49 USC 44912 - Research and development

View all text of Subchapter I [§ 44901 - § 44929]

§ 44912. Research and development

(a)Program Requirement.—

(1) The Administrator shall establish and carry out a program to accelerate and expand the research, development, and implementation of technologies and procedures to counteract terrorist acts against civil aviation. The program shall provide for developing and having in place new equipment and procedures necessary to meet the technological challenges presented by terrorism. The program shall include research on, and development of, technological improvements and ways to enhance human performance.

(2) In designing and carrying out the program established under this subsection, the Administrator shall—

(A) consult and coordinate activities with other departments, agencies, and instrumentalities of the United States Government doing similar research;

(B) identify departments, agencies, and instrumentalities that would benefit from that research; and

(3) In carrying out the program established under this subsection, the Administrator shall review and consider the annual reports the Secretary of Transportation submits to Congress on transportation security and intelligence.

(4)

(A) In carrying out the program established under this subsection, the Administrator shall designate an individual to be responsible for engineering, research, and development with respect to security technology under the program.

(B) The individual designated under subparagraph (A) shall use appropriate systems engineering and risk management models in making decisions regarding the allocation of funds for engineering, research, and development with respect to security technology under the program.

(C) The individual designated under subparagraph (A) shall, on an annual basis, submit to the Administrator a report on activities under this paragraph during the preceding year. Each report shall include, for the year covered by such report, information on—

(i) progress made in engineering, research, and development with respect to security technology;

(ii) the allocation of funds for engineering, research, and development with respect to security technology; and

(iii) engineering, research, and development with respect to any technologies drawn from other agencies, including the rationale for engineering, research, and development with respect to such technologies.

(5) The Administrator may—

(A) make grants to institutions of higher learning and other appropriate research facilities with demonstrated ability to carry out research described in paragraph (1) of this subsection, and fix the amounts and terms of the grants; and

(B) make cooperative agreements with governmental authorities the Administrator decides are appropriate.

(b)Review of Threats.—

(1) The Administrator shall periodically review threats to civil aviation, with particular focus on—

(A) a comprehensive systems analysis (employing vulnerability analysis, threat attribute definition, and technology roadmaps) of the civil aviation system, including—

(i) the destruction, commandeering, or diversion of civil aircraft or the use of civil aircraft as a weapon; and

(ii) the disruption of civil aviation service, including by cyber attack;

(B) explosive material that presents the most significant threat to civil aircraft;

(C) the minimum amounts, configurations, and types of explosive material that can cause, or would reasonably be expected to cause, catastrophic damage to aircraft in air transportation;

(D) the amounts, configurations, and types of explosive material that can be detected reliably by existing, or reasonably anticipated, near-term explosive detection technologies;

(E) the potential release of chemical, biological, or similar weapons or devices either within an aircraft or within an airport;

(F) the feasibility of using various ways to minimize damage caused by explosive material that cannot be detected reliably by existing, or reasonably anticipated, near-term explosive detection technologies;

(G) the ability to screen passengers, carry-on baggage, checked baggage, and cargo; and

(H) the technologies that might be used in the future to attempt to destroy or otherwise threaten commercial aircraft and the way in which those technologies can be countered effectively.

(2) The Administrator shall use the results of the review under this subsection to develop the focus and priorities of the program established under subsection (a) of this section.

(c)Scientific Advisory Panel.—

(1) The Administrator shall establish a scientific advisory panel to review, comment on, advise the progress of, and recommend modifications in, the program established under subsection (a) of this section, including the need for long-range research programs to detect and prevent catastrophic damage to commercial aircraft, commercial aviation facilities, commercial aviation personnel and passengers, and other components of the commercial aviation system by the next generation of terrorist weapons.

(2)

(A) The advisory panel shall consist of individuals who have scientific and technical expertise in—

(i) the development and testing of effective explosive detection systems;

(ii) aircraft structure and experimentation to decide on the type and minimum weights of explosives that an effective explosive detection technology must be capable of detecting;

(iii) technologies involved in minimizing airframe damage to aircraft from explosives; and

(iv) other scientific and technical areas the Administrator considers appropriate.

(B) In appointing individuals to the advisory panel, the Administrator should consider individuals from academia and the national laboratories, as appropriate.

(3) The Administrator shall organize the advisory panel into teams capable of undertaking the review of policies and technologies upon request.

(4) Biennially, the Administrator shall review the composition of the advisory panel in order to ensure that the expertise of the individuals on the panel is suited to the current and anticipated duties of the panel.

(d)Security and Research and Development Activities.—

(1)In general.—The Administrator shall conduct research (including behavioral research) and development activities appropriate to develop, modify, test, and evaluate a system, procedure, facility, or device to protect passengers and property against acts of criminal violence, aircraft piracy, and terrorism and to ensure security.

(2)Disclosure.—

(A)In general.—Notwithstanding section 552 of title 5, the Administrator shall prescribe regulations prohibiting disclosure of information obtained or developed in ensuring security under this title if the Secretary of Homeland Security decides disclosing the information would—

(i) be an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy;

(ii) reveal a trade secret or privileged or confidential commercial or financial information; or

(iii) be detrimental to transportation safety.

(B)Information to congress.—Subparagraph (A) does not authorize information to be withheld from a committee of Congress authorized to have the information.

(C)Rule of construction.—Nothing in subparagraph (A) shall be construed to authorize the designation of information as sensitive security information (as defined in section 15.5 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations)—

(i) to conceal a violation of law, inefficiency, or administrative error;

(ii) to prevent embarrassment to a person, organization, or agency;

(iii) to restrain competition; or

(iv) to prevent or delay the release of information that does not require protection in the interest of transportation security, including basic scientific research information not clearly related to transportation security.

(D)Privacy act.—

(3)Transfers of duties and powers prohibited.—Except as otherwise provided by law, the Administrator may not transfer a duty or power under this section to another department, agency, or instrumentality of the United States Government.

(e)Definition of Administrator.—In this section, the term “Administrator” means the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration.

(Pub. L. 103–272, § 1(e), July 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 1212; Pub. L. 107–71, title I, §§ 101(f)(7), (9), 112, Nov. 19, 2001, 115 Stat. 603, 620; Pub. L. 115–254, div. K, title I, § 1991(d)(10), Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3633.)