[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 115 (Tuesday, July 22, 2014)]
[House]
[Pages H6604-H6606]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          TSA OFFICE OF INSPECTION ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 2014

  Mr. SANFORD. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 4803) to require the Transportation Security Administration 
to conform to existing Federal law and regulations regarding criminal 
investigator positions, and for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 4803

       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 ``TSA Office of Inspection 
     Accountability Act of 2014''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress makes the following findings:
       (1) Consistent with Federal law and regulations, for law 
     enforcement officers to qualify for premium pay as criminal 
     investigators, the officers must, in general, spend on 
     average at least 50 percent of their time investigating, 
     apprehending, or detaining individuals suspected or convicted 
     of offenses against the criminal laws of the United States.
       (2) According to the Inspector General of the Department of 
     Homeland Security (DHS IG), the Transportation Security 
     Administration (TSA) does not ensure that its cadre of 
     criminal investigators in the Office of Inspection are 
     meeting this requirement, even though they are considered law 
     enforcement officers under TSA policy and receive premium 
     pay.
       (3) Instead, TSA criminal investigators in the Office of 
     Inspection primarily monitor the results of criminal 
     investigations conducted by other agencies, investigate 
     administrative cases of TSA employee misconduct, and carry 
     out inspections, covert tests, and internal reviews, which 
     the DHS IG asserts could be performed by employees other than 
     criminal investigators at a lower cost.
       (4) The premium pay and other benefits afforded to TSA 
     criminal investigators in the Office of Inspection who are 
     incorrectly classified as such will cost the taxpayer as much 
     as $17,000,000 over 5 years if TSA fails to make any changes 
     to the number of criminal investigators in the Office of 
     Inspection, according to the DHS IG.
       (5) This may be a conservative estimate, as it accounts for 
     the cost of Law Enforcement Availability Pay, but not the 
     costs of law enforcement training, statutory early retirement 
     benefits, police vehicles, and weapons.

     SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act:
       (1) Administration.--The term ``Administration'' means the 
     Transportation Security Administration.
       (2) Assistant secretary.--The term ``Assistant Secretary'' 
     means the Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security 
     (Transportation Security) of the Department of Homeland 
     Security.
       (3) Inspector general.--The term ``Inspector General'' 
     means the Inspector General of the Department of Homeland 
     Security

     SEC. 4. INSPECTOR GENERAL REVIEW.

       (a) Review.--Not later than 60 days after the date of the 
     enactment of this Act, the Inspector General shall analyze 
     the data and methods that the Assistant Secretary uses to 
     identify employees of the Administration who meet the 
     requirements of sections 8331(20), 8401(17) and 5545a of 
     title 5, United States Code, and provide the relevant 
     findings to the Assistant Secretary, including a finding on 
     whether the data and methods are adequate and valid.
       (b) Prohibition on Hiring.--If the Inspector General finds 
     that such data and methods are inadequate or invalid, the 
     Administration may not hire any new employee to work in the 
     Office of Inspection of the Administration until--
       (1) the Assistant Secretary makes a certification described 
     in section 5 to the Committee on Homeland Security of the 
     House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 
     Science, and Transportation of the Senate; and
       (2) the Inspector General submits to such Committees a 
     finding, not later than 30 days after the Assistant Secretary 
     makes such certification, that the Assistant Secretary 
     utilized adequate and valid data and methods to make such 
     certification.

     SEC. 5. TSA OFFICE OF INSPECTION WORKFORCE CERTIFICATION.

       (a) Certification to Congress.--The Assistant Secretary 
     shall, by not later than 90 days after the date the Inspector 
     General provides its findings to the Assistant Secretary 
     under section 4(a), document and certify in writing to the 
     Committee on Homeland Security of the House of 
     Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
     Transportation of the Senate that only those employees of the 
     Administration who meet the requirements of sections 
     8331(20), 8401(17), and 5545a of title 5, United States Code, 
     are classified as criminal investigators and are receiving 
     premium pay and other benefits associated with such 
     classification.
       (b) Employee Reclassification.--The Assistant Secretary 
     shall reclassify criminal investigator positions in the 
     Office of Inspection as noncriminal investigator positions or 
     non-law enforcement positions if the individuals in those 
     positions do not, or are not expected to, spend an average of 
     at least 50 percent of their time performing criminal 
     investigative duties.
       (c) Projected Cost Savings.--
       (1) In general.--The Assistant Secretary shall estimate the 
     total long-term cost savings to the Federal Government 
     resulting from the implementation of subsection (b), and 
     provide such estimate to the Committee on Homeland Security 
     of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
     Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate by not 
     later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act.
       (2) Contents.--Such estimate shall identify savings 
     associated with the positions reclassified under subsection 
     (b) and include, among other factors the Assistant Secretary 
     considers appropriate, savings from--
       (A) law enforcement training;
       (B) early retirement benefits;
       (C) law enforcement availability pay; and
       (D) weapons, vehicles, and communications devices.

