FIT Act

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6374, the ``Fitness Information Transparency Act of 2018,'' or the ``FIT Act,'' which will streamline federal contractor fitness determinations for receiving and maintaining contract awards for the Department of Homeland Security.

This bill will standardize the fitness standards for contractors for the Department of Homeland Security that reflect employability standards to ensure contractors meet public trust obligations relating to the work they will do on behalf of the American people.

During the Homeland Security Committee markup of H.R. 6374, an amendment I offered was adopted.

The Jackson Lee Amendment improves the FIT Act by establishing an ``Exigent Circumstances Fitness Determination Review'' process.

The Jackson Lee Amendment provides that ``The Chief Security Officer may conduct an immediate review of a contractor employee's fitness determination when a contractor employee has engaged in violent acts against individuals, property, or public spaces based on the contractor employee's association with persons or organizations that advocate, threaten, or use force or violence, or any other illegal or unconstitutional means, in an effort to prevent others from exercising their rights under the Constitution or laws of the United States or of any State, based on factors including, at a minimum, race, religion, national origin, or disability.''

In July 2018, news reports surfaced that Northrup Grumman had business with a government contractor who employed Michael Miselis, an active member of the California-based Rise Above Movement (RAM), a well-known violent white supremacist group.

RAM's membership has deep roots in California's racist skinhead movement and the violence of RAM members has been a hallmark of the group and its members.

The Anti-Defamation League describes RAM as a white supremacist group whose members believe they are fighting against a ``modern world'' corrupted by the ``destructive cultural influences'' of liberals, Jews, Muslims and non-white immigrants.

RAM members consider themselves to be part of the ``Alt Right'' and operates like a street-fighting club.

RAM members actively train to do physical battle with their ideological foes, and have been involved in violent clashes during political rallies and demonstrations.

Mr. Miselis had a security clearance and worked for Northrup Grumman, a major defense contractor, at the time he engaged in physical violence against persons protesting racism and white supremacy in Charlottesville, Virginia.

In May 2018, Northrup Grumman was informed of Mr. Miselis' membership in RAM and the violent assaults he initiated while he was in Charlottesville participating in activities in support of white supremacy, which were captured on video and in photos.

Mr. Miselis worked for a government contractor and held a security clearance authorizing him to work on projects that were of vital interest to our nation and its defense.

Northrup Grumman did not dismiss him until the story broke earlier this month with media reports on the violence Mr. Miselis engaged in at the white supremacists' rally held in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Mr. Speaker, the United States is a nation of laws, which gives us the freedom to agree, and most importantly disagree, with not only each other, but with our government.

But the limitations on the right to express political views was best described by Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., who said: ``The right to swing my fist ends where the other man's nose begins.''

There is a limit to the expression of free speech and the freedom to assemble and that limit is violence.

The awarding of security clearances to contractors must be better managed and the consequences for involvement in activities that would be cause for dismissal from the armed services or any federal agency should not go unnoticed.

The Jackson Lee Amendment makes the clear statement to DHS contractors that the awarding of contracts that involve the security of our nation should not be taken lightly and that the allocation of federal funds to contractors who employ persons who advocate or participate in acts against persons on account of their race, creed, religious beliefs, or gender who engage in constitutionally protected activities will not be tolerated.

For these reasons, I support H.R. 6374 and urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6374) to require the Department of Homeland Security to streamline Federal contractor fitness determinations, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in 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 H.R. 6374, the Fitness Information Transparency Act of 2018, otherwise known as the FIT Act. This legislation seeks to improve how the Department of Homeland Security vets the character and conduct of contractor employees, known as a fitness determination.

Homeland Security relies on thousands of contractor employees every day to achieve its missions. From IT work to construction and janitorial services, Homeland Security and contractor employees work hand in hand to secure our Nation. With the department's unique mission of protecting the homeland, it is vital that everyone working for Homeland Security, be it a Federal employee or a contractor employee, is appropriately vetted to ensure that he or she will uphold the integrity of the department. However, Homeland Security's fitness determination process is bureaucratic in the worst ways: inefficient, inconsistent, and lacking transparency.

Currently, the Office of Personnel Management sets minimum fitness standards for all Federal contractors. However, each Homeland Security component can apply the criteria differently, creating disparate standards across the department. For example, a contractor employee who has been deemed fit to work for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, may not automatically be deemed fit to work for Customs and Border Protection.

