H.R. 8770
SAFEGUARDS Act of 2026
Sponsor: Dale W. Strong · 6 cosponsors
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Official summary
Written by the Congressional Research Service.
Spending Aviation Fees for Equipment, Guaranteeing Upgraded and Advanced Risk Detection and Safety Act of 2026 or the SAFEGUARDS Act of 2026
This bill allocates additional funding for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) for aviation security, including checked baggage explosives detection equipment and security checkpoint technology.
As background, TSA collects passenger civil aviation security service fees (often referred to as the 9/11 security fee or passenger security fee) on air carrier passengers originating at airports in the United States. In general, these fees are deposited into the Department of the Treasury general fund and applied towards debt reduction. A portion of these fees are allocated to TSA for aviation security.
The bill requires that the first $500 million collected in each fiscal year from passenger security fees be deposited into the Aviation Security Capital Fund. This is an increase from the currently required $250 million. This fund provides for the costs associated with acquiring and installing in-line baggage screening systems (i.e., systems that use a conveyor belt infrastructure to automatically screen, sort, and track baggage) to accommodate checked baggage explosives detection equipment and for certain other airport security improvements.
The bill also requires that the next $250 million collected in each fiscal year from passenger security fees be deposited into a new Aviation Security Checkpoint Technology Fund for the costs associated with acquiring, installing, and sustaining aviation security checkpoint technology.
Text of the bill
It is the sense of Congress that—
(1) the fee collected in accordance with section 44940 of title 49, United States Code (commonly known as the 9/11 Security Fee), is an airline passenger-paid fee established with the express purpose of sustaining the safety and security of the aviation system of the United States;
(2) revenue generated from the 9/11 Security Fee should be used exclusively to fund activities, programs, equipment, and initiatives that directly improve the security of commercial aviation, including passenger and baggage screening, security technology upgrades, and the support of personnel responsible for aviation security;
(3) the use of the 9/11 Security Fee for purposes unrelated to aviation security undermines public trust and the original intent of the fee, and all proceeds from the fee should be reserved and expended solely for measures that strengthen the safety and security of the traveling public within the aviation sector; and
(4) the diversion of 9/11 Security Fee revenue to other purposes should be ended no later than 2027, in accordance with section 44940(i)(4) of title 49, United States Code, as it read on the date of the enactment of this Act.