     SEC. 6. INVESTIGATION OF FEDERAL AIR MARSHAL SERVICE USE OF 
                   FEDERAL FIREARMS LICENSE.

       Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of 
     this Act, or as soon as practicable, the Assistant Secretary 
     shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Security of the 
     House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 
     Science, and Transportation of the Senate--
       (1) any materials in the possession or control of the 
     Department of Homeland Security associated with the Office of 
     Inspection's review of

[[Page H6605]]

     the use of a Federal firearms license by Federal Air Marshal 
     Service officials to obtain discounted or free firearms for 
     personal use; and
       (2) information on specific actions that will be taken to 
     prevent Federal Air Marshal Service officials from using a 
     Federal firearms license, or exploiting, in any way, the 
     Service's relationships with private vendors to obtain 
     discounted or free firearms for personal use.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
South Carolina (Mr. Sanford) and the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. 
Richmond) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from South Carolina.


                             General Leave

  Mr. SANFORD. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include any extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from South Carolina?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. SANFORD. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Hudson).
  Mr. HUDSON. I thank the gentleman for his work on this important 
piece of legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 4803, the TSA Office of 
Inspection Accountability Act of 2014. Again, I would like to commend 
the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Sanford) for developing this 
commonsense bill, which increases accountability within TSA and saves 
precious taxpayer dollars by requiring the agency to correctly 
designate criminal investigators within the Office of Inspection.
  According to the Department of Homeland Security inspector general, 
TSA does not ensure that its criminal investigators in the Office of 
Inspection are meeting the Federal workload requirements for law 
enforcement officers, even though they are considered law enforcement 
officers and are receiving premium pay and other benefits.
  If nothing is done to correct this problem, the misclassification 
will cost taxpayers roughly $17 million over the next 5 years. This 
type of waste is simply unacceptable.
  As chairman of the Subcommittee on Transportation Security, I held a 
hearing on this topic and was both surprised and encouraged to hear the 
head of the Office of Inspection admit that his office would reduce the 
number of criminal investigator positions based on the office's 
workload.
  Although an acknowledgement is a step in the right direction, TSA 
needs to go one step further. It is time for them to take real action 
on this issue and achieve tangible results, which is precisely what 
this legislation requires.
  In addition to ensuring that the proper classification is placed on 
criminal investigators, the Committee on Homeland Security agreed to an 
amendment offered by the ranking member of the full committee, Mr. 
Thompson, that would require TSA to submit to Congress any materials 
associated with the Office of Inspection's review of the Federal 
firearms license by Federal Air Marshals Service officials to obtain 
discounted or free firearms for their own personal use, as well as 
specific actions that will be taken to prevent air marshals from 
exploiting their positions to obtain free or discounted firearms from 
vendors for their personal use.
  I have been concerned with TSA's failure to notify Congress of the 
ongoing Office of Inspection investigations into potential unethical 
activity related to the acceptance of free and discounted firearms for 
personal use among FAMS employees, including senior officials.
  I am pleased that this bill would ensure the committee receives 
access to information that is necessary to carry out its important 
oversight role, and I urge my colleagues to support the bill.
  Mr. RICHMOND. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I rise in strong support of H.R. 4803, the TSA Office of Inspection 
Accountability Act of 2014. The Committee on Homeland Security is 
tasked with conducting oversight over the various components within the 
Department of Homeland Security.
  As the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Transportation Security, 
I have a particular interest in ensuring that the Transportation 
Security Administration is operating both effectively and efficiently.
  Thanks to the Department of Homeland Security inspector general, we 
learned late last year that the Office of Inspection is not operating 
efficiently.
  Specifically, we learned that this office was designating some 
personnel as criminal investigators who did not perform investigative 
duties to justify such a classification or the salary and benefits 
conferred a person with that title.
  H.R. 4803 seeks to address this problem by requiring the TSA to 
certify that all persons designated as criminal investigators are 
working on criminal investigations at least 50 percent of their time.
  There is no justification for providing personnel with the enhanced 
benefits and pay associated with criminal investigators when they are 
not doing the job of a criminal investigator.
  This legislation is not intended to punish the entire Office of 
Inspection. It recognizes that there are legitimate criminal 
investigators within the office that have undoubtedly helped to thwart 
plots and other criminal enterprises that put our Nation at risk. This 
legislation simply encourages good government and the careful 
stewardship of taxpayer dollars.
  We need to ensure that the resources are used effectively, so that we 
can keep citizens safe while operating at maximum efficiency. This 
legislation is a step in the right direction.
  With that, Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SANFORD. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I thank the gentleman from North Carolina for his leadership on the 
subcommittee. I would say the same to my colleague from Louisiana, for 
their respective pieces of work on this important bill.
  As has already been noted by both of my colleagues, H.R. 4803 calls 
for, I guess, the institution of a fairly simple premise, and that is, 
we pay for what we get in government.

