PATHS Act

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 9459, the Producing Advanced Technologies for Homeland Security Act. I am grateful to my colleagues on the Homeland Security Committee for advancing this bipartisan piece of legislation that I am proud to lead with my friend from Maryland, Congressman Glenn Ivey.

Mr. Speaker, the Department of Homeland Security has a constantly evolving mission, and to meet these needs, the Department was previously granted authority to enter into other transactional agreements, or OTAs. These legally binding agreements allow the Department to engage with nontraditional contractors that would not normally do business with the Federal Government.

This authority allows the Department of Homeland Security to operate quickly and more efficiently. These agreements have allowed entities to produce prototypes of nonintrusive inspection technology that can detect illicit materials hidden inside vehicles crossing the border and has researched machine learning practices to assist U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

The usefulness of this authority has been demonstrated in my home State of Mississippi, as The University of Southern Mississippi was part of a project to develop sensors for unmanned vehicles used by both DHS and the United States Coast Guard.

It is critical that we pass this legislation before the authority expires on September 30.

This bill served as a companion to Senator Peters' Senate bill, which passed unanimously out of markup in the Senate in April of this year. It would extend the Department's OTA authority by 3 years to 2027.

Mr. Speaker, I am also glad to say that this bill provides additional accountability and places guardrails on the current program.

It would require advanced notification to Congress should the authority be used in any advancement of artificial intelligence technology.

It would amend the DHS Contract Reporting Act of 2021 to ensure greater--once again, greater--transparency by reducing the amount of a contract to be reported on the DHS website from $4 million to $1 million.

Again, I thank Mr. Ivey for his leadership on this important legislation, and I appreciate Chairman Green and the committee staff for their work on this timely and relevant issue.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

I rise today as a proud cosponsor of the Producing Advanced Technologies for Homeland Security Act.

Other transaction authority, or OTA, is a vital tool that enables DHS to more quickly obtain cutting-edge, emerging technologies that address specific operational needs.

For example, DHS has used OTA to fund research and development of digital IDs that people can store on their phone and advanced technology to improve the detection of explosive materials at airport checkpoints.

This bipartisan bill also provides for increased transparency into the Department's use of OTA by requiring DHS to notify the public and Congress when it uses the authority to enter into agreements worth over $1 million or for agreements involving artificial intelligence.

A lapse in DHS' authority would impede the Department's ability to rapidly develop solutions for border security, aviation security, and other critical homeland security concerns.

Mr. Speaker, 5 years ago when OTA did briefly lapse, that is exactly what happened. DHS was forced to delay or stop 48 projects.

DHS estimates that if OTA lapses again next week, 77 planned and underway projects would be halted or delayed.

A potential halt in OTA would be inefficient, wasteful, and potentially harmful to the security of our homeland.

In closing, I thank my colleague, Congressman Guest, for sponsoring this legislation, and I urge my colleagues to support it.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 9459) to amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to enable secure and trustworthy technology through other transaction contracting authority, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 9459.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 9459, the PATHS Act.

DHS' other transaction authority is an important tool in the Department's limited arsenal of mechanisms to acquire innovative new research and prototypes.

This bill also includes some commonsense transparency reforms to DHS' use of OTA authority.

Mr. Speaker, I commend my colleague, the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Guest), for his work on this measure.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Guest) the Congressman who represents my parents and who is the vice chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security.

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

I, again, urge my colleagues to support H.R. 9459, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, this bill would authorize the Department of Homeland Security to continue to use other transaction authority, or OTA, for an additional 3 years.

OTA allows the Department to work with nontraditional government contractors to conduct research and prototype projects outside the framework of the traditional acquisition process.

DHS' ability to use OTA expires on September 30, just 1 week from now. Let's pass this legislation and ensure that this does not happen again.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the

gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Ivey), a cosponsor of this measure.

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

I thank Representatives Michael Guest and Glenn Ivey for cosponsoring this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support this important legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.