Young-Duckworth Bill to Provide TSA Precheck to Disabled Veterans Passes the Senate
WASHINGTON –U.S. Senators Todd Young (R-Ind.) and Tammy Duckworth’s (D-Ill.) bipartisan legislationto provide disabled veterans TSA Pre√® unanimously passed the Senate yesterday evening.
TSA Preè is already offered to active duty, reserves, and National Guard service members at no cost. The Veterans Expedited TSA Screening (VETS) Safe Travel Actwill expand this program to include veterans who are amputees, paralyzed, or blind.
“As a Marine, I swore always to remain faithful to those serving by my side. That includes ensuring our veterans receive the care and respect they are due after they return home,” said Senator Young. “The passage of this bill has the potential to help the 70,000 amputee, 100,000 paralyzed, and 130,000 blind veterans currently subjected to a rigorous and demeaning screening process when traveling.”
“Millions of Veterans have sacrificed a great deal in service to our nation and returned home with service-connected disabilities. For those of us who rely on prosthetics and wheelchairs for mobility, air travel and passing through airport security can be a challenge,” said Senator Duckworth. “I’m glad the Senate passed our bipartisan bill to make TSA PreCheck available at no cost to these Veterans and make flying and passing through airports a little easier and less intrusive.”
KPC News, WLKY News, Military Timeshave all endorsed the (VETS)Safe Travel Act.Senator Young alsopennedan op-ed for the Fort Wayne Journal Gazetteto discuss the importance of this issue.
The legislation is supported by the Wounded Warrior Project, Paralyzed Veterans of America, Honor Flight Network, Disabled American Veterans, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of American,VetsFirst,and the American Legion.