                              {time}  1615

  That is what they do in the private sector. That is what individuals 
do in the household. And if you stop and think about it, you wouldn't 
pay somebody who could run a backhoe or a bulldozer--heavy equipment, 
if you will--if all you needed was somebody who could run a shovel. You 
wouldn't pay a chemical engineer to come and clean your pool or mix the 
chemicals in the pool. You wouldn't hire Wolfgang Puck to come over and 
fix you a piece of grilled cheese. It may be the greatest piece of 
grilled cheese you could find, but it isn't what you would be paying 
for.
  So this bill incorporates that commonsense notion of, in government, 
we ought to get what we pay for. And as has already been noted, 
criminal investigators in this case do not meet Federal standards with 
regard to the 50 percent threshold.
  This bill does a couple of very, very simple things. It sets in place 
a standard by which to track whether or not they are doing so. And for 
the work that isn't to that standard, it eliminates this additional 
pay, the so-called LEAP pay. LEAP pay is law enforcement availability 
pay. As has already been noted, again, there is a 25 percent premium, 
but in many cases, this is the tip of the iceberg, because if you look 
at additional benefits in terms of early retirement or enhanced 
training, there is a real cost to the taxpayer that goes with 
continuing the road that we have been on.
  This bill attempts to change that. It has teeth, and it freezes any 
hiring in the Office of Inspection going forward if these changes 
aren't made. As my colleague from North Carolina just noted, there are 
real savings: $17 million. It is small by Federal standards, but think 
about how many neighborhoods it takes to accumulate $17 million in 
taxes. It is a step in the right direction in saving taxpayer money.
  Mr. Speaker, for all those reasons, I urge additional support of this 
bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. RICHMOND. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, in closing, I would just like to thank the gentleman 
from

[[Page H6606]]

