[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 56 (Wednesday, April 13, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H1665-H1667]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            STATE AND HIGH-RISK URBAN AREA WORKING GROUP ACT

  Mr. DONOVAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 4509) to amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to clarify 
membership of State planning committees or urban area working groups 
for the Homeland Security Grant Program, and for other purposes, as 
amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 4509

       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 ``State and High-Risk Urban 
     Area Working Group Act''.

     SEC. 2. ADMINISTRATION AND COORDINATION OF CERTAIN DHS 
                   GRANTS.

       Subsection (b) of section 2021 of the Homeland Security Act 
     of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 611) is amended to read as follows:
       ``(b) Planning Committees.--
       ``(1) In general.--Any State or high-risk urban area 
     receiving a grant under section 2003 or 2004 shall establish 
     a State planning committee or urban area working group to 
     assist in preparation and revision of the State, regional, or 
     local homeland security plan or the threat and hazard 
     identification and risk assessment, as the case may be, and 
     to assist in determining effective funding priorities for 
     grants under such sections.
       ``(2) Composition.--
       ``(A) In general.--The State planning committees and urban 
     area working groups referred to in paragraph (1) shall 
     include at least one representative from each of the 
     following significant stakeholders:
       ``(i) Local or tribal government officials.
       ``(ii) Emergency response providers, which shall include 
     representatives of the fire service, law enforcement, 
     emergency medical services, and emergency managers.
       ``(iii) Public health officials and other appropriate 
     medical practitioners.
       ``(iv) Individuals representing educational institutions, 
     including elementary schools, community colleges, and other 
     institutions of higher education.
       ``(v) State and regional interoperable communications 
     coordinators, as appropriate.
       ``(vi) State and major urban area fusion centers, as 
     appropriate.
       ``(B) Geographic representation.--The members of the State 
     planning committee or urban area working group, as the case 
     may be, shall be a representative group of individuals from 
     the counties, cities, towns, and Indian tribes within the 
     State or high-risk urban area, including, as appropriate, 
     representatives of rural, high-population, and high-threat 
     jurisdictions.
       ``(3) Existing planning committees.--Nothing in this 
     subsection may be construed to require that any State or 
     high-risk urban area create a State planning committee or 
     urban area working group, as the case may be, if that State 
     or high-risk urban area has established and uses a 
     multijurisdictional planning committee or commission that 
     meets the requirements of this subsection.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Donovan) and the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Payne) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New York.


                             General Leave

  Mr. DONOVAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
and to include any extraneous materials on the bill under 
consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New York?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. DONOVAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  As the chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security's Subcommittee 
on Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Communications, I rise in 
support of H.R. 4509, the State and High-Risk Urban Area Working Group 
Act, which was introduced by the subcommittee's ranking member, 
Congressman Payne.
  The Homeland Security Act requires States and urban areas that are 
receiving State Homeland Security Grant Program and Urban Areas 
Security Initiative funds to have planning committees to determine how 
to efficiently and effectively expend these funds. H.R. 4509 expands 
the stakeholders who are required to be involved in these committees to 
include representatives from public health, educational institutions, 
fusion centers, and interoperability coordinators, as appropriate.
  In New York City, the New York City Police Department, the FDNY, 
emergency management, and public health, along with other partners, 
work together to ensure that these grant funds provide the biggest 
return on investment for the city's security. Time and again, these 
officials have told me how important these funds are to their ability 
to ensure the security of millions of residents, commuters, and 
visitors in the city each day. They have used these funds to train 
personnel, to conduct exercises, and to procure helicopters, fireboats, 
cameras, and radiation detection equipment.
  This funding is vital now more than ever. Securing high-risk urban 
areas, like New York City, becomes more challenging every day 
considering the fact that we are at our highest threat level since the 
September 11 terrorist attacks. That is why it is so outrageous that 
the President's fiscal year 2017 budget proposes to cut more than $500 
million from grants to support States, localities, ports, and transit 
systems.
  The Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Response, and 
Communications held a hearing last month on the proposed cuts. We heard 
from representatives of emergency management, law enforcement, the fire 
service, and fusion centers. They all had the same message: these 
grants have made a difference, and cutting them now would have 
disastrous effects on their ability to prevent, to prepare for, and to 
respond to terrorist attacks. Not only would they be unable to make new 
security investments, but the investments they have made since 9/11 
would be eroded. In this threat environment, this is not the time to 
back away from our support of our Nation's first responders.
  Mr. Speaker, the States and urban areas that are receiving Homeland 
Security grant funding take their responsibilities to secure their 
areas very seriously. They diligently work through the planning 
committees that are discussed in this bill in order to make sure they 
make sound investments to secure their jurisdictions. The President 
must take the security of these jurisdictions equally as seriously and 
fund these programs accordingly.
  I support the passage of H.R. 4509.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I rise in support of H.R. 4509, the State and High-Risk Urban Area 
Working Group Act.
  Before I begin my statement, I would like to support the comments 
made by my chairman in his being very concerned about the cuts to the 
grant that have been proposed.

