Hudson Introduces Bill to Enhance Airport Security Measures

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 10, 2014

Hudson Introduces Bill to Enhance Airport Security Measures

WASHINGTON, DC - Today, U.S. Representative Richard Hudson (NC-08), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Transportation Security, released the following statement after introducing H.R. 4802, the Gerardo Hernandez Airport Security Act of 2014, which addresses the lessons learned from last year’s shooting at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) that tragically claimed the life of Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Officer Gerardo Hernandez. This bill would require TSA to conduct outreach to domestic airports to verify that they have working plans for responding to similar security incidents or acts of terrorism inside the perimeter of the airport:

“What happened at LAX last year was a senseless tragedy. I commend TSA Administrator Pistole for the swift actions he took in the wake of the shooting to review what happened, confer with critical stakeholders, and implement immediate changes. Unfortunately, we know similar events could happen again at any time, creating chaos and causing significant destruction in one of our airports.

“This bill would build upon Mr. Pistole’s efforts and require TSA to assess the preparedness levels at our commercial airports and continue working with stakeholders to improve coordination and communication to protect the traveling public.”

H.R. 4802 aims to ensure that domestic airports are properly prepared and equipped to respond to security incidents and terrorist attacks. In addition, the bill would require TSA to report to Congress on the overall level of preparedness at airports nationwide, identify best practices that exist across airports and share them with other airport operators. Finally, the bill would require TSA report to Congress on the status of (1) active-shooter training for screening personnel, and (2) law enforcement reimbursable agreements that are used to offset the costs of security at the screening checkpoints.

In March, Rep. Hudson and Homeland Security Chairman Michael McCaul (TX-10) held a field hearing at LAX to review the findings of various assessments of the tragedy with TSA Administrator Pistole and local law enforcement and discuss potential changes to emergency response protocols at airports nationwide. Last month, the Subcommittee on Transportation Security held a follow-up hearing on Capitol Hill to determine what lessons can be applied to better protect airports from active shooters.

Rep. Richard Hudson has a new bill to address several things that came to light after the fatal shooting of TSA employee Gerardo Hernandez at LAX last year. The measure would call on the TSA to reach out to airports to make sure they have terrorism reaction plans and then report to Congress on “the overall level of preparedness at airports nationwide” and training to deal with active-shooter situations. Hudson will say in a statement today that the bill “builds upon” what TSA head John Pistole has already done but notes that “similar events could happen again at any time, creating chaos and causing significant destruction in one of our airports.” Text of an early version of the bill: http://politico.pro/1ihJdiQ

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