SAFEGUARDS Act of 2026
Key claim: The SAFEGUARDS Act of 2026 doubles the annual passenger-security-fee deposit into the Aviation Security Capital Fund to $500 million and creates a new $250 million Aviation Security Checkpoint Technology Fund for TSA baggage and checkpoint equipment.
Abstract
(HR8770 · 119th Congress) 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. Latest action (2026-07-09): Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 641.
Why this matters
Aviation Security Capital Fund allocations set the ceiling on how quickly TSA can recapitalize checkpoint and baggage screening equipment across U.S. airports. Doubling the annual deposit and adding a dedicated checkpoint technology fund shifts more passenger-security-fee revenue into capital investment rather than operations, which practically affects the pace of screening modernization. The change is a funding-floor adjustment; it does not itself authorize new screening technologies or procedures.