A House panel that oversees the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Wednesday marked up several bills, including one that seeks to better understand how unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) could be used in an attack and how such an attack could be thwarted, and another aimed at ensuring the department accounts for its information technology (IT) systems and reduces IT system duplication.

The Homeland Security Drone Assessment and Analysis Act (H.R. 1646), which, as introduced by Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.), requires DHS to research how commercially-available small and medium-sized UAS could be used in an attack and how a drone attack could be prevented or mitigated. The proposed legislation would also require DHS, in consultation with other federal departments, to develop policies and protocols to prevent or mitigate drone attacks. CAPITOL

The IT bill directs the DHS chief information officer to report to Congress on the number of IT systems at the department, assess which ones are duplicative, and to develop a strategy to reduce duplicative systems as well as assess the resulting cost savings. The DHS IT Duplication Reduction Act of 2015 (H.R.1626), was sponsored by Rep. Will Hurd (R-Texas).

Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.), chairman of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Oversight and Management Efficiency, cited the Government Accountability Office reporting that DHS plans to “spend about $6 billion on ongoing IT programs.”

The subcommittee also approved bills aimed at updating Congress on DHS cost and schedule estimates for consolidating its headquarters as well as estimated costs for reducing the scope of the project, improving how the department tracks and reports on employees placed on administrative leave, and to improving efficiencies with DHS’ Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) tracking and processing.

All the measures were approved by voice vote.