Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record the cost estimate from the Congressional Budget Office regarding H.R. 1252. The cost estimate was not available at the time of the filing of the Committee report.

U.S. Congress,

Congressional Budget Office,

Washington, DC, March 22, 2017.

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. 1252, the DHS Acquisition Authorities Act

of 2017.

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

pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Mark

Grabowicz.

Sincerely,

Mark P. Hadley

(For Keith Hall).

Enclosure.

H.R. 1252--DHS Acquisition Authorities Act of 2017

H.R. 1252 would specify which offices in the Department of

Homeland Security (DHS) headquarters have responsibility for

acquisition programs. Based on information from DHS, CBO

estimates that implementing H.R. 1252 would cost less than

$500,000 annually; such spending would be 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. CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 1252 would not

increase net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of

the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2028.

H.R. 1252 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector

mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and

would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal

governments.

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Mark Grabowicz.

The estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy

Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record the cost estimate from the Congressional Budget Office regarding H.R. 1294. The cost estimate was not available at the time of the filing of the Committee report.

U.S. Congress,

Congressional Budget Office,

Washington, DC, March 22, 2017.

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. 1294, the

Reducing DHS Acquisition Cost Growth Act.

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

pleased to provide them, The CBO staff contact is Mark

Grabowicz.

Sincerely,

Mark P. Hadley

(For Keith Hall).

Enclosure.

H.R. 1294--Reducing DHS Acquisition Cost Growth Act

H.R. 1294 would specify procedures to be followed by the

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) if it fails to meet

certain timelines or other performance parameters for its

major acquisition programs. Based on information from DHS,

CBO estimates that the new administrative procedures would

cost less than $500,000 annually; such spending would be

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. CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 1294 would not

increase net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of

the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2028.

H.R. 1294 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector

mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and

would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal

governments.

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Mark Orabowicz.

The estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy

Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record the cost estimate from the Congressional Budget Office regarding H.R. 1249. The cost estimate was not available at the time of the filing of the Committee report.

U.S. Congress,

Congressional Budget Office,

Washington, DC, March 22, 2017.

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. 1249, the DHS

Multiyear Acquisition Strategy Act of 2017.

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

pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Mark

Grabowicz.

Sincerely,

Mark P. Hadley,

(For Keith Hall, Director).

Enclosure.

H.R. 1249--DHS Multiyear Acquisition Strategy Act of 2017

H.R. 1249 would require the Department of Homeland Security

(DHS), within one year of enactment, to submit to the

Congress a report on the department's comprehensive strategy

for acquisitions. The act would direct the Government

Accountability Office to review that report within 180 days

of its submission. Based on information from DHS and the cost

of similar activities, CBO estimates that the reports

required by H.R. 1249 would cost about $1 million in fiscal

year 2018 and less than $500,000 in 2019; such spending would

be 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. CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 1249 would not

increase net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of

the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2028.

H.R. 1249 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector

mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and

would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal

governments.

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Mark Grabowicz.

The estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy

Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record the cost estimate on

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 1249, the DHS Multiyear Acquisition Strategy Act of 2017. I thank Representative Fitzpatrick for his leadership in championing this important legislation. I also want to commend the other Committee Members, especially the freshmen, on their key bipartisan legislation being considered today.

We are in dangerous times and our homeland faces significant threats. The tools we provide our frontline personnel securing our borders, protecting our airports, and defending our cyber networks need to be delivered on time and properly designed to meet their needs.

Far too often, DHS has mismanaged major acquisition programs and the result has been systems that are late, do less, and cost more to the taxpayer. Representative Fitzpatrick's bill, along with Representatives Rutherford and Higgins' bills, is critical in ensuring that DHS better manages these vital acquisition programs. These bills put important safeguards into place to guard against waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement.

As we move forward with our Committee's work to reauthorize DHS for the first time ever, we will continue our focus on draining the waste from the Department to ensure our homeland is secured efficiently and effectively. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 1249.

