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Section 233: Full and Open Competition in Security Background Screening Service
The International Biometric Industry Association (IBIA) is pleased to report that the House of Representatives passed H.R. 2200, The Transportation Security Administration Authorization Act, on June 4, 2009.
Included in the bill is Section 233: Full and Open Competition in Security Background Screening Service. This Section provides for full and open competition in background screening services, and it specifies that airports and airlines will no longer be required to use a single service provider for these services and …”may use the services of other providers approved by the Assistant Secretary” of TSA.
As the Committee states in its Report, Section 233 responds to the House Homeland Security Committee’s concern about “the lack of competition and transparency in the provision of security background screening services for persons requiring security background screening in the aviation industry.” The Committee explained that it intends for the section to ensure that the selection process for such security screening services is subject to full and open competition.
Section 233 means that airports and airlines, for the first time, will be able to choose their own service provider among qualified service providers, and that any company meeting TSA’s requirements will be able to compete to provide these services.
Under the current system, pursuant to a 2002 regulatory guidance and a recently-issued Security Directive, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) requires all airports and airlines to use and pay the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE) Transportation Security Clearinghouse (TSC).
The introduction of competition by Section 233, supported by many in the aviation sector, will not compromise security and will lead to better service at lower prices.
The background screening service is basically a message-routing function that involves transmitting (“channeling”) biometric and biographical data from airports and airlines to TSA. TSA forwards the fingerprints to the FBI for Criminal History Record Checks (CHRC) and TSA conducts a biographical-based Security Threat Assessments (STA).