Sponsors (2)
The bill secures and standardizes free TSA PreCheck for federal law-enforcement officers and their young children—making travel easier for that group—but creates a preferential benefit that may be perceived as unfair and will impose modest administrative costs on TSA.
Federal law enforcement officers and their children under 12 will receive free TSA PreCheck, reducing wait times and travel hassle for those families.
Federal entitlement to free PreCheck for qualifying officers is made statutory, which standardizes and stabilizes access across agencies instead of leaving it to variable agency discretion.
Many other travelers and taxpayers may view this as a preferential benefit for a specific employee group, raising perceptions of unfairness among people who must pay PreCheck fees.
TSA may face increased administrative burden to implement and verify eligibility for the statutory benefit, potentially diverting resources from other security tasks.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Grants fee-free TSA PreCheck eligibility to federal law enforcement officers and their accompanying children under 12, subject to TSA procedures.
Official title: To amend title 49, United States Code, to provide eligibility for Federal law enforcement officers for certain expedited security screening, and for other purposes.
Introduced May 15, 2026 by John Henry Rutherford · Last progress May 15, 2026
Allows federal law enforcement officers and their accompanying family members under age 12 to use expedited TSA PreCheck screening at no cost, subject to Transportation Security Administration (TSA) policies. The change adds a statutory entitlement to existing aviation security law and directs the TSA Administrator to set procedures for how the benefit is provided. The amendment defines covered officers by reference to an existing federal definition of "Federal law enforcement officer" and updates cross‑references in the statute. It does not appropriate funds or specify implementation dates in the text provided.