[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 112 (Friday, July 25, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1587]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[[Page E1587]]


       INTRODUCING THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY FINANCIAL 
                           ACCOUNTABILITY ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. TODD RUSSELL PLATTS

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 24, 2003

  Mr. PLATTS. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to introduce the 
Department of Homeland Security Financial Accountability Act.
  The purpose of this bill is to ensure that the new Department of 
Homeland Security is subject to the same financial management and 
accountability requirements as all other cabinet-level departments. 
This requires adding the new Department to the list of agencies that 
are covered by the Chief Financial Officers (CFO) Act of 1990 and 
making adjustments to provisions of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 
to make it consistent with the CFO Act. These changes will put the 
Department's CFO on the same footing as the CFOs at the rest of the 
cabinet-level departments by ensuring that the Department's CFO is a 
presidential appointee subject to Senate confirmation, that the CFO 
reports directly to the Secretary, and that the CFO is a part of the 
statutorily created CFO Council.
  The CFO Act of 1990 increased federal accountability by enacting much 
needed financial management reforms. Among the most important of these 
reforms was the establishment of a new leadership structure for federal 
financial management within the 24 largest departments and agencies as 
well as within the Office of Management and Budget. The CFO Act created 
24 chief financial officers for the major executive departments and 
agencies as well as 24 deputy CFOs. The CFOs in the 14 cabinet-level 
departments, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the National 
Aeronautics and Space Administration are filled by presidential 
appointees, confirmed by the Senate. These CFOs serve as the leaders of 
financial management in these departments and agencies. The Department 
of Homeland Security, as one of our most important departments, should 
be in this framework.
  The newly created Department of Homeland Security is one of the most 
significant government reorganizations in the history of the United 
States. The Department faces the challenge of merging 22 agencies, 
17,000 employees, and hundreds of computer systems and management 
processes. As the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Government Efficiency 
and Financial Management, I have seen how ineffective strategic 
planning can result in systemic problems in an agency's financial 
management. The Department of Defense is a good example of a situation 
where years of insufficient coordination among business units, improper 
financial planning, and the use of stove piped information systems has 
resulted in the inability of the Department to obtain a clean annual 
financial audit or fully account for the way it spends its budget. No 
one wishes to see these same mistakes made at the Department of 
Homeland Security. That is why it is extremely important to instill 
solid financial management practices in the Department from its 
inception through the establishment of a strong CFO that is on equal 
footing with the other CFOs at cabinet-level departments.
  Mr. Speaker, the Department of Homeland Security Financial 
Accountability Act makes important, common sense changes to the CFO 
position at the Department of Homeland Security. It is a good 
government measure that benefits the American taxpayer. I urge my 
colleagues to join with me in seeking prompt enactment of the bill.

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