Sponsors (2)
The bill increases GAO oversight of TSA screening to reduce discriminatory and erroneous secondary screenings and improve passenger experience, at the cost of extra administrative burden on TSA and GAO and a risk that oversight could become politicized.
Passengers from racial/ethnic minorities, immigrants, and people with disabilities are more likely to have TSA screening practices reviewed and corrected, reducing discriminatory and biased secondary screenings.
Airline passengers generally will see operational fixes identified through annual GAO reviews, improving passenger experience and reducing erroneous or biased secondary screenings.
Congressional homeland security and commerce committees (and related oversight actors) will receive regular GAO information, enabling stronger oversight and accountability of TSA screening practices.
TSA staff and taxpayers could face additional administrative burdens to collect data and respond to oversight requests, increasing agency workload and potential costs.
Passengers and law enforcement may see delayed or limited improvements if GAO findings are politicized, producing partisan disputes rather than practical fixes to screening fairness.
GAO will need to allocate staff time and resources to conduct annual reviews, potentially diverting capacity from other oversight responsibilities.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires GAO to assess TSA passenger screening compliance with TSA non‑discrimination policies and report within 90 days and annually thereafter.
Official title: To require GAO to conduct annual assessments to determine the extent to which TSAs passenger security screening practices comply with TSA non-discrimination policies to identify any needed actions to improve compliance, and for other purposes.
Introduced April 30, 2026 by Shri Thanedar · Last progress April 30, 2026
Requires the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to assess whether TSA passenger security screening practices follow TSA non‑discrimination policies and to report findings and recommended actions to Congress. The GAO must deliver the first assessment within 90 days of enactment and then provide annual reports identifying steps needed to improve compliance.