                              {time}  1630

  Mr. Speaker, I represent the 10th Congressional District of the State 
of New Jersey. Communities throughout my district from Newark to Jersey 
City have built robust capabilities to prevent, protect against, and 
respond to terrorist attacks and natural disasters with State Homeland 
Security grants and the Urban Areas Security Initiative funding.
  I am proud of the progress New Jersey has made in preparing and 
protecting against terrorist attacks with these important grant 
dollars. I cannot stress enough the critical role these funds play in 
my district's ability to protect itself from terrorist attacks and 
natural disasters.
  Over the past 3\1/2\ years, I have served as the ranking member of 
the Committee on Homeland Security's Emergency Preparedness 
Subcommittee. In this capacity, I have seen the benefits realized 
across the Nation from DHS' Homeland Security Grant Program.
  With this funding, State and local governments equip first responders 
with the much-needed protective equipment and emergency communications 
technologies as well. These

[[Page H1666]]

grants also help jurisdictions develop and exercise disaster response 
plans. These activities facilitate important relationships among the 
individuals and entities that play critical roles in disaster 
prevention and response.
  As successful as DHS' Homeland Security Grant Programs have been, 
however, more needs to be done to ensure those who are responsible for 
the various aspects of the disaster response plan, train, and exercise 
together before a disaster strikes.
  Indeed, Save the Children testified before my subcommittee about the 
disconnect in some communities between emergency planners and school 
districts and childcare facilities.
  A GAO report I requested with former subcommittee chair Susan Brooks 
released earlier this week revealed that about 68 percent of school 
districts surveyed incorporate the district emergency management plans 
into the broader community's emergency management plan. That is good 
progress, but we must do better.
  The State and High-Risk Urban Area Working Group Act seeks to build 
upon the relationships that the State Homeland Security Grant Programs 
and the Urban Areas Security Initiative facilitate and to ensure 
decisionmakers have a complete understanding of a community's 
vulnerabilities so that investments can be prioritized appropriately.
  H.R. 4509 would facilitate the whole community approach to disaster 
planning by identifying key players to be included in the State 
planning committee's Urban Area Working Groups.
  From firefighters and police to medical community and school 
officials, H.R. 4509 would ensure that the right people are at the 
table when decisions are made about how Federal Homeland Security Grant 
funds are to be spent at the State and local levels.
  H.R. 4509 was approved by the Committee on Homeland Security by voice 
vote, and similar language was approved in a larger package late last 
year.
  The legislation also has the support of the Security Industry 
Association, and I include in the Record a letter from the Association.

