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“FAIR, ACCURATE, SECURE, AND TIMELY REDRESS ACT OF 2008” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H5491-H5496 on June 18, 2008.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
FAIR, ACCURATE, SECURE, AND TIMELY REDRESS ACT OF 2008
Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4179) to amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish an appeal and redress process for individuals wrongly delayed or prohibited from boarding a flight, and for other purposes, as amended.
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June 18, 2008--On Page H5491 the following appeared: Mr. THOMPSON. Mr. Speaker,
The online version should be corrected to read: Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker,
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The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 4179
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Fair, Accurate, Secure, and Timely Redress Act of 2008'' or the ``FAST Redress Act of 2008''.
SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF APPEAL AND REDRESS PROCESS FOR
INDIVIDUALS WRONGLY DELAYED OR PROHIBITED FROM
BOARDING A FLIGHT, OR DENIED A RIGHT, BENEFIT,
OR PRIVILEGE.
(a) In General.--Subtitle H of title VIII of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 451 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``SEC. 890A. APPEAL AND REDRESS PROCESS FOR PASSENGERS
WRONGLY DELAYED OR PROHIBITED FROM BOARDING A
FLIGHT, OR DENIED A RIGHT, BENEFIT, OR
PRIVILEGE.
``(a) Establishment.--Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary shall establish a timely and fair process for individuals who believe they were delayed or prohibited from boarding a commercial aircraft or denied a right, benefit, or privilege because they were wrongly identified as a threat when screened against any terrorist watchlist or database used by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) or any office or component of the Department.
``(b) Office of Appeals and Redress.--
``(1) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish in the Department an Office of Appeals and Redress to implement, coordinate, and execute the process established by the Secretary pursuant to subsection (a). The Office shall include representatives from the TSA and such other offices and components of the Department as the Secretary determines appropriate.
``(2) Comprehensive cleared list.--The process established by the Secretary pursuant to subsection (a) shall include the establishment of a method by which the Office, under the direction of the Secretary, will maintain and appropriately disseminate a comprehensive list, to be known as the
`Comprehensive Cleared List', of individuals who--
``(A) were misidentified as an individual on any terrorist watchlist or database;
``(B) completed an approved Department of Homeland Security appeal and redress request and provided such additional information as required by the Department to verify the individual's identity; and
``(C) permit the use of their personally identifiable information to be shared between multiple Departmental components for purposes of this section.
``(3) Use of comprehensive cleared list.--
``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall--
``(i) except as provided in subparagraph (B), transmit to the TSA or any other appropriate office or component of the Department, other Federal, State, local, and tribal entities, and domestic air carriers and foreign air carriers that use any terrorist watchlist or database, the Comprehensive Cleared List and any other information the Secretary determines necessary to resolve misidentifications and improve the administration of the advanced passenger prescreening system and reduce the number of false positives; and
``(ii) ensure that the Comprehensive Cleared List is taken into account by all appropriate offices or components of the Department when assessing the security risk of an individual.
``(B) Termination.--
``(i) In general.--The transmission of the Comprehensive Cleared List to domestic air carriers and foreign air carriers under clause (i) of subparagraph (A) shall terminate on the date on which the Federal Government assumes terrorist watchlist or database screening functions.
``(ii) Written notification to congress.--Not later than 15 days after the date on which the transmission of the Comprehensive Cleared List to the air carriers referred to in clause (i) of this subparagraph terminates in accordance with such clause, the Secretary shall provide written notification to the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate of such termination.
``(4) Intergovernmental efforts.--The Secretary may--
``(A) enter into memoranda of understanding with other Federal, State, local, and tribal agencies or entities, as necessary, to improve the appeal and redress process and for other purposes such as to verify an individual's identity and personally identifiable information; and
``(B) work with other Federal, State, local, and tribal agencies or entities that use any terrorist watchlist or database to ensure, to the greatest extent practicable, that the Comprehensive Cleared List is considered when assessing the security risk of an individual.
