Sec. 2. Findings; Sense of Congress
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Congress finds the following: On September 11, 2001, 19 terrorists, who underwent airport security screening prior to boarding domestic flights, were able to commandeer 4 airplanes and use those airplanes to perpetrate the most deadly terrorist attack ever to be executed on United States soil. In the aftermath of those attacks, Congress passed the Aviation and Transportation Security Act ( Public Law 107–71 ; 115 Stat. 597), which was signed into law by President George W. Bush on November 19, 2001— to enhance the level of security screening throughout the Nation's aviation system; and to transfer responsibility for such screening from the private sector to the newly established Transportation Security Administration (in this section referred to as TSA ).
By establishing TSA, Congress and the American public recognized that the highest level of screener performance was directly linked to employment and training standards, pay and benefits, and the creation of an experienced, committed screening workforce. Section 111(d) of the Aviation and Transportation Security Act ( 49 U.S.C. 44935 note) authorizes the Under Secretary of Transportation for Security to employ, appoint, discipline, terminate, and fix the compensation, terms, and conditions of employment of Federal service for such a number of individuals as the Under Secretary determines to be necessary to carry out the screening functions of the Under Secretary under section 44901 of title 49, United States Code .
The functions of TSA were transferred to the Department of Homeland Security under section 403 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 ( 6 U.S.C. 203 ). TSA has interpreted the authorization described in paragraph
(4)as applying to all of the transportation security officer workforce performing screening functions, while all other TSA employees, including managers, are subject to title 5, United States Code, as incorporated in title 49 of such Code. In November 2006, the International Labour Organization ruled that the Bush Administration violated international labor law when it prohibited transportation security officers from engaging in collective bargaining. After the Federal Labor Relations Board approved a petition for the election of an exclusive representative, on February 4, 2011, TSA Administrator John Pistole issued a binding determination stating, [I]t is critical that every TSA employee feels that he or she has a voice and feels safe raising issues and concerns of all kinds. This is important not just for morale; engagement of every employee is critically important for security. . That determination was superseded by subsequent determinations issued in 2014 and 2016 that continued to limit the scope of the bargaining and review process. The 2011, 2014, and 2016 determinations both cited TSA's authority under section 111(d) of the Aviation and Transportation Security Act ( 49 U.S.C. 44935 note) to create a personnel system that denies the transportation security officer workforce the rights under title 5, United States Code, which are provided to most other Federal workers, including— the right to appeal adverse personnel decisions to the Merit Systems Protection Board; fair pay under the General Schedule pay system; fair performance appraisals under chapter 73 of title 5, United States Code; and statutory protections against employment discrimination set forth in title 5, United States Code. Every day, transportation security officers put their safety on the line to protect the flying public and on November 1, 2013, a transportation security officer, Gerardo Hernandez, gave his life to protect the flying public when he was killed by a gunman who attacked the Los Angeles International Airport. Transportation security officers are vital to aviation security and have kept the United States aviation system secure, even during lapses in appropriations, when they were not paid. For 16 days in 2013, 3 days in 2018, and, most recently, 35 days at the end of 2018 through early 2019, the TSA workforce worked without pay alongside airplane safety specialists, air traffic controllers, and other Federal workers responsible for the aviation security and safety framework that has protected United States air travel since 2001. The adverse impact of 2 missed paychecks during the shutdown that took place between December 22, 2018, and January 25, 2019, was felt disproportionately by the transportation security officer workforce, with many officers receiving starting annual salaries as low as $35,000. It is the sense of Congress that— the personnel system utilized by the Transportation Security Administration pursuant to section 111(d) of the Aviation and Transportation Security Act ( 49 U.S.C. 44935 note) provides insufficient workplace protections for the transportation security officer workforce, who are the frontline personnel who secure the Nation's aviation system; and such personnel should be entitled to the protections under title 5, United States Code.
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- Pub. L. 107-71
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Sec. 2
Findings; Sense of Congress
Pub. L.Pub. L. 107-71
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