49 U.S.C. § 44917: Deployment of Federal air marshals

may provide for deployment of Federal air marshals on every passenger flight of air carriers in air transportation or intrastate air transportation; shall provide for deployment of Federal air marshals on every such flight determined by the Administrator to present high security risks; shall provide for appropriate training, supervision, and equipment of Federal air marshals; shall require air carriers providing flights described in paragraph (1) to provide seating for a Federal air marshal on any such flight without regard to the availability of seats on the flight and at no cost to the United States Government or the marshal; may require air carriers to provide, on a space-available basis, to an off-duty Federal air marshal a seat on a flight to the airport nearest the marshal’s home at no cost to the marshal or the United States Government if the marshal is traveling to that airport after completing his or her security duties; may enter into agreements with Federal, State, and local agencies under which appropriately-trained law enforcement personnel from such agencies, when traveling on a flight of an air carrier, will carry a firearm and be prepared to assist Federal air marshals; shall establish procedures to ensure that Federal air marshals are made aware of any armed or unarmed law enforcement personnel on board an aircraft; an individual who is a retired law enforcement officer; an individual who is a retired member of the Armed Forces; and an individual who has been furloughed from an air carrier crew position in the 1-year period beginning on September 11, 2001 , shall require the Federal Air Marshal Service to utilize a risk-based strategy when allocating resources between international and domestic flight coverage, including when initially setting its annual target numbers of average daily international and domestic flights to cover; shall require the Federal Air Marshal Service to utilize a risk-based strategy to support domestic allocation decisions; shall require the Federal Air Marshal Service to utilize a risk-based strategy to support international allocation decisions; and shall ensure that the seating arrangements of Federal air marshals on aircraft are determined in a manner that is risk-based and most capable of responding to current threats to aviation security. Until the Under Secretary 1 completes implementation of subsection (a), the Under Secretary 1 So in original. Probably should be “Administrator”. 1 may use, after consultation with and concurrence of the heads of other Federal agencies and departments, personnel from those agencies and departments, on a nonreimbursable basis, to provide air marshal service. The Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration, after consultation with the Secretary of State, may direct the Federal Air Marshal Service to provide appropriate air marshal training to law enforcement personnel of foreign countries. The Federal Air Marshal Service may only provide appropriate air marshal training to law enforcement personnel of foreign countries after comparing the identifying information and records of law enforcement personnel of foreign countries against all appropriate records in the consolidated and integrated terrorist watchlists maintained by the Federal Government. The Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration shall establish reasonable fees and charges to pay expenses incurred in carrying out this subsection. Funds collected under this subsection shall be credited to the account in the Treasury from which the expenses were incurred and shall be available to the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration for purposes for which amounts in such account are available. Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act [ Oct. 5, 2018 ], the Administrator [of the Transportation Security Administration] shall develop a standard written agreement that shall be the basis of all negotiations and agreements that begin after the date of enactment of this Act between the United States and foreign governments or partners regarding the presence of Federal air marshals on flights to and from the United States, including deployment, technical assistance, and information sharing. Except as provided in paragraph (3), not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, all agreements between the United States and foreign governments or partners regarding the presence of Federal air marshals on flights to and from the United States shall be in writing and signed by the Administrator or other authorized United States Government representative. such mission is necessary for aviation security; and the requirements of paragraph (4)(B) are met. Not later than 30 days after the date that the Administrator enters into a written agreement under this section, the Administrator shall transmit to the appropriate committees of Congress [Committees on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives] a copy of the agreement. not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act, a list of each foreign government or partner that does not have a written agreement under this section, including an explanation for why no written agreement exists and a justification for the determination that such a mission is necessary for aviation security; and not later than 30 days after the date that the Administrator makes a determination to schedule Federal air marshal service on flights operating to a foreign country with which no written agreement is in effect under paragraph (3), the name of the applicable foreign government or partner, an explanation for why no written agreement exists, and a justification for the determination that such mission is necessary for aviation security. The Administrator shall endeavor to acquire automated capabilities or technologies for scheduling Federal air marshal service missions based on current risk modeling. The Administrator shall strengthen internal controls to ensure that all after-action reports on Federal air marshal service special mission coverage provided to stakeholders include documentation of supervisory review and approval, and mandatory narratives. The Administrator shall contract with an independent entity to conduct a validation and verification study of the risk analysis and risk-based determinations guiding Federal air marshal service deployment, including the use of risk-based strategies under subsection (d) [amending this section (see subsec. (a)(9) to (12) of this section) and enacting provisions set out as a note below]. The Administrator shall conduct a cost-benefit analysis regarding mitigation of aviation security threats through Federal air marshal service deployment. The Administrator shall improve existing performance measures to better determine the effectiveness of in-flight operations in addressing the highest risks to aviation transportation based on current intelligence.” The Director of the Federal Air Marshal Service of the Department of Homeland Security shall continue operational initiatives to protect the anonymity of Federal air marshals. There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Homeland Security for the use of the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, in addition to any amounts otherwise authorized by law, for the deployment of Federal air marshals under section 44917 of title 49 , United States Code, $83,000,000 for the 3 fiscal-year period beginning with fiscal year 2005. Such sums shall remain available until expended. The Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration and the Director of Federal Air Marshal Service of the Department of Homeland Security, shall make available, as practicable, appropriate information on in-flight counterterrorism and weapons handling procedures and tactics training to Federal law enforcement officers who fly while in possession of a firearm. The Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration and the Director of Federal Air Marshal Service of the Department of Homeland Security shall ensure that Transportation Security Administration screeners and Federal air marshals receive training in identifying fraudulent identification documents, including fraudulent or expired visas and passports. Such training shall also be made available to other Federal law enforcement agencies and local law enforcement agencies located in a State that borders Canada or Mexico.”