,,ib ,union ,calendar ,no4 #cga #aaeth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #defa ,report ,no4 #aae-dih ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,december #f1 #bjag ,mr4 ,bilirakis 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,mc,caul1 ,mr4 ,katko1 and ,mr4 ,dunn7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,homeland ,security ,january #i1 #bjah ,reported with an amendment1 committed to the ,committee of the ,whole ,house on the ,state of the ,union1 and ordered to be printed ,strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic ,for text of introduced bill1 see copy of bill as introduced on ,december #f1 #bjag ,a ,,bill ,to provide for third party testing of transportation security screening technology1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,security ,assessment ,feasibility for ,equipment ,testing and ,evaluation of ,capabilities for our ,homeland ,act or the ,,safe ,,tech ,act 4 #b4 ,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7 ,administration ,the term ,administration means the ,transportation ,security ,administration4 7#b7 ,administrator ,the term ,administrator means the ,administrator of the ,transportation ,security ,administration4 #c4 ,third party testing of security screening technology 7a7 ,in general ,not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,administrator1 in consultation with the ,under ,secretary for ,science and ,technology of the ,department of ,homeland ,security1 shall develop a program to enable a vendor of transportation security screening technology to obtain testing1 including as an alternative to the ,administration's testing process under paragraph 7#i7 of section #aad7;f7 of title #di1 ,united ,states ,code1 by an appropriate third party1 as determined by the ,administrator1 in consultation with the ,under ,secretary1 of such technology before procurement or development of such technology4 7b7 ,detection testing 7#a7 ,in general ,the third party testing program authorized under subsection 7a7 shall include detection testing to evaluate the performance of a security screening technology relating to the probability of detection1 the probability of false alarm1 and other indicators that such technology is able to meet the ,administration's mission needs for detection of-- 7,a7 explosives2 and 7,b7 prohibited items4 7#b7 ,coordination with final processes ,to the extent practicable1 and without compromising the integrity of the ,administration's testing process under paragraph 7#i7 of section #aad7;f7 of title #di1 ,united ,states ,code1 or the ,department of ,homeland ,security's oversight of such testing process1 or increasing costs to the ,administration1 the ,administrator shall coordinate the third party detection testing under paragraph 7#a7 with any associated subsequent final ,department of ,homeland ,security testing4 7#c7 ,international partnerships ,to the extent practicable and permissible under law1 and in accordance with national security interests of the ,united ,states1 the ,administrator shall-- 7,a7 share with appropriate international partners detection testing information and standards2 and 7,b7 coordinate with such appropriate international partners to align such testing information and standards to maximize the capability to detect explosives and other threats4 7c7 ,alternative testing factors ,third party testing under subsection 7a7 may include as an alternative1 at the discretion of the ,administrator1 the testing at the ,,tsa ,systems ,integration ,facility of the ,administration1 including testing for-- 7#a7 health and safety factors2 7#b7 operator interface2 7#c7 human factors2 7#d7 environmental factors2 7#e7 throughput2 7#f7 reliability1 maintainability1 and availability factors2 and 7#g7 interoperability4 7d7 ,testing framework ,the ,administrator1 in consultation with the ,under ,secretary for ,science and ,technology of the ,department of ,homeland ,security1 shall-- 7#a7 establish a framework for the third party testing under this section to determine if the security screening technology that is the subject of such testing satisfies the ,administration's requirements before such technology may enter or re-enter1 as applicable1 operational testing at an airport or other transportation facility2 and 7#b7 use phased implementation to allow the ,administration and the third party concerned to establish best practices4 7e7 ,prioritization of third party testing ,the ,administrator may prioritize1 when appropriate1 the field testing of security screening technology and equipment by third parties4 7f7 ,eligible entities 7#a7 ,united ,states ownership ,an entity providing third party testing under the program developed pursuant to subsection 7a7 shall be owned and controlled by a citizen of the ,united ,states4 7#b7 ,waiver ,the ,administrator may waive the requirement specified in paragraph 7#a7 with respect to an entity that is a ,united ,states subsidiary of a parent company that has implemented a foreign ownership1 control1 or influence mitigation plan that has been approved by the ,defense ,security ,service of the ,department of ,defense prior to seeking to engage in third party testing4 ,the ,administrator has complete discretion to reject any proposal from a company to provide testing under subsection 7a7 that requires a waiver under this paragraph4 7#c7 ,conflicts of interest ,the ,administrator shall ensure1 to the extent possible1 that an entity providing third party testing under this section does not have a contractual1 business1 or other pecuniary interest 7exclusive of any such testing7 in-- 7,a7 the security screening technology subject to such testing2 or the 7,b7 vendor of such technology4 #d4 ,reciprocal recognition of security standards 7a7 ,in general ,the ,administrator1 in coordination with the ,european ,civil ,aviation ,conference1 shall continue development of a validation process for the reciprocal recognition of security validation processes for recognition of security screening technologies or certification authorities for deployment4 7b7 ,requirement ,the validation process under subsection 7a7 shall ensure that the certification process of each participating international security partner or recognized certification authority complies with ,administration standards4 #e4 ,,gao review ,not later than two years after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,comptroller ,general of the ,united ,states shall submit to the ,committee on ,homeland ,security of the ,house of ,representatives and the ,committee on ,commerce1 ,science1 and ,transportation of the ,senate a study on the third party testing program developed under this ,act4 ,such study shall include a review of the following3 7#a7 ,any efficiencies or gains in effectiveness achieved in the ,administration's operations as a result of such program4 7#b7 ,the degree to which the ,administration conducts timely and regular oversight of entities engaged in such testing4 7#c7 ,the effect of such program on the following3 7,a7 ,the introduction of innovative detection technologies into security screening operations4 7,b7 ,the availability of testing for technologies developed by small to medium sized businesses4 7,c7 ,any vulnerabilities associated with such program including with respect to the following3 7i7 ,national security4 7ii7 ,conflicts of interest between entities carrying out such testing and entities with such technologies to be tested4 7iii7 ,waste1 fraud and abuse4 ,january #i1 #bjah,reported with an amendment1 committed to the ,committee of the ,whole ,house on the ,state of the ,union1 and ordered to be printed