Improving Travel for Families Act

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to advocate for the passage of our bill, H.R. 5969, the Improving Travel for Families Act.

Global Entry has been a critical asset in expediting clearance for preapproved, low-risk travelers upon arrival in the United States. Reduced wait times and access to expedited entry into the United States are all the benefits of Global Entry membership.

Global Entry began as a small pilot program in 2008 with availability in just three airports. Today, the Global Entry program offers expedited preapproved travel clearance for millions of travelers and is available in over 60 U.S. airports.

Our bill would improve international travel for families by allowing children ages 10 and younger who are not currently enrolled in the Global Entry program to accompany their parents and guardians who are in the program in the designated precleared lanes upon arrival at international airports in the United States.

Additionally, the bill would streamline the Global Entry application process by permitting parents or guardians to schedule a single application appointment for up to four young children at a time, rather than having to book multiple individual appointments, thereby reducing the interview appointment backlog.

These small, but meaningful, advancements will be a marked improvement on the Global Entry program. Under current law, only preapproved Global Entry travelers, regardless of age, are permitted to utilize dedicated lanes and kiosks. This creates a major inconvenience for Global Entry-enrolled parents who are traveling with young children who are not currently enrolled.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Green, Congressman Glenn Ivey, and the members and staff of the Homeland Security Committee for working with me and my staff on this important bill.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to support this sensible legislative measure that will afford law-abiding Americans the opportunity to travel with their children.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5969) to direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to revise certain regulations to permit certain children to accompany their parents or legal guardians through Global Entry airport lanes, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on H.R. 5969.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5969, the Global Entry program, which is managed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, grants expedited clearance for preapproved, low-risk travelers.

Millions of users are enrolled in the Global Entry program and Global Entry kiosks are deployed at many major airports throughout the United States. However, issues can arise when families are traveling with minor children who are not enrolled in the Global Entry program. Because Global Entry benefits are member specific, young children who are not enrolled in the program are not currently allowed to join their parents in the Global Entry line.

H.R. 5969 would rectify this by allowing children ages 10 and younger to join their Global Entry-enrolled parents or guardian through the Global Entry lane.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Luttrell for his work on this very important bill. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 5969, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Luttrell), the sponsor of the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I have no more speakers. I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to close.

I again urge my colleagues to support H.R. 5969. I, of course, thank again Mr. Luttrell for his excellent work on the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 5969 aims to make Global Entry more family friendly by allowing children ages 10 or under to accompany their parents or legal guardians through Global Entry lanes when clearing customs in the United States.

We would like to see all families with young children stay together throughout the customs process, and this bill would make travel more family friendly without compromising security.

This bill also makes it possible for parents to schedule interviews for Global Entry for their kids as groups as opposed to the current format which schedules appointments separately--a logistical nightmare for parents.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Ivey).

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to close.

Mr. Speaker, I commend the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Luttrell) for introducing this bill, and I commend the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Ivey) for cosponsoring this bill aimed at improving the travel experience for families. I believe this bill will help families traveling with young children eliminate some of the difficulties that they may experience along the way.

I am happy to support this bill, and I urge all Members of the House to do the same.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 5969, the Improving Travel for Families Act. I am proud to cosponsor this bipartisan legislation with my friend and Homeland Security Committee colleague from Texas, Representative Morgan Luttrell.

This bill aims to make the CBP Global Entry program more friendly for family travel at our international airports by allowing children ages 10 or under to accompany their parent or guardian through Global Entry when clearing customs in the United States.

The bill also makes it possible for parents to schedule interviews for Global Entry for their kids as a group. It will do all of this without risking the security of children, as Global Entry approval requires multiple steps, including a background check.

As a father of six, I know how difficult the logistics can be for families traveling with young children.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this commonsense, bipartisan legislation that will make travel more friendly for families without compromising security.