Honor Flight Act

Honor Flight Act
Full title	To amend title 49, United States Code, to require the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration to establish a process for providing expedited and dignified passenger screening services for veterans traveling to visit war memorials built and dedicated to honor their service, and for other purposes.
Introduced in	113th United States Congress
Introduced on	June 9, 2014
Sponsored by	Rep. Cedric L. Richmond (D, LA-2)
Number of co-sponsors	2
Effects and codifications
U.S.C. section(s) affected	49 U.S.C. § 44927, 49 U.S.C. § {{{2}}}
Agencies affected	Transportation Security Administration
Legislative history
	Introduced in the House as H.R. 4812 by Rep. Cedric L. Richmond (D, LA-2) on June 9, 2014 ; Committee consideration by: United States House Committee on Homeland Security, United States House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Transportation Security ;

Last updated April 07, 2019

The Honor Flight Act (H.R. 4812) is a bill that would direct the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to establish a process for providing expedited and dignified passenger screening services for veterans traveling on an Honor Flight to visit war memorials built and dedicated to honor their service.^[1]

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that has authority over the security of the traveling public in the United States. It was created as a response to the September 11 attacks.

An Honor Flight is conducted by non-profit organizations dedicated to transporting as many United States military veterans as possible to see the memorials of the respective war(s) they fought in Washington, DC, at no cost to the veterans. Currently these organizations are focused on bringing veterans of World War II to the National World War II Memorial, and any veteran with a terminal illness to see the memorial of the war they fought in. Organizers plan to "naturally transition" their programs to focus on veterans of the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and subsequent wars as the veterans of those wars get older.

The One Hundred Thirteenth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, from January 3, 2013, to January 3, 2015, during the fifth and sixth years of Barack Obama's presidency. It was composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives based on the results of the 2012 Senate elections and the 2012 House elections. The seats in the House were apportioned based on the 2010 United States Census. It first met in Washington, D.C. on January 3, 2013, and it ended on January 3, 2015. Senators elected to regular terms in 2008 were in the last two years of those terms during this Congress.

Background

An Honor Flight is conducted by non-profit organizations dedicated to transporting as many United States military veterans as possible to see the memorials of the respective war(s) they fought in Washington, D.C. at no cost to the veterans. Currently these organizations are focused on bringing veterans of World War II to the National World War II Memorial, and any veteran with a terminal illness to see the memorial of the war they fought in. Organizers plan to "naturally transition" their programs to focus on veterans of the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and subsequent wars as the veterans of those wars get older.^[2]^[3]

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington or D.C., is the capital of the United States. Founded after the American Revolution as the seat of government of the newly independent country, Washington was named after George Washington, first President of the United States and Founding Father. As the seat of the United States federal government and several international organizations, Washington is an important world political capital. The city is also one of the most visited cities in the world, with more than 20 million tourists annually.

World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. The vast majority of the world's countries—including all the great powers—eventually formed two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. A state of total war emerged, directly involving more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. The major participants threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. World War II was the deadliest conflict in human history, marked by 50 to 85 million fatalities, most of whom were civilians in the Soviet Union and China. It included massacres, the genocide of the Holocaust, strategic bombing, premeditated death from starvation and disease, and the only use of nuclear weapons in war.

The World War II Memorial is a memorial of national significance dedicated to Americans who served in the armed forces and as civilians during World War II. Consisting of 56 pillars and a pair of small triumphal arches surrounding a square and fountain, it sits on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on the former site of the Rainbow Pool at the eastern end of the Reflecting Pool, between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument.

Provisions of the bill

This summary is based largely on the summary provided by the Congressional Research Service, a public domain source.^[1]

The Congressional Research Service (CRS), known as Congress's think tank, is a public policy research arm of the United States Congress. As a legislative branch agency within the Library of Congress, CRS works primarily and directly for Members of Congress, their Committees and staff on a confidential, nonpartisan basis.

The public domain consists of all the creative works to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable.

The Honor Flight Act would direct the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to establish a process for providing expedited and dignified passenger screening services for veterans traveling on an Honor Flight Network private charter, or another not-for-profit organization that honors veterans, to visit war memorials built and dedicated to honor their service.^[1]

Air charter is the business of renting an entire aircraft as opposed to individual aircraft seats.

A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is dedicated to furthering a particular social cause or advocating for a shared point of view. In economic terms, it is an organization that uses its surplus of the revenues to further achieve its ultimate objective, rather than distributing its income to the organization's shareholders, leaders, or members. Nonprofits are tax exempt or charitable, meaning they do not pay income tax on the money that they receive for their organization. They can operate in religious, scientific, research, or educational settings.

Congressional Budget Office report

This summary is based largely on the summary provided by the Congressional Budget Office, as ordered reported by the House Committee on Homeland Security on June 11, 2014. This is a public domain source.^[4]

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is a federal agency within the legislative branch of the United States government that provides budget and economic information to Congress. Inspired by California's Legislative Analyst's Office that manages the state budget in a strictly nonpartisan fashion, the CBO was created as a nonpartisan agency by the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974.

The Honor Flight Network is a private organization that transports U.S. veterans to visit war memorials built to honor their service. H.R. 4812 would direct the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to provide an expedited screening process for veterans traveling on flights operated by the Honor Flight Network or other not-for-profit organizations providing similar services to veterans.^[4]

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that any increased costs to TSA under H.R. 4812 would be negligible, particularly because of the relatively small number of veterans who would qualify for expedited screening under the bill. Any such spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds. H.R. 4812 would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.^[4]

H.R. 4812 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal governments.^[4]

Procedural history

The Honor Flight Act was introduced into the United States House of Representatives on June 9, 2014 by Rep. Cedric L. Richmond (D, LA-2).^[5] The bill was referred to the United States House Committee on Homeland Security and the United States House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Transportation Security. On July 3, 2014, the bill was reported alongside House Report 113-516.^[5] The bill was scheduled to be voted on under a suspension of the rules on July 8, 2014.^[6]

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References

1 2 3 "H.R. 4812 - Summary". United States Congress. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
↑ Honor Flight Program Helps Vets Visit WWII Memorial PBS
↑ Honor Flight Network – About Archived 2014-10-03 at the Wayback Machine .
1 2 3 4 "CBO - H.R. 4812". Congressional Budget Office. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
1 2 "H.R. 4812 - All Actions". United States Congress. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
↑ Marcos, Cristina (7 July 2014). "This week: Sportsmen's bill, appropriations". The Hill. Retrieved 9 July 2014.

External links

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[4812sum-1] 1 2 3 "H.R. 4812 - Summary". United States Congress. Retrieved 9 July 2014.

[2] Honor Flight Program Helps Vets Visit WWII Memorial PBS

[about-3] Honor Flight Network – About Archived 2014-10-03 at the Wayback Machine .

[cbo4812-4] 1 2 3 4 "CBO - H.R. 4812". Congressional Budget Office. Retrieved 9 July 2014.

[4812allactions-5] 1 2 "H.R. 4812 - All Actions". United States Congress. Retrieved 9 July 2014.

[HillThisWeek-6] Marcos, Cristina (7 July 2014). "This week: Sportsmen's bill, appropriations". The Hill. Retrieved 9 July 2014.