Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4228) to require the Department of Homeland Security to improve discipline, accountability, and transparency in acquisition program management, 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 extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of legislation to improve the Department of Homeland Security's, DHS, acquisition management. In the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, DHS was created to ensure such an attack would never occur again; yet for much of its existence, proper management has taken a back seat.

DHS is now the third largest Federal department with a budget authority of almost $60 billion. A significant amount of the budget is used to buy systems and programs used to secure our borders, protect our shores, and scan people and cargo coming into the United States, among other missions. Unfortunately, many of these major acquisition programs cost more, are late, and do less than is expected.

For 9 years, the Government Accountability Office has been telling the DHS in its high-risk list that its acquisition programs are highly susceptible to fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement.

In addition, the DHS inspector general has identified acquisition management as a major management challenge for DHS, and it audits have found serious mismanagement in TSA body scanners and canine teams, failures to improve radio systems, and waste in CBP and Coast Guard helicopters.

Although DHS has taken steps to implement an acquisition policy with elements of commercial best practices and put mechanisms in place to review programs, it has routinely failed to hold programs accountable. This must change. DHS cannot afford its major acquisition programs. In a time of reduced budgets, DHS must make every dollar count.

Today's legislation, H.R. 4228, the DHS Acquisition Accountability and Efficiency Act, follows consistent subcommittee oversight of DHS acquisition issues. In the 112th Congress, the subcommittee published an August 2012 report providing recommendations for DHS to correct weaknesses in its acquisition and contracting practices. This report went unheeded, and the weaknesses remain to this day.

In the 113th Congress, we have sent numerous letters to DHS and the GAO requiring greater scrutiny on various acquisition programs, and in September 2013, we held a hearing on ways that the DHS could use best practices from the Defense Department and private sector to save taxpayer dollars in acquisition management.

In view of these efforts, I am pleased that the bipartisan cooperation that the ranking member and I have had in drafting H.R. 4228, and I am grateful for the strong support this bill has received.

I would also like to note letters of support from the Project Management Institute, Security Industry Association, Professional Services Council, TechAmerica, IT Alliance for Public Sector, and the American Conservative Union. Business Executives for National Security has also stated its support publicly.

This bill addresses DHS' acquisition problems in several ways. First, it requires leadership accountability from the chief acquisition officer and components in following Federal law, the Federal Acquisition Regulation, and DHS acquisition management directives.

Second, it requires discipline. Every major acquisition program must have an approved acquisition program baseline, an APB, which is a vital document that DHS programs need to measure performance, manage cost growth, and schedule slips; and the acquisition review board must validate acquisition documents of programs.

Third, it provides clarity for American businesses by authorizing the chief procurement officer to serve as the main liaison to industry and oversee a certification and training program for DHS' acquisition workforce; by requiring a multiyear acquisition strategy to guide the direction of DHS acquisitions and help industry better understand, plan, and align resources to meet future acquisition needs of DHS; and by compelling DHS to address issues regarding bid protests.

Fourth, this bill increases transparency by requiring DHS to report to Congress on programs that failed to meet cost, schedule, or performance parameters specified in the APB and by instructing DHS to eliminate unnecessary duplication and inefficiency.

I believe we have a precedent for such efforts under President Ronald Reagan's leadership. In the 1980s, he worked with Congress to address these types of issues in troubled defense programs, and I believe that DHS needs similar leadership from today's President and Congress.

H.R. 4228 will not solve every acquisition problem that DHS has, but it is a first step in forcing DHS to hold its acquisition programs accountable. This bill will help find cost savings through better management policies and strategies.

This is essential if our government is ever going to climb out of the $17.5 trillion worth of debt. It starts one good decision at a time, and DHS can make a difference by improving its acquisition management and by thinking more strategically about its acquisition choices. The American people deserve nothing less. I urge my colleagues to support the bill.

I will insert in the Record the Congressional Budget Office cost estimate.

U.S. Congress,

Congressional Budget Office,

Washington, DC, May 21, 2014.

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. 4228, the DHS

Acquisition Accountability and Efficiency Act.

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

pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Mark

Grabowicz.

Sincerely,

Douglas W. Elmendorf.

Enclosure.

H.R. 4228--DHS Acquisition Accountability and Efficiency Act

CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 4228 would cost $1

million in 2015 and less than $500,000 in each year

thereafter, subject to the availability of appropriated

funds. Enacting the legislation would not affect direct

spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do

not apply.