``(5) Handling of personally identifiable information.--The Secretary, in conjunction with the Chief Privacy Officer of the Department, shall--
``(A) require that Federal employees of the Department handling personally identifiable information of individuals
(in this paragraph referred to as `PII') complete mandatory privacy and security training prior to being authorized to handle PII;
``(B) ensure that the information maintained under this subsection is secured by encryption, including one-way hashing, data anonymization techniques, or such other equivalent technical security protections as the Secretary determines necessary;
``(C) limit the information collected from misidentified passengers or other individuals to the minimum amount necessary to resolve an appeal and redress request;
``(D) ensure that the information maintained under this subsection is shared or transferred via an encrypted data network that has been audited to ensure that the anti-hacking and other security related software functions perform properly and are updated as necessary;
``(E) ensure that any employee of the Department receiving the information maintained under this subsection handles such information in accordance with section 552a of title 5, United States Code, the Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-296), and other applicable laws;
``(F) only retain the information maintained under this subsection for as long as needed to assist the individual traveler in the appeal and redress process;
``(G) engage in cooperative agreements with appropriate Federal agencies and entities, on a reimbursable basis, to ensure that legal name changes are properly reflected in any terrorist watchlist or database and the Comprehensive Cleared List to improve the appeal and redress process and to ensure the most accurate lists of identifications possible (except that section 552a of title 5, United States Code, shall not prohibit the sharing of legal name changes among Federal agencies and entities for the purposes of this section); and
``(H) conduct and publish a privacy impact assessment of the appeal and redress process established under this section and transmit the assessment to the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate.
``(6) Initiation of appeal and redress process at airports.--At each airport at which--
``(A) the Department has a presence, the Office shall provide written information to air carrier passengers to begin the appeal and redress process established pursuant to subsection (a); and
``(B) the Department has a significant presence, provide the written information referred to in subparagraph (A) and ensure a TSA supervisor who is trained in such appeal and redress process is available to provide support to air carrier passengers in need of guidance concerning such process.
``(7) Report to congress.--Not later than 240 days after the date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate a report on the status of information sharing among users at the Department of any terrorist watchlist or database. The report shall include the following information:
``(A) A description of the processes and the status of the implementation of this section to share the Comprehensive Cleared List with other Department offices and components and other Federal, State, local, and tribal authorities that utilize any terrorist watchlist or database.
``(B) A description of the extent to which such other Department offices and components are taking into account the Comprehensive Cleared List.
``(C) Data on the number of individuals who have sought and successfully obtained redress through the Office of Appeals and Redress.
``(D) Data on the number of individuals who have sought and were denied redress through the Office of Appeals and Redress.
``(E) An assessment of what impact information sharing of the Comprehensive Cleared List has had on misidentifications of individuals who have successfully obtained redress through the Office of Appeals and Redress.
``(F) An updated privacy impact assessment.
``(c) Terrorist Watchlist or Database Defined.--In this section, the term `terrorist watchlist or database' means any terrorist watchlist or database used by the Transportation Security Administration or any office or component of the Department of Homeland Security or specified in Homeland Security Presidential Directive-6, in effect as of the date of the enactment of this section.''.
(b) Incorporation of Secure Flight.--Section 44903(j)(2) of title 49, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (C)(iii)--
(A) by redesignating subclauses (II) through (VII) as subclauses (III) through (VIII), respectively; and
(B) by inserting after subclause (I) the following new subclause:
``(II) ensure, not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of the FAST Redress Act of 2008, that the procedure established under subclause (I) is incorporated into the appeals and redress process established under section 890A of the Homeland Security Act of 2002;'';
(2) in subparagraph (E)(iii), by inserting before the period at the end the following: ``, in accordance with the appeals and redress process established under section 890A of the Homeland Security Act of 2002''; and
(3) in subparagraph (G)--
(A) in clause (i), by adding at the end the following new sentence: ``The Assistant Secretary shall incorporate the process established pursuant to this clause into the appeals and redress process established under section 890A of the Homeland Security Act of 2002.''; and
(B) in clause (ii), by adding at the end the following new sentence: ``The Assistant Secretary shall incorporate the record established and maintained pursuant to this clause into the Comprehensive Cleared List established and maintained under such section 890A.''.
(c) Conforming Amendment.--Title 49, United States Code, is amended by striking section 44926 (and the item relating to such section in the analysis for chapter 449 of title 49).
