,i #aafth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #fahf ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,march #aj1 #bjbj,mr4 ,weber of ,texas introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on the ,judiciary ,a ,,bill ,to facilitate screening and criminal history background checks for individuals seeking access to qualified chemical and refining infrastructure entities1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,expedient ,workforce ,screening ,act of #bjbj4 #b4 ,purpose2 findings 7a7 ,purpose ,the purpose of this ,act is to facilitate screening for individuals seeking access to qualified chemical and refining infrastructure entities in a manner that promotes public safety while protecting the interests of both individuals and qualified entities4 7b7 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,federal ,criminal ,history ,record ,information 7,,chri7 is an essential and widely accepted resource for background screening4 7#b7 ,the ,federal ,bureau of ,investigation's 7,,fbi7 existing ,,chri system1 the ,interstate ,identification ,index 7,,iii71 including the ,national ,fingerprint ,file 7,,nff71 is a partnership between the ,states and the ,,fbi4 ,it is the primary means for accessing and communicating ,,chri for criminal justice and certain critical noncriminal justice purposes4 7#c7 ,the existing ,,chri system is built on information maintained by the ,states4 ,,chri available from the ,states represents #ie percent of the ,,chri available for background check decisions4 7#d7 ,today1 access to a national criminal history background check through the ,,fbi is dependent on a patchwork of legal authorizations1 resulting in ongoing requests for new ,federal or ,state authorizing legislation by private sector entities that do not currently have a means of access4 7#e7 ,an enhanced system for facilitating chemical and refining infrastructure access to ,,chri for venue access should rely upon a user-fee-funded mechanism through which qualified chemical and refining infrastructure entities nationwide can obtain fingerprint-based positive identification and national criminal history background checks from the ,,fbi4 7#f7 ,qualified chemical and refining infrastructure entities should be free to use either a national criminal history background check through the ,,fbi or a court-sourced history record information through a check using name and other identifiers1 fingerprints1 or a combination of both4 7#g7 ,any national system for qualified chemical and refining infrastructure noncriminal justice background checks must adhere to high standards for privacy and security1 including mechanisms for those seeking access to challenge accuracy and completeness of the information reported about them4 7#h7 ,the national criminal history background check system should leverage the most recent technological advances to obtain high speed responses1 as well as enhance accuracy and completeness4 7#i7 ,the national criminal history background check system does not alter the ,department of ,homeland ,security's responsibilities under the ,chemical ,facility ,anti-,terrorism ,act and the performance standards for high risk chemical facilities4 #c4 ,national ,criminal ,history ,background ,check ,program 7a7 ,establishment of the program ,the ,attorney ,general1 acting through the ,director of the ,,fbi1 shall establish and implement a program to be known as the ,national ,criminal ,history ,chemical and ,refining ,background ,check ,program 7referred to in this ,act as the ,program7 to permit qualified entities to request national criminal history background checks for the purpose of obtaining identification authentication and criminal history background check information of individuals seeking access to a qualified entity4 7b7 ,request system ,the ,program shall include a system through which a qualified entity may request a national criminal history background check directly through the ,,fbi1 which system shall be fingerprint-supported and maintain appropriate privacy protections4 7c7 ,role of qualified educational entities ,the ,program shall include a process through which a qualified educational entity may assist in-- 7#a7 identification authentication of individuals seeking access to a qualified entity and may obtain access to the personally identifiable information of such individuals2 and 7#b7 setting criminal history record information standards for access to qualified entities4 7d7 ,response time ,to the extent practicable1 the ,,fbi shall respond to a request received under the national criminal history background check program under this section not later than two business days after receipt of such request4 7e7 ,fees ,the ,attorney ,general may charge a fee for conducting a national criminal history background check under this section1 except that the amount of such fee may not exceed the actual cost of the background check4 ,for purposes of calculating the actual cost of the background check1 the ,attorney ,general shall include the cost of building1 maintaining1 and enhancing an appropriate ,federal and ,state infrastructure for the national criminal history background check system1 technology costs1 staffing costs1 and administrative costs based on the sum of both ,state-by-,state and ,federal costs1 and shall review the amount of the fee no less frequently than every two years4 #d4 ,rules of construction ,nothing in this ,act may be construed to-- 7#a7 impose a requirement on a qualified entity1 a consumer reporting agency1 or a ,state1 to participate in the ,program2 and 7#b7 limit the authority under any other ,federal or ,state law for a qualified entity1 a consumer reporting agency1 or an authorized agency to request or provide criminal history background checks that are independent from the ,program4 #e4 ,report ,not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,attorney ,general shall submit to ,congress a report on the ,program1 including any recommendations for improvements to the ,program4 #f4 ,definitions ,in this ,act1 the following definitions apply3 7#a7 ,authorized agency ,the term authorized agency means a division or office of a ,state designated by a ,state to collect1 maintain1 and disseminate criminal history record information under this ,act4 7#b7 ,qualified entity ,the term qualified entity means an entity that-- 7,a7 provides natural gas or petroleum chemical manufacturing or refining-related services1 including connecting terminals and pipelines1 whether or not regulated under the national critical infrastructure under the ,chemical ,facility ,anti-,terrorism ,standards ,program under title ,,xxi of the ,homeland ,security ,act of #bjjb 7#f ,u4,s4,c4 #fba et seq471 or the ,maritime ,transportation ,security ,act of #bjjb 7,public ,law #ajg-bie2 #aaf ,stat4 #bjfd72 and 7,b7 is approved by the ,,fbi to request1 directly or through a consumer reporting agency1 to obtain a fingerprint-supported national criminal history background check for chemical or refining infrastructure access4 7#c7 ,qualified educational entity 4 ,the term qualified educational entity means school or industrial safety training facility that is-- 7,a7 described in section #eja7;c77#c7 of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf2 7,b7 ,american owned2 and 7,c7 recognized by the ,attorney ,general to provide assistance to qualified entities under section #c4 7#d7 ,consumer reporting agency ,the term consumer reporting agency has the meaning given that term under section #fjc7a7 of the ,fair ,credit ,reporting ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #afhla7,j774 7#e7 ,criminal history record information ,the term criminal history record information means information collected by criminal justice agencies on individuals1 consisting of identifiable descriptions and notations of arrests1 detentions1 indictments1 infractions1 or other informal criminal charges1 and any disposition arising therefrom1 including acquittal1 sentencing1 correctional supervision1 and release4 ,the term does not include identification information1 such as fingerprints1 if such information does not indicate the individual's involvement with the criminal justice system4