[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 193 (Monday, December 17, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H15488-H15489]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   LOCAL PREPAREDNESS ACQUISITION ACT

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 3179) to amend title 40, United States Code, to authorize 
the use of Federal supply schedules for the acquisition of law 
enforcement, security, and certain other related items by State and 
local governments.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 3179

       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 ``Local Preparedness 
     Acquisition Act''.

     SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION FOR ACQUISITION OF LAW ENFORCEMENT, 
                   SECURITY, AND CERTAIN OTHER RELATED ITEMS BY 
                   STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS THROUGH FEDERAL 
                   SUPPLY SCHEDULES.

       Paragraph (1) of section 502(c) of title 40, United States 
     Code, is amended--
       (1) by striking ``for automated'' and inserting the 
     following: ``for the following:
       ``(A) Automated''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
       ``(B) Alarm and signal systems, facility management 
     systems, firefighting and rescue equipment, law enforcement 
     and security equipment, marine craft and related equipment, 
     special purpose clothing, and related services (as contained 
     in Federal supply classification code group 84 or any amended 
     or subsequent version of that Federal supply classification 
     group).''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton) and the gentleman from California 
(Mr. Issa) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia.


                             General Leave

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on 
this measure and on S. 2174.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from the District of Columbia?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3179, sponsored by Chairman Ed Towns, 
would permit State and local governments to purchase homeland security 
and public safety equipment from the Federal supply schedules 
maintained by the General Services Administration.
  Opening the Federal supply schedules to State and local governments 
has bipartisan support. In past years, contract schedules have been 
opened up for information technology and goods and services needed to 
respond or prevent terrorism to State and local governments.
  State and local governments should be able to enjoy the price and 
convenience advantages that the schedules provide. I commend my 
colleague for his leadership and urge Members to support this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 3179, the Local 
Preparedness Acquisition Act. Mr. Towns and the entire Committee on 
Oversight and Government Reform recognized that the GSA schedule is 
more than just a list of things that can be bought at a given price. It 
is, in fact, the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval.
  GSA goes to great lengths to ensure that products are appropriate for 
purchase and that they are a good value. Leveraging that capability and 
the Federal money already spent to allow States and local governments 
to participate in this acquisition serves two good purposes. It 
increases the value of seeking a GSA schedule, and in fact, it saves 
money and overhead for State and local agencies.
  I join with my colleague from the District of Columbia and Mr. Towns 
in asking for the swift passage of this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I'm pleased to yield such time as he may 
consume to my good friend, the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. 
Butterfield).
  Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentlelady from the 
District of Columbia for her friendship and thank her for yielding me 
this time.
  Mr. Speaker, I come to the floor today to offer my support for H.R. 
3179, the matter that has been introduced by Mr. Towns of New York, 
which is entitled the Local Preparedness Acquisition Act. This is a 
fine piece of legislation, and I urge our colleagues to vote ``yes'' on 
this matter.

                              {time}  1345

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, one word more on this resolution introduced 
by Mr. Towns. I am Chair of the subcommittee with jurisdiction over GSA 
and, of course, its schedule. Perhaps the average person would believe 
that States would be in the same position as the United States 
Government because they buy a great deal of goods and services and the 
same kinds of costs and scale and efficiency which comes with ordering 
large amounts at the same time would come to States as well. That's not 
always the case, and even if it is, there is no State as large or that 
orders as much as the United States of America. And it does seem to me 
altogether appropriate that States and localities have the same access 
to the GSA schedule as the United States and its agencies have.
  This ability to use the schedule on which firms have precompeted so 
as to guarantee the best value hastens what can be an arduous period of 
competition. In my own district, I see that in an effort to make sure 
that a competition has properly occurred, there can often be many 
delays. We cannot, of course, in some respects get around those 
inherent delays, but with respect to many goods and services that are 
on the GSA schedule, if the efficiencies that we are able to provide 
for the government can also be provided to States and localities, the 
United States and the States together will be in better shape saving 
taxpayers money.
  Therefore, I strongly support this bill and ask other Members of the 
House to do so as well.
  Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I rise to support H.R. 3179, the Local 
Preparedness Acquisition Act. This is a bipartisan, good government 
bill that will permit state apd local governments to purchase homeland 
security and public safety equipment using General Services 
Administration contract schedules.
  H.R. 3179 has the support of many state and local governments and the 
National Association of Counties. It will make it easier for

