, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Ms. HANABUSA, Mr. NADLER, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mr. KILMER, Mr. PETERS, and Ms. LEE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Homeland Security A BILL To improve the screening of transgender persons 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 of 2018’’. 5 SEC. 2. TSA SCREENING PROCEDURES AND TRAINING. 6 (a) DEVELOPMENT OF PROCEDURES.—Not later 7 than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:31 Aug 14, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6659.IH H6659 amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 6659 IH the Administrator shall develop procedures to appro- 1 priately and respectfully screen self-identified transgender 2 passengers. In developing such procedures, the Adminis- 3 trator shall take into consideration the particular needs 4 of persons whose gender identity is different or is per- 5 ceived to be different from their assigned sex at birth and 6 the particular impact of screening on transgender pas- 7 sengers as opposed to the general population of pas- 8 sengers. 9 (b) TRAINING OF TSOS AND IMPLEMENTATION OF 10 PROCEDURES.—Not later than 90 days after the date of 11 the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall begin 12 conducting in-person training of all Transportation Secu- 13 rity Officers on the screening procedures developed under 14 subsection (a) and shall implement such procedures. Such 15 training shall be designed and, wherever practicable, deliv- 16 ered with the participation of community groups rep- 17 resenting the transgender traveler population. 18 SEC. 3. PROTECTION OF PASSENGERS. 19 The Administrator shall take such steps as may be 20 necessary to ensure each of the following with respect to 21 passenger screening: 22 (1) The prohibition on human viewing of indi- 23 vidual passenger images. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:31 Aug 14, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6659.IH H6659 amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 6659 IH (2) The prohibition on retention of individual 1 passenger image data. 2 (3) That passengers are provided with an alter- 3 native to advanced imaging technology scans. 4 (4) That pat-downs of passengers are required 5 to be conducted by an officer of the gender re- 6 quested by the passenger. 7 (5) That each passenger is provided with the 8 option of a private screening with the witness of the 9 passenger’s choice. 10 (6) That passengers are only required to lift or 11 remove clothing exposing sensitive areas of the body 12 or to remove prostheses when no less intrusive 13 screening method is available and the passenger is 14 provided with visual privacy via a drape or other 15 means in a private screening area. 16 (7) The prohibition of profiling or other dis- 17 crimination on the basis of race, color, national ori- 18 gin, sex, religion, age, disability, genetic information, 19 sexual orientation, parental status, or gender iden- 20 tity. 21 SEC. 4. REPORT ON SCREENING EQUIPMENT. 22 (a) STUDY.—Not later than 180 days after the date 23 of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall con- 24 duct a study on the cost and feasibility of retrofitting ad- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:31 Aug 14, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6659.IH H6659 amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 6659 IH vanced image technology screening equipment, or of devel- 1 oping new such equipment, with the capability to distin- 2 guish between foreign objects and human body parts in 3 a manner that is effectively gender neutral or which oper- 4 ates in some other gender neutral manner. 5 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 6 of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall sub- 7 mit to the Committee on Homeland Security of the House 8 of Representatives, the Committee on Commerce, Science, 9 and Transportation of the Senate, and the Comptroller 10 General of the United States a report containing the re- 11 sults of the study conducted under subsection (a). 12 SEC. 5. REPORT ON ADVANCED IMAGING TECHNOLOGY. 13 (a) STUDY.—Not later than 180 days after the date 14 of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall con- 15 duct a study that evaluates the particular impact that ad- 16 vanced imaging technology has on self-identified 17 transgender and gender nonconforming passengers as op- 18 posed to the general population of passengers. Such study 19 shall include an examination of instances since 2010 in 20 which a self-identified transgender or gender noncon- 21 forming passenger 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 22:31 Aug 14, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6659.IH H6659 amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 6659 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 involve the consultation and input of com- 9 munity groups representing the transgender traveler popu- 10 lation. 11 SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 12 In this Act: 13 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis- 14 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Transpor- 15 tation Security Administration. 16 (2) ADVANCED IMAGING TECHNOLOGY.—The 17 term ‘‘advanced imaging technology’’ has the mean- 18 ing given the term in section 826(l)(1)(A) of the 19 FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (49 20 U.S.C. 44901(l)(1)(A)). 21 (3) GENDER IDENTITY.—The term ‘‘gender 22 identity’’ means the gender-related identity, appear- 23 ance, mannerisms, or other gender-related character- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:31 Aug 14, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6659.IH H6659 amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 6659 IH istics of an individual, regardless of the individual’s 1 designated sex at birth. 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:31 Aug 14, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H6659.IH H6659 amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with BILLS