Many contract personnel support a variety of Homeland Security components and may be required to receive separate fitness determinations from each component, creating duplicity and inefficiency. Such inefficiency not only delays the time a contractor employee can start providing necessary services to Homeland Security, but because the contracting company builds the lag time into the bid price, this process also increases the cost to Homeland Security and, ultimately, to the United States taxpayers.

This legislation will require Homeland Security to consolidate its varying fitness standards by creating uniform fitness requirements for each position risk level. By doing so, Homeland Security will achieve department-wide uniformity and reciprocity of fitness standards, therefore eliminating the need for one contractor to undergo multiple fitness investigations.

The FIT Act also reduces bureaucratic redundancies by allowing, when appropriate, the Secretary of Homeland Security to deem someone who possesses a security clearance to also be considered fit to work for Homeland Security.

Moreover, this legislation increases transparency into the fitness determination process by requiring Homeland Security to publish the uniform fitness standards, provide monthly status updates to contractor representatives, and report certain information to Congress.

It is important that Homeland Security vet each and every contractor employee prior to working for the department. The FIT Act provides Homeland Security the flexibility it needs to vet contract workers for its diverse missions, while also making the process to do so more efficient and more transparent.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to join me in supporting H.R. 6374, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I echo the sentiments of my good friend and colleague from New Jersey. I once again urge my colleagues to support H.R. 6374, 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 support of H.R. 6374, the Fitness Information Transparency Act of 2018. H.R. 6374 would require the Department of Homeland Security to issue uniform standards to vet Federal contractors seeking to work for the department.

Currently, there is no standard for vetting contractors to determine their fitness to access DHS facilities, IT systems, and sensitive information. Each

component has different standards, different procedures, and different adjudicators for contractor fitness. Lack of a department-wide uniform standard hinders reciprocity across the department. As a result, the committee has received testimony that contractors who work for multiple DHS components are investigated over and over and over again. What a waste of time and resources.

Today, DHS contractors routinely wait 3 to 4 months, if not longer, to be investigated, regardless of whether they have already been determined to be fit by another DHS component. This wait time is costly for not only the contractor, but it also hinders the ability of the Department of Homeland Security to execute its mission.

Today, neither the contractor nor their employer is regularly informed of the status of their investigation. Enactment of H.R. 6374 would help ensure that Federal contractor firms can access timely information regarding the status of their employees' fitness investigations.

Thanks to language that was authored by Representative Correa and accepted in committee, H.R. 6374 also recognizes that weaknesses in DHS fitness processes not only undermine the onboarding of Federal contractors in a timely way but also the onboarding of new DHS employees.

Representative Correa's amendment would require the department to take steps to improve the suitability determination process for Federal applicants and appointees and to report on the degree to which components and offices are granting reciprocity to individuals who are employed by other components or offices within the DHS.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support this measure. H.R. 6374 improves the Department of Homeland Security's contractor investigation process by requiring a uniform set of standards, encouraging reciprocity among components, and enhancing communication between the department and the private sector.

It is our duty as Members of Congress to ensure processes are followed and that such processes are effective and efficient. H.R. 6374 seeks to do just that.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support H.R. 6374, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, the following cost estimate for H.R. 6374, FIT Act prepared by the Congressional Budget Office was not available to the Committee at the time of filing of the legislative report.

September 11, 2018.

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. 6374, the

Fitness Information Transparency Act of 2018.

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

please to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Mark

Grabowicz.

Sincerely,

Keith Hall.

Enclosure.

H.R. 6374--Fitness Information Transparency Act of 2018

H.R. 6374 would direct the Department of Homeland Security

(DHS), within 180 days of enactment, to issue uniform fitness

(or conduct) standards for hiring contract employees that

must be followed by all DHS agencies. Within one year of

enactment, DHS would have to provide contractors with monthly

updates on the status of their employees' fitness

determinations and collect quarterly data on processing times

for fitness investigations.

Using information from DHS, CBO estimates that implementing

those provisions would cost about $1 million in fiscal year

2019 and less than $500,000 annually thereafter; such

spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated

funds. Most costs would be for technological enhancements to

a system to provide accurate monthly updates on the status of

contract employees' fitness determinations. DHS currently

employs thousands of contract employees.

Enacting H.R. 6374 would not affect direct spending or

revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.

CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 6374 would not increase

net direct spending or on budget deficits in any of the four

consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2029.

H.R. 6374 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector

mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Mark Grabowicz.

The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy

Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.