[[Page H15489]]

local officials to purchase the items they need to improve safety in 
their communities, while saving money at the same time.
  The GSA Schedules are catalogues of more than 4 million commercial 
goods and services currently available to federal agencies at 
negotiated discount prices. Since 2002, Congress has enacted 
``cooperative purchasing'' legislation that authorized state and local 
governments to purchase IT equipment and disaster recovery items from 
GSA schedules.
  This bill further expands that authority to purchase items such as 
bomb detection equipment, perimeter security systems, and other 
homeland security goods and services from GSA Schedule 84.
  It is important to note that this bill imposes no federal mandate and 
requires no new spending. Participation in the cooperative purchasing 
program is voluntary for both state and local governments and vendors. 
The analysis prepared by the Congressional Budget Office indicates that 
the bill has no net impact on federal spending and is the opposite of 
an unfunded mandate--in fact, it is a benefit to state and local 
governments.
  This bill was developed jointly with the ranking member of the 
Government Management Subcommittee, Mr. Bilbray. I thank him for his 
contribution to this legislation.
  I urge all my colleagues to support H.R. 3179.
  Mr. BILBRAY. Mr. Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to speak in 
favor of H.R. 3179, the Local Preparedness Acquisition Act. I am 
pleased to serve as the original cosponsor of this legislation. I also 
want thank Congressman Towns for his leadership in sponsoring and 
advancing this important idea.
  H.R. 3179 will allow State and local governments to purchase homeland 
security products and services at more reasonable prices by providing 
them access to the General Services Administration schedules. Following 
the attacks on September 11, our local and State governments have taken 
on more responsibility for emergency preparedness and homeland 
security. With this added responsibility, these local governments need 
to purchase a wider array of goods and services.
  Under this legislation, these localities will be able to purchase 
many products such as access control and perimeter security systems, 
fire detection and suppression equipment, firefighting clothing and 
marine craft from the GSA schedules. With this option, the cost of many 
of these products will be less than the cost of purchasing them from 
State-approved purchasing lists or the open marketplace, saving these 
local governments valuable tax dollars.
  Importantly, this legislation does not impose any requirements on 
States and localities to utilize the GSA schedules, instead offering an 
additional voluntary purchasing method.
  This legislation has strong bipartisan support and was passed out of 
the Oversight and Government Reform Committee by voice vote. 
Additionally, it has gained the endorsement of the National Association 
of Counties and many other outside organizations.
  Mr. Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to speak in favor of this 
bill. I urge my colleagues to support this commonsense legislation.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support 
of H.R. 3179, the Local Preparedness Acquisition Act, introduced by my 
distinguished colleague from New York, Representative Towns. This 
important legislation amends title 40 of the United States Code to 
authorize the use of Federal supply schedules for the acquisition of 
law enforcement, security, and certain other related items by State and 
local governments.
  In the post-September 11 era, with the advances in technology, 
communication and transportation, the likelihood of a situation 
escalating from an emergency to a disaster to a catastrophe has 
increased. This Nation is dependent upon the services of its first 
responders, and as such we cannot shirk responsibility for their well 
being when we put them in harm's way. Since the catastrophe of 
September 11, 2001, the need to anticipate and provide necessary 
resources to our emergency workers has been brought to Federal 
attention.
  The Federal Government has a responsibility to plan ahead and develop 
a strategy of what will occur should a catastrophic event ever take 
place. As can be seen with the World Trade Center Worker and Volunteer 
Medical Monitoring Program, which was established in 2004 by the 
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, it has been 
insecure in its funding since its inception and is estimated to be out 
of outpatient awards by the end of FY 2007. This type of haphazard 
funding and insecurity about the program's future is not what our first 
responders risked their lives for.
  In order to enact any meaningful change, we must understand and 
identify the unique situations that face our first responders and then 
try to address any preventative pre-emptive actions that are possible. 
This includes Federal inquiry into the recognition and management of 
mental health defects, plans for short- and long-term health 
monitoring, quality of personal protective equipment, proposed research 
or lack thereof, and the national response plan. The necessity of 
inquiry into and improvement and solidification of these issues cannot 
be overstressed in looking to the future and how our Nation will deal 
with caring for the first responders during a disaster.
  Mr. Speaker, as we witnessed in the aftermath of the terrorist 
attacks of September 11, 2001 and Hurricanes Rita and Katrina, our 
Nation's first responders were not prepared for the realities of the 
catastrophes they faced. We can ensure future safety and protection of 
our first responders by making sure their personal protective equipment 
is sufficient to handle any future risks. It is our obligation to make 
sure the funds for the proper equipment is being received through 
Federal grant programs so that in the case of a catastrophe, they will 
be able to safely respond to hazardous materials, biological agents, 
and other harmful materials.
  This legislation is important because it amends title 40 of the 
United States Code to provide necessary equipment to our Nation's first 
responders. In the wake of the tragedies of September 11 and Hurricanes 
Katrina and Rita, the necessity for the provision of appropriate 
technologies, including interoperable communications and the 
availability of emergency equipment, became painfully apparent. This 
legislation calls for the availability and provision of alarm and 
signal systems, facility management systems, firefighting and rescue 
equipment, law enforcement and security equipment, marine craft and 
related equipment, special purpose clothing, and related services. By 
amending title 40 of the United States Code, this legislation is an 
important step towards ensuring that America's first responders are 
adequately prepared for any situation that may arise.
  Mr. Speaker, I support the passage of H.R. 3179 and call on my 
colleagues to do likewise because I strongly believe that it will 
strengthen our Nation's efforts to confront the disasters.
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Cardoza). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton) 
that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 3179.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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