(d) Clerical Amendment.--Section 1(b) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101(b)) is amended by adding after the item relating to section 890 the following new item:
``Sec. 890A. Appeal and redress process for passengers wrongly delayed or prohibited from boarding a flight, or denied a right, benefit, or privilege.'.'
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Thompson) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Daniel E. Lungren) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Mississippi.
General Leave
Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Mississippi?
There was no objection.
Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this bill, and I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4179, the Fair, Accurate, Secure and Timely Redress Act or FAST Redress Act was introduced last year by a relatively new member of the Homeland Security Committee, Congresswoman Yvette Clarke. Representative Clarke is to be commended for the yeoman's job she has done.
Everyone complains about the lack of sanity in the watch-listing process, but few have dared to wade into all the ins and outs of the system. Representative Clarke has done just that, and this legislation is the product of that thoughtful undertaking.
H.R. 4179 was marked up and approved on a bipartisan basis by the committees's Transportation Security and Infrastructure Protection Subcommittee in early May. On May 20, 2008, the bill was marked up and adopted unanimously by the full committee.
This legislation, like other Homeland Security Committee bills that will be considered today, builds on the solid provisions in H.R. 1684, the Department of Homeland Security authorization bill that has been pending in the Senate since May of 2007.
Certainly, the practice of watch-listing individuals plays an important role in identifying possible terrorist suspects.
{time} 1045
It is important to keep in mind that the watch list is only as good as the information on it. Without accurate, complete and reliable information, the purpose of the watch list is frustrated, the database becomes unreliable, and misidentifications persist.
Getting the watch list fixed and reducing misidentifications is a particularly difficult challenge. To do so, all the intelligence and law enforcement components that populate the list would need to come together and agree to clean it up. Unfortunately, this has not happened. Therefore, redress is the only real recourse for an American who is repeatedly stopped or delayed at airports and border crossings because one is misidentified as a terrorist threat.
Presently, there is a redress process available at DHS. Since February 2007, over 32,000 Americans have sought redress through DHS Traveler and Redress Inquiry Program, also known as DHS TRIP. Each individual voluntarily provided personal information to establish their identity. When there is a determination that this person is not a threat, their names are placed on a ``cleared list'' that is maintained by the Transportation Security Administration.
This cleared list is populated with names of individuals who have the same or similar name as someone on the ``no fly'' or ``selectee'' lists, but have proven that they are not the person on the list. The cleared list is then shared with only the airlines for screening purposes.
Under H.R. 4179, it will be shared throughout DHS and with other Federal agencies that use the terrorist watch list database. This would assure that individuals that go through the redress process are not stopped as potential terrorists by other Federal agencies.
Specifically, H.R. 4179 requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish the Office of Appeals and Redress to provide a timely and fair redress process. The Office of Appeals and Redress is directed to maintain a ``comprehensive cleared list'' that contains the names of individuals who have been misidentified and have corrected erroneous information.
The comprehensive cleared list would be made available to other Federal, State, local and Tribal authorities and others that use the terrorist watch list or database to resolve misidentification.
The bill directs TSA, CBP, the Coast Guard and other DHS components to reference the comprehensive cleared list when assessing the security risk of an individual. This would assure that individuals like our esteemed colleague, the gentleman from Georgia, Mr. John Lewis, would not be repeatedly stopped or delayed or have to seek redress from components in the same Federal agency.
H.R. 4179 also authorizes the DHS to enter into memoranda of understanding with other Federal agencies to enhance the redress process.
Importantly, the measure includes protections to assure that personally identifiable information is handled in accordance with privacy laws.
Once enacted, individuals that go through the trouble of clearing their names will not have to repeat the exercise again and again and again.
Mr. Speaker, on behalf of every John Lewis and James Smith, I urge passage of this bill.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. DANIEL E. LUNGREN of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
First of all, I want to thank the chairman of the committee for granting me the time, and also for the work that he has done in working on a bipartisan basis with those of us on this side to bring a number of these bills to the floor.
Every month, Mr. Speaker, that the Federal Government and local law enforcement officials screen some 270 million individuals against a new and constantly evolving consolidated terrorist watch list, we actually are safer as a result of those actions. Since the Terrorist Screening Center's establishment in December of 2003, front line screeners using this watch list have encountered known or reasonably suspected terrorists over 55,000 times.
