TRANSPORTATION SECURITY CARDS: ACCESS PENDING ISSUANCE; DEADLINES FOR PROCESSING; RECEIPT.

SEC. 818. TRANSPORTATION SECURITY CARDS: ACCESS PENDING ISSUANCE; DEADLINES FOR PROCESSING; RECEIPT.(a) Access; Deadlines.—Section 70105 of title 46, United States Code, is further amended by adding at the end the following new subsections:“(o) Escorting.—The Secretary shall coordinate with owners and operators subject to this section to allow any individual who has a pending application for a transportation security card under this section or is waiting for reissuance of such card, including any individual whose card has been lost or stolen, and who needs to perform work in a secure or restricted area to have access to such area for that purpose through escorting of such individual in accordance with subsection (a)(1)(B) by another individual who holds a transportation security card. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed as requiring or compelling an owner or operator to provide escorted access.“(p) Processing Time.—The Secretary shall review an initial transportation security card application and respond to the applicant, as appropriate, including the mailing of an Initial Determination of Threat Assessment letter, within 30 days after receipt of the initial application. The Secretary shall, to the greatest extent practicable, review appeal and waiver requests submitted by a transportation security card applicant, and send a written decision or request for additional information required for the appeal or waiver determination, within 30 days after receipt of the applicant’s appeal or waiver written request. For an applicant that is required to submit additional information for an appeal or waiver determination, the Secretary shall send a written decision, to the greatest extent practicable, within 30 days after receipt of all requested information.”.(b) Receipt of Cards.—(1) Report by comptroller general.—Within 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report assessing the costs, technical feasibility, and security measures associated with implementing procedures to deliver a transportation security card to an approved applicant’s place of residence in a secure manner or to allow an approved applicant to receive the card at an enrollment center of the individual’s choosing.(2) Process for alternative means of receipt.—If the Comptroller General finds in the final report under paragraph (1) that it is feasible for a transportation security card to be sent to an approved applicant’s place of residence in a secure manner, the Secretary shall, within 1 year after the date of issuance of the final report by the Comptroller General, implement a secure process to permit an individual approved for a transportation security card to receive the card at the applicant’s place of residence or at the enrollment center of the individual’s choosing. The individual shall be responsible 124 STAT. 3001 for any additional cost associated with the secure delivery of a transportation security card.