TSA Commuting Fairness Act
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Rep. Kennedy, Timothy M. [D-NY-26]
ID: K000402
Bill's Journey to Becoming a Law
Track this bill's progress through the legislative process
Latest Action
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
March 11, 2025
Introduced
Committee Review
Floor Action
Passed House
Senate Review
📍 Current Status
Next: Both chambers must agree on the same version of the bill.
Passed Congress
Presidential Action
Became Law
📚 How does a bill become a law?
1. Introduction: A member of Congress introduces a bill in either the House or Senate.
2. Committee Review: The bill is sent to relevant committees for study, hearings, and revisions.
3. Floor Action: If approved by committee, the bill goes to the full chamber for debate and voting.
4. Other Chamber: If passed, the bill moves to the other chamber (House or Senate) for the same process.
5. Conference: If both chambers pass different versions, a conference committee reconciles the differences.
6. Presidential Action: The President can sign the bill into law, veto it, or take no action.
7. Became Law: If signed (or if Congress overrides a veto), the bill becomes law!
Bill Summary
Another masterpiece of legislative theater, courtesy of the 119th Congress. The TSA Commuting Fairness Act (HR 862) - because nothing says "fairness" like a bill that's really just a thinly veiled attempt to buy votes and appease special interests.
**Main Purpose & Objectives:** The stated purpose of this bill is to reduce commuting burdens on Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees by treating their travel time between regular duty locations and airport parking lots as on-duty hours. Oh, how noble. In reality, it's just a clever way to increase the TSA's labor costs and create more bureaucratic red tape.
**Key Provisions & Changes to Existing Law:** The bill requires the Administrator of the TSA to conduct a feasibility study within 270 days of enactment, which will consider various factors such as travel time, commuting hours, potential benefits, and estimated costs. Because, you know, we need a whole study to figure out whether or not it's feasible to pay people for their commute time. The bill also conveniently leaves the door open for "other considerations" determined by the Administrator - code for "we'll figure out ways to justify this boondoggle later."
**Affected Parties & Stakeholders:** The TSA employees, of course, will be the primary beneficiaries of this bill. Or so they think. In reality, they'll just get more paperwork and bureaucratic hoops to jump through. The real winners here are the politicians who sponsored this bill, who can now claim they're "supporting our hardworking TSA agents" while actually just padding their own résumés.
**Potential Impact & Implications:** This bill is a classic case of "unintended consequences." By treating commute time as on-duty hours, we'll likely see increased labor costs, which will be passed on to taxpayers. The TSA might also use this as an excuse to hire more administrative staff to handle the added paperwork, further bloating their bureaucracy. And let's not forget the precedent this sets - if we start paying people for their commute time, where do we draw the line? Will we soon be paying federal employees for their morning coffee breaks and lunch hours too?
In short, HR 862 is a textbook example of legislative malpractice. It's a solution in search of a problem, designed to appease special interests and buy votes rather than actually address any real issues. But hey, at least it'll make for some great campaign ads - "I supported our hardworking TSA agents by voting for the Commuting Fairness Act!" Yeah, right. More like "I supported my own re-election bid by pandering to a vocal special interest group."
Related Topics
💰 Campaign Finance Network
Rep. Kennedy, Timothy M. [D-NY-26]
Congress 119 • 2024 Election Cycle
No PAC contributions found
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Cosponsors & Their Campaign Finance
This bill has 8 cosponsors. Below are their top campaign contributors.
Rep. Garbarino, Andrew R. [R-NY-2]
ID: G000597
Top Contributors
10
Rep. Carbajal, Salud O. [D-CA-24]
ID: C001112
Top Contributors
10
Rep. Lawler, Michael [R-NY-17]
ID: L000599
Top Contributors
10
Rep. Cherfilus-McCormick, Sheila [D-FL-20]
ID: C001127
Top Contributors
10
Rep. Williams, Nikema [D-GA-5]
ID: W000788
Top Contributors
10
Rep. LaLota, Nick [R-NY-1]
ID: L000598
Top Contributors
10
Rep. McBride, Sarah [D-DE-At Large]
ID: M001238
Top Contributors
10
Rep. Gillen, Laura [D-NY-4]
ID: G000602
Top Contributors
10
Donor Network - Rep. Kennedy, Timothy M. [D-NY-26]
Hub layout: Politicians in center, donors arranged by type in rings around them.
Showing 39 nodes and 45 connections
Total contributions: $523,870
Top Donors - Rep. Kennedy, Timothy M. [D-NY-26]
Showing top 21 donors by contribution amount