H.R. 4228 would direct the Department of Homeland Security

(DHS) to improve the accountability, transparency, and

efficiency of its major acquisition programs. The bill would

specify procedures for the department to follow if it fails

to meet timelines, cost estimates, or other performance

parameters for these programs. In addition, H.R. 4228 would

require DHS to prepare a comprehensive report each year on

the status of its acquisition program and would direct the

Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the DHS Inspector

General to review and report on certain issues related to

departmental acquisition policies.

Based on the cost of similar activities, CBO estimates that

the new DHS administrative procedures as well as additional

reviews and reports by GAO and DHS required by H.R. 4228

would cost $1 million in 2015 and less than $500,000 annually

thereafter, assuming availability of appropriated funds. CBO

expects that DHS will continue to seek to improve its

efficiency in acquiring goods and services under current law;

we have no basis for estimating any savings in procurement

costs that might occur as a result of the bill's directives

to the department.

H.R. 4228 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector

mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and

would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Mark Grabowicz.

The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant

Director for Budget Analysis.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member for all of his efforts to help get this bill passed out of committee. It was a truly bipartisan effort. I know he was rushed to get here from a flight from Arizona, but I am glad he was able to participate today.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Carter), the chairman of the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Montana (Mr. Daines).

Mr. Speaker, I don't have any further speakers. I want to urge the adoption of this bipartisan bill to provide the necessary reforms to DHS' acquisition process.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to Major Eric Harrison, United States Army for his extraordinary dedication to duty and service to the United States of America. Major Harrison will be moving on from his present assignment as an Army Congressional Liaison to the House of Representatives to Fort Hood, Texas.

Army Congressional Liaisons provide an invaluable service to both the military and Congress. They assist Members and staff in understanding the Army's policies, actions, operations, and requirements. Their firsthand knowledge of military needs, culture, and tradition is a tremendous benefit to Congressional offices.

A native of Fairport, New York, Major Harrison graduated from North Georgia College in 2002 and was commissioned as Second Lieutenant in the Field Artillery. He has served in a variety of assignments including service in Germany, Hawaii, and the Pentagon. Major Harrison was selected for the highly competitive Joint Chiefs of Staff Internship program and has participated in multiple combat tours to Iraq.

Major Harrison's military awards include the Combat Action Badge and Bronze Star Medal (three awards), as well as the Iraq Campaign Medal. He was also inducted into the Honorable Order of Saint Barbara. He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Education from North Georgia College, a Master of Arts in Leadership and Management from Webster University, and a Master of Policy Management from Georgetown University.

Mr. Speaker, it is my honor to recognize the selfless service of Major Harrison as he proceeds to the next chapter in his remarkable career and continues to serve our great Nation. On behalf of a grateful Nation, I join my colleagues in recognizing and commending Major Harrison for his dedicated service to this country. For all he and his family have given and continue to give to our country; we are in their debt. We wish him, his wife Sara, and his sons Eli and Jack, all the best as they continue their journey in the United States Army.

Mr. Speaker, the number of veterans has declined by several millions in recent years, due to deaths and decreases in the numbers of our military, yet the problems in the VA and complaints by veterans about poor treatment and long delays have grown by leaps and bounds.

It is definitely not a money problem because no department or agency has received the megabillions and high percentage increases that the Congress has given to the VA; yet, despite years of criticism for Members of Congress and the media, the problems have grown worse.

The only effective solution is competition. I said in a speech to a veterans group many years ago that eligible veterans should be given a card and allowed to go to any hospital they choose, including those considered to be the best in the Nation. In this way, VA hospitals would be forced to provide better service, or Congress could and should close the ones with rapidly declining and/or very low occupancy rates.

Mr. Speaker, our veterans deserve the very best medical treatment possible.

Mr. Chair, I move to strike the last word.

Mr. Chair, I rise today in support of the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act, and I will commend the chairman of the committee for his efforts on this.

This legislation not only provides the necessary funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs' operation, but it also sets a clear priority of addressing the massive problems at hand at the VA. We have read the recent news article saying we are aware as a Congress of all the problems that we are seeing in the VA. For too long, the heroes that have served this country have been mistreated, overlooked, or flat-out ignored by the VA. When these brave men and women signed up to defend our Nation, they were promised to be taken care of when they returned home. However, today we see less than adequate care--doctor's visit wait times stretching months and, in some cases, years, and hundreds of thousands of backlog benefit cases.

