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HOMELAND PROCUREMENT REFORM ACT
Mr. CORREA. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2915) to amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 regarding the procurement of certain items related to national security interests for Department of Homeland Security frontline operational components, and for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 2915
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Homeland Procurement Reform Act'' or the ``HOPR Act''.
SEC. 2. REQUIREMENTS TO BUY CERTAIN ITEMS RELATED TO NATIONAL
SECURITY INTERESTS ACCORDING TO CERTAIN
CRITERIA.
(a) In General.--Subtitle D of title VIII of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 391 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 836. REQUIREMENTS TO BUY CERTAIN ITEMS RELATED TO
NATIONAL SECURITY INTERESTS.
``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Covered item.--The term `covered item' means any of the following:
``(A) Footwear provided as part of a uniform.
``(B) Uniforms.
``(C) Holsters and tactical pouches.
``(D) Patches, insignia, and embellishments.
``(E) Chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear protective gear.
``(F) Body armor components intended to provide ballistic protection for an individual, consisting of 1 or more of the following:
``(i) Soft ballistic panels.
``(ii) Hard ballistic plates.
``(iii) Concealed armor carriers worn under a uniform.
``(iv) External armor carriers worn over a uniform.
``(G) Any other item of clothing or protective equipment as determined appropriate by the Secretary.
``(2) Frontline operational component.-- The term
`frontline operational component' means any of the following organizations of the Department:
``(A) U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
``(B) U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
``(C) The United States Secret Service.
``(D) The Transportation Security Administration.
``(E) The Coast Guard.
``(F) The Federal Protective Service.
``(G) The Federal Emergency Management Agency.
``(H) The Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers.
``(I) The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
``(b) Requirements.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall ensure that any procurement of a covered item for a frontline operational component meets the following criteria:
``(A) To the maximum extent possible, not less than one-third of funds obligated in a specific fiscal year for the procurement of such covered items shall be covered items that are manufactured or supplied in the United States by entities that qualify as small business concerns, as such term is described under section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632).
``(B) Each contractor with respect to the procurement of such a covered item, including the end-item manufacturer of such a covered item--
``(i) is an entity registered with the System for Award Management (or successor system) administered by the General Services Administration; and
``(ii) is in compliance with ISO 9001:2015 of the International Organization for Standardization (or successor standard) or a standard determined appropriate by the Secretary to ensure the quality of products and adherence to applicable statutory and regulatory requirements.
``(C) Each supplier of such a covered item with an insignia
(such as any patch, badge, or emblem) and each supplier of such an insignia, if such covered item with such insignia or such insignia, as the case may be, is not produced, applied, or assembled in the United States, shall--
``(i) store such covered item with such insignia or such insignia in a locked area;
``(ii) report any pilferage or theft of such covered item with such insignia or such insignia occurring at any stage before delivery of such covered item with such insignia or such insignia; and
``(iii) destroy any such defective or unusable covered item with insignia or insignia in a manner established by the Secretary, and maintain records, for three years after the creation of such records, of such destruction that include the date of such destruction, a description of the covered item with insignia or insignia destroyed, the quantity of the covered item with insignia or insignia destroyed, and the method of destruction.
``(2) Waiver.--
``(A) In general.--In the case of a national emergency declared by the President under the National Emergencies Act
(50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) or a major disaster declared by the President under section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170), the Secretary may waive a requirement in subparagraph
(A), (B) or (C) of paragraph (1) if the Secretary determines there is an insufficient supply of a covered item that meets the requirement.
``(B) Notice.--Not later than 60 days after the date on which the Secretary determines a waiver under subparagraph
(A) is necessary, the Secretary shall provide to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate and the Committee on Homeland Security, the Committee on Oversight and Reform, and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives notice of such determination, which shall include--
``(i) identification of the national emergency or major disaster declared by the President;
``(ii) identification of the covered item for which the Secretary intends to issue the waiver; and
``(iii) a description of the demand for the covered item and corresponding lack of supply from contractors able to meet the criteria described in subparagraph (B) or (C) of paragraph (1).
``(c) Pricing.--The Secretary shall ensure that covered items are purchased at a fair and reasonable price, consistent with the procedures and guidelines specified in the Federal Acquisition Regulation.
``(d) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this section and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall provide to the Committee on Homeland Security, the Committee on Oversight and Reform, and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate a briefing on instances in which vendors have failed to meet deadlines for delivery of covered items and corrective actions taken by the Department in response to such instances.
``(e) Effective Date.--This section applies with respect to a contract entered into by the Department or any frontline operational component on or after the date that is 180 days after the date of enactment of this section.''.
