DHS SAVE Act

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

I rise in support of H.R. 366, the DHS Stop Asset and Vehicle Excess Act.

H.R. 366 seeks to improve the Department of Homeland Security's management, acquisition, and oversight of its fleet of roughly 53,000 vehicles. H.R. 366 requires the Under Secretary for Management to provide departmental components with a standardized vehicle allocation methodology for components to utilize to develop fleet management plans.

This legislation was informed by oversight that was conducted by the Department's inspector general. The inspector general found that, in 2014 and 2015, the DHS did not adequately manage or have the enforcement authority over components to ensure that the composition of its motor vehicle fleet was right sized. This lack of effective management led to the overuse of sports utility vehicles, unnecessary discretionary equipment packages, and overpayments to the GSA.

Further, the Committee on Homeland Security received testimony from the Director of the Federal Protective Service that roughly half of the 1,100 vehicles in FPS' fleet were underutilized or had fewer than 12,000 miles. H.R. 366 grants authority to the DHS headquarters over components with respect to managing vehicle fleets.

Specifically, under H.R. 366, the DHS is directed to establish requirements for components to more rigorously evaluate their fleets on an ongoing basis. Additionally, this bill directs the DHS to identify alternative methods for managing component fleets, such as a shared motor pool. The DHS has the second largest civilian vehicle fleet in the Federal Government at an operating cost of about $462 million.

There is a critical linkage between the Department's operational effectiveness in national security missions and the effective management of the resources and requirements by the DHS leadership. As such, enhancing oversight and management should help the Department more effectively spend limited taxpayer dollars on what the Department actually needs to carry out its mission.

H.R. 366 seeks to improve the management of DHS' vehicle fleet by strengthening the oversight and management of the Department's fleet by the Under Secretary for Management. It is also worth noting that H.R. 366 includes language that I authored to ensure that the inspector general's oversight of the DHS' management of its vehicle fleet continues.

I commend the OIG for its robust and ongoing oversight of the Department's vehicle fleet. I also commend my colleague on the Homeland Security Committee, Mr. Perry, for introducing this legislation and working in a bipartisan fashion to advance it.

I urge the passage of H.R. 366.

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

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 366) to amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to direct the Under Secretary for Management of the Department of Homeland Security to make certain improvements in managing the Department's vehicle fleet, 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 to include any extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

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

I stand before you in support of H.R. 366, the DHS Stop Asset and Vehicle Excess, or DHS SAVE, Act of 2016.

In October of 2015, the DHS inspector general released a scathing report of the Federal Protective Service's management of their vehicle fleet, a report that reads like a laundry list of poor management decisions. The IG found that the FPS had more vehicles than officers, and officers were authorized to drive from home to work with government-owned vehicles and, actually, put more miles on the vehicles in driving from home and back to work than they did on the job, among many other things. Additionally, the report stated that the FPS was not in compliance with Federal and departmental compliance, which is why I introduced the DHS SAVE Act.

This bill improves the management of DHS' vehicle fleets by authorizing the Under Secretary for Management at the headquarters level to oversee the components' vehicle fleets, requires the components to evaluate their fleets on an ongoing basis, includes penalties for the mismanagement of component fleets, and requires the DHS to identify alternative methods for the management of component fleets. With the second largest civilian vehicle fleet in the Federal Government, the DHS simply must have stricter controls in place at the headquarters level in order to rein in rogue components.

As the new administration scrutinizes the DHS' operations, this bill will provide important authorities to root out waste, fraud, and abuse from the Department.

I urge all Members to join me in supporting this bill.

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

Mr. Speaker, I commend my colleague for her hard work on this bill and for her bipartisan spirit in getting it to the floor with me.

I, once again, urge my colleagues to support H.R. 366.

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

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take from the Speaker's table the bill (H.R. 366) to amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to direct the Under Secretary for Management of the Department of Homeland Security to make certain improvements in managing the Department's vehicle fleet, and for other purposes, with the Senate amendments thereto, and concur in the Senate amendments.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 41, H.R. 366.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the committee-reported amendments be considered and agreed to, the bill, as amended, be considered read a third time and passed, and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. Speaker, I missed the following votes because I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. H.R. 366; YEA on Roll Call No. H.R. 372; YEA on Roll Call No. H.R. 374; and YEA on Roll Call No. H.R. 376.