[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4290 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4290

 To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to provide for additional 
  availability of testing facilities and equipment and to extend the 
 authority of the Secretary of Homeland Security to carry out certain 
                   research and development projects.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            December 5, 2007

 Mr. McCaul of Texas introduced the following bill; which was referred 
                 to the Committee on Homeland Security

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to provide for additional 
  availability of testing facilities and equipment and to extend the 
 authority of the Secretary of Homeland Security to carry out certain 
                   research and development projects.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Homeland Security Technology 
Advancement Act''.

SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY TO 
              CARRY OUT CERTAIN RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS.

    Section 831(a) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 
391(a)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``5-year'' and inserting ``10-year''; and
            (2) by striking ``the Secretary may carry out a pilot 
        program under which''.

SEC. 3. AVAILABILITY OF TESTING FACILITIES AND EQUIPMENT.

    (a) Amendment.--Title III of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 
U.S.C. 181 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
section:

``SEC. 316. AVAILABILITY OF TESTING FACILITIES AND EQUIPMENT.

    ``(a) Authority.--The Under Secretary for Science and Technology or 
his designee may make available to any person or entity, for an 
appropriate fee, the services of any Department of Homeland Security 
owned and operated center, or other testing facility for the testing of 
materials, equipment, models, computer software, and other items 
designed to advance the homeland security mission.
    ``(b) Interference With Federal Programs.--The Under Secretary for 
Science and Technology shall ensure that the testing of materiel and 
other items not owned by the Government shall not cause government 
personnel or other government resources to be diverted from scheduled 
tests of Government materiel or otherwise interfere with Government 
mission requirements.
    ``(c) Confidentiality of Test Results.--The results of tests 
performed with services made available under subsection (a) and any 
associated data provided by the person or entity for the conduct of 
such tests are trade secrets or commercial or financial information 
that is privileged or confidential within the meaning of section 
552b(4) of title 5, United States Code, and may not be disclosed 
outside the Federal Government without the consent of the person or 
entity for whom the tests are performed.
    ``(d) Fees.--The fees for exercising the authorities under 
subsection (a) may not exceed the amount necessary to recoup the direct 
and indirect costs involved, such as direct costs of utilities, 
contractor support, and salaries of personnel that are incurred by the 
United States to provide for the testing.
    ``(e) Use of Fees.--The fees for exercising the authorities under 
subsection (a) shall be credited to the appropriations or other funds 
of the Directorate of Science and Technology.
    ``(f) Operational Plan.--Not later than 3 months after the date of 
enactment of this section, the Under Secretary for Science and 
Technology shall submit to Congress a report detailing a plan for 
operating a program under the authority provided to the Under Secretary 
in subsection (a). The plan shall contain--
            ``(1) a list of the facilities and equipment that could be 
        made available to outside users;
            ``(2) a five-year budget plan, including costs for facility 
        construction, staff training, contract and legal fees, 
        equipment maintenance and operation, and any incidental costs 
        associated with the program;
            ``(3) a five-year estimate of the number of users and fees 
        to be collected;
            ``(4) a list of criteria for selecting the private sector 
        users from the pool of applicants, including any special 
        requirements for foreign applicants; and
            ``(5) an assessment of the impact this program will have on 
        the ability of a center or testing facility to meet its 
        obligations under previously existing Federal programs.
    ``(g) Report to Congress.--The Under Secretary for Science and 
Technology shall submit to Congress annually a report containing a list 
of the centers and testing facilities that have collected fees under 
this section, the amount of fees collected, a brief description of each 
partnership formed under this section, and the purpose for which the 
testing was conducted.
    ``(h) GAO Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date of 
enactment of this section, the Comptroller General shall provide to 
Congress an assessment of the implementation of the program under this 
section.''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for the Homeland 
Security Act of 2002 is amended by inserting after the item relating to 
section 315 the following new item:

``Sec. 316. Availability of testing facilities and equipment.''.
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