President Joe Biden recently signed into law a bipartisan bill led by U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) that will streamline the process for individuals applying for or renewing enrollment in multiple security threat assessment programs overseen by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).
“Our truckers, supply chains, and American commerce are better off because of this bill. I am glad to see it become law,” said Sen. Wicker, who last March sponsored the Transportation Security Screening Modernization Act of 2024, S. 3959, which Biden enacted on Dec. 23, 2024.
Current TSA policies often mandate three separate applications: the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC), the Hazardous Materials Endorsement (HME) program, and a TSA Security Threat Assessment. To avoid duplicative paperwork and fees, the new law will streamline the enrollment process and cut through the red tape, according to Sen. Wicker’s staff.
Specifically, the new law requires TSA to permit an individual to enroll at a TSA-authorized enrollment center once and use the application, as well as information generated by TSA’s vetting, to enroll in any other programs; and to permit an individual to enroll in more than one security threat assessment (STA) program at the same time for a single fee that is less than the combined fee for applying to the same programs separately.
Additionally, TSA must provide for a streamlined and expeditious renewal process, and provide states the expiration dates for each individual’s STA to ensure commercial driver’s licenses include an individual’s current HME status. The TSA also must publish on its website information relating to the streamlining of the enrollment system, according to the Congressional Record bill summary.
“I thank my friends in the House and Senate, as well as the American Trucking Associations, for their help getting this past the finish line,” Sen. Wicker added in a statement released Tuesday.
The American Trucking Associations (ATA) pushed to get the bill passed since it was first introduced in September 2023 by U.S. Reps. Garret Graves (R-LA) and Adam Smith (D-WA). Sen. Wicker then joined U.S. Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT), among others, to introduce the identical bill in the Senate on March 14, 2024.
“The Transportation Security Screening Modernization Act is a bipartisan victory for common sense,” said ATA President & CEO Chris Spear last month after the U.S. House of Representatives approved the bill and sent it to Biden. “We commend members of Congress, especially Sen. Roger Wicker and Congressman Garret Graves, who stood up for truckers, making it easier and less costly for hard-working Americans to obtain the credentials they need to do their jobs.”