Fast Redress Act of 2009

Floor Speech

Fast Redress Act of 2009 -- (House of Representatives - February 3, 2009)

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 559) to amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish an appeal and redress process for individuals wrongly delayed or prohibited from boarding a flight, or denied a right, benefit, or privilege, and for other purposes.

The Clerk read the title of the bill.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and to insert extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Mississippi?

There was no objection.

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this bill, and I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

H.R. 559, the Fair, Accurate, Secure, and Timely Redress Act--or the FAST Redress Act--was first introduced by Representative Clarke in the last Congress. Ms. Clarke is to be commended for her effort in steering this legislation through the House in a cooperative, bipartisan way.

H.R. 559 was marked up and was approved on a bipartisan basis by the Committee's Transportation Security and Infrastructure Protection Subcommittee in the last Congress. Last June, the bill was unanimously passed by the House, but unfortunately, it was not signed into law. With our new President, I believe this bill will soon become law.

Everyone complains about the lack of sanity in the watch list process, but few have dared to wade into all the ins and outs of the system. Representative Clarke has done just that, and this legislation is the product of her thoughtful undertaking.

As you know, Mr. Speaker, this issue is of great concern to me as well. We must have prudent security policies, and these policies must ensure that people are not improperly identified as potential terrorists or are on any watch list or database. This bill promotes security while also protecting civil liberties. President Obama's swearing-in began a new era in our homeland and national security policies, and smart legislation, like these measures before us today, will be well served by our new leadership.

Certainly, the practice of watch-listing individuals plays an important role in identifying possible terror suspects. It is important to keep in mind that the watch list is only as good as the information on it. Without accurate, complete and reliable information, the purpose of a watch list is frustrated, and the database becomes unreliable.

Fixing the watch list and reducing misidentifications is a particularly difficult challenge. To meet this challenge, all of the intelligence and law enforcement components that populate the list need to come together and need to agree to clean it up. Unfortunately, this has not happened.

Since February 2007, over 32,000 Americans have sought redress through the DHS Traveler and Redress Inquiry Program, also known as DHS TRIP. Each individual voluntarily provides personal information to establish his or her identity. When there is a determination that this person is not a threat, his name is placed on a cleared list that is maintained by the Transportation Security Administration. This cleared list is populated with names of individuals who have the same or similar names as someone on the no fly or selectee list, but they have proven that they are not the people on the list. The cleared list is then only shared with the airlines for screening purposes, not with all other agencies that use the watch list.

Under H.R. 559, the updated information would be shared throughout DHS and with other Federal agencies that use the terrorist watch list or database. This would ensure that individuals who are cleared under the redress process are not stopped as potential terrorists by other Federal agencies.

Specifically, H.R. 559 requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish the Office of Appeals and Redress to provide a timely and fair redress process. The Office of Appeals and Redress is directed to maintain a comprehensive cleared list that contains the names of individuals who have been misidentified and who have corrected erroneous information. The comprehensive cleared list would be made available to those who would use the terrorist watch list or database to resolve misidentification.

The bill directs TSA, CBP, the Coast Guard, and other DHS components to reference the Comprehensive Cleared List when assessing the security risk of an individual. This will ensure that individuals, such as our esteemed colleague from Georgia, Congressman John Lewis, will not be repeatedly stopped or delayed or will not have to seek redress from different components in the same Federal agency. Importantly, the measure includes protections to ensure that personally identifiable information is handled in accordance with privacy laws. Once enacted, individuals who go through the trouble of clearing their names will not have to repeat the exercise again and again.

With the inauguration of President Obama, America enters a new chapter, and this bill moves our security policies forward in a manner that protects our homeland and our civil liberties.

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of every John Lewis and others who are frequently misidentified on the watch list, I urge swift passage of this bill.

I reserve the balance of my time.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source