Now, I grant you that a name-based watch list certainly is not perfect. The problems are compounded by the fact that, in several cases, a single individual has over 50 identities on the watch list and, of course, this would eventually lead to misidentifications between law-abiding Americans and watch-listed identities.
These misidentifications are not simply persons with Arab names, as the press would have you believe. Actors, writers, yes, even as the gentleman from Mississippi mentioned, Congressmen and sometimes even former Presidential candidates have been inconvenienced by the terrorist watch list.
However, the bottom line is that the watch list stops would-be terrorists from entering the United States. According to Customs and Border Protection, on March 27, 2005, a CBP officer identified an individual who was a possible match to terrorist-related records. The ID resulted in a local joint terrorism task force arresting the passenger, who was later charged with conspiring to provide material support to terrorism and conspiracy to kill, kidnap, or maim persons.
Similarly, CBP denied entry of a Palestine Liberation Organization weapons smuggler. The suspect was later charged with conspiracy to traffic in explosive devices and firearms.
The legislation before us today, introduced by the gentlelady from New York, is a good bill. It's the result of solid bipartisan negotiations, and I wish to thank her and her staff, as well as the chairman of the committee and the chairwoman of the subcommittee and their staffs, for working with us to develop a reasonable process to ensure that individuals who are frequently misidentified have an effective recourse to minimize future travel disruption.
Perhaps one of the most important provisions of the bill is the requirement that the Department of Homeland Security better advertise its redress process, known as TRIP, at airports.
When I hear from constituents that they're being misidentified as a watch-listed individual, I'm concerned they have not heard of the Department's process to seek redress. This bill requires the Department to advertise its redress process at each airport, and to have staff on hand at the largest airports to explain the process and answer questions from the traveling public.
Again, I thank the gentlelady for working with us and moving this legislation forward in a bipartisan manner, and look forward to its quick adoption.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the author of this legislation, the Congresswoman from New York, Ms. Yvette Clarke.
Ms. CLARKE. Mr. Speaker, Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Lungren, nearly everyone in the homeland security community agrees that having a single comprehensive list of terrorist suspects is an important tool in keeping America safe.
However, there are flaws in how the terrorist watch list is maintained and used. Perhaps the biggest problem is that every single day, countless Americans are misidentified as terrorists. These errors most commonly occur when an innocent person's name happens to be similar to one listed in the database. This results in wasted time, both for law enforcement, because they're using resources investigating innocent people, and for the general public who face the prospect of being wrongly detained and possibly altogether prevented from going about their business.
Most commonly, this affects air travelers who are screened against the watch list more often than anyone else. Currently, each time a reservation is made, airlines must determine whether a customer is a potential match based on information they receive from our government.
Every day, thousands of people are pulled aside, required to go through special procedures, detained, or even denied boarding altogether, at great cost to frustrated travelers who miss flights, which ruins plans, and at great cost to companies which depend on business travel whose employees miss meetings and lose productivity.
Because of the terrorist watch list that is being used for screening agencies, many people other than domestic air travelers have also been impacted by misidentifications. Some of these people include international travelers delayed or denied entry to the country by CBP; potential foreign visitors denied visas by the State Department, and other workers, port workers who have been incorrectly denied a transportation worker identification card, which is now required to work at a port facility in the United States. In the future, this will likely become a greater issue, as more potentially sensitive activities are tied to screening against the watch list.
In 2007, TSA attempted to address this issue by initiating a redress process called DHS TRIP. But this program has multiple problems, and its scope is limited just to air travelers. Because of the program's limitations, many travelers go through the process only to find they are again misidentified as terrorists in the future.
The FAST Redress Act solves this problem by granting DHS the tools to create a department-wide Office of Redress and Appeals, a one-stop shop for any individual who feels they are being incorrectly identified as a terrorist whenever they have contact with our government.
Using the Office of Redress, people can voluntarily submit to our government and be put into a single comprehensive cleared list, ensuring they will avoid future misidentification when dealing with any Department entity.
This bill also allows the Secretary to enter into intergovernmental memorandums of understanding so this cleared list can be used by all government screening entities.
