H.R. 4553House115th Congress (2017-2019)In Committee

Terrorist Screening and Targeting Review Act of 2017

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Updated April 15, 2026 at 7:35 PM UTC

The Terrorist Screening and Targeting Review Act of 2017 directs the Government Accountability Office to conduct a comprehensive review of the National Targeting Center and the Terrorist Screening Center. Within one year of the law’s enactment, the GAO must evaluate how these two agencies are authorized, funded, managed, and operated, and report its findings to the relevant House and Senate committees. The bill aims to identify any coordination problems, duplicated efforts, and to assess the value of the Terrorist Screening Center’s congressional authorization. It affects the agencies that handle terrorist screening and targeting, as well as Congress members overseeing them.

Key Provisions

GAO must submit a review to the House Homeland Security and Judiciary committees and the Senate Homeland Security and Judiciary committees within one year of enactment.
The review must examine the authorization, funding, management, and operation of the National Targeting Center and the Terrorist Screening Center.
It must identify any weaknesses or gaps in coordination between the two centers.
It must identify any unnecessary duplication or overlapping activities between the centers.
The GAO must provide recommendations on how the centers can better support and complement each other.
The review must include a cost‑benefit analysis of the congressional authorization of the Terrorist Screening Center.

Legislative Activity

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4 earlier actions

HouseCommittee Latest Action

Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Homeland Security. H. Rept. 115-494, Part I.

Homeland Security Committee

January 9, 2018

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HouseIntro Referral

Introduced in House

December 5, 2017

HouseIntro Referral

Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, and Homeland Security, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

Judiciary Committee

December 5, 2017

HouseCommittee

Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.

Homeland Security Committee

December 13, 2017

HouseCommittee

Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by Unanimous Consent.

Homeland Security Committee

December 13, 2017

HouseCommittee

Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Homeland Security. H. Rept. 115-494, Part I.

Homeland Security Committee

January 9, 2018

Floor Debate

1 member

What members said about H.R. 4553 on the floor

1 Republican

Rep. Michael T. McCaulR-TX-10 · Jan 18, 2018

Mr. Speaker, the following cost estimate for H.R. 4553, the Terrorist Screening and Targeting Review Act of 2017, prepared by the Congressional Budget Office was not made available to the Committee…

Congressional Budget Office,

U.S. Congress,

Washington, DC, January 18, 2018.

Hon. Michael McCaul,

Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security,

House of Representatives, Washington, DC.

Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has

prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 4553, the

Terrorist Screening and Targeting Review Act of 2017.

If you wish further details on this estimates, we will be

pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Matthew

Pickford.

Sincerely,

Keith Hall, Director.

Enclosure.

H.R. 4553--Terrorist Screening and Targeting Review Act of 2017

As reported by the House Committee on Homeland Security on January 9,

2018

H.R. 4553 would direct the Government Accountability Office

(GAO) to conduct a review of the National Targeting Center in

the Department of Homeland Security and the Terrorist

Screening Center in the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The

review would cover the authorization, funding; management,

and operation of the centers, and it would be completed

within a year of enactment.

Considering the cost of recent GAO work involving those

centers and the level of effort for similar homeland security

reports, CBO estimates that implementing the bill would cost

$1 million over the 2018-2019 period, assuming the

availability of appropriated funds. Enacting the bill would

not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-

you-go procedures do not apply.

CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 4553 would not increase

direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four

consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2028.

H.R. 4553 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector

mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Matthew

Pickford. The estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss,

Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

Bill Text

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Introduced in HouseIssued December 5, 2017

115th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. R. 4553

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

December 5, 2017

Mr. Garrett (for himself, Mr. McCaul, Mr. Katko, Mr. Rutherford, Mr. Gallagher, Mr. Fitzpatrick, and Mr. Higgins of Louisiana) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, and Homeland Security, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

A BILL

To require a review of the authorization, funding, management, and operation of the National Targeting Center and the Terrorist Screening Center, and for other purposes.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Terrorist Screening and Targeting Review Act of 2017.

GAO review of the National Targeting Center and the Terrorist Screening Center

Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Security and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate a review of the authorization, funding, management, and operation of the National Targeting Center (NTC) established under section 411(g)(4) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 USC 211(g)(4)) and the Terrorist Screening Center (TSC) established under Homeland Security President Directive 6. Such review shall include the following:

(1)

An identification of any weaknesses or gaps in coordination between the NTC and TSC.

(2)

An identification of any unnecessarily duplicative or overlapping efforts between the NTC and TSC.

(3)

Recommendations on how the NTC and TSC may better support and complement one another.

(4)

A cost-benefit analysis of congressional authorization of the TSC.