Trusted Traveler Reconsideration and Restoration Act of 2021

Floor Speech

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Mr. GARBARINO. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 473, the Trusted Traveler Reconsideration and Restoration Act of 2021.

This bill, sponsored by Ranking Member John Katko and cosponsored by Chairwomen Watson Coleman and Slotkin, seeks to ensure the rights of travelers who have erroneously had their trusted traveler status revoked.

From the CBP's Global Entry and NEXUS to TSA's PreCheck programs, the Department of Homeland Security's trusted traveler programs are critical to the safe and secure free movement of people. However, there are instances in which individuals are mistaken for people with the same or similar name or who otherwise find themselves in a position where they lose their trusted traveler status based on a database error.

For those unfortunate persons, the process of getting their trusted traveler status reinstated by DHS involves timely, cumbersome, and confusing bureaucratic hurdles, often among several Federal agencies. In these instances, travelers lose valuable time off of their trusted traveler enrollment period, even though they spent hard-earned money to apply.

H.R. 473 seeks to bring relief to the traveling public who are in need of having their trusted traveler status reinstated. The bill requires a comprehensive review by the Government Accountability Office on the existing DHS processes related to trusted traveler programs and how the Department can improve individuals' access to having their trusted traveler status reinstated when it has been revoked in error.

Additionally, H.R. 473 directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to extend an individual's enrollment in a trusted traveler program by a period commensurate with the amount of time they lost in their enrollment due to an error.

I thank Ranking Member Katko for his leadership on this bipartisan bill, and I thank Chairman Thompson for his commitment to bringing it to the floor today.

Madam Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to support the bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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