[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 59 (Monday, April 18, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H1770-H1772]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY HEADQUARTERS CONSOLIDATION
ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 2015
Mr. DUNCAN of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the
rules and pass the bill (S. 1638) to direct the Secretary of Homeland
Security to submit to Congress information on the Department of
Homeland Security headquarters consolidation project in the National
Capital Region, and for other purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
S. 1638
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 ``Department of Homeland
Security Headquarters Consolidation Accountability Act of
2015''.
SEC. 2. INFORMATION ON DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
HEADQUARTERS CONSOLIDATION PROJECT.
(a) In General.--Not later than 120 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in coordination with
the Administrator, shall submit to the appropriate committees
of Congress information on the implementation of the enhanced
plan for the Department headquarters consolidation project
within the National Capital Region, approved by the Office of
Management and Budget and included in the budget of the
President for fiscal year 2016 (as submitted to Congress
under section 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code), that
includes the following:
(1) A proposed occupancy plan for the consolidation project
that includes specific information about which Department-
wide operations, component operations, and support offices
will be located at the site, the aggregate number of full
time equivalent employees projected to occupy the site, the
seat-to-staff ratio at the site, and schedule estimates for
migrating operations to the site.
(2) A comprehensive assessment of the difference between
the current real property and facilities needed by the
Department in the National Capital Region in order to carry
out the mission of the Department and the future needs of the
Department.
(3) A current plan for construction of the headquarters
consolidation at the St. Elizabeths campus that includes--
(A) the estimated costs and schedule for the current plan,
which shall conform to relevant Federal guidance for cost and
schedule estimates, consistent with the recommendation of the
Government Accountability Office in the September 2014 report
entitled ``Federal Real Property: DHS and GSA Need to
Strengthen the Management of DHS Headquarters Consolidation''
(GAO-14-648); and
(B) any estimated cost savings associated with reducing the
scope of the consolidation project and increasing the use of
existing capacity developed under the project.
(4) A current plan for the leased portfolio of the
Department in the National Capital Region that includes--
(A) an end-state vision that identifies which Department-
wide operations, component operations, and support offices do
not migrate to the St. Elizabeths campus and continue to
operate at a property in the leased portfolio;
(B) for each year until the consolidation project is
completed, the number of full-time equivalent employees who
are expected to operate at each property, component, or
office;
(C) the anticipated total rentable square feet leased per
year during the period beginning on the date of enactment of
this Act and ending on the date on which the consolidation
project is completed; and
(D) timing and anticipated lease terms for leased space
under the plan referred to in paragraph (3).
(5) An analysis that identifies the costs and benefits of
leasing and construction alternatives for the remainder of
the consolidation project that includes--
(A) a comparison of the long-term cost that would result
from leasing as compared
[[Page H1771]]
to consolidating functions on Government-owned space; and
(B) the identification of any cost impacts in terms of
premiums for short-term lease extensions or holdovers due to
the uncertainty of funding for, or delays in, completing
construction required for the consolidation.
(b) Comptroller General Review.--
(1) Review required.--The Comptroller General of the United
States shall review the cost and schedule estimates submitted
under subsection (a) to evaluate the quality and reliability
of the estimates.
(2) Assessment.--Not later than 90 days after the submittal
of the cost and schedule estimates under subsection (a), the
Comptroller General shall report to the appropriate
committees of Congress on the results of the review required
under paragraph (1).
(c) Definitions.--In this Act:
(1) The term ``Administrator'' means the Administrator of
General Services.
(2) The term ``appropriate committees of Congress'' means
the Committee on Homeland Security and the Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs of the Senate.
(3) The term ``Department'' means the Department of
Homeland Security.
(4) The term ``National Capital Region'' has the meaning
given the term under section 2674(f)(2) of title 10, United
States Code.
(5) The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of Homeland
Security.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
South Carolina (Mr. Duncan) and the gentlewoman from New Jersey (Mrs.
Watson Coleman) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from South Carolina.
General Leave
Mr. DUNCAN of South Carolina. 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 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. DUNCAN of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time
as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of S. 1638.
Mr. Speaker, since construction began in 2006, the Department of
Homeland Security's consolidated headquarters on St. Elizabeth's
historic Washington, D.C. campus has been riddled with cost overruns
and construction delays, at times estimated to be more than $1 billion
over budget and 12 years behind schedule.
As the former chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and
Management Efficiency, I conducted rigorous oversight of the project,
including holding a hearing in September 2014. Having visited the site,
I saw firsthand the immense challenges that lie ahead. While we are
encouraged by the recently updated DHS St. Elizabeth's plan, we still
believe that increased oversight of the consolidation project will help
ensure accountability and the efficient use of taxpayer dollars,
especially considering this project was fully funded through the fiscal
year 2016 appropriations, and DHS alone has requested $225 million for
fiscal year 2017.
This bill that we are talking about today, the Department of Homeland
Security Headquarters Consolidation Accountability Act, a companion to
H.R. 1640, which was passed by the House unanimously in June of last
year and of which I was a cosponsor, will require the Secretary of
Homeland Security, in coordination with the administrator of General
Services, to submit a report on the implementation of the updated plan
for the headquarters consolidation, including estimated costs and
occupancy plans of the project. With a project of this magnitude,
improved oversight and increased transparency is paramount.
Mr. Speaker, Thomas Jefferson once said that an educated citizenry is
``the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty.'' Our
constituents expect their representatives to hold government
accountable. S. 1638 does just that.
I wish to thank Senators Johnson and Carper for their hard work
passing this bill through the Senate. I urge all Members to join me in
supporting this important bipartisan legislation.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
I rise in support of S. 1638, the Department of Homeland Security
Headquarters Consolidation Accountability Act of 2015.
