Aviation Security Stakeholder Participation Act of 2014

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and concur in the Senate amendment to the bill (H.R. 2719) to require the Transportation Security Administration to implement best practices and improve transparency with regard to technology acquisition programs, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include any extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the Senate amendment to H.R. 2719, the Transportation Security Acquisition Reform Act, a bill that I introduced in July of last year, which passed the House unanimously 1 year ago.

This commonsense, bipartisan legislation is the culmination of 2 years of collaborative efforts by my colleagues in the House and Senate and 4 years of strong oversight by the Transportation Security Subcommittee.

H.R. 2719 will save significant tax dollars by forcing TSA to make thoughtful, informed decisions about what kinds of technology to deploy in our Nation's airports. We simply cannot afford to see TSA repeat the mistakes of the past which have resulted in technologies such as ``puffer machines'' and body scanners being pulled out of airports prematurely and others sitting idle in warehouses, never to see the light of day.

H.R. 2719 requires TSA to develop and share with industry and the public a detailed 5-year technology investment plan. The bill gives Congress early warning about any cost overruns, delays, or technical failures encountered by TSA.

It ensures that TSA is implementing acquisition best practices as identified by the Government Accountability Office and other experts. It also mandates a better process for managing security equipment in TSA's inventory. Finally, the Senate strengthened the bill by, among other things, requiring more consultation with experts in the public and private sectors during the acquisition process.

I would like to thank the chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, Mr. McCaul, for his assistance in moving this bill through the committee and the House, as well as the ranking member of the full committee, Mr. Thompson, for his work alongside myself and our chairman. I really appreciate the work and cooperation of Mr. Thompson and the ranking member for our subcommittee, Mr. Richmond. Again, their work made this a better bill.

I would also like to thank Senator Ayotte for introducing a companion bill in the Senate and leading the effort to see it through the Senate Commerce Committee and the full Senate. I would also like to thank Senators Rockefeller, Thune, and Tester and their staffs for their strong support and their important efforts to move this bill.

Finally, I would like to thank the 18 industry groups that have endorsed this bill, including the Security Manufacturers Coalition, Airlines for America, Airports Council International--North America, the American Association of Airport Executives, the General Aviation Manufacturers Association, the Security Industry Association, the U.S. Travel Association, and many others who provided valuable feedback and worked with us throughout this process.

I will insert into the Record a letter from these groups and others.

November 12, 2014.

Hon. Harry Reid,

Senate Majority Leader, U.S. Capitol Building, Washington,

This no-cost, bipartisan legislation will go a long way toward improving transparency and accountability for TSA. I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

I have no further speakers. If the gentleman from Mississippi has no further speakers, I am prepared to close once the gentleman does.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the former chairman for his kind remarks and for the collaborative nature in which we have worked throughout this Congress. I appreciate his leadership and advice. I believe we have done good work, and we have done it because we have listened to each other and we have worked well together. I appreciate your leadership, as well as that of Cedric Richmond, the ranking member on this committee.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to acknowledge that this would not be possible had they not worked so closely with us. I would also like to thank the chairman for mentioning our staffs. Our staffs have worked very hard, they have worked in a bipartisan manner, and I attach myself to his compliments for our staff there and thank him for that kindness.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud of the accomplishments we have made on this subcommittee. In particular I am proud of this piece of legislation, H.R. 2719. It was developed with input from stakeholders in an exhaustive process with subject matter experts across government and industry to address different deficiencies we had identified throughout the TSA's acquisition process.

I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on Senator Ayotte's amendment to H.R. 2719, and let's send this bill to the President for his signature.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the Senate amendment to H.R. 2719, the Transportation Security Acquisition Reform Act.

For years, both as chairman and ranking member of the Committee on Homeland Security, I have been troubled by the way TSA goes about technology acquisition. Time and again, taxpayer dollars have been wasted on technologies that either do not work or cannot be upgraded to meet the agency's need.

I have also been troubled by TSA's apparent inability to effectively manage its inventory of security-related technology and meet its goals for contracting with small and disadvantaged businesses.

The bill before us today addresses these concerns through greater transparency and accountability. In this age of tight budgets, TSA cannot purchase technologies on a whim and outside of robust acquisition controls. Under H.R. 2719, of which I was proud to be an original cosponsor, TSA will be required to develop and publish a multiyear technology investment plan that will guide the agency's security-related technology purchases.

This plan will give both the agency and Congress a clear understanding of how taxpayer dollars will be allocated in future years.

The bill also requires TSA to develop a plan for managing its inventory of security-related technologies. Last year, the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General found that TSA had more than 17,000 items in its warehouse inventory, at an estimated cost of $185 million. The IG concluded that TSA may be able to put approximately $800,000 per year to better use by managing its inventory more effectively.

For fiscal year 2012, TSA's goal for prime contracting with small businesses was set at 23 percent; yet the agency barely reached 16 percent. While TSA improved its performance in 2013, it still failed to meet its goal for prime contracting with small businesses.

To address TSA's chronic problems meeting its small business contracting goal, the bill requires TSA to consult with other Federal agencies that get small business contracting done and done right. Under H.R. 2719, TSA will be required to develop an action plan for improving its performance and report to Congress on its progress in implementing the plan.

For too long TSA has relied upon the same limited number of companies to

develop and produce the security-related technologies it puts into the field. Doing so comes at the peril of small and minority-owned businesses that are essential to innovation. This dynamic also results in additional cost to taxpayers due to a lack of competition in the marketplace.

H.R. 2719 received the unanimous support of the Committee on Homeland Security and this full House later last year. The Senate amendment to this bill that we are considering today makes minor and beneficial modifications.

With that, Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have one speaker before I close. I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee), the ranking member on the Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security of the Committee on Homeland Security.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers. I am prepared to close.

