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Read. Follow. Verify.H.R. 5109: Improving Access to Transportation Worker Identification Credentials for Returning Citizens
Last action · September 16, 2026: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.Sponsors: Troy Carter and 7 others
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What This Bill Would Do
This bill directs the TSA to create guidelines that help incarcerated individuals apply for Transportation Worker Identification Credential () cards before they are released from prison. It also requires the TSA to provide better support for individuals navigating the appeals and process for TWIC eligibility.
The bill aims to shorten the time it takes for formerly incarcerated individuals to obtain the credentials required for maritime and port-related jobs, potentially increasing employment opportunities upon release.
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Incarcerated individuals
The bill creates a pathway for these individuals to begin the TWIC application process while still in custody.
Transportation Security Administration
The agency is mandated to develop new guidelines and provide a briefing to Congress.
Maritime and port employers
These employers may see a change in the availability of credentialed workers in the labor pool.
Key Facts
- The TSA must develop guidelines to assist incarcerated individuals in pre-applying for TWIC cards within one year of the bill's enactment.
- The TSA must develop guidelines to assist individuals in requesting appeals or waivers for TWIC ineligibility within one year of the bill's enactment.
- The TSA is required to provide a briefing to Congress on these improvements within one year of enactment.
- Currently, individuals in custody are ineligible to apply for a TWIC card until after their release.
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- The current appeal and waiver process for TWIC eligibility can take up to 90 days.
- Approximately 98 percent of total TWIC applicants are eventually issued a card.
- The bill requires the Clerk of the House to transmit the Act to several Congressional committees and the Secretary of Homeland Security.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a TWIC card?
Does this bill guarantee a TWIC card for everyone?
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News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently passed chamber. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Law.
Procedural history
16 actions- Sep 16, 2026SenateCommitteeReceived in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
- Sep 16, 2026HouseThe title of the measure was amended. Agreed to without objection.
- Sep 16, 2026HouseMotion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
- Sep 16, 2026HouseFloorOn motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote.
- Sep 16, 2026HouseFloorPassed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote.
- Sep 16, 2026HouseDEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 5109.
Show 10 earlier actions
- Sep 16, 2026HouseConsidered under suspension of the rules.
- Sep 16, 2026HouseMr. Van Epps moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
- Sep 15, 2026HousePlaced on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 725.
- Sep 15, 2026HouseCommitteeReported by the Committee on Homeland Security. H. Rept. 119-827.
- Jun 24, 2026HouseCommitteeOrdered to be Reported by the Yeas and Nays: 30 - 0.
- Jun 24, 2026HouseCommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
- Jun 24, 2026HouseSubcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security Discharged
- Sep 4, 2025HouseCommitteeReferred to the Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security.
- Sep 3, 2025HouseCommitteeReferred to the House Committee on Homeland Security.
- Sep 3, 2025HouseIntroducedIntroduced in House
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Pre-release credentialing
The bill represents a shift toward allowing federal security background checks to begin while an individual is still incarcerated, rather than waiting for post-release.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.congress.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance65How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy20Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz15Current news / social attention level
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