Homeland Security for Children Act

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1372) to amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to ensure that the needs of children are considered in homeland security planning, and for other purposes, as amended.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1372, the Homeland Security for Children Act.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are about 74 million children in the United States, and while we are constantly making progress to achieve national resilience in the face of the next emergency, we must continue to ensure special consideration is made to integrate emergency planning at the Department of Homeland Security that addresses the unique needs of children when emergencies arise. I want to thank Mr. Payne for introducing H.R. 1372, which will ensure such consideration is made.

Recently, the Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Communications held a series of hearings focused on the progress and the future of achieving national preparedness in the face of events like Hurricane Katrina and Superstorm Sandy. Among the child safety efforts made in the last 10 years, FEMA created the National Emergency Child Locator Center within the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children to ensure the swift reunification of children should a major emergency displace communities.

Mr. Speaker, I know this personally, having been an elected official on Staten Island during the tragedy in lower Manhattan in September of 2001. All three bridges from Staten Island to New Jersey were closed, the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge was closed, and ferry service was stopped from Staten Island to Manhattan. We had many of our residents stuck at work in Manhattan. Their children were on Staten Island and could not be reached when being released from school.

I know Mr. Payne can comment on this as well, but I just want to publicly thank him, because I experienced that myself.

The subcommittee heard from weather-tested first responders who, among other important issues, stressed the importance of integrating the needs of children into emergency planning, reminding us that, after all, children are not just mini-adults.

While DHS and FEMA have taken steps to elevate the safety of our most important populations, DHS can still do more to ensure Department policies, programs, and activities to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate against disasters, and also consider the needs of children throughout our impacted communities.

By authorizing a children's needs technical expert at FEMA, as H.R. 1372 seeks to do, we can make certain that the needs of children are integrated into emergency preparedness, protection, response, recovery, and mitigation activities.

Further, H.R. 1372 will require DHS's Office of Strategy, Policy, and Plans to appropriately consider the needs of children throughout Departmental activities and report such efforts to Congress.

H.R. 1372 provides peace of mind that the future of our most treasured assets, our children, are safe in the face of emergencies. Additionally, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that this legislation would not have a significant impact on the Federal budget.

I want to thank Chairman Shuster of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and Chairman Barletta of the Transportation and Infrastructure's Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management for working with the Committee on Homeland Security to see that this legislation receives timely consideration on the House floor.

As chairman of the Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Communications, I am committed to ensuring FEMA has resources at its disposal to meet its mission of safeguarding a more resilient nation.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my fellow Members to join me in supporting this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, House of

Representatives,

Washington, DC, March 10, 2017.

Hon. Michael T. McCaul,

Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security,

Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman McCaul: I write concerning H.R. 1372, the

``Homeland Security for Children Act.'' This legislation

includes matters that fall within the Rule X jurisdiction of

the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

In order to expedite Floor consideration of H.R. 1372, the

Committee on Transportation

and Infrastructure will forgo action on this bill. However,

this is conditional on our mutual understanding that forgoing

consideration of the bill does not prejudice the Committee

with respect to the appointment of conferees or to any future

jurisdictional claim over the subject matters contained in

the bill or similar legislation that fall within the

Committee's Rule X jurisdiction. I request you urge the

Speaker to name members of the Committee to any conference

committee named to consider such provisions.

Please place a copy of this letter and your response

acknowledging our jurisdictional interest in the

Congressional Record during House Floor consideration of the

bill. I look forward to working with the Committee on

Homeland Security as the bill moves through the legislative

process.

Sincerely,

Bill Shuster,

Chairman.

Mr. Speaker, I once again urge my colleagues to support H.R. 1372, as amended, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 1372, the Homeland Security for Children Act.

Mr. Speaker, children are not tiny adults, as was stated, but too often that is how the Federal policy treats them when there is not a deliberate effort to do otherwise.

The Department of Homeland Security, through its components, interacts with children regularly, and its policies have a direct impact on them. That is why I introduced H.R. 1372, the Homeland Security for Children Act.

H.R. 1372 would make integrating the unique needs of children a priority at the Department of Homeland Security. The bill directs the DHS Under Secretary for Strategy, Policy, and Plans to solicit and incorporate feedback from children's organizations into Department-wide policies and activities.

Additionally, H.R. 1372 would formally authorize the existing children's technical expert position at the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The position was established by former Administrator Fugate in response to a March 2015 recommendation by the FEMA National Advisory Council.

At the time, the National Advisory Council had concluded that FEMA had made progress integrating the unique needs of children into disaster plans since Hurricane Katrina, despite the fact that it did not have a technical lead to emphasize and address children's issues. As a result, State and local governments and emergency managers were unaware of guidance related to children's needs at the State and local level, leaving children vulnerable.

According to Save the Children, 80 percent of the National Commission on Children and Disasters' recommendations from 2010 still remain open. Whatever progress has been made in integrating the needs of children in disasters, it is clear there is still work left to be done.

H.R. 1372 will ensure FEMA and DHS has the expertise necessary to do its part to ensure the unique needs of children are integrated into relevant activities, plans, and policies.

The legislation has been endorsed by Save the Children, and former Administrator Fugate has said he supports efforts to authorize the children's needs technical expert at FEMA.

Mr. Speaker, the Homeland Security for Children Act is commonsense, bipartisan legislation that will ensure that the needs of the most vulnerable among us are adequately integrated into homeland security and disaster policies planning.

I would like to just state, Mr. Speaker, that this bill has been a long time coming. I was just reminded of its importance by a program that I watched on television the other day about the tornadoes in Oklahoma, where we lost 7 children in a school building that fell. It showed the disarray in the rest of the parents being able to be reunited with their children. This is a timely bill.

Before I yield back, I would like to thank Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Shuster and Ranking Member DeFazio for agreeing to exchange letters to expedite consideration of H.R. 1372 on the floor.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record the cost estimate from the Congressional Budget Office regarding H.R. 2825. The cost estimate was not available at the time of the filing of the Committee report.

U.S. Congress,

Congressional Budget Office,

Washington, DC, July 20, 2017.

Hon. Michael McCaul,

Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security,

House of Representatives, Washington, DC.

Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has

prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 2825, the DHS

Authorization Act of 2017.

If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be

pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Mark

Grabowicz.

Sincerely,

Mark P. Hadley

(For Keith Hall, Director).

Enclosure.

H.R. 2825--DHS Authorization Act of 2017

As reported by the House Committee on Homeland Security on June 28,

2017