Mr. Speaker, on March 15, 2017, I missed the voting session. If present, I would have voted as follows:

YES--H.R. 132--Arbuckle Project Maintenance Complex and District Office Conveyance Act of 2017

YES--H.R. 648--To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to amend the Definite Plan Report for the Seedskadee Project to enable the use of the active capacity of the Fontenelle Reservoir

YES--Motion to Table the Appeal of the Ruling of the Chair

Mr. Speaker, on February 13, 2017, I missed the voting session. If present, I would have voted as follows:

YES--H.R. 244--HIRE Vets Act, as amended

YES--H.R. 974--BRAVE Act

Mr. Speaker, on February 14, 2017, I missed both voting sessions. If present, I would have voted as follows:

``Yes''--Previous Question on H. Res. 99.

``Yes''--H. Res. 99--The combined rule providing for consideration of the bill H.R. 428--Red River Gradient Boundary Survey Act and of the bill H.J. Res. 42--Disapproving the rule submitted by the Department of Labor relating to drug testing of unemployment compensation applicants.

``Yes''--Previous Question on H. Res. 116.

``Yes''--H. Res. 116--The combined rule providing for consideration of the bill H.J. Res. 66--Disapproving the rule submitted by the Department of Labor relating to savings arrangements established by States for non-governmental employees and of the bill H.J. Res. 67-- Disapproving the rule submitted by the Department of Labor relating to savings arrangements established by qualified State political subdivisions for non-governmental employees.

``Yes''--H.R. 428--Red River Gradient Boundary Survey Act.

Mr. Speaker, as chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, I am proud to be an original co-sponsor of H.R. 719, the TSA Office of Inspection Accountability Act of 2015, sponsored by the gentleman from New York, Mr. Katko.

This bill would increase accountability at TSA and save precious taxpayer dollars by requiring the agency to correctly designate criminal investigators within the TSA Office of Inspection who are charged with conducting covert tests, inspections, and investigating misconduct among fellow TSA employees.

This bill stems from a 2013 DHS Inspector General (IG) report that found TSA's Office of Inspection does not operate efficiently and does not ensure that its criminal investigators are spending the majority of their time conducting criminal investigations, even though they are receiving premium law enforcement pay and related benefits. The bill addresses the IG's findings by requiring a thorough review of the type of work carried out by TSA criminal investigators, which could save millions of taxpayer dollars over the next several years in law enforcement pay, vehicles, training, and other benefits.

I am proud to be an original cosponsor of this common sense, bipartisan bill, and would like to thank the chairman of the subcommittee, Mr. Katko, as well as the Congressman from South Carolina, Mr. Sanford, for their leadership on this issue. I would also like to thank the ranking member of the full committee, Mr. Thompson, and the ranking member of the subcommittee, Miss Rice, for their support of this legislation.

H.R. 719 is substantively identical to H.R. 4803, legislation approved by the Committee on Homeland Security last Congress that subsequently passed the House by voice vote.

I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 719.

Mr. Speaker, as Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, I am proud to be an original cosponsor of H.R. 720, the Gerardo Hernandez Airport Security Act of 2015. This bipartisan legislation will help airports nationwide improve their emergency response plans, in order to be better prepared for security incidents like the tragic shooting that occurred at Los Angeles International Airport on November 1, 2013. This legislation will enhance airport security by requiring the Transportation Security Administration to assess security incident preparedness at airports across the country, train its own employees on

how to effectively respond to active shooter incidents, develop plans for testing emergency communications equipment, and act as a clearinghouse for airport security best-practices.

I had the opportunity to travel to LAX nearly a year ago for a site visit and field hearing led by the gentleman from North Carolina, Mr. Hudson. During that trip, the Committee gained a better understanding of how relatively easy it is for someone with malicious intent to wreak havoc at one of the world's busiest airports and how important it is to have adequate emergency plans in place to respond to any security incident that may occur.

I would like to commend the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Transportation Security, Mr. Katko and the former Chairman of the Subcommittee, Mr. Hudson for their diligent efforts to address this important issue, and their dedication to strengthening the state of airport security nationwide. I also wish to commend the bipartisan efforts of both the Ranking Member of the Full Committee, Mr. Thompson, and the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee, Miss Rice, whose support of this legislation is greatly appreciated. Identical language to H.R. 720 was approved by the Committee on Homeland Security last Congress and subsequently passed the House by voice vote.

I urge support for this critical measure.

Let me thank my colleague from Arizona for her great leadership. I think this House is well served to have the first female pilot who has served in combat.

We thank you for your service, and I can probably tell a few more stories of bravery about you. I am very fortunate to have you on this committee.