This bill will greatly streamline the process for the countless people who, just because of their names, are regularly misidentified as a terrorist, creating a single, high visible office within our government for everyone who wants to clear their names.
I'm very thankful to Chairman Thompson and Ranking Member King, along with TS&IP Chairwoman Jackson-Lee and Ranking Member Lungren for recognizing the importance of this issue and their great bipartisan efforts pushing the FAST Redress Act forward.
I also thank the staff on both sides of the Homeland Security Committee for their hard work and the time they put into this bill.
Further, since introduction, this bill has received the strong support of the National Business Travel Association, who recognize its benefits for the business travel community. I thank them for their support which remains instrumental as we continue to make this bill law.
Finally, I'd like to thank the people of Central Brooklyn that filed into my district office week after week seeking relief after being misidentified against the watch list.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman from New York has expired.
Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional minute to the gentlelady.
Ms. CLARKE. The challenges that they faced served as the brainchild for this legislation.
I ask my colleagues to join me in the restoration of civil liberties, creating a truly fair, accurate, secure and timely redress process. I ask them to join me in support of the bipartisan bill, H.R. 4179, the FAST Redress Act of 2008.
Mr. DANIEL E. LUNGREN of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4179, the FAST Redress Act, is an important bill, and we should act on it today, and we should try and get concurrence with the Senate and have this on the President's desk so he can sign it so that we can take care of the problem of misidentifications on the terrorist screening list that we use for a legitimate purpose.
Similarly, Mr. Speaker, I would hope that we might have a fast redress act for the American people who are currently standing in line waiting to pay for their gasoline at larger and larger and larger prices. One of the things we need to do, in terms of this bill, is redress the misinformation that's contained on terrorist screener watch lists.
We similarly need to get rid of the misidentification that deals with the issue of Americans' need for energy and what ANWR represents. Rather than what we've heard on the floor on a number of different occasions, including today, that somehow ANWR is insignificant with respect to the great question of energy that currently approaches the American people, the facts say something very different.
In other words, if we check them against the facts as this bill wants us to check misidentifications against the factual determinations, we would find this: According to the United States Geological Survey, the mean estimate of technically recoverable oil, that's the kind of oil that we can bring up under already existing technology in the coastal plain of ANWR, is 10.4 billion barrels, all of which is now economically recoverable.
{time} 1100
Now, what is 10.4 billion barrels? More than twice the proven oil reserves in all of the State of Texas. And you know how Texans like to brag about what they got and how big it is. This would be twice the proven oil reserves that are now found in all of Texas. That's almost half of the total U.S. proven reserve at 21 billion barrels. That represents a possible 50 percent increase in total U.S. proven reserves. That has been categorized on this floor as being insignificant and of having no impact on the current energy scene. I think checking it against the facts, we see that's wrong.
Based on the USGS mean estimate, ANWR would provide one million barrels per day for 30 years. That's one million barrels per day for 30 years. Now what would that represent? Some insignificant figure? No. That's a 20 percent increase in domestic, or as we would like to call it, American production. That's equivalent to what the entire State of Texas produces daily. And listen to this. That is the equivalent to 30 years' worth of imports from Hugo Chavez.
The coastal plain of ANWR, known as the 1002 area, is neither wilderness nor refuge. In fact, when I was here in this House privileged to serve in 1980, it was set aside by this Congress and then-President Carter specifically for future oil development.
Now, do we ever hear about that? That's as much as a misidentification of what the reality is of what we're talking about in this bill. Development would be limited to the 2,000 acres of the coastal plain. That would be 0.01 percent of the entire 19.6 million acre refuge.
So Mr. Speaker, as I said, I rise in support of this bill, H.R. 4179, which would correct misinformation contained in official documents that thereby inconveniences the American people. Similarly, if we took action on a Redress Act for energy on the American people, they would be less inconvenienced and we would be on our way to energy independence.
With that, I would reserve my time.
Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Perlmutter).
Mr. PERLMUTTER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for this opportunity to speak on an excellent bill, and I want to commend my friend from New York for bringing this bill to the House of Representatives and bringing it through our committee.
