U.S. House Passes New Family-Focused TSA Screening bills
by Daine Taylor /
The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed two bipartisan bills that would serve to make the TSA screening process easier and more efficient for traveling families.
The Traveling Parents Screening Consistency Act of 2019, H.R. 3246, was introduced in June, and would require a Government Accountability Office (GAO) review of certain TSA screening protocols.
The objective of this new bill includes making sure the TSA is consistent when it comes to handling formula, breast milk, and purified water or juice for children and infants, evaluating whether the TSA needs to update and revise their procedures for screening, and ensuring the TSA is effectively tracing passenger complaints related to the screenings, as well as communicating to passengers and airports on their screening procedures.
“Our TSA officers deserve thorough training so they can conduct these screening processes in a manner that is respectful and helps improve the overall functioning of the passenger screening checkpoint,” said U.S. Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE), who cosponsored the new bills.
The second piece of legislation is called the Helping Families Fly Act of 2019, which was introduced by Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-Ariz.). This bill would require the TSA to implement training for frontline administration personnel regarding the screening process for pregnant women and families with young children at passenger screening checkpoints.
“Families deserve peace of mind knowing that the nutrition they are bringing on a plane for their young children will be fairly, correctly and accurately screened,” said Bacon. “There have been many reports of families having breast milk, purified deionized water, and juice being confiscated, so we must look at the effectiveness of the screening process and ask the GAO to make any recommendations on needed changes.”
Both bills were approved by the House, and will advance to the U.S. Senate.