The House last week approved nine bipartisan homeland security bills, including one that would establish a five-year term for the head of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and five dealing with acquisition at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
The TSA Administrator Modernization Act of 2017 (H.R. 1309) introduced by Rep. John Katko (R-N.Y.) would authorize a five-year term for the administrator of TSA, which would assure leadership continuity in the case of a presidential transition. It would also provide for consistent leadership of the agency over the term. The bill passed unanimously.
The acquisition-related bills include the DHS Multiyear Acquisition Strategy Act of 2017 (H.R. 1249) that requires DHS to present a multiyear acquisition strategy each year as part of the Future Years Acquisition Plan. The bill was introduced by Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) and passed unanimously.
The Reducing DHS Acquisition Cost Growth Act (H.R. 1294) provides for congressional notification of major acquisition program breaches. It was sponsored by Rep. John Rutherford (R-Fla.) and passed unanimously.
The Transparency in Technological Acquisitions Act (H.R. 1353), sponsored by Rep. Kathleen Rice (D.N.Y.), requires the five-year TSA technology investment plan to include additional information such as acquisitions that have been completed and changes in the dollar amount allocated to a procurement or number of a technology. The bill was approved 414 to 2.
The DHS Acquisition Authorities Act (H.R. 1252) authorizes the under secretary for management as the chief acquisition officer at DHS, which includes leading the Acquisition Review Board. The bill was introduced by Rep. Clay Higgins (R-La.) and passed 407-1.
The Department of Homeland Security Acquisition Innovation Act (H.R. 1365), sponsored by Rep. Lou Correa (D-Calif.)., requires the under secretary of management to designate a person within the department to manage acquisition innovation efforts, test emerging acquisition best practices, and develop and distribute best practices and lessons about acquisition innovation throughout DHS. The bill passed unanimously.
Other bills include the Terrorist and Foreign Fighter Travel Exercise Act (H.R. 1302) that requires an exercise related to terrorist and foreign fighter travel. The bill was introduced by Rep. Martha McSally (R-Ariz.) and was agreed to by voice vote. The Securing our Agriculture and Food Act (H.R. 1238), introduced by Rep. David Young (R-Iowa), makes the assistant secretary for health affairs responsible for coordinating the efforts of DHS related to foo, agriculture, and veterinary defense against terrorism. The bill passed 406 to 6.
The Quadrennial Homeland Security Review Technical Corrections Act (H.R. 1297), sponsored by Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.), makes technical corrections to the requirement that the Homeland Security Secretary submit quadrennial homeland security reviews. The bill passed unanimously.