Following this report, the Federal Aviation Reauthorization Act mandated that FAA (1) study and report on the current security responsibilities at airports and the potential sources of funding for these activities, (2) certify screening companies, and (3) improve the training and testing of security screeners through the development of performance standards for security-screening services. Section 301 Report Issued in January 1999

FAA issued the report required under section 301 of the Reauthorization Act of 1996 on January 5, 1999, about 2 years after the date mandated in the act. FAA’s report concludes that there should be no change to the current system of shared aviation security responsibilities among FAA, the air carriers, and the airport operators or to the current funding sources for aviation security. The study is appended to the report. FAA concluded that there appears to be a consensus in the civil aviation community to retain the current system of shared responsibilities for aviation security. Lengthy Process Involved for Implementing the Section 302 Requirement for Certifying Screening Companies

FAA is developing a regulation to comply with the mandated section 302 requirements to certify screening companies and improve the training and testing of security screeners. FAA expects the final regulation to be issued in late 2000. While the aviation industry generally agrees that national standards for security-screening operations are needed, some issues could impede the final regulation’s issuance. FAA’s Efforts to Comply With Section 302

FAA plans to issue a new regulation that would establish the requirements for certifying screening companies. One of the requirements for certification would compel screening companies and air carriers to comply with the performance standards that would be established by FAA and to implement FAA-approved training and testing programs for screeners. FAA recognizes that a critical step in the certification of screening companies is having a reliable and consistent way to measure their performance. The completion of this effort, previously projected for September 1998, had been delayed several times. During the next several months, FAA will continue to gather larger samples of TIP data that it can use to develop performance standards for screeners. Issues That Could Impede Issuance of Final Rule

The Federal Aviation Reauthorization Act of 1996 allows FAA 16 months from the close of the comment period of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to publish the final regulation. However, several issues could impede FAA’s efforts to complete this undertaking. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Why GAO Did This Study

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) efforts to implement the Federal Aviation Reauthorization Act of 1996, focusing on: (1) the status of FAA's efforts to implement the requirement of section 301 of the act mandating that FAA conduct a study and report to Congress on whether aviation security responsibilities should be transferred from the airline carriers to airports or the federal government; (2) the status of FAA's efforts to implement section 302 mandating that FAA certify security screening companies and improve the training and testing of security screeners through the development of performance standards; and (3) issues that could impede FAA's implementation of section 302.

What GAO Found

GAO noted that: (1) FAA issued the report required by section 301 of the Reauthorization Act on January 5 1999, about 2 years after the date mandated in the act; (2) the report concludes that there should be no change to the current system of shared aviation security responsibilities among FAA, the air carriers, and the airport operators or to the current funding sources for aviation security; (3) FAA's conclusions are based on the lack of any consensus in the civil aviation community for changes; (4) to comply with the requirements of section 302, FAA is developing a proposed regulation, which would require the certification of screening companies; (5) the proposed regulation would require screening companies and air carriers to comply with uniform performance standards for screeners and implement FAA-approved training and testing programs for screeners; (6) a critical step in the certification of screening companies is having a reliable and consistent way to measure the screening companies' performance; (7) in January 1999, FAA, after several delays, validated that its automated screener testing system is an accurate measurement of screener's performance; (8) over the next several months, FAA will gather additional data for use in developing performance standards for screeners; (9) the agency plans to issue a final regulation in late 2000; (10) the aviation industry generally agrees that national standards for security-screening operations are needed; (11) several issues could impede the issuance of the final regulation; and (12) for example, the completion of FAA's validation process had been delayed several times and any further delays with completing FAA's current efforts could affect the issuance of the final regulation.