(b) Study.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives a study of the adequacy of uniform allowances provided to employees of frontline operational components (as defined in section 836 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, as added by subsection
(a)).
(2) Requirements.--The study conducted under paragraph (1) shall--
(A) be informed by a Department-wide survey of employees from across the Department of Homeland Security who receive uniform allowances that seeks to ascertain what, if any, improvements could be made to the current uniform allowances and what, if any, impacts current allowances have had on employee morale and retention;
(B) assess the adequacy of the most recent increase made to the uniform allowance for first year employees; and
(C) consider increasing by 50 percent, at minimum, the annual allowance for all other employees.
(c) Additional Report.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall provide a report with recommendations on how the Department of Homeland Security could procure additional items from domestic sources and bolster the domestic supply chain for items related to national security to--
(A) the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; and
(B) the Committee on Homeland Security, the Committee on Oversight and Reform, and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives.
(2) Contents.--The report required under paragraph (1) shall include the following:
(A) A review of the compliance of the Department of Homeland Security with the requirements under section 604 of title VI of division A of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (6 U.S.C. 453b) to buy certain items related to national security interests from sources in the United States.
(B) An assessment of the capacity of the Department of Homeland Security to procure the following items from domestic sources:
(i) Personal protective equipment and other items necessary to respond to a pandemic such as that caused by COVID-19.
(ii) Helmets that provide ballistic protection and other head protection and components.
(iii) Rain gear, cold weather gear, and other environmental and flame resistant clothing.
(d) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents in section 1(b) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-296; 116 Stat. 2135) is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 835 the following:
``Sec. 836. Requirements to buy certain items related to national security interests.''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from California (Mr. Correa) and the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Van Drew) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.
General Leave
Mr. CORREA. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on this measure.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from California?
There was no objection.
Mr. CORREA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2915, the Homeland Procurement Reform Act, or better known as HOPR Act. I am proud to have introduced this bipartisan legislation to reform the way the Department of Homeland Security purchases uniforms and protective equipment for its personnel.
My bill seeks to improve the quality of uniforms and equipment issued to frontline DHS personnel by requiring, to the maximum extent possible, that at least one-third of the funds be used to purchase goods manufactured by American small businesses in America.
Today, DHS has more than 60,000 men and women in uniform, but fewer than half of those uniforms are actually manufactured in the United States.
Furthermore, in response to the concerns expressed by frontline personnel about how quickly they exhaust their annual uniform allowances, this bill directs DHS to study the adequacy of uniform allowances for those serving on the front lines.
My bill also strengthens supply chain security for uniforms by mandating locked storage, reports of stolen goods, and the destruction of defective items for any item bearing official DHS insignia not manufactured in the United States.
In response to supply chain shortages that we have been seeing recently during this pandemic, my bill also requires the Department to assess how to get more items related to national security from domestic sources.
This provision is targeted at such items as personal protective equipment, or PPE, which we all know has been quite scarce at points during this pandemic. Simply put, this bill is good for Homeland Security, good for Americans, and good for American businesses.
H.R. 2915 is endorsed by the Warrior Protection and Readiness Coalition and passed out of the committee unanimously.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the Homeland Procurement Reform Act, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. VAN DREW. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in favor of the HOPR Act, H.R. 2915.
Mr. Speaker, I commend my colleague, Mr. Correa, for his continued leadership on this issue to help bolster our domestic supply chains.
This bill requires that, to the maximum extent possible, at least one-third of the funds obligated for the procurement of the Department of Homeland Security uniforms and gear covered by the HOPR Act be used to purchase goods manufactured by entities that qualify as United States small businesses.
Additionally, this bill directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to conduct a study of the adequacy of uniform allowances provided to Department frontline personnel to determine what improvements can be made to current uniform allowances, including increasing allowances.
Mr. Speaker, I urge Members to join me in supporting H.R. 2915, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. CORREA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, if enacted, H.R. 2915 will simultaneously serve the frontline personnel who protect our homeland and support the domestic industrial base, especially small businesses.
Most importantly, as noted in the committee report, it is our expectation that, once this measure is enacted into law, DHS implement it in a manner that supports small business domestic manufacturing.
To that end, DHS is expected to prioritize buying from small businesses that manufacture the item here in the United States over purchasing foreign-manufactured goods supplied by a small business.
Mr. Speaker, I am proud of the bipartisan work that went into creating this legislation that is cosponsored by my Republican colleague, Mr. Brian Mast of Florida. I also appreciate the efforts of Senator Shaheen of New Hampshire, who introduced the Senate companion of this bill, which the Senate Committee on Homeland Security ordered to be favorably reported this year.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the HOPR Act, and I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from California (Mr. Correa) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 2915, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 199
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