Mr. Speaker, this is an issue of grave importance to the Nation. As chairman of Homeland Security, when I go home, it is the number one issue, and the number one question I get back home is: Mr. Chairman, when are you going to secure that border?

I believe we have an opportunity in this Congress to finally get this thing done and to get it done in the right way and the smart way. People say: Why is it so important? In 10 years in the Congress and as a Federal prosecutor prior to that in dealing with this issue, I have seen the scourge of drug cartels, of human trafficking, the poisoning of our kids with drugs, and the potential threat of a terrorist attack in the United States. I don't want that on this Congress' head. We do have an opportunity to act. We have a bill that was passed out of committee, and I think it does several things.

One, it finally directs and tells the Department of Homeland Security how to get this mission done sector by sector. As the gentlewoman knows, Arizona is very different from San Diego and is very different from Texas, which is where we saw 60,000 children crossing last summer. We know that a surge is probably on its way again if we don't

act in this Congress soon. We also know, with the spread of ISIS overseas, that the threat is real.

With the event of the Jordanian's being lit on fire yesterday, it is a wake-up call that we need to act and that we need to act soon in the Congress to protect the American people. This is more than Homeland Security--it is national security. It is really not an immigration issue. This bill is about securing the border in a smart way.

When I was in Afghanistan and Pakistan, I met with General Allen. They didn't really have much of a fence, but I said: ``What is your border security with the Pak border?'' They pointed to aerostats in the sky that could see for hundreds of miles that we saw on our recent trip down there. With the value of 100 percent visibility to see what is coming in and how to stop it, you can measure success, first of all, but you can respond to the threats in realtime.

In addition, the VADER technology, the radar on the Predator UAVs, is of tremendous value for a smart border. A lot of these assets were actually used in Afghanistan. We have already paid for these assets, and we want to redeploy those to the southwest border.

We also fully fund the National Guard, which to our Governors-- particularly my Governor in the great State of Texas--is of vital interest and concern. We allow access to Federal lands for CBP, which, in the past, they have been denied; and we have a U.S. exit system set up--which the 9/11 Commission recommended, and to this day Congress has failed to act on that--to determine who is staying with visas legally and who is overstaying those visas like we saw with the hijackers on 9/ 11.

At the end of the day, this is an important issue that has to get done. It is no longer time for lipservice; it is time for action on what I consider to be one of the most important Homeland Security issues facing this Nation.

I just want to thank the gentlelady for holding this Special Order. I know we have members of the committee here who have great expertise, both Federal prosecutors, CIA, and other experiences to bring this issue to life. I hope we can do more of this in the future.

The American people know this is an important issue. The problem is the Members of Congress have been tone deaf on this and have not gotten the job done. I would argue to my colleagues who are listening to this and to the American people that now is the time to finally get the job done.

If the gentlelady would just yield on this point, too, this is a bill not built from bureaucrats in Washington, down. This is a bill designed by talking to Border Patrol agents, to the border sheriffs who support this bill, to the ranchers. What a great presentation we received from John Ladd and his father, Jack, in Arizona.

I will never forget, when you had the press conference, John Ladd was saying: You know, for the first time, I have real hope.

They said: Well, Members have come down here before.

He said: Not this many and not of this caliber of leadership, and for the first time I have hope.

I don't want to let those ranchers down. I want to get this job done for the ranchers, the border sheriffs, and the agents who spend day in and day out in very tough conditions.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 361, the Medical Preparedness Allowable Use Act that was introduced by Congressman Bilirakis. Over the years, the Committee on Homeland Security has heard about the importance of medical countermeasures.

This bill amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to make it clear that grant funds under the State Homeland Security Grant Program and Urban Area Security Initiative may be used to enhance medical preparedness and purchase medical countermeasures. We owe it to our emergency response community, our first responders, to ensure that they have every tool necessary to be prepared for and combat the threats they face every day and may face in the future.

Over the years, we have seen that the investments in medical preparedness activities have provided positive benefits when it comes to response capabilities. This was clearly demonstrated in the response to the Boston Marathon bombings when the medical community was largely praised by all involved in the response. The Committee on Homeland Security heard testimony last year from the head of Boston Emergency Medical Services, Chief Hooley, who spoke about the importance of Homeland Security grant funding in their preparation for events such as the Boston Marathon Bombing.

