The U.S. House of Representatives advanced Monday two bipartisan transportation bills, both seeking to improve the security of U.S. transportation systems.
The first bill, the Surface Transportation and Technology Accountability Act, will create better strategies for the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) long-term acquisition processes.
To do this, it will establish a Surface Transportation Security Advisory Committee comprised of surface transportation stakeholders.
The second bill, the Transportation Security Technology Innovation Reform Act, codifies the TSA’s Systems Integration Facility. There is a large backlog of untested technologies, and the facility would test and evaluate advanced transportation security screening technologies.
The bill encourages collaboration between the TSA and industry.
“As Chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee’s Transportation & Protective Security Subcommittee, I’ve worked to enhance accountability and transparency within the Transportation Security Administration so that this agency is able to adapt and address evolving threats,” Rep. John Katko (R-NY), who sponsored the bills, said. “The bipartisan measures passed by the House today work towards these goals and will help ensure our country’s transportation systems are safer and modernized to function in the present threat landscape.”
The House also advanced the Securing Public Areas of Transportation Facilities Act of 2018, sponsored by Donald Payne Jr. (D-NJ). The bill is aimed at improving the security of transportation facilities’ public areas.