TSA REQUESTS PUBLIC COMMENT ON NEW INFORMATION COLLECTION REQUEST
March 13, 2015
Under the Secure Flight Program, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) collects information from carriers which aids in identifying passengers who may be a lower risk to transportation security and therefore may be eligible for expedited screening. By law, TSA is required to collect public comment on its information collection proposal. TSA is requesting comments in order to (1) Evaluate whether the proposed information collection is necessary for TSA to perform its functions; (2) Evaluate the accuracy of TSA’s estimate of the reporting burden; (3) Improve the quality, utility and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) Minimize the burden of the information collection on those who respond using technological collection techniques.
Below is the information that TSA is collecting:
- Secure Flight Passenger Data for passengers of covered domestic and international flights within, to, from, or over the continental United States.
- Secure Flight Passenger Data for passengers of charter operators and lessors of aircraft with a maximum takeoff weight of over 12,500 pounds.
- Certain identifying information for non-traveling individuals that U.S. airport operators or points of contact (POCs) seek in order to authorize entry into a sterile area (for example, to patronize a restaurant, to escort a minor or a passenger with disabilities or for another approved purpose).
- Computer-Assisted Passenger Prescreening Systems (CAPPS) risk assessments. The assessments are generated by analyzing the underlying passenger and other prescreening data obtained by the aircraft operator when the passenger makes his or her reservation. TSA’s Secure Flight receives only the assessment generated from the applicable data and NOT the underlying data.
- Frequent Flier Code Words generated by aircraft operator to validate that a passenger is a Frequent Flier program member who may be eligible for expedited screening.
- Contact information or the data format/mechanism the aircraft operator uses to transmit Secure Flight Passenger Data.
Comments are due by April 6, 2015. Please let us know if you would like assistance in submitting a comment.
If you have any questions, please contact Evelyn Sahr (esahr@eckertseamans.com, 202-659-6622) or Drew Derco (dderco@eckertseamans.com, 202-659-6665).
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TSA PRECHECK PROGRAM SOLICITS PROPOSALS AND UNDERGOES GAO AUDIT
March 9, 2015
In December 2014, TSA announced that it will be soliciting proposals from the private sector to increase enrollment in its PreCheck program. TSA is seeking proposals to enroll and pre-screen applicants. TSA is specifically interested in proposals that would include options to collect fingerprints or iris scans to validate identity, and to perform a criminal history records check. The solicitation was originally posted on December 22, 2014, but due to an error, the solicitation was removed on February 6, 2015 and will be reposted once the issue is corrected.
In addition, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released an audit report in December 2014 evaluating how TSA has expanded expedited screening. In assessing whether a passenger is eligible for expedited screening, TSA currently looks at (1) whether passenger is included on an approved TSA PreCheck list of known travelers; (2) results from the automated risk assessments of all passengers; and (3) threat assessments of passengers conducted at airport checkpoints known as Managed Inclusion. GAO cited concerns that TSA’s use of Managed Inclusion (which uses different layers of security, including procedures that randomly select passengers for expedited screenings) had flaws and recommended that TSA take actions to strengthen the process by testing it and ensuring that it adheres to established evaluation design practices, among other things. In response to the report, several Congressmen cited concerns that Managed Inclusion was putting the aviation system at risk because behavioral indicators can often not be used to identify persons who may pose a threat to aviation security. TSA concurred with GAO’s recommendations.
If you have any questions, please contact Evelyn Sahr (esahr@eckertseamans.com, 202-659-6622) or Drew Derco (dderco@eckertseamans.com, 202-659-6665).