PATHS Act

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1692, the Producing Advanced Technologies for Homeland Security Act, which I am proud to have introduced along with Congressman Shri Thanedar.

The Department of Homeland Security has a constantly evolving mission. To meet those threats, the Department was previously granted the authority to enter into other transactional agreements, commonly known as OTAs.

These legally binding agreements allowed the Department to engage with nontraditional contractors that would not normally do business with the Federal Government. This includes small business innovators, public universities, and other cutting-edge technological incubators that help meet the research and development needs of the Department of Homeland Security.

These entities have produced technology that serves as a force multiplier to our Border Patrol agents and include technology that assists agents in cargo and vehicle screening that can detect illegal substances attempting to be smuggled into the United States.

The applicability and usefulness of this authority has been demonstrated recently in my home State of Mississippi, as the University of Southern Mississippi played a leading role in developing sensors for unmanned vehicles for use by both DHS and the United States Coast Guard. Unfortunately, this was allowed to expire on September 30, 2024.

My bill would reauthorize and extend the program's OTA authority by 3 years, to 2028, while also providing additional safeguards for the American taxpayer.

The bill would also require advanced notification to Congress should the authority be used in advancement of artificial intelligence technology. Given the rapid advancement in AI, it is critical that Congress remain informed and aware of how Federal agencies are utilizing AI to advance their mission.

To ensure greater transparency, the safeguards in this bill would require DHS to report on its website any contract in excess of $1 million, reducing the amount that was previously required to be reported from $4 million to $1 million.

As we look to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse, this legislation has increased transparency requirements to ensure maximum accountability to the American people.

Again, I thank Mr. Thanedar for his work on this important legislation, and I appreciate Chairman Green and the committee staff for their work on this issue. I urge all Members to support H.R. 1692.

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

H.R. 1692 would once again allow the Department of Homeland Security to use other transaction authority, or OTA, for 3 years.

Despite the efforts of Democrats in the House and Senate, DHS lost its OTA authority last year because one Senator allowed it to lapse. OTA was a vital tool that enabled DHS to work with nontraditional government contractors to more quickly obtain cutting-edge emerging technologies that addressed evolving threats.

Since September 2024, the lapse in OTA, 50 projects have been disrupted, including 1 that led to identifying fraudulent documents, improving passenger screening, and enhancing disaster response.

Furthermore, 26 projects with approximately $20 million invested in them, taxpayer-invested money, are at the risk of being terminated by OTA at this time. These projects include projects such as border security, cybersecurity, counternarcotic security, and a few others.

The expiration of DHS' other transaction authority essentially will mean inefficiency and waste, things that will impede the Department's ability to develop solutions to keep our homeland safe.

It is past time, Mr. Speaker, to advance this legislation and bring back DHS' ability to develop novel homeland security technologies.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank Representatives Michael Guest and Shri Thanedar for sponsoring this legislation. I urge all Members to restore other transaction authority to the Department of Homeland Security, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1692) 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 to include extraneous material on H.R. 1692.

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

I rise today in support of H.R. 1692, the PATHS Act.

DHS other transaction agreement, or OTA, authority is an incredibly important tool in the Department's limited arsenal of mechanisms to acquire new research and prototypes. This bill reauthorizes the Department's OTA authority and also includes some commonsense transparency reforms to DHS' use of OTAs.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague, the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Guest), for his work on this measure, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Guest).

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

Mr. Speaker, again, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 1692, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground

that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.