                                Security Industry Association,

                                                   March 22, 2016.
     Hon. Donald Payne,
     House of Representatives,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Representative Payne: On behalf of the Security 
     Industry Association (SIA), and its more than 600 corporate 
     members, I would like to express our strong support for H.R. 
     4509, the State and High-Risk Urban Area Working Group Act, 
     which clarifies the roles and responsibilities of state 
     planning committees and urban area working groups under the 
     Homeland Security Grant Program.
       H.R. 4509 amends Title 6 U.S.C. 611 to include additional 
     stakeholder representation in committees and working groups 
     that set local priorities for grants awarded through the 
     Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) and the State Homeland 
     Security Grant Program (SHSGP). We believe this is critical 
     in light of recent attacks and broader terrorist threats 
     against vulnerable targets such as schools and workplaces, 
     and the desire of state and local governments to provide 
     additional protections and response capabilities.
       SIA and its members believe that the inclusion of 
     educational facilities, emergency communications coordinators 
     and fusion centers will help improve state and local homeland 
     security grant planning processes as they are aligned with 
     evolving threats.
       SIA members have assisted many homeland security grantees 
     with technology solutions essential to securing critical 
     infrastructure such as maritime ports and airports, schools, 
     power generation and transmission systems, hospitals, 
     factories, transit systems, and governmental buildings.
       SIA urges swift consideration of H.R. 4509 by the House 
     Homeland Security Committee, and on the House floor. We stand 
     ready to provide any further information you may need. Thank 
     you for your time and attention to this important matter.
           Sincerely,
                                                     Don Erickson,
                               CEO, Security Industry Association.

  Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 4509, 
and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. DONOVAN. Mr. Speaker, I have no other speakers. If the gentleman 
from New Jersey has no other speakers, I am prepared to close once the 
gentleman does.
  Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4509. I thank 
the gentleman from New Jersey for his astuteness, along with Mr. 
Walden, for a very important initiative.
  Having been on the Homeland Security Committee since the tragic 
terrorist attack against the United States, I have watched the 
formation of this department and the issues that are important to 
secure America.
  I have lived through various processes and various disasters that are 
not terrorist related to know how important these grants overall are.
  The grants, in particular, that are dealing with this bill in 
planning committee are extremely important to add to the planning 
committee those individuals who are beyond the very able work of our 
firefighters and police officers. Those are first responders. But it is 
very important to engage the community, such as schools, medical 
professions, and beyond.
  I hope, as this legislation passes, we will also look to having on 
the planning committee some of the leaders on Homeland Security issues 
that are in our community.
  For example, I have an individual by the name of Charles X. White who 
has led issues on homeland security for a very long time. His activism 
created an opportunity for there to be a homeland security specialty 
and discipline at Texas Southern University because the community is 
involved, involved on issues of evacuation, involved on issues of 
restoration, involved on issues of making sure funding gets to those 
necessary entities that may not be known on a global sense and, when I 
say that, in a countywide, city-wide, or statewide sense.
  They provide the insight into neighborhoods. I think it is important 
that, as this bill makes its way, its interpretation will be that we 
add community leaders who are the kind of persons who are engaged with 
the day-to-day goings-on of neighborhoods, knowing how important it is 
for them to be heard during times of a terrorist act or any other 
disaster to be restored.
  Again, I am grateful for this legislation and the leadership of Mr. 
Payne and Mr. Walden. I ask my colleagues to enthusiastically support 
this legislation.
  To those who may be engaged all around America with preparedness, it 
is important, of course, to have every aspect of our community involved 
in these planning committees so that their voices can be heard on how 
best to heal, to solve, and to restore after a tragedy has occurred in 
our local communities.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4482, a legislation that will 
require an analysis of the Southwest Border Threat from the Secretary 
of Homeland Security and a Border Patrol Strategic Plan from the Chief 
of the Border Patrol.
  I support this legislation as a senior member of the House Committee 
on Homeland Security and the Ranking Member of the Judiciary 
Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security and Investigations; 
I believe that Congress can and should do more to ensure the safety of 
our southern border from terrorism and criminal threats.
  My service in the House of Representatives has focused on making sure 
that our nation is secure and prosperous.
  The U.S. has thousands of miles of coastlines, lakes, and rivers and 
hundreds of ports that provide opportunities for legitimate travel, 
trade, and recreation.
  Ports serve as America's gateway to the global economy since the 
nation's economic prosperity rests on the ability of containerized and 
bulk cargo arriving unimpeded at U.S. ports to support the rapid 
delivery system that underpins the manufacturing and retail sectors.
  A central component of national security is the ability of our 
international ports to move goods in and out of the country.
  According to the Department of Commerce in 2012, Texas exports 
totaled $265 billion.
  In 2012, ship channel-related businesses contributed 1,026,820 jobs 
and generated more than $178.5 billion in statewide economic activity.
  The Port of Houston is a 25-mile-long complex of diversified public 
and private facilities located just a few hours' sailing time from the 
Gulf of Mexico.
  In 2014, the Port of Houston was ranked among U.S. ports:
  1st in foreign tonnage;
  1st among Texas ports with 46% of market share by tonnage and 95% 
market share in containers by total TEUS in 2014;
  1st among Gulf Coast container ports, handling 67% of U.S. Gulf Coast 
container traffic in 2014; and
  2nd in U.S. ports in terms of total foreign cargo value (based on 
U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Bureau of Census).
  The Government Accountability Office (GAO), reports that the Port of 
Houston and

