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S. 4681

BillFederalSenateFloor Consideration
Enhanced Oversight and Accountability in Screening Act
About This Bill
Introduced
Latest Action · December 19, 2024
Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 738.
Congress
118th (2023–2025)
Introduced
July 11, 2024
Cosponsors (0)
None
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Summary

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This bill aims to make it easier and fairer for people who are mistakenly flagged as security threats by the Department of Homeland Security to challenge that status and get it corrected. It creates a new Screening and Watchlisting Advisory Committee, made up of DHS officials, other federal agency representatives, and outside experts from civil rights and privacy backgrounds, to review how screening, watchlisting, and redress programs work and recommend improvements. DHS must use this input to develop a formal plan within two years for improving its redress process, which handles complaints from travelers who are denied boarding, delayed at borders, or repeatedly searched. The bill also requires the Attorney General to submit annual reports to Congress on the government's terrorist watchlist, including how people get added or removed, and requires DHS to report yearly for the next decade on the effectiveness and civil rights impact of enhanced airport and border screening programs, including data on device searches and repeated screenings. Most of these reporting requirements and the advisory committee are set to continue through 2030, with public versions of reports made available online to increase transparency.

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