South Carolina (Mr. Sanford) for introducing this piece of legislation 
and the chairman of the subcommittee, Chairman Hudson, and, of course, 
our ranking member, Mr. Bennie Thompson, for the bipartisan work on 
this bill.
  What this bill stands for is just a commonsense approach to 
government and making sure that we pay for what we get, and it is that 
very simple premise. So I am honored to be standing here today with my 
colleagues from the other side of the aisle to do something that just 
makes common sense.
  With that, Mr. Speaker, I would urge my colleagues to support it, and 
I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. SANFORD. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from North 
Carolina (Mr. Hudson), my chairman.
  Mr. HUDSON. Mr. Speaker, again, thank you to the gentleman from South 
Carolina (Mr. Sanford) for this commonsense legislation. Also, I would 
like to thank the ranking member of the committee, Mr. Richmond, for 
not only his work on this bill, but in the way we have worked together 
to make a difference for the American people.
  The American people sent us to Congress to get things done, to make 
their lives better, and to make sure we are scrutinizing every tax 
dollar that is spent here. I think this piece of legislation, as my 
colleague from Louisiana said, is a commonsense piece of legislation 
that does just that.
  So I am proud to stand here in support of it. I am proud of the work 
that Mr. Sanford put into this bill, and I would urge my colleagues to 
vote for this piece of legislation.
  Mr. SANFORD. All that could be said has been said, and with that, I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 4803, the 
TSA Office of Inspection Accountability Act of 2014, sponsored by the 
Gentleman from South Carolina, Mr. Sanford.
  The DHS Inspector General has reported that TSA's Office of 
Inspection does not operate efficiently and could save significant tax 
dollars by reclassifying criminal investigators in the Office of 
Inspection to other less costly positions while still performing the 
same work. The DHS IG specifically found that criminal investigators in 
the Office of Inspection primarily monitor the results of criminal 
investigations conducted by other agencies, investigate administrative 
cases of TSA employee misconduct, and carry out inspections, covert 
tests, and internal reviews.
  While each of these functions is important, and in many cases a 
criminal investigator may be well suited to perform them, they do not 
represent the equivalent of a criminal investigation and should 
therefore not be the primary functions of those employees who receive 
premium pay and other benefits associated with being a criminal 
investigator.
  This bill addresses this issue by requiring a review of these 
positions by TSA and the DHS Inspector General to determine how many 
employees should be reclassified.
  I am proud to be a cosponsor of this common-sense bill, and would 
like to thank the Congressman from South Carolina, Mr. Sanford, both 
for his work on this issue and his strong participation in the 
Committee's oversight and legislative efforts this Congress. I would 
also like to commend the Gentleman from North Carolina, Mr. Hudson, for 
his leadership as well.
  With that, Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of H.R. 
4803.
  Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of 
H.R. 4803, the ``TSA Office of Inspection Accountability Act of 2014''.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to commend the gentleman from South 
Carolina, Representative Sanford, for his leadership on this 
legislation.
  Upon its creation, TSA was given broad authority to hire, fire, and 
set the terms of employment of its personnel.
  This has resulted in employees, such as Transportation Security 
Officers, lacking the due process rights afforded other Federal 
employees.
  It has also resulted, in some cases, of abuses of the system for the 
gain of a few.
  According to the Inspector General of the Department of Homeland 
Security, TSA's Office of Inspection has been gaming the system by 
employing a bloated number of personnel as ``criminal investigators'' 
for years.
  Those who are designated as ``criminal investigators'' receive 
additional compensation and are afforded the right to retire early.
  H.R. 4803 will put an end to these abuses by requiring the Inspector 
General to approve the method used by TSA to designate personnel as 
criminal investigators and by requiring TSA to certify to Congress that 
only those individuals performing the requisite criminal investigation 
work are designated as ``criminal investigators''.
  According to the Inspector General, properly classifying individuals 
within TSA's Office of Inspection could save taxpayers as much as $17 
million over five years.
  During Committee consideration of this measure, I offered an 
amendment on behalf of Representative Loretta Sanchez that addresses 
revelations about misuse of Federal Air Marshal Service official's 
relationships with private vendors to obtain discounted or free 
firearms by TSA personnel.
  Specifically, in April, the Committee became aware that the former 
director of the Federal Air Marshal Service bought several guns from an 
employee who is under investigation for using his position to obtain 
free and discounted firearms.
  Unfortunately, TSA was less than forthcoming with Congress regarding 
this investigation, leaving many questions unanswered about how the 
investigation was conducted and the number of FAMs officials involved.
  The exploitation of official relationships for personal gain is a 
serious matter.
  Such misuse occurring within the Federal Air Marshal Service, the Law 
Enforcement component within TSA is unacceptable.
  To address the lack of transparency regarding the investigation, the 
Committee accepted language I offered to require TSA to provide 
information and materials associated with the Office of Inspection's 
review of the allegations to Congress.
  With that Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 4803.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, as a senior member of the Homeland 
Security Committee and a former chair of the Transportation Security 
Subcommittee, I rise in support of H.R. 4803, the ``TSA Office of 
Inspection Accountability Act of 2014.''
   Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Chairman McCaul and Ranking Member 
Thompson for their leadership in bringing this legislation to the 
floor.
  H.R. 4803 will save the taxpayers hundreds of thousands dollars 
annually by requiring the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) 
to conform its personnel classification practices to existing Federal 
law and regulations regarding criminal investigator positions.
  According to a report by the Homeland Security Department's Inspector 
General (IG), about half of the employees in the Office of Inspection 
(OII) are classified as criminal investigators even though their duties 
do not involve responsibilities that can be characterized as criminal 
investigation activities.
  Instead, the responsibilities of these employees primarily consist of 
administrative duties such as duties of such investigating cases of TSA 
employee misconduct and conducting internal reviews.
  Classifying these employees as ``law enforcement'' personnel, 
however, makes them eligible for premium pay and other significant 
economic benefits.
  If TSA fails to reclassify criminal investigator positions as 
noncriminal investigator positions or non-law-enforcement positions, 
this will cost taxpayers as much as $17,000,000 over 5 years.
  This money could be utilized to ensure that law enforcement agencies, 
which identify, apprehend, and prosecute criminals, have the- tools, 
resources, and training necessary to do their job efficiently, 
effectively, and economically.
  Mr. Speaker, I have always strongly supported providing the resources 
needed by law enforcement and first responders and will continue to do 
in future.
  But we have an obligation to the American people to be responsible 
stewards of the public fisc and it is not responsible to provide 
premium pay and benefits intended for law enforcement personnel to 
employees who do not perform the dangerous duties of law enforcement 
officers.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 803, which directs 
the Office of Inspection to reclassify its current criminal 
investigator positions to conform to the requirements of applicable law 
and save the taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars annually.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Sanford) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 4803, 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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