Mr. Speaker, since the 2006 decision to establish the Department of
Homeland Security's headquarters at the former site of St. Elizabeth's
Hospital in Washington, the project has experienced significant
shortfalls in cost and schedule performance.
The Government Accountability Office reported that between the start
of construction at St. Elizabeth's in fiscal year 2009 through the
fiscal year 2014 appropriation, the project received $1.6 billion less
than the funding amendments requested over this period. The impact of
this funding gap is far-reaching. In fact, GAO has found this gap
resulted in cost escalations exceeding $1 billion and schedule delays
exceeding 10 years for the project.
Mr. Speaker, the Senate bill we consider today is the companion to
H.R. 1640, a bill that the House approved by voice vote last June.
S. 1638 directs DHS and GSA to provide information to Congress within
120 days of enactment of this bill to establish that the data has been
collected and analyzed to support the current direction for this high-
profile investment.
In addition, Mr. Speaker, S. 1638 specifies that the information
provided to Congress by DHS and GSA include updated cost and schedule
estimates for the project.
Finally, Mr. Speaker, S. 1638 directs GAO to report to Congress on
the quality and reliability of these estimates, not later than 90 days
after they have been submitted to Congress.
Mr. Speaker, DHS headquarters operations currently are dispersed
around the national capital region, in facilities that, in many cases,
are inadequate--as is the case with the Nebraska Avenue Complex.
To support the government's effective stewardship of public resources
and to deliver a headquarters that DHS desperately needs, I would urge
my colleagues to join me in supporting this legislation.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. DUNCAN of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of
my time.
Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
S. 1638 is virtually identical to the House-passed legislation that
my subcommittee advanced last year.
The bill's provisions acknowledge the need for GSA to be engaged at a
high level, as the construction manager for the Department's
headquarters consolidation project, and to help DHS develop realistic
and achievable outcomes.
I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge that up to 69 percent of
the Department's commercial leases in the national capital region are
slated to expire between fiscal years 2016 and 2020. As such, the
Department will be forced to engage in the expensive process of
recompeting and possibly relocating its operation and personnel.
It would behoove the Department and the GSA to move more of DHS'
headquarters activities to St. Elizabeth's as soon as possible and,
thus, avoid the costs associated with executing additional leasing in
the expensive D.C. market.
Mr. Speaker, I do again urge the adoption of S. 1638.
I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. DUNCAN of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time
as I may consume.
I, once again, urge my colleagues to support S. 1638.
I thank the gentlewoman from New Jersey for her words of support.
This is the right thing to do--being good stewards of taxpayer dollars
and fulfilling our oversight role.
I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, as a senior member of the Homeland
Security Committee, I rise in strong support of S. 1638, the
``Department of Homeland Security Headquarters Consolidation
Accountability Act.''
I support this bipartisan legislation because it would move DHS
forward in accomplishing the important objective of establishing a home
for the Department's many components and agencies.
Eleven days after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks,
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge was appointed as the first Director of
the Office of Homeland Security in the White House.
[[Page H1772]]
In November 2002, I was proud to join my colleagues in voting to
create a Department of Homeland Security.
On March 1, 2003, the Department of Homeland Security official became
a Cabinet-level department charged with the responsibility of unifying
national homeland security efforts.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was created through the
integration of all or part of 22 different Federal departments and
agencies into a unified, integrated Department.
S. 1638, directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in
coordination with the General Services Administration (GSA), to submit
information on the implementation of the enhanced plan for the DHS
headquarters consolidation project within the National Capital Region,
approved by the Office of Management and Budget and included in the
budget of the President for FY2016, that includes:
a proposed occupancy plan with specific information about which DHS-
wide operations, component operations, and support offices will be
located at the site, the aggregate number of full time equivalent
employees projected to occupy the site, the seat-to-staff ratio at the
site, and schedule estimates for migrating operations to the site;
a comprehensive assessment of the difference between the current real
property and facilities needed by DHS in the Region to carry out its
mission and its future needs;
an analysis of the difference between the current and needed capital
assets and facilities of DHS;
a current plan for construction of the headquarters consolidation at
the St. Elizabeths campus that includes the estimated costs and
schedule for the current plan and any estimated cost savings associated
with reducing the scope of the project and increasing the use of
existing capacity developed under the project;
An important goal of S. 1638, is an evaluation of the current plan to
determine the leased portfolio of DHS throughout the Region that
includes an end-state vision that identifies which DHS-wide operations,
component operations, and support offices do not migrate to the St.
Elizabeths campus and continue to operate at a property in the leased
portfolio.
The bill will result in real numbers regarding the total compliment
of full-time equivalent employees who are expected to operate at each
property, component, or office for each year until the consolidation
project is completed.
S. 1638, identifies the costs and benefits of leasing and
construction alternatives for the remainder of the consolidation
project, including a comparison of the long-term cost that would result
from leasing to the cost of consolidating functions on government-owned
space and the identification of any cost impacts in terms of premiums
for short-term lease extensions or holdovers due to the uncertainty of
funding for, or delays in, completing construction required for the
consolidation.
Mr. Speaker, since DHS initiated its headquarters consolidation in
2006, it has progressed despite changes in senior leadership and waning
funding support from Congress.
As a result, in April 2015, DHS and GSA announced that the
construction sequence and timetable for the headquarters consolidation
would be adjusted to reflect reduced funding by Congress.
DHS must now re-compete up to 69 percent of its commercial leases in
the National Capital Region as they are scheduled to expire between
2016 and 2020.
I urge all of my colleagues to join me in strong support of the
suspension bill, S. 1638, the ``Department of Homeland Security
Headquarters Consolidation Accountability Act.''
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Duncan) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, S. 1638.
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.
____________________