Sec. 17. Transportation Worker Identification Credential improvements and assessment
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Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall establish a process to improve background checks and terrorism vetting processes that includes— establishing an entity within the Office of Intelligence and Analysis to provide guidance on security threat assessment processes; conducting a comprehensive risk analysis of the security threat assessment processes to identify areas needing additional internal controls and quality assurance procedures and implementing those procedures; improving fraud detection techniques, such as— establishing benchmarks and a process for electronic document validation; requiring annual training for Trusted Agents; and establishing a process to review and analyze additional information provided by Trusted Agents during the review process; updating guidance and finalizing a manual for Trusted Agents and adjudicators to ensure clear guidance on processes and regulations; and establishing quality controls to ensure consistent procedures to review adjudication decisions and terrorism vetting decisions.
Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Inspector General of the Department shall submit a report to Congress that evaluates the implementation of the improvements described in paragraph (1). Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall commission an assessment of the effectiveness of the transportation security card program (referred to in this section as the Program ) required under section 70105 of title 46, United States Code, at enhancing security and reducing security risks for facilities and vessels regulated under chapter 701 of such title.
The assessment commissioned under paragraph
(1)shall be conducted by a research organization with significant experience in port or maritime security, such as— a national laboratory; a university-based center within the Science and Technology Directorate’s centers of excellence network; or a qualified federally funded research and development center. The assessment commissioned under paragraph
(1)shall— review the credentialing process by determining— the appropriateness of vetting standards; whether the fee structure adequately reflects the current costs of vetting; whether there is unnecessary redundancy or duplication with other Federal- or State-issued transportation security credentials; and the appropriateness of having varied Federal and State threat assessments and access controls; review the process for renewing applications for Transportation Worker Identification Credentials, including the number of days it takes to review application, appeal, and waiver requests for additional information; and review the security value of the Program by— evaluating the extent to which the Program, as implemented, addresses known or likely security risks in the maritime and port environments; evaluating the potential for a non-biometric credential alternative; identifying the technology, business process, and operational impacts of the use of the transportation security card and transportation security card readers in the maritime and port environments; assessing the costs and benefits of the Program, as implemented; and evaluating the extent to which the Secretary has addressed the deficiencies in the Program identified by the Government Accountability Office and the Inspector General of the Department before the date of enactment of this Act. The assessment commissioned under paragraph
(1)shall be completed not later than 1 year after the date on which the assessment is commissioned. If the assessment commissioned under subsection
(b)identifies a deficiency in the effectiveness of the Program, the Secretary, not later than 60 days after the date on which the assessment is completed, shall submit a corrective action plan to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate , the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives , and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives that— responds to findings of the assessment; includes an implementation plan with benchmarks; may include programmatic reforms, revisions to regulations, or proposals for legislation; and shall be considered in any rulemaking by the Department relating to the Program. If a corrective action plan is submitted under subsection (c), the Inspector General of the Department shall— not later than 120 days after such submission, review the extent to which such plan implements the requirements under subsection (c); and not later than 18 months after such submission, and annually thereafter for the subsequent 3 years, submit a report to the congressional committees set forth in subsection
(c)that describes the progress of the implementation of such plan.