Review – HR 5109 Introduced – Felons and TWIC

Earlier this month, Rep Carter (D,LA) introduced HR 5109, a bill requiring TSA to “develop guidelines to improve returning [from incarceration] citizens’ access to the TWIC program.” No new funding is authorized by the bill. No new funding is authorized.

This bill is essentially identical to HR 7223 that was introduced by Carter in February 2024. No action was taken on that bill in the 118th Congress.

Moving Forward

Carter is a member of the House Homeland Security Committee to which this bill was assigned for consideration. This means that there may be sufficient influence to see this bill considered in Committee. I suspect that there will be some ‘soft on crime’ opposition to this bill from many Republicans. Whether it will be sufficient to derail this bill in committee is not clear. While I suspect that there would be some level of bipartisan support for the measure, I do not think that it would be enough to allow consideration under the suspension of the rules process which requires a super majority for passage.

For more information on the provisions of this bill, see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/hr-5109-introduced-felons-and-twic - subscription required -

Review - HR 7223 Introduced – Felons and TWIC

Last month, Rep Carter (D,LA) introduced HR 7223, a bill requiring TSA to “develop guidelines to improve returning [from incarceration] citizens’ access to the TWIC program.” No new funding is authorized by the bill.

Moving Forward

Carter, and all three of his cosponsors {Rep Higgins (R,LA), Rep Thompson (D,MS), and Rep Goldman (D,NY)} are members of the House Homeland Security Committee to which this bill was assigned for consideration. This means that there may be sufficient influence to see this bill considered in Committee. I suspect that there will be some ‘soft on crime’ opposition to this bill from some Republicans. Whether it will be sufficient to derail this bill in committee is not clear. While I suspect that there would be some level of bipartisan support for the measure, I am not sure if it would be enough to allow consideration under the suspension of the rules process which requires a super majority for passage.

Commentary

While there is apocryphal evidence that Islamic radicals, neo-Nazis and criminal gangs recruit in US prisons (all folks that we should probably be trying to exclude from the TWIC program), there is little hard evidence on the extent of such recruiting. Even so, it is probably true that prison authorities have a pretty good idea of which releasees are most likely to have been recruited. If that information were available to the TSA as part of their vetting process, the chance of large-scale infiltration of the port infrastructure via the TWIC process would be significantly reduced.

And let’s face it, folks getting out of prison that really want to turn their lives around need to be able to get a decent paying job quickly upon release. A TWIC card is pretty much a ticket to good jobs. The possession of a TWIC by a recently released felon will almost certainly be seen as a sign that someone thinks that that holder has demonstrated some sort of potential at rehabilitation.

 

For more information about the provisions of the bill, including a background look at crimes that are generally considered to prevent a TWIC approval and the waiver process that provides a way around that issue, see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/hr-7223-introduced - subscription required.

Bills Introduced – 2-5-24

Yesterday, with both the House and Senate in Washington, there were 36 bills introduce. Three of those bills may receive additional coverage in this blog:

HR 7223 To require the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration of the United States to develop guidelines to improve returning citizens' access to the Transportation Worker Identification Credential program, to assist individuals in custody of Federal, State, and local prisons in pre-applying or preparing applications for Transportation Worker Identification Credential cards, and to assist individuals requesting an appeal or waiver of preliminary determination of ineligibility, and for other purposes. Carter, Troy [Rep.-D-LA-2] 

HR 7237 To direct the Secretary of Transportation to establish a grant program to construct barriers near rail lines that are adjacent to a residential structure, and for other purposes. Norton, Eleanor Holmes [Del.-D-DC-At Large]

HR 7241 To amend the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to establish an emergency preparedness and response technical assistance program to assist entities that operate rural water or wastewater systems in preparing for and responding to natural or man-made disasters. Stauber, Pete [Rep.-R-MN-8]

I will be covering HR 7223. The perennial questions, does completion of a period of incarceration mean that the individual has adequately ‘paid’ for their crimes and should be encouraged and allowed to become a productive member of society? Lots of room for debate here. I do not expect to see that debate in the 118^th Congress.

I will be watching HR 7237 to see if these are derailment-protection barriers.

I will be watching HR 7241 for definitions or language that includes cybersecurity incidents within the scope of the proposed grant program.