S. 3296Senate117th Congress (2021-2023)In Committee

TRANSLATE Act

AI-Generated Summary

Updated February 8, 2026 at 8:20 AM UTC

The TRANSLATE Act requires the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to create a plan, within 180 days of the law’s enactment, that makes TSA signs, videos, audio messages and other communications at major airports easier for a broader range of people to understand. The plan must identify the most common non‑English languages spoken by travelers and airport workers, improve materials in those languages, and address barriers for people with vision, hearing or other disabilities. The TSA must work with airport operators to put the plan into effect and a GAO review is required within a year of implementation. The bill affects travelers, non‑traveling individuals, TSA staff, and major airport operators.

Key Provisions

Administrator must submit a plan to Congress within 180 days that ensures TSA materials at major airports are better understood.
Plan must identify the most common non‑English languages spoken by travelers and airport workers at each major airport.
Plan must include ways to translate TSA materials into those languages and make them accessible to people with vision, hearing, or other impairments.
In developing the plan, the TSA must consider international enplanement data, local surrounding populations, and languages spoken by nearby Indian tribes.
TSA must implement the plan, in consultation with each airport’s owner/operator, within 180 days after the plan is submitted.
The Government Accountability Office must review the implementation within one year and report its findings to the relevant Senate and House committees.

Legislative Activity

Stay on top of the latest movement without scrolling through every action

4 earlier actions

SenateCalendars Latest Action

Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 626.

December 12, 2022

View full timeline

SenateIntro Referral

Introduced in Senate

December 1, 2021

SenateIntro Referral

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee

December 1, 2021

SenateCommittee

Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Ordered to be reported with an amendment favorably.

Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee

March 22, 2022

SenateCommittee

Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Reported by Senator Cantwell with amendments. Without written report.

Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee

December 12, 2022

SenateCalendars

Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 626.

December 12, 2022

Floor Debate

1 member

What members said about S. 3296 on the floor

1 Democrat

Rep. Bennie G. ThompsonD-MS-2 · Dec 12, 2022

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that we are closing out the Congress with overwhelming bipartisan support for 23 important measures to make our communities more secure and improve Department of Homeland…

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that we are closing out the Congress with overwhelming bipartisan support for 23 important measures to make our communities more secure and improve Department of Homeland Security operations in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023.

I am particularly pleased that we were able to reach agreement on the Nonprofit Security Grant Program Improvement Act to expand and strengthen this vital program so that more nonprofits and houses of worship can access security assistance at this time of heightened threats of violent extremism and terrorism. With antisemitic and other violent threats on the rise, it is clear this legislation is needed now more than ever.

I also want to thank Ranking Member John Katko, as he retires from Congress, for his contributions to the Homeland Security Committee and his critical support throughout this process for the Committee's bipartisan package found in Division G of the NDAA.

While the package reflects the contributions of so many of my colleagues, l would like to give special acknowledgment to Congresswoman Val Demings who championed the Homeland Security Capabilities Preservation Act. This legislation directs DHS to explore ways to provide needed bridge funding to cities to preserve homeland security capability gains accomplished through the Urban Area Security Initiative grant program when they no longer receive such funding.

With respect to cybersecurity, I am pleased that we were able to reach agreement on bipartisan provisions that originated in the Committee on Homeland Security. They include Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin's legislation to reauthorize the Secret Service's National Computer Forensics Institute, Congresswoman Elaine Luria's bill to authorize DHS's President's Cup Cybersecurity Competition, and legislation authored by Congressman Eric Swalwell aimed at improving DHS's cybersecurity training to protect industrial control systems.

While I am enormously proud of the bipartisan homeland security provisions that were included, I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge my disappointment that we were not able to reach agreement with the Senate on amending the law to treat TSA's workforce like most other Federal employees or authorize the vital work of DHS's Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. We will continue to seek an agreement on these critical measures.

Lastly, I am particularly proud that the NDAA honors my late friend, Congressman A. Donald McEachin, by including his bill, the DHS Mentor- Protege Program Act, to help small businesses better compete for DHS contracts. It is a fitting tribute to my friend that we came together to pass a bill to open doors of opportunity to small businesses-- something that he was passionate about doing.

Mr. Speaker, the full list of Homeland Security Committee measures that will be enacted by this year's NOAA is as follows:

H.R. 6825, the Nonprofit Security Grant Program Improvement Act of 2022, sponsored by Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS).