So I rise today to express my strong support for the Fair, Accurate, Secure and Timely Redress Act or the FAST Redress Act.
At Denver International Airport, the Nation's fourth busiest airport, tens of thousands of passengers go through security each day. For most, the screening process is straightforward and is as efficient a policy as possible. But for some, like the John Thompsons of Colorado, flying is a painful and difficult experience, not because of the items they bring through security or the way they act, but simply because of their name. And they range from 8-year-olds to 80-year-olds.
There are thousands of Americans whose names are similar to terrorists listed on the No Fly List. And when travelling, the airlines and TSA do not distinguish these law-abiding Americans from criminals on the list who happen to have the same name. As a result, these citizens may be forced to undergo extensive, time-consuming additional screening and questioning. This happens not just once but every single time the person travels.
To avoid it happening on every occasion, they can go through the Department of Homeland Security Travel Redress Inquiry Program to get removed from the list, but that process is slow and ineffective. Furthermore, it doesn't currently address the concern that each airline uses the travel redress program differently.
That is why I am a cosponsor of this important legislation. Our Nation's passengers affected by mistaken identity deserve an office within the Department of Homeland Security to help resolve these identity problems once and for all. Our Nation's passengers deserve a comprehensive cleared list to match the No Fly List which is provided to airport security and the airlines to be used in a uniform manner.
Our Nation's passengers deserve a Federal plan to verify their identity and make sure they are safe to fly. This bill achieves these goals and makes our flying public safer while keeping commerce going.
I want to thank Congresswoman Clarke and Committee Chairman Thompson, as well as Ranking Member Mr. Lungren and Chairwoman Sheila Jackson-Lee and the other members of the committee for their hard work on this important matter.
I ask my colleagues to support this bill.
Mr. DANIEL E. LUNGREN of California. Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers, and I would just say that this bill deserves the unanimous support of the Members of this body.
With that, I would yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee).
(Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished chairman of the Homeland Security Committee. Mr. Speaker, I ask to revise and extend.
I want to add my appreciation to, again, the very, very able and distinguished Member Yvette Clarke from New York for her strong advocation for H.R. 4179 and legislation that came through the subcommittee of transportation security, which I chair, and her wisdom on bringing about a solution to a long-standing problem that we have seen come about after 9/11.
Every day, millions of Americans travel across the country and abroad by land, air, and sea. Unfortunately, we have a process in place, the terrorist watch list or database, which makes, or should make, traveling safe. However, there have been problems and misidentifications. Even air marshals have been denied boarding on air carriers on the very flights they were assigned to protect because of misidentification.
To date, more than 15,000 Americans have sought redress from the Transportation Security Administration and voluntarily provided information. But this system has not worked. We know two of our very own dear colleagues, Senator Kennedy and John Lewis, who I think have a pedigree beyond reproach, have been set aside, if you will, in trying to fly.
And so therefore, it is important to have a redress process that works and to assure that a person on the TSA's Clear List will not be stopped as a potential terrorist. H.R. 4179 by Congresswoman Yvette Clarke will establish an appeal and redress process to ensure that the Office of Appeals and Redress at the Department of Homeland Security actually work.
I do want to congratulate her for this forward thinking. I look forward to working with her as we move forward on additional legislation that addresses the question of dress. As we all know, imams who have cleared TSA could not board a plane in one of our midwest States because they were determined to be a threat when they had passed security, when their name was not on the watch list, and only because of religious actions.
And so this is an important step forward. We should be a Nation of security but also the protection of civil liberties. And I look forward to us making further steps to ensure that religious dress, attire, and talk does not in any way undermine your constitutional rights in this question.
My appreciation to Congresswoman Clarke. I ask my colleagues to enthusiastically support this legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 4179, To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish an appeal and redress process for individuals wrongly delayed or prohibited from boarding a flight, and for other purposes, introduced by my distinguished colleague from New York, Representative Clarke, of which I am a proud original cosponsor. This important legislation will provide an effective and efficient mechanism through which Americans can seek redress.
Every day, millions of Americans travel across the country and abroad, by land, air, and sea. Fortunately, we have a process in place, the terrorist watch list or database, which makes travel safer for the traveling public. However, that very process has been plagued with problems and misidentifications. The American public has grown weary of the constant delays and misidentifications caused by incomplete and inaccurate information associated with the terrorist watch list or database.