The incident the gentleman from North Carolina just talked about is prevalent all across this land in every congressional district, including mine. Mr. Chairman, when I talk to the veterans back home in my district, I hear loss of confidence in a government that promised to be there for them. I hear from war veterans who are just plain giving up on the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The latest report on VA claims from April 28, 2014, shows there are almost 600,000 pending claims with over 300,000 considered backlogged that have been pending for over 125 days. Mr. Chairman, that is 125 days without an answer or resolution that these veterans will never get back.

Just in my office, we have seen a multitude of cases that demonstrate the current ongoing crisis at the VA. One Korean war veteran has been working with my office on a Decision Review Officer review for over 18 months now. This is a decision process that was supposed to be quicker than a Board of Veterans' Appeal in Washington. After waiting for more than a year for a meeting before his appeal, he couldn't wait any longer and just asked for the decision to be with the information that was at hand. While he is still waiting for an answer, I am praying for a resolution for that veteran.

We have seen other instances where we were able to send documentation on behalf of constituents to various Veterans Administration offices, for the very same offices to turn around months later and ask for the same information again. Is this any way to treat the men and women who sacrificed their lives to defend the very freedoms our country enjoys?

Thankfully, this legislation we are considering today makes a stride in the right direction by concentrating efforts to end the current backlog; holding the VA offices accountable through office performance measurements, not just awarding bonuses for someone when the facilities are in need of some attention, we will say; and increasing medical services for veterans, and that is the most important part.

This bill prioritizes the timely and accurate exchange of medical data, updating the VA health records system, and ensuring the system is operable with the Department of Defense.

This is not a silver bullet, Mr. Chairman, and we still have a long way to go to get the VA clicking and ticking again, but I hope we can use that momentum to continue working towards fulfilling the promises made to our veterans and improving the lives of our Nation's heroes. They deserve it.

May God bless our Nation's troops and veterans, and may God continue to bless the United States of America.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to withdraw my name as cosponsor of H.R. 2377.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Bell Street Middle School in Clinton, South Carolina, for the outstanding accomplishment of winning their 12th consecutive Science Olympiad State Championship.

You hear a lot about sports teams, but this is a science olympiad team. Each year, the South Carolina Science Olympiad competition brings together schools from all over the State to compete in science-related contests, with the goal of changing the way science is perceived and taught.

Bell Street Middle School has repeatedly excelled in the competition, leading the State for over a decade. This year, Bell Street finished first in 12 of the 20 individual competitions in the State tournament.

Last year, the school placed in the top six in the Dynamic Planet competition in the Science Olympiad national tournament.

We are very proud of these students and what they accomplished. I am confident they will go on to represent South Carolina well in the national competition.

I want to thank the students, teachers, the parents, and the volunteers who have worked tirelessly to make the dream a reality.

I wish the team great success in the upcoming national competition and continued success in the State tournament for years to come.

I want to thank the gentleman from Texas.

There was a tragedy this week at Fort Hood, Texas. The folks in South Carolina once again stand with the people in Texas.

The President's former Chief of Staff, and now the mayor of Chicago, Rahm Emanuel, infamously said:

Never let a crisis go to waste.

That is what we are seeing going on today with Harry Reid looking to use the recent Fort Hood tragedy to pursue his agenda of control. Harry Reid said this week that the recent shooting should renew discussion about gun control, and then went on to talk about background checks and mental health issues.

Mr. Speaker, these comments have nothing to do with the facts at hand. However, Harry Reid wants to use this as a way to restrict Americans' Second Amendment rights. I don't agree with his motives, but I do agree with his suggestion that we need to revive a discussion on the Second Amendment. It should reawaken our discussions about Americans' constitutionally affirmed rights to keep and bear arms to defend ourselves, to defend our families, to defend our property, and, ultimately, to defend this great Nation.

With regard to our military, the gentleman from Texas and I had a conversation earlier. I fully understand that when you join the military, you give up some rights. You give up the right to speak unless you are spoken to or it is appropriate. You give up the right to assemble peacefully. You assemble when they tell you to on the parade ground, I have been told, but you don't have the right to assemble. You don't have a right to trial by jury. We set the jury of court-martial for the military. I get that.

Yet we trust these soldiers with both high-tech and low-tech weapon systems that they use to defend this great Nation, but then we turn around and create these gun-free zones on their bases, which have resulted in two incidents. Gun-free zones have resulted in two incidents at Fort Hood and the killing of unarmed and law-abiding citizens.

