[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 148 (Tuesday, October 2, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H11108-H11109]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    FEDERAL PROTECTIVE SERVICE GUARD CONTRACTING REFORM ACT OF 2007

  Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules 
and pass the bill (H.R. 3068) to prohibit the award of contracts to 
provide guard services under the contract security guard program of the 
Federal Protective Service to a business concern that is owned, 
controlled, or operated by an individual who has been convicted of a 
felony, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 3068

       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 ``Federal Protective Service 
     Guard Contracting Reform Act of 2007''.

     SEC. 2. FEDERAL PROTECTIVE SERVICE CONTRACTS.

       (a) Prohibition on Award of Contracts to Any Business 
     Concern Owned, Controlled, or Operated by an Individual 
     Convicted of a Felony.--The Secretary of Homeland Security 
     may not award a contract for the provision of guard services 
     under the contract security guard program of the Federal 
     Protective Service to any business concern that is owned, 
     controlled, or operated by an individual who has been 
     convicted of a felony.
       (b) Regulations.--Not later than 6 months after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall issue 
     regulations to carry out this section.
       (c) Implementation.--In this section, the term 
     ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of Homeland Security acting 
     through the Assistant Secretary of U.S. Immigration and 
     Customs Enforcement.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Brady) and the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Graves) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Pennsylvania.


                             General Leave

  Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that 
all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and 
extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 3068.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume, and I would like to note that I am here for the 
gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton) and if she does 
come in, I will relinquish my duties.
  But in the meantime, Mr. Speaker, this bill, H.R. 3068, as amended, 
is the result of two oversight hearings held by the Transportation and 
Infrastructure Committee that examined the role of Federal Protective 
Service, FPS, in providing security for our Nation's public buildings. 
There was evidence of serious allegations of wrongdoing, chaos, and 
irregularities in contracting employment of private security guards who 
protect Federal employees and facilities.
  This legislation intends to preserve the security of the country's 
most sensitive buildings. Due to the security needs of a Federal 
building, it is surprising that an individual with a felony conviction 
would hold a contract for security services in a Federal building.
  This bill codifies the commonsense approach to providing security for 
Federal buildings. Specifically, this bill directs the Secretary of 
Homeland Security not to award any security guard contracts through the 
Federal Protective Service to any company that is owned, controlled, or 
operated by a convicted felon. The bill would ensure that contractors 
are capable, responsible and ethical as required by the Federal 
Acquisition Regulations.
  Contract security officers are a critical component of Federal 
strategies to protect the safety and security of Federal employees, 
visitors to Federal buildings and the surrounding community. Given the 
critical role these guards play in Federal security, this bill will 
hold owners of companies who provide security to Federal buildings to 
the highest standards. I urge all Members to vote for H.R. 3068, as 
amended.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GRAVES. Mr. Speaker, I don't have any other speakers and I am 
going to talk about the bill, but I know it is Ms. Norton's bill and 
she may want to say something before I do. I would reserve the balance 
of my time and would like to speak after her if that is all right.
  Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania. I ask unanimous consent to relinquish 
control of the time to the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia 
(Ms. Norton).
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania?
  There was no objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
the District of Columbia.
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Missouri, and 
particularly thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania in my absence for 
assuming the responsibility because I was at a hearing on Blackwater.
  H.R. 3068, as amended, the Federal Protective Service Guard 
Contracting Reform Act of 2007, ensures that Federal Protective Service 
guard contractors are ``capable, responsible, and ethical,'' and those 
are the words of the regulation. I want to thank Chairman Oberstar for 
facilitating early consideration of this bill, and for the leadership 
on both sides, including the Subcommittee on Economic Development, 
Public Buildings, and Emergency Management Ranking Member Graves for 
understanding its importance and for their efforts in support of the 
bill.
  The Federal Protective Service Guard Contracting Reform Act prohibits 
the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security from contracting 
with any security guard service that is owned, controlled or operated 
by an individual who has been convicted of a felony. The bill would 
eliminate proxy operation by felons who are relatives, spouses or 
others.
  H.R. 3068, as amended, is a result of two oversight hearings Mr. 
Graves and I held that examined the role of the Federal Protective 
Service in providing security for the Nation's public buildings. There 
was evidence of serious allegations of wrongdoing, chaos and 
irregularities in the contracting and employment of private security 
guards whose mission it is to protect Federal employees and facilities.
  Our subcommittee worked closely with appropriate Department of 
Homeland Security officials to eliminate the backlog in payments to 
guards and to correct FPS mismanagement that risked the security of 
Federal employees and visitors. FPS guards, like guards employed by the 
Federal Government, these security guards are used on our most 
sensitive buildings, including here in the Nation's Capital and the 
National Capital region where your most secure facilities are located.
  Therefore, it was surprising to learn that an individual with a 
felony conviction would hold a contract for security services in a 
Federal building, especially here, but frankly anywhere in the United 
States in the post-9/11 climate.
  It was clear that this bill was necessary when our subcommittee 
learned at a hearing in June that an FPS security guard contractor had 
failed to pay 600 D.C. area Federal security officers and to make other 
important benefit payments to pensions, health benefits and the like. 
Our subcommittee intervened when an action by the FPS and the 
Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a division of DHS where FPS is 
placed, was reported to us.

