Screening and Vetting Passenger Exchange Act of 2017

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4581) to require the Secretary of Homeland Security to develop best practices for utilizing advanced passenger information and passenger name record data for counterterrorism screening and vetting operations, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include any extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise today to voice my full support for H.R. 4581, the Screening and Vetting Passenger Exchange Act of 2017. This legislation directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to develop best practices for utilizing advanced passenger information, or API, and passenger names record data, or PNR, for counterterrorism screening and vetting operations.

It also enables the Secretary to share those practices with our allies, including countries participating in the Visa Waiver Program, and to provide assistance in implementing these practices in those countries.

Having access to API, which is biographic information, and PNR data, which is data about reservation and itinerary information, allows our homeland security professionals to confirm the identities and travel patterns of potential criminals and terrorists before they enter the United States.

Allowing our men and women on the front lines to fight against terrorism, to work with Visa Waiver Program countries to make sure that they rise to the same standards only increases the safety of our Nation, the safety of all Americans traveling abroad, and the safety of all people across the globe. This legislation is a step in the right direction toward addressing further potential emerging threats.

Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge my colleagues to support our Nation's Homeland Security by supporting my bill.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, it is my honor to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. McCaul), the chairman of the Homeland Security Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise in support of H.R. 4581, the Screening and Vetting Passenger Exchange Act of 2017.

Mr. Speaker, the Screening and Vetting Passenger Act of 2017 requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to develop and share best practices for using data provided by passengers in screening and vetting operations with our allies around the world.

Since 2014, more than 75 million international travelers have come to the United States. In recent years, especially during the Obama administration, great strides were made to use the information furnished by these incoming travelers to advance security screening and vetting processes.

Building upon the Department's 2017 last point of departure security enhancements that sought to raise the bar in physical screenings at overseas airports with direct flights to the U.S., this bill will further reinforce security measures and seek to provide our overseas partners with the capabilities to advance their own vetting and screening.

No country is immune from terrorism, and this bill will ensure that the DHS can be a valued partner to nations that work with us.

By providing best practices on passenger screening, H.R. 4581 seeks to ensure that terrorists seeking to inflict harm are not allowed to travel without detection.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my House colleagues to support this measure, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close and I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, this bill seeks to make international travel more secure and fosters a strong relationship between our country and our allies. All nations must increase their vigilance with respect to security screening. There are thousands of ISIL foot soldiers who may seek to enter the Western world and other nations to carry out their attacks. This legislation seeks to harness the United States' best practices and capabilities to advance the safety of the global aviation community as we face an agile and evolving enemy.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support this measure, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the Screening and Vetting Passenger Exchange Act. I want to thank Congressman Fitzpatrick for bringing this important legislation. The United States is currently experiencing one of the highest terror threat environments since 9/11.

Despite crushing the caliphate in Iraq and Syria, ISIS continues to demonstrate its capability to inspire attacks on the West, including in the homeland. The two terror attacks in New York City late last year are stark reminders of this reality and the threat facing the United States. Given the nature of this evolving threat, I established a task force on denying terrorists entry into the United States last year and I appointed Representative Mike Gallagher to head up the effort.

I would like to thank all of the members of the task force for their hard work in making this effort a success. I charged this task force with examining how terrorists might infiltrate the homeland, identifying challenges with current U.S. Government information sharing and vetting procedures, and reviewing the screening agencies' structure and bureaucracy.

After completing its review, the task force issued a report outlining its findings and providing seven recommendations designed to address the identified gaps. These recommendations were the basis for several of the bills we are considering today. As evidenced by the recent spate of attacks, there is a large population of radicalized individuals in Europe who are willing to commit violence in the name of terrorist groups like ISIS. We must remain vigilant and cannot forget many of these individuals are just one flight away from the United States.

Given the seriousness of this threat, we must do more at home and abroad to screen and vet people seeking to enter the United States. The bills we are considering today will enhance our capabilities by improving information sharing and promoting efficiencies in the screening and vetting process, helping ensure the homeland is the best secured against terrorist infiltration.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4581.

H.R. 4581, the Screening and Vetting Passenger Exchange Act of 2017, requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to develop best practices for counter terrorism screening and vetting through the use of advanced passenger information (API) and passenger name record (PNR) data. This bill also encourages the Secretary of DHS to share best practices and assist with implementation for our foreign partners.

The DHS, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) have all utilized API and PNR as tools for screening and vetting potential criminals and terrorists. In April 2016, the European Union (EU) decided to follow in our footsteps by implementing PNR data into their counter terrorism screenings. The EU set a deadline for full integration of PNR data by May 2018. Unfortunately, many EU countries lack the knowledge, expertise, and experience with PNR data to allow them to meet their upcoming deadline. H.R. 4581 would allow the DHS to develop best practices for utilizing API and PNR data in counter terrorism screening and then share these best practices with our foreign allies.

This legislation will strengthen our national security and that of our foreign partners. Since 9/11, we have prevented hundreds of acts of terror and improved our national security. However, in the last two years, the United States has experienced a surge in terrorist acts and criminal activities.

As a former member of the House Armed Services Committee, I have always voted to support our law enforcement agencies in the work that they do. H.R. 4581 will fortify our Armed forces with best practices for preventing terrorism and allow them to continue doing their crucial work protecting our country. This legislation will also help our foreign allies so that they are able to effectively keep their people, and the people of the world, safe. Protecting our national security and the national securities of our allies ought to be a given. For this reason, I support H.R. 4581 and urge my fellow members to do the same.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record the following cost estimate for H.R. 4581, the Screening and Vetting Passenger Exchange Act of 2017, prepared by the Congressional Budget Office was not made available to the Committee at the time of filing of the legislative report.

U.S. Congress,

Congressional Budget Office,

Washington, DC, February 12, 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. 4581, the

Screening and Vetting Passenger Exchange Act of 2017.

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

pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Mark

Grabowicz.

Sincerely,

Keith Hall,

Director.

Enclosure.

H.R. 4581--Screening and Vetting Passenger Exchange Act of 2017

As passed by the House of Representatives on January 9, 2018

H.R. 4581 would require the Department of Homeland Security

(DHS) to develop effective practices for screening certain

people entering the United States through the review of

information provided by those travelers. The act would direct

DHS to share those practices with certain other countries.

DHS is currently carrying out activities similar to those

that would be required by the act; thus, CBO estimates that

implementing H.R. 4581 would not significantly affect

spending by DHS.

Enacting H.R. 4581 would not affect direct spending or

revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.

CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 4581 would not increase

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

consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2028.

H.R. 4581 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector

mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Mark Grabowicz.

The estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy

Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.