H.R. 5615, the Homeland Security Capabilities Preservation Act, sponsored by Rep. Val Butler Demings (D-FL).

H.R. 6387, the School and Daycare Protection Act, sponsored by Rep. Donald M. Payne Jr. (D-NJ).

H.R. 8801, the DHS Joint Task Force Reauthorization Act of 2022, sponsored by Rep. J. Luis Correa (D-CA) and S. 4656, the DHS Joint Task Forces Reauthorization Act of 2022, sponsored by Sen. Gary C. Peters (D-MI).

H.R. 2915, the Homeland Procurement Reform Act, sponsored by Rep. J. Luis Correa (D-CA) and S. 1009, the Homeland Procurement Reform Act, sponsored by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH).

H.R. 6824, the President's Cup Cybersecurity Competition Act, sponsored by Rep. Elaine G. Luria (D-VA).

H.R. 7777, the Industrial Control Systems Cybersecurity Training Act, sponsored by Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA).

H.R. 7174, the National Computer Forensics Institute Reauthorization Act of 2022, sponsored by Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) and S. 4673, the National Computer Forensics Institute Reauthorization Act of 2022, sponsored by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA).

H.R. 5574, the TSA Reaching Across Nationalities, Societies, and Languages to Advance Traveler Education Act (``TRANSLATE Act''), sponsored by Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV) and S. 3296, the TSA Reaching Across Nationalities, Societies, and Languages to Advance Traveler Education Act (``TRANSLATE Act''), sponsored by Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-

Bill Text

2 versions available

Reading Mode

Raw Text PDF XML

Reported to SenateIssued December 12, 2022

Calendar No. 626

117th CONGRESS

2d Session

S. 3296

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

December 1, 2021

Ms. Rosen (for herself and Mr. Cornyn) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

December 12, 2022

Reported by Ms. Cantwell, with amendments

Omit the part struck through and insert the part printed in italic

A BILL

To require the TSA to develop a plan to ensure that TSA material disseminated in major airports can be better understood by more people accessing such airports, and for other purposes.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the TSA Reaching Across Nationalities, Societies, and Languages to Advance Traveler Education Act or the TRANSLATE Act.

Plan to improve materials disseminated by Transportation Security Administration

(a)

In general

Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives a plan to ensure that TSA material disseminated in major airports can be better understood by individuals accessing such airports.

(b)

Contents

The plan required under subsection (a) shall include the following:

(1)

An identification of the most common languages other than English that are the primary languages of individuals that travel through or work in each major airport.

(2)

A plan to improve—

(A)

TSA materials to communicate information in languages identified pursuant to paragraph (1); and

(B)

the communication of TSA material to individuals with vision or hearing impairments or other possible barriers to understanding such material.

(c)

Considerations

In developing the plan required under subsection (a), the Administrator, acting through the Office of Civil Rights and Liberties, Ombudsman, and Traveler Engagement of the Transportation Security Administration, shall consider data regarding the following:

(1)

International enplanement.

(2)

Local populations surrounding major airports.

(3)

Languages spoken by members of Indian Tribes within each service area population in which a major airport is located.

(d)

Implementation

Not later than 180 days after the submission of the plan required under subsection (a), the Administrator, in consultation with the owner or operator of each major airport, shall implement such plan.

(e)

GAO review

Not later than 1 year after the implementation pursuant to subsection (d) of the plan required under subsection (a), the Comptroller General of the United States shall—

(1)

conduct a review of such implementation; and

(2)

submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives a report on such review.

(f)

Definitions

In this section:

(1)

Administrator

The term Administrator means the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration.

(2)

Indian tribe

The term Indian Tribe means an Indian Tribe, as defined in section 102 of the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 5130), individually identified (including parenthetically) in the list published most recently as of the date of enactment of this Act pursuant to section 104 of that Act (25 U.S.C. 5131).

~~(2)~~(3)

Major airport

The term major airport means an airport classified by the Transportation Security Administration as a Category X or Category I airport.

~~(3)~~(4)

Non-traveling individual

The term non-traveling individual has the meaning given such term in section 1560.3 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations.

~~(4)~~(5)

TSA material

The term TSA material means signs, videos, audio messages, websites, press releases, social media postings, and other communications published and disseminated by the Administrator in major airports for use by both traveling and non-traveling individuals.

December 12, 2022

Reported with amendments