I will mention, as the gentleman from Texas did, that the President wants to call this an episode of workplace violence. Well, nothing could be further from the truth. Major Hasan was an Islamist jihadist intent on doing harm in the war against America that we see raging all over the world in places like Afghanistan and Iraq.

The folks that were wounded there and the soldiers that were killed at Fort Hood deserve the medals that they have earned, and it is time to call this for what it was. It was an episode of terrorism, and the original Fort Hood shooting incident requires, I believe, that those victims receive the medals. That is something I renew the call on.

I raised this issue about the travesty this week and the gun-free zones to my constituents via Twitter and Facebook. These are some of the things they had to say.

A lady named Carolyn Chandler says:

Our own soldiers, without guns, shot down on our own base

in our own country. A ban on guns gives the criminals free

targets. The criminals will have the guns. Criminals do not

obey laws.

Steve Carey says:

The victims at Fort Hood are not dangerous. The politicians

who have disarmed the soldiers at a military base are

dangerous.

Ken Crowe says:

We don't need more gun laws; we need fewer gun-free zones.

I agree with him on that.

It is time for America to wake up. The only lawbreakers in Fort Hood, Texas, in both of these tragic events were the killers themselves who took a firearm into a gun-free zone.

I am reminded of an old adage that says, when seconds count, the police that can protect you in these gun-free zones are just minutes away.

When seconds count, the police are just minutes away. Think about that, America. It is time to let our soldiers and law-abiding Americans defend themselves and reaffirm our Second Amendment and constitutional rights in this country

I appreciate the gentleman bringing forth the SOS law. I look forward to cosponsoring that. Let's allow law-abiding Americans, soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines to defend themselves. SOS sends a warning signal. It is an alarm. It is put on the beach when someone needs to be rescued. Well, guess what? The people in gun-free zones need to be rescued as well by having the ability to defend themselves.

So I thank the gentleman from Texas for giving me the time to talk about this important are issue. May God bless him, may God bless the Republic of Texas, and may God bless the United States of America.

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 147, I missed the vote on final passage of H.R. 1459, the Public Involvement in the Creation of National Monuments Act. I supported this bill in the Natural Resources Committee and would have voted in favor of it on final passage. Unfortunately business on the Senate side of the Capitol prevented me from voting before the rollcall ended. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye.''

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the rule, as well as the underlying bills.

Mr. Speaker, the instances of executive branch overreach are numerous.

Whether it is the multiple episodes of the President of the United States unilaterally delaying and waiving aspects of his signature law, the Affordable Care Act, or the failure to enforce this Nation's immigration laws by unilaterally implementing aspects of the DREAM Act, this President has shown an appalling lack of concern for the laws which his oath demands that he enforce.

Someone who holds the office of the Presidency cannot pick and choose which laws he wants to enforce and which laws he wants to ignore.

I was astonished when, during the State of the Union speech, many in this Chamber stood and applauded when the President said that if Congress didn't act on issues which he felt were important, he would just go around Congress and act on his own.

This followed his now infamous ``I've got a pen and I've got a phone'' statement earlier.

Is that really how the legislative branch should feel about its constitutional position in the Republic?

The ``pen and phone'' approach to his executive duties is disastrous to the Founding Fathers' vision of liberty protected by limited government which is spread across multiple, equal branches.

Where is the President's respect for the rule of law? He expects Vladimir Putin to respect international law with respect to Ukraine while the President, himself, at the same time, continues to disregard the laws passed by the United States Congress.

The legislative branch was designed as an equal branch of government. In fact, the establishment of the executive branch was easy for the Founding Fathers, who didn't wish to see imperialism in a Presidency, and they intentionally chose to limit that branch's powers. It was the legislative branch where they spent most of their time--deliberating, designing, and enumerating the powers which we hold--and it is past time for this body to say ``no'' to Presidential overreach.

No, Mr. President. You cannot write laws via executive orders. No. You must enforce the laws passed by Congress or actually lead in an effort to change the laws with which you may disagree.

In 1787, when asked what form of government the Framers had given us, Ben Franklin reportedly replied, ``A Republic if you can keep it.''

Mr. Speaker, I am afraid we are slowly losing grip on our Republic-- the government designed by this Nation's Founding Fathers that has provided over 200 years of freedom and prosperity.

