Tough Security

From USA Today:

"Senate sends Obama bill toughening airport security"

Airport security will be tightened and travelers will get bag-fee refunds for long-delayed luggage under legislation the Senate cleared Wednesday for President Obama. The Senate voted 89-4  to approve the compromise bill extending Federal Aviation Administration policy through Sept. 30, 2017. The House approved the bill Monday by voice vote. Obama is expected to sign it. “The reforms in this legislation will help ensure that attacks like those that happened in Brussels and Istanbul don’t happen at American airports,” said Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., who drafted the bill as chairman of the transportation committee. The FAA’s current authorization expires Friday, so the relatively short-term bill will allow further debate on shifting air-traffic control from the FAA to a private corporation, which was a top priority in the House. “This bill will bolster security at many of our nation’s airports and help us better protect the flying public,” said Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida, the top Democrat on the committee.

Provisions in the bill will:

• Force airlines to refund bag fees automatically if luggage is delayed 12 hours after a domestic flight or 15 hours after an international flight. Airlines charged $3.8 billion in bag fees last year. But only about three passengers out of 1,000 complain about mishandled bags, and airlines said they already have policies to reimburse passengers for lost bags.

• Double the Transportation Security Administration teams that patrol airports outside checkpoints, such as in arrival halls or baggage claim, often with bomb-sniffing dogs to discourage attacks like those in Brussels and Istanbul. If Congress later provides funding, TSA could boost the number of Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response (VIPR) teams from 30 to 60 through 2018.

• Toughen eligibility standards for airport workers who have access to secure areas and conduct more random screening of workers for their credentials and possible weapons. The goal is to thwart workers from smuggling guns or a bomb onto a plane as is suspected in the destruction of a Russian Metrojet in Egypt in October.

• Encourage TSA to explore different vetting options to sign up travelers for Precheck, which allows expedited screening for travelers who get background checks and pay an $85 fee for five years. The bill also calls on TSA to keep Precheck lines open during peak travel times after complaints of long lines this spring.

• Raise the FAA’s civil fine for pointing a laser at an airliner from $11,000 to $25,000, with quarterly reports to Congress about the number of incidents and enforcement actions taken. More than 7,347 laser strikes on aircraft were reported to the FAA last year, nearly double the total from the year before.

"In the face of international terrorism, it's critical that we make every effort to secure our airports, train stations, and bus depots — the places Americans rely on to go about their daily lives," said Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., one of the sponsors of the VIPR provision.

^ I like the provision to force airlines to refund the bag fees when they get lost as well as adding more TSA and tightening control over airport employees. Hopefully, this will pass and go into effect. ^


http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2016/07/13/senate-sends-obama-bill-toughening-airport-security/87027634/