For years, even Federal Air Marshals (FAMs) have been denied boarding by air carriers on the very flights they were assigned to protect because of misidentifications. To date, more than 15,000 Americans have sought redress from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and voluntarily provided personal information to facilitate travel and prevent further misidentifications and delays. While the TSA maintains a ``Cleared List'' for individuals who have the same or similar name or other identifier as someone on the ``No Fly'' or ``Selectee'' lists but have gone through the redress process, there is a significant stagnation in the columniation and sharing of information. The Cleared List is then shared with airlines for screening purposes but it is not shared within the Department of Homeland Security or with other Federal agencies that use the terrorist watch list or database. Therefore, despite going through the redress process, there's nothing to assure that a person on the TSA's ``Cleared List'' will not be stopped as a potential terrorist by other Federal agencies, including U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Sharing information on the Comprehensive Cleared List between components of the Department would alleviate redundancy and reduce excessive delays.
H.R. 4179, the Fair, Accurate, Secure and Timely (FAST) Redress Act of 2008, will establish an appeal and redress process to ensure that the Office of Appeals and Redress at the Department of Homeland Security becomes the ``one-stop shop'' that the American public deserves.
This legislation will require the DHS Secretary to establish a timely and fair redress process for individuals who believe they have been delayed or prohibited from boarding a commercial plane or denied a right, benefit, or privilege by DHS, because they were wrongly identified as a threat when screened against any terrorist watch list or database. It would also require the Office of Appeals and Redress to maintain a Comprehensive Cleared List that contains the names of individuals who have been misidentified and have corrected erroneous information. The DHS Secretary would be required to furnish the Comprehensive Cleared List to all DHS components and to other Federal, State, local, and Tribal authorities and others that use the terrorist watch list or database, to resolve misidentifications.
This important legislation will consolidate agency knowledge by requiring the compilation of a comprehensive cleared list of individuals who have been misidentified. It furthermore requires that the correction of erroneous information be maintained by the Department and shared with those agencies that use the terrorist watch list or database. Our citizens must not only be afforded an effective redress process, they must also be assured that once they have voluntarily provided personal information and successfully achieved redress, they are not repeatedly subjected to further misidentifications. This legislation is supported by the National Business Travel Association, who wrote to the Committee on Homeland Security in support of H.R. 4179.
The FAST Redress Act of 2008 explicitly requires the DHS Secretary to assure that TSA, CBP, the Coast Guard and other DHS components reference the Comprehensive Cleared List when assessing the security risk of an individual. It furthermore authorizes the DHS Secretary to enter into Memoranda of Understanding with other Federal agencies to enhance redress, including addressing legal name changes.
This bipartisan legislation directs the Secretary to engage in cooperative agreements with other relevant agencies so that legal name changes are reflected on the watch list and the cleared list. When it comes to watch and cleared lists, accuracy is the key. This change ensures that the Department has the most accurate information to evaluate American citizens.
Mr. Speaker, it is time we protect the civil rights and civil liberties of American citizens and lawful permanent residents. This bill will help eliminate false identifications and increase efficiency for the traveling public and I encourage my colleagues to support this legislation.
Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, as you have heard, H.R. 4179 is a commonsense Homeland Security legislation that has broad support. Representative Clarke, as well as Chairwoman Jackson-Lee and Ranking Member Lungren, ought to be commended for working together to get this critical legislation to the floor. We all know that the terrorist watch list has its problems. In fact, most of us fly a few times a week and have heard firsthand stories about people missing flights because they were misidentified against the watch list. We need to fix the watch list. That effort is ongoing and needs to continue. But at the same time, we need to provide people with a meaningful remedy.
The FAST Redress Act does just that. That is why I'm proud to cosponsor this legislation authored by my esteemed colleague, Ms. Clarke.
I urge passage of this important legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Thompson) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 4179, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
The title was amended so as to read:
``A bill to amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish an appeal and redress process for individuals wrongly delayed or prohibited from boarding a flight, or denied a right, benefit, or privilege, and for other purposes.''.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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