ARMS Act

The ARMS Act requires the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to implement annual, risk-informed covert testing at all Category X airports (the largest, busiest U.S. airports) to identify security vulnerabilities in passenger and baggage screening. It mandates at least three covert test scenarios yearly per airport, with root cause analysis within 90 days of identifying vulnerabilities, and a 150-day timeline for deciding whether to mitigate them. The TSA must publicly report annual pass/fail rates and mitigation progress (without revealing security details) and submit classified and unclassified reports to Congress with its budget request. This law focuses on systematically assessing and addressing aviation security gaps through data-driven testing and transparent reporting.