[[Page H1667]]

its waterways and vessels, are part of an economic engine handling more 
than $700 billion in cargo annually.
  The Port of Houston houses approximately 100 steamship lines offering 
services that link Houston with 1,053 ports in 203 countries.
  The Port of Houston is home to a $15 billion petrochemical complex, 
the largest in the nation and second largest in the world.
  With the nation's largest petrochemical complex supplying over 40 
percent of the nation's base petrochemical manufacturing capacity, what 
happens at the Port of Houston affects the entire nation.
  At the same time, these waterways offer opportunities for terrorists 
and their instruments, drug smugglers, and undocumented persons to 
enter our country.
  U.S. seaports, like the Port of Houston, are vulnerable to terrorist 
attacks.
  H.R. 4482 will require the Secretary of Homeland Security to analyze 
and assess the southwest border threat:
  Terrorism and criminal threats seeking unlawful entrance to the U.S. 
through the southwest border or exploiting border vulnerabilities;
  Improvements needed in border ports to prevent the entrance of 
terrorism into the U.S.;
  Law, policy, cooperation between state, local or tribal law 
enforcement, international or tribal agreements that hinder effective 
and efficient border security, counterterrorism, anti-human smuggling 
and trafficking efforts and legitimate trade along the southwest 
border;
  Current percentage of situational awareness and operational control 
of U.S. borders achieved by DHS of international land and maritime 
borders of the U.S.
  H.R. 4482 will require the Chief of the Border Patrol to issue by 
March 1, 2017, and every five years after, a Border Patrol Strategic 
Plan:
  Evaluation of southwest border threat analysis;
  Assessment of principal border security threats;
  Efforts to focus intelligence collection to disrupt transnational 
criminal organizations outside of U.S. borders;
  Ensure new border security technology can be operationally integrated 
with existing DHS technologies;
  Technology required to maintain, support, and enhance security and 
facilitate trade at ports of entry;
  Cooperative agreements and information sharing with state, local, and 
federal law enforcement agencies that have jurisdiction on the northern 
and southern borders;
  Prioritized list of research and development objective to enhance the 
security of borders;
  Assessment of training programs for detecting fraudulent documents, 
understanding scope of enforcement authorities and the use of force 
policies, and screening, identifying, and addressing vulnerable 
populations;
  Assessment of how border security operations affect crossing times.
  Let me close by reminding my colleagues that earlier this year we 
passed the Northern Border Security Act, which secured our border with 
Canada.
  Now it is time to protect our Southern Border, therefore I urge all 
Members to join me in voting to pass H.R. 4482.
  Mr. DONOVAN. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to 
close.
  Time and time again, we have learned the true value of Homeland 
Security grant dollars comes from the relationships built through 
planning, training, and exercises that are done in these communities.
  H.R. 4509 would facilitate the whole community approach to disaster 
response and planning by adopting a more inclusive definition of 
emergency response.
  I would like to thank my colleagues on the Committee on Homeland 
Security as well as the Security Industry Association for their 
support.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. DONOVAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to 
close.
  I once again urge my colleagues to support H.R. 4509.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. Donovan) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 4509, 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.

                          ____________________