Sadly, we realize that the threat of a biological or chemical or other attack is real. We therefore must do everything that we can to ensure that our first responders are prepared to combat the threat.

This measure has passed the House both in the 112th and the 113th Congress with overwhelming bipartisan support. I ask my colleagues to support this measure and my colleagues in the Senate to do the same

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 615, the Department of Homeland Security Interoperable Communications Act that was introduced by the Congressman Payne. I am proud to join Ranking Member Thompson and Congresswoman Brooks in cosponsoring this legislation that will begin to solve a problem that continues to plague the Department of Homeland Security.

This measure was written to address a November 2012 DHS Office of Inspector General report, which found that DHS lacks an effective governance structure to ensure interoperable communications among its components. This is unacceptable, and an issue that should be fixed, especially after the Department has been in existence for well over a decade.

Component agencies of the Department of Homeland Security must be able to communicate on a daily basis, and particularly in times of crisis. One of the benefits of have a Department of Homeland Security should be that components, including FEMA, ICE, and CBP, are able to act as one department and communicate at will.

This bill requires the Department's Under Secretary of Management to submit a strategy to the Committee on Homeland Security on achieving and maintaining interoperability within the Department.

This measure passed the 113th Congress on a bipartisan vote and I urge all Members to join me in supporting this important legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 623, the Social Media Working Group Act of 2015, which was introduced by Congresswoman Brooks, Congressman Payne, and myself.

Social media is becoming an important tool before, during and after disasters. This becomes more and more obvious after every incident and was especially prevalent both after Hurricane Sandy and the Boston bombings. Almost two years ago, when two pressure cooker bombs exploded at the finish line of the Boston Marathon, local emergency managers and law enforcement turned to social media to alert the public, solicit assistance, and offer comfort to the city. Incidents like these point to the fact that authorities must embrace the use of social media as a way to both collect and disseminate information in the management of a disaster.

Last year, I visited the headquarters of the American Red Cross with the author of this legislation, Congresswoman Brooks. One of the highlights of our visit was the Red Cross Digital Disaster Operations Center, where, in partnership with Dell, the Red Cross built the first- ever social media operations center for humanitarian relief. I was impressed to see how the Red Cross is communicating with disaster survivors through social media and how social media is changing the way we are able to prepare for and respond to disasters.

In the last Congress, the Committee on Homeland Security's Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Response and Communications held two hearings on the impact of social media before, during and after disasters. These hearings informed the writing of this legislation which authorizes and enhances the Department's Virtual Social Media Working Group to ensure best practices and lessons learned are shared with appropriate stakeholders, including the private sector, and ensure our first responders understand the ever changing dynamic of using social media.

This measure passed the House floor with almost 400 votes in the 113th Congress, demonstrating its importance and bipartisan support. I urge Members to join me in supporting this bill today.

Mr. Speaker, I strongly support H.R. 460, The Human Trafficking Detection Act of 2015.

I am proud to be an original cosponsor of this important, bipartisan legislation, which will ensure that DHS personnel continue to receive the training they need to detect and disrupt human trafficking.

As Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, I convened a field hearing in Houston during the last Congress to examine the issue of human trafficking. At the hearing, the Committee heard compelling and disturbing testimony on how human trafficking is destroying the lives of vulnerable populations across the globe, including here in the United States.

Simply put, human trafficking is a despicable crime, and it must be stopped. I believe this bill is an excellent step towards that goal.

The Human Trafficking Detection Act of 2015 would ensure that U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Transportation Security Administration, and other Department of Homeland Security personnel are trained to effectively detect, and to the extent appropriate, intercept and disrupt trafficking in persons, during the course of their normal roles and responsibilities. Not only would this legislation require effective training, it would also ensure that these employees are regularly provided with the most current trends and information on human trafficking and are adequately equipped to counter this growing problem.

While the men and women at DHS carry out their everyday work, many of them are well-positioned to spot traffickers who may try to exploit our nation's transportation systems to move their victims, both from overseas and within our borders.

H.R. 460 also ensures that Congress has insight into the level of success of the training being provided, and that the Department's State and local partners have full access to training curricula to establish their own trafficking awareness programs.

I applaud Mr. Walker for introducing this legislation, and I urge all of my colleagues to vote yes on this common-sense measure.