[[Page H11109]]

  The effects on the security of employees, visitors and the Federal 
agencies alike could not be ignored in today's post-9/11 climate.
  We are indebted to the contract security officers who continue to 
work to protect Federal workers, the visiting public and the work 
sites, as well as to their unions. As a result of the subcommittee's 
June hearing, we learned that an individual who had served 5 years in 
prison for money laundering and fraud was a de facto owner of a private 
security business despite Federal law barring felons from owning 
companies that do business with the Federal Government. In fact, it was 
the felon, not his wife, who came forward to defend the company after 
it failed to pay the 600 D.C.-based guards despite receipt of funds for 
payment from the FPS. His testimony concerning his operational control 
of the company was nothing short of a case study in evasion of existing 
law by taking advantage of obvious loopholes.

                              {time}  1330

  His company has, of course, since been dismissed. H.R. 3068, as 
amended, strengthens existing requirements and prohibits all proxy 
ownerships by felons, including control or operation by an individual 
who has been convicted of a felony.
  H.R. 3068, as amended, reminds us that we must not lose sight of the 
mission of private contract guards who serve the Federal Government to 
guard Federal employees and sites as vital as nuclear plants and 
military posts against terrorism and crime. The example of unpaid 
contract guards and apparent misuse of Federal funds that had been 
directed to pay them demonstrated why these contractors must be 
required to have a satisfactory record of integrity and business 
ethics. H.R. 3068, as amended, codifies this important requirement.
  I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GRAVES. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3068, introduced by Subcommittee Chairwoman Norton, 
adds an additional level of security to our Federal buildings by 
prohibiting the Federal Protective Services from awarding contracts to 
convicted felons.
  I would like to commend Chairwoman Norton for her commitment to the 
security of Federal buildings, government employees and visitors. She 
probably has more than anybody else in the House.
  The protection of the employees and visitors at Federal buildings 
remains a high priority. This legislation will increase the standards 
of safety and security for Federal properties across this country.
  The Federal Protective Service serves as one of the first lines of 
defense for our Federal buildings. We entrust the security of Federal 
courthouses and buildings and their employees and visitors to FPS 
personnel. From day-to-day security screening, to protection from riots 
and terrorist attacks, the FPS force plays a vital role in facilitating 
the work of the Federal Government.
  The Federal Protective Service employs more than 1,000 trained 
employees and more than 15,000 contract security guards. H.R. 3068 
prohibits FPS from contracting with security firms that are owned or 
operated by convicted felons. It's a very simple measure. The security 
of Federal buildings must be managed by those that have the best 
interests of the American people in mind.
  This legislation will ensure the integrity of the forces protecting 
our Federal buildings, and I urge my colleagues to join me in 
supporting H.R. 3068.
  Mr. Speaker, I think this is a fantastic idea, and again, I want to 
applaud Chairwoman Norton for the work that she's done on this, again, 
to push it through.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his kind words to 
me and for his work with me on the committee.
  Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3068. This bill 
represents an important step in ensuring the safety of Federal 
employees and all those who work in and visit our Federal buildings.
  I thank the Delegate of the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton), chair 
of the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and 
Emergency Management, for bringing this issue to the attention of the 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and for quickly 
developing and advancing, in a bipartisan manner, a remedy.
  On April 18, 2007, the committee held a hearing entitled ``Proposals 
to Downsize the Federal Protective Service and Effects on the 
Protection of Federal Buildings''. The hearing probed the Department of 
Homeland Security's plans to cut the presence of Federal Protective 
Service, FPS, officers nationally. The reliance on contract security 
guards to protect Federal buildings is a troubling trend.
  H.R. 3068 prohibits the award of contracts to provide guard services 
under the contract security guard program of the FPS to any business 
that is owned, controlled, or operated by an individual who has been 
convicted of a felony. The bill directs the Secretary of Homeland 
Security to promulgate regulations within 6 months to implement the 
provisions of this act.
  This bill offers a common sense way to ensure that security contracts 
that provide an essential service are awarded only to contractors who 
are ``capable, responsible, and ethical'' as required by the Federal 
Acquisition Regulations.
  I support this bill and urge its passage.
  Ms. NORTON. I have no further speakers, and I yield back the balance 
of my time, Mr. Speaker.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Brady) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 3068, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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