,i #aacth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #dhjc ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,june #e1 #bjad ,mr4 ,sanford 7for himself and ,mr4 ,hudson7 7all by request73 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,homeland ,security ,a ,,bill ,to require the ,transportation ,security ,administration to conform to existing ,federal law and regulations regarding criminal investigator positions1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,,tsa ,office of ,inspection ,accountability ,act of #bjad4 #b4 ,findings ,congress makes the following findings3 7#a7 ,consistent with ,federal law and regulations1 for law enforcement officers to qualify for premium pay as criminal investigators1 the officers must1 in general1 spend on average at least #ej percent of their time investigating1 apprehending1 or detaining individuals suspected or convicted of offenses against the criminal laws of the ,united ,states4 7#b7 ,according to the ,inspector ,general of the ,department of ,homeland ,security 7,,dhs ,,ig71 the ,transportation ,security ,administration 7,,tsa7 does not ensure that its cadre of criminal investigators in the ,office of ,inspection are meeting this requirement1 even though they are considered law enforcement officers under ,,tsa policy and receive premium pay4 7#c7 ,instead1 ,,tsa criminal investigators in the ,office of ,inspection primarily monitor the results of criminal investigations conducted by other agencies1 investigate administrative cases of ,,tsa employee misconduct1 and carry out inspections1 covert tests1 and internal reviews1 which the ,,dhs ,,ig asserts could be performed by employees other than criminal investigators at a lower cost4 7#d7 ,the premium pay and other benefits afforded to ,,tsa criminal investigators in the ,office of ,inspection who are incorrectly classified as such will cost the taxpayer as much as #ag1jjj1jjj over #e years if ,,tsa fails to make any changes to the number of criminal investigators in the ,office of ,inspection1 according to the ,,dhs ,,ig4 7#e7 ,this may be a conservative estimate1 as it accounts for the cost of ,law ,enforcement ,availability ,pay1 but not the costs of law enforcement training1 statutory early retirement benefits1 police vehicles1 and weapons4 #c4 ,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7 ,administration ,the term ,administration means the ,transportation ,security ,administration4 7#b7 ,assistant secretary ,the term ,assistant ,secretary means the ,assistant ,secretary of ,homeland ,security 7,transportation ,security7 of the ,department of ,homeland ,security4 7#c7 ,inspector general ,the term ,inspector ,general means the ,inspector ,general of the ,department of ,homeland ,security #d4 ,inspector general review 7a7 ,review ,not later than #fj days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,inspector ,general shall analyze the data and methods that the ,assistant ,secretary uses to identify employees of the ,administration who meet the requirements of sections #hcca7bj71 #hdja7ag7 and #eede;a of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code1 and provide the relevant findings to the ,assistant ,secretary1 including a finding on whether the data and methods are adequate and valid4 7b7 ,prohibition on hiring ,if the ,inspector ,general finds that such data and methods are inadequate or invalid1 the ,administration may not hire any new employee to work in the ,office of ,inspection of the ,administration until-- 7#a7 the ,assistant ,secretary makes a certification described in section #e to the ,committee on ,homeland ,security of the ,house of ,representatives and the ,committee on ,commerce1 ,science1 and ,transportation of the ,senate2 and 7#b7 the ,inspector ,general submits to such ,committees a finding1 not later than #cj days after the ,assistant ,secretary makes such certification1 that the ,assistant ,secretary utilized adequate and valid data and methods to make such certification4 #e4 ,,tsa ,office of ,inspection ,workforce ,certification 7a7 ,certification to congress ,the ,assistant ,secretary shall1 by not later than #ij days after the date the ,inspector ,general provides its findings to the ,assistant ,secretary under section #d7;a71 document and certify in writing to the ,committee on ,homeland ,security of the ,house of ,representatives and the ,committee on ,commerce1 ,science1 and ,transportation of the ,senate that only those employees of the ,administration who meet the requirements of sections #hcca7bj71 #hdja7ag71 and #eede;a of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code1 are classified as criminal investigators and are receiving premium pay and other benefits associated with such classification4 7b7 ,employee reclassification ,the ,assistant ,secretary shall reclassify criminal investigator positions in the ,office of ,inspection as noncriminal investigator positions or non-law enforcement positions if the individuals in those positions do not1 or are not expected to1 spend an average of at least #ej percent of their time performing criminal investigative duties4 7c7 ,projected cost savings 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,assistant ,secretary shall estimate the total long-term cost savings to the ,federal ,government resulting from the implementation of subsection 7b71 and provide such estimate to the ,committee on ,homeland ,security of the ,house of ,representatives and the ,committee on ,commerce1 ,science1 and ,transportation of the ,senate by not later than #ahj days after the date of enactment of this ,act4 7#b7 ,contents ,such estimate shall identify savings associated with the positions reclassified under subsection 7b7 and include1 among other factors the ,assistant ,secretary considers appropriate1 savings from-- 7,a7 law enforcement training2 7,b7 early retirement benefits2 7,c7 law enforcement availability pay2 and 7,d7 weapons1 vehicles1 and communications devices4