Mr. Speaker, in closing I would like to thank Subcommittee Chairman Hudson and Ranking Member Richmond for working in collaboration to develop this important legislation.

I would also like to acknowledge the bipartisan staff work that went in to getting us to this point. Specifically, I want to acknowledge Brian Turbyfill on my staff and Amanda Parikh on the majority staff for their work on this legislation over the past 2 years.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support the Senate amendment to H.R. 2719 so that this bill can be enacted and TSA's acquisition process is on a path to improvement.

With that, Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Thompson for his leadership as ranking member and formerly chair, and Mr. Hudson. Let me also acknowledge Mr. Richmond, who is the ranking member on the Subcommittee on Transportation Security.

It is clear that this committee, Homeland Security overall, has worked together for the betterment of the national security of this Nation, and these legislative initiatives in particular. I remember distinctly the hearings, the collaboration with a number of groups, and so I rise today to speak on the transportation security bill regarding best practices to improve transparency with regard to technology acquisition programs, and for other purposes.

The Transportation Security Administration, now under Homeland Security, is one of our vital organs that relates to the security of America. We only need look at special holidays throughout the Nation and throughout the year and realize how vital the aviation system is and how important it is to work together with the Transportation Security Administration, covering TSOs and certainly a large component of research and technology dealing with the security of our airports.

This initiative is an important one. It is almost unspeakable to have this size of inventory, some $185 million in assessment, languishing in warehouses under the name of the Transportation Security Administration.

Over the years as a ranking member and chairwoman on Transportation Security and now Border Security, likewise I have joined my colleagues in fighting for small businesses because there lies technology.

So this initiative to open the doors for the idea of a multiyear technology investment plan and underutilized innovation opportunities that can be provided in this area of security I believe is very important, and then of course to insist that 16 percent not be the number that we rely upon in terms of investment and opportunity for minorities and small businesses.

I support this initiative, and I must at this moment add my support for the legislation dealing with insisting on an aviation security advisory committee. I want to congratulate Mr. Thompson on that and indicate that the issue of aviation security matters needs collaboration.

Let me finish by saying, as we experienced over the last year, a decision to add or take away what item you could bring through security--we found out that collaboration on this is crucial.

So this is an important initiative, and I thank both the managers on the floor, and I support both of these initiatives and congratulate them for moving the security of America further.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 2719, the ``Transportation Security Acquisition Reform Act.''

H.R. 2719 addresses longstanding concerns that I and other Members of this Committee have raised about the Transportation Security Administration's stewardship of taxpayer funds when pursuing, acquiring, and deploying security-related technologies.

Importantly, the bill also seeks to address TSA's lackluster record of contracting with small businesses.

Last year, the Subcommittee on Transportation Security, of which I am the Ranking Member, held a hearing with industry stakeholders where we heard from representatives of both small and large businesses on how to improve TSA's acquisition practices and to engage with small businesses more effectively.

There are ample small, minority-owned and disadvantaged businesses that are ready, willing and able to provide services and technologies to TSA that would enhance our security and likely reduce contracting costs.

If TSA cannot identify such businesses, I will be happy to refer them to some.

The bill takes a significant step toward holding TSA accountable for achieving its goals for contracting with small and disadvantaged businesses by requiring the agency to develop an action plan to accomplish its goals and report to Congress on how it plans to get there.

I thank the Subcommittee Chairman, the gentleman from North Carolina, Mr. Hudson, for his willingness to include small businesses in the discussion as we developed the legislation before the House today.

I also congratulate Chairman Hudson on his work on this legislation.

As the Ranking Member on the Subcommittee on Transportation Security, I was proud to work with the Chairman to lay the groundwork for this legislation through multiple hearings with both industry and TSA.

The bill tackles head on the lack of transparency and accountability that has plagued TSA's acquisition practices since the Agency's inception.

Mr. Speaker, the Senate amendment to H.R. 2719 is sound, bipartisan legislation that deserves the support of the Full House.

I would like to express my gratitude to Chairman Hudson for the bipartisan manner in which he operated the Subcommittee on Transportation Security this Congress.

I look forward to continuing to work with the gentleman in his new role as a Member on the Committee on Energy and Commerce.

With that Mr. Speaker, I urge support for the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I strongly support H.R. 2719, the Transportation Security Acquisition Reform Act, which was developed, introduced, and championed by the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Transportation Security,

the distinguished gentleman from North Carolina, Mr. Hudson. The Senate amendment to H.R. 2719, offered by Senator Ayotte, would strengthen the underlying bill and ensure that TSA is consulting stakeholders throughout the technology acquisition process. I thank the Senator for working with our Committee to move this common sense bill across the finish line.

As Chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, I have seen first-hand the need for TSA to develop a comprehensive investment plan for acquiring new technologies and to use its limited resources in a more efficient and effective manner. H.R. 2719 sets clear mandates for TSA to develop and maintain a five-year acquisition strategy that will help industry make informed investment decisions and lead to more effective technologies in our nation's airports to meet the evolving terrorist threats we face. The requirements of this bill will also ensure that Congress receives early warning and insight into potentially wasteful spending practices, which will strengthen the Committee's oversight and enable TSA to be a better steward of taxpayer dollars.

I would like to thank Chairman Hudson for his dedicated effort to reform TSA, as well as the Ranking Member of the Full Committee and the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee for their strong support of this important legislation, which will hold TSA accountable and increase transparency for the millions of dollars the agency spends every year on technology. I would also like to express appreciation to the many stakeholder associations that have provided their input and given their support to this no-cost, bipartisan bill.

I urge my colleagues to support the Senate amendment to H.R. 2719 and send this bill to the President for his signature.