Lock Passenger Security Fees for Aviation

Summary#

This bill would change how the airline “passenger security fee” (often called the 9/11 Security Fee) is handled. It would place all fee revenue into a new Transportation Security Trust Fund for Transportation Security Administration (TSA) use only. It aims to stop using this fee for non‑aviation purposes and to keep TSA airport security operations running during a government shutdown.

Key changes:

• Creates a Transportation Security Trust Fund inside the Department of Homeland Security.
• Sends all passenger security fee revenue into the Fund and makes it available without further appropriation and without a time limit.
• Limits use of the Fund to aviation security (pay and benefits for TSA staff, screening operations, security technology, airport security equipment, and related research and deployment).
• Bars any transfer of these fees to the U.S. Treasury’s general fund or for deficit reduction.
• During a lapse in appropriations (shutdown), allows TSA to use the Fund (and, temporarily, the Aviation Security Capital Fund) to keep security operations going, with top priority for paying TSA frontline personnel.
• Sets up a dedicated account within the Fund for aviation security technology and infrastructure, to be used after personnel and core operations are covered.

What it means for you#

• Airline passengers

  • The bill does not change the amount of the passenger security fee; it changes how the money is used.
  • Your fee payments would go only to aviation security activities, not to other government uses.
  • Airport screening would be more likely to continue at normal staffing levels during a federal shutdown.

• TSA employees

  • Pay, benefits, and overtime for frontline staff would be prioritized and could continue during a lapse in appropriations, funded from the Trust Fund.
  • Staffing levels needed to keep screening checkpoints running are explicitly listed as a top priority.

• Airports

  • After personnel and core operations are funded, money could support checkpoint equipment, baggage screening systems, perimeter and exit‑lane technology, maintenance/modernization, and grants to airports.
  • During a shutdown, some capital funds could be temporarily used to maintain operations, subject to the bill’s priorities.

• Airlines

  • More stable TSA screening operations during funding lapses could reduce disruption at checkpoints.

• Taxpayers and the federal budget

  • Passenger security fee revenue could no longer be shifted to the general fund or counted toward deficit reduction. This would likely reduce general Treasury receipts compared with current practice that has, at times, redirected part of the fee.
  • TSA would have a dedicated stream of fee revenue available without annual appropriations for the covered purposes.

• What is unclear

  • The bill does not provide fee revenue forecasts, total spending levels, or how grant funds would be allocated among airports.
  • It is unclear whether fee revenue would always be sufficient to cover all personnel and technology goals, especially if air travel declines.

Expenses#

No publicly available information.

Potential fiscal effects based on the bill text:

• Shifts existing passenger security fee revenue into a dedicated trust fund for TSA and makes it available without further appropriation.
• Likely reduces general fund receipts by prohibiting diversion of these fees to the Treasury or for deficit reduction.
• Authorizes spending from the Fund during a shutdown at a rate not greater than the prior fiscal year’s operations, which could sustain TSA payroll and operations without new appropriations.
• Allows grants and technology purchases after personnel and core operations are funded; amounts are not specified.
• Administrative costs to manage the new Fund and its technology account are not specified.

Proponents' View#

• The bill appears intended to ensure passenger security fees are used only for aviation security, which could improve transparency and public trust in the fee.
• A dedicated Trust Fund could provide stable, predictable funding for screening operations, pay, training, and equipment.
• Prioritizing pay and staffing during a shutdown could maintain airport security and reduce travel disruptions.
• Directing funds to modern screening technology and infrastructure could improve safety and efficiency at checkpoints and in baggage screening.
• Keeping funds available without fiscal year limits could reduce delays in upgrading critical security systems.

Opponents' View#

• One concern is that prohibiting diversion to the general fund may reduce Treasury revenue and could increase budget pressures elsewhere.
• Making fee revenue available “without further appropriation” may reduce annual congressional control over parts of TSA spending, raising oversight questions.
• It is unclear whether fee revenues will always be enough to cover both personnel and desired technology upgrades, especially if travel declines; this could force difficult trade-offs.
• Allowing TSA operations to continue during shutdowns could reduce a lever that prompts timely budget agreements, while still leaving some activities capped at the prior year’s rate.
• The bill does not detail how airport grants would be prioritized or distributed, which may raise fairness or predictability concerns for airports seeking upgrades.