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

Summary

The Secretary of Homeland Security must put top priority on creating, testing, improving, and using machines at airport security checkpoints that can find nonmetal, chemical, biological, radiological weapons and explosives in any form on people or in their personal items. The gear must work in real airport conditions and be able to find the kinds of weapons or bombs someone might try to sneak onto a plane. The head of TSA must give Congress a strategic plan (it can be classified) to make the best use and placement of explosive-detection tools like walk-through portals, document and shoe scanners, and backscatter x‑ray machines. The plan must describe current efforts, how the machines will be used, a deployment schedule and needed quantities, funding needs and plans to use non‑Federal funds, steps related to extra screening, and any recommended law changes. Congress may provide $250,000,000 more for research, development, and installation of systems to detect biological, chemical, radiological, and explosive materials. Until airports can screen every passenger for explosives, the TSA Administrator must make sure that every passenger chosen for extra screening—and their carry-on items that will go on the plane—gets explosives detection screening on any passenger aircraft operated by an air carrier or foreign air carrier in air transportation or intrastate air transportation.

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