It is time for the people's House to regain its constitutional authority as the sole legislative body.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to Sergeant First Class Douglas Lesh, in honor of his retirement from the United States Army and his extraordinary dedication to duty and service to the United States of America. Sergeant First Class Lesh and his wife Amanda will be moving on from his current assignment as the Non- Commissioned Officer in Charge of the Office of the Chief, Legislative Liaison's Travel section.

Army Congressional Liaisons provide an invaluable service to both the military and Congress. They assist Members and staff in understanding the Army's policies, actions, operations, and requirements. Their first hand knowledge of military needs, culture, and tradition is a tremendous benefit to Congressional offices.

A native of Grass Valley, California, Sergeant First Class Lesh enlisted in the Army on August 5, 1993, and entered infantry basic training at Ft. Benning, Georgia.

Sergeant First Class Lesh's assignments have taken him to Tong Du Su Shon, Korea; Fort Stewart, Georgia; Fort Carson, Colorado; Sacramento, California; Fort Benning, Georgia; Ramadi and Baquba, Iraq; The Joint Staff at The Pentagon, and the 1st Battalion 3rd Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard).

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of a grateful Nation, I join my colleagues in recognizing and commending Sergeant First Class Lesh for his dedicated service to this country. For all he

and his family have given and continue to give to our country; we are in their debt. We wish him, his wife Amanda, his son Logan, and daughters Chloe and Hattie, all the best in their future endeavors.

Madam Speaker, let me begin by reminding the House that the gentleman that spoke before me on this side of the aisle, Mr. Sam Johnson from Texas, is a real American hero, and let us not forget that.

This week is recognized as National School Choice Week, a week dedicated to bringing awareness to a very simple idea: let's put parents in charge of their children's education.

School choice means giving every child the opportunity to learn at the place that best meets their needs, not one they are relegated to because of where they may live or what district they are assigned to.

For decades now, where our children learn has been decided by arbitrary government rules that could never understand the needs of each individual child or family. When kids fail to make the grade, the solution has been to throw more money and government regulation into the mix, but the end results cannot be clearer.

This top-down, government-knows-best system has failed to serve the very people it seeks to help, and support from parents and teachers for initiatives like Common Core continues to crumble.

Be it a charter school, private school, home school, or local public school, the fact of the matter is parents know what works best for their child, not Washington. We owe it to our children to help them reach their full potential.

I strongly believe that every child, regardless of background or school district, should have the opportunity to learn at the school that best meets their needs. Let's work together for a brighter future for our children.

Mr. Speaker, we are all getting calls in our offices as to the impact of ObamaCare on average Americans. Here is an example from just this morning:

A female, aged 23, making below the D.C. poverty level per year. She currently pays $94 a month for her health care insurance. She went on the ObamaCare Web site just to find out that it would cost her $250 a month, with a $6,000 deductible.

Folks, the impact of ObamaCare on average Americans is why ObamaCare should be a part of this spending-and-debt debate here in Washington.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of a gentleman who is with me in the Capitol. He was the high school valedictorian at Liberty High School.

This summer, during his valedictorian address, he ripped up his approved speech and delivered The Lord's Prayer in defiance of the school district's decision to no longer include prayer at graduation.

This is someone that reminds us that we as a Nation need to return to God. I am thankful for him and the inspiration of his generation.

Mr. Speaker, over 1 week ago, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid shut down the government rather than have an honest conversation about the problems facing this country.

The House has passed not one, not two, not three, but four separate bills that would have kept the government running, while ensuring basic fairness for all Americans under the President's health care law.

And even after the United States Senate rejected every single one of these bills, still House Republicans asked to simply have a conversation, and the Senate said no.

So here we are. House Republicans are working and will continue to work to fund important government functions like medical research and benefits for our veterans. We hope the Senate and the President will join us in these efforts.

It's time for the President and the Senate to stop playing games at the expense of the American people.

Mr. Speaker, in the run-up to the American Revolution, American colonialists were concerned over the English Government's use of general warrants--giving British authorities the right to enter into private homes or businesses without evidence of wrongdoing--to search for and seize anything they considered contraband under English laws and taxation. This led to the Founding Fathers including this in the United States Constitution:

Amendment IV. The right of people to be secure in their

persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable

search and seizures, shall not be violated and no warrants

shall be issued but upon probable cause, supported by oath or

affirmation, particularly describing the place to be searched

and the persons or things to be seized.

That is why this debate over NSA programs is so important. Americans should be secure in their private papers--electronic or otherwise-- against unreasonable searches and seizures.