§44925 — Title 49 Transportation | U.S. Code

Summary

The Secretary of Homeland Security must make it a top priority to create, test, improve, and put into use equipment at airport security checkpoints that can find nonmetallic, chemical, biological, and radiological weapons and all kinds of explosives on people and in their belongings. The equipment, alone or as part of a system, must be able to detect the kinds of weapons or explosives terrorists would likely try to bring onto an airplane under real working conditions. The head of the Transportation Security Administration must give a strategic plan to the right congressional committees on how to best use and place explosive-detection gear at airports. The plan can be classified and must describe current efforts; how the gear will be used at checkpoints; a deployment timetable and how many units are needed; funding needs and ways to use non‑Federal money; steps taken and planned to provide extra screening; and any suggested law changes. Congress may provide $250,000,000 more for TSA to research, develop, and install detectors for biological, chemical, radiological, and explosive threats. Until every passenger can be screened for explosives, TSA must screen by explosives-detection any passenger chosen for extra screening and their personal property that will be carried on a passenger aircraft operated by a U.S. or foreign airline.

Title 49, §44925

Transportation — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The Secretary of Homeland Security shall give a high priority to developing, testing, improving, and deploying, at airport screening checkpoints, equipment that detects nonmetallic, chemical, biological, and radiological weapons, and explosives, in all forms, on individuals and in their personal property. The Secretary shall ensure that the equipment alone, or as part of an integrated system, can detect under realistic operating conditions the types of weapons and explosives that terrorists would likely try to smuggle aboard an air carrier aircraft.

(b)(1)The Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a strategic plan to promote the optimal utilization and deployment of explosive detection equipment at airports to screen individuals and their personal property. Such equipment includes walk-through explosive detection portals, document scanners, shoe scanners, and backscatter x-ray scanners. The plan may be submitted in a classified format.

(2)The strategic plan shall include, at minimum—

(A)a description of current efforts to detect explosives in all forms on individuals and in their personal property;

(B)a description of the operational applications of explosive detection equipment at airport screening checkpoints;

(C)a deployment schedule and a description of the quantities of equipment needed to implement the plan;

(D)a description of funding needs to implement the plan, including a financing plan that provides for leveraging of non-Federal funding;

(E)a description of the measures taken and anticipated to be taken in carrying out subsection (d); and

(F)a description of any recommended legislative actions.

(c)There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Homeland Security for the use of the Transportation Security Administration $250,000,000, in addition to any amounts otherwise authorized by law, for research, development, and installation of detection systems and other devices for the detection of biological, chemical, radiological, and explosive materials.

(d)Until measures are implemented that enable the screening of all passengers for explosives, the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration shall provide, by such means as the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration considers appropriate, explosives detection screening for all passengers identified for additional screening and their personal property that will be carried aboard a passenger aircraft operated by an air carrier or foreign air carrier in air transportation or intrastate air transportation.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2018—Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 115–254, § 1991(d)(21)(A), substituted “The Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration” for “Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this section, the Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security (Transportation Security Administration)”. Subsec. (b)(3). Pub. L. 115–254, § 1991(d)(21)(B), struck out par. (3). Text read as follows: “The Secretary shall begin implementation of the strategic plan within one year after the date of enactment of this paragraph.” Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 115–254, § 1991(d)(21)(C), substituted “Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration” for “Assistant Secretary” in two places. 2007—Subsec. (b)(3). Pub. L. 110–53 added par. (3).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Movement and Redeployment of Mobile Explosives Detection Systems Pub. L. 114–113, div. F, title II, Dec. 18, 2015, 129 Stat. 2499, provided in part: “That notwithstanding any other provision of law, for the current fiscal year and each fiscal year hereafter, mobile explosives detection systems purchased and deployed using funds made available under this heading [Transportation Security Administration, Aviation Security] may be moved and redeployed to meet evolving passenger and baggage screening security priorities at airports”. Issuance of Strategic Plan for Deployment and Use of Explosive Detection Equipment at Airport Screening Checkpoints Pub. L. 110–53, title XVI, § 1607(a), Aug. 3, 2007, 121 Stat. 483, provided that, not later than 30 days after Aug. 3, 2007, the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration, was to issue the strategic plan the Secretary was required by subsec. (b) of this section to have issued within 90 days after Dec. 17, 2004. Advanced Airport Checkpoint Screening Devices Pub. L. 108–458, title IV, § 4014, Dec. 17, 2004, 118 Stat. 3720, directed the Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security (Transportation Security Administration), not later than Mar. 31, 2005, to develop and initiate a pilot program to deploy and test advanced airport checkpoint screening devices and technology as an integrated system at not less than 5 airports in the United States.

§44925 Deployment and use of detection equipment at airport screening checkpoints