[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 111 (Monday, July 11, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H4591-H4594]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
DHS STOP ASSET AND VEHICLE EXCESS ACT
Mr. PERRY. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill
(HR.
[[Page H4592]]
4785) to amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to direct the Under
Secretary for Management of the Department of Homeland Security to make
certain improvements in managing the Department's vehicle fleet, and
for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 4785
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 ``DHS Stop Asset and Vehicle
Excess Act'' or the ``DHS SAVE Act''.
SEC. 2. DHS VEHICLE FLEETS.
Section 701 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C.
341) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)(5), by inserting ``vehicle fleets
(under subsection (c)),'' after ``equipment,'';
(2) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as subsections
(d) and (e), respectively; and
(3) by inserting after subsection (b) the following new
subsection:
``(c) Vehicle Fleets.--
``(1) In general.--In carrying out responsibilities
regarding vehicle fleets pursuant to subsection (a)(5), the
Under Secretary for Management shall be responsible for
overseeing and managing vehicle fleets throughout the
Department. The Under Secretary shall also be responsible for
the following:
``(A) Ensuring that components are in compliance with
Federal law, Federal regulations, executive branch guidance,
and Department policy (including issuing guidance relating to
such) relating to fleet management and use of vehicles from
home to work.
``(B) Developing and distributing a standardized vehicle
allocation methodology and fleet management plan for
components to use to determine optimal fleet size in
accordance with paragraph (4).
``(C) Ensuring that components formally document fleet
management decisions.
``(D) Approving component fleet management plans, vehicle
leases, and vehicle acquisitions.
``(2) Component responsibilities.--
``(A) In general.--Component heads--
``(i) shall--
``(I) comply with Federal law, Federal regulations,
executive branch guidance, and Department policy (including
guidance relating to such) relating to fleet management and
use of vehicles from home to work;
``(II) ensure that data related to fleet management is
accurate and reliable;
``(III) use such data to develop a vehicle allocation tool
derived by using the standardized vehicle allocation
methodology provided by the Under Secretary for Management to
determine the optimal fleet size for the next fiscal year and
a fleet management plan; and
``(IV) use vehicle allocation methodologies and fleet
management plans to develop annual requests for funding to
support vehicle fleets pursuant to paragraph (6); and
``(ii) may not, except as provided in subparagraph (B),
lease or acquire new vehicles or replace existing vehicles
without prior approval from the Under Secretary for
Management pursuant to paragraph (5)(B).
``(B) Exception regarding certain leasing and
acquisitions.--If exigent circumstances warrant such, a
component head may lease or acquire a new vehicle or replace
an existing vehicle without prior approval from the Under
Secretary for Management. If under exigent circumstances a
component head so leases, acquires, or replaces a vehicle,
such component head shall provide to the Under Secretary an
explanation of such circumstances.
``(3) Ongoing oversight.--
``(A) Quarterly monitoring.--In accordance with paragraph
(4), the Under Secretary for Management shall collect, on a
quarterly basis, information regarding component vehicle
fleets, including information on fleet size, composition,
cost, and vehicle utilization.
``(B) Automated information.--The Under Secretary for
Management shall seek to achieve a capability to collect, on
a quarterly basis, automated information regarding component
vehicle fleets, including the number of trips, miles driven,
hours and days used, and the associated costs of such mileage
for leased vehicles.
``(C) Monitoring.--The Under Secretary for Management shall
track and monitor component information provided pursuant to
subparagraph (A) and, as appropriate, subparagraph (B), to
ensure that component vehicle fleets are the optimal fleet
size and cost effective. The Under Secretary shall use such
information to inform the annual component fleet analyses
referred to in paragraph (4).
``(4) Annual review of component fleet analyses.--
``(A) In general.--To determine the optimal fleet size and
associated resources needed for each fiscal year beginning
with fiscal year 2018, component heads shall annually submit
to the Under Secretary for Management a vehicle allocation
tool and fleet management plan using information described in
paragraph (3)(A). Such tools and plans may be submitted in
classified form if a component head determines that such is
necessary to protect operations or mission requirements.
``(B) Vehicle allocation tool.--Component heads develop a
vehicle allocation tool in accordance with subclause (III) of
paragraph (2)(A)(i) that includes an analysis of the
following:
``(i) Vehicle utilization data, including the number of
trips, miles driven, hours and days used, and the associated
costs of such mileage for leased vehicles, in accordance with
such paragraph.
``(ii) The role of vehicle fleets in supporting mission
requirements for each component.
``(iii) Any other information determined relevant by such
component heads.
``(C) Fleet management plans.--Component heads shall use
information described in subparagraph (B) to develop a fleet
management plan for each such component. Such fleet
management plans shall include the following:
``(i) A plan for how each such component may achieve
optimal fleet size determined by the vehicle allocation tool
required under such subparagraph, including the elimination
of excess vehicles in accordance with paragraph (5), if
applicable.
``(ii) A cost benefit analysis supporting such plan.
``(iii) A schedule each such component will follow to
obtain optimal fleet size.
``(iv) Any other information determined relevant by
component heads.
``(D) Review.--The Under Secretary for Management shall
review and make a determination on the results of each
component's vehicle allocation tool and fleet management plan
under this paragraph to ensure each such component's vehicle
fleets are the optimal fleet size and that components are in
compliance with applicable Federal law, Federal regulations,
executive branch guidance, and Department policy pursuant to
paragraph (2) relating to fleet management and use of
vehicles from home to work. The Under Secretary shall use
such tools and plans when reviewing annual component requests
for vehicle fleet funding in accordance with paragraph (6).
``(5) Guidance to develop fleet management plans.--The
Under Secretary for Management shall provide guidance,
pursuant to paragraph (1)(B) on how component heads may
achieve optimal fleet size in accordance with paragraph (4),
including processes for the following:
``(A) Leasing or acquiring additional vehicles or replacing
existing vehicles, if determined necessary.
``(B) Disposing of excess vehicles that the Under Secretary
determines should not be reallocated under subparagraph (C).
``(C) Reallocating excess vehicles to other components that
may need temporary or long-term use of additional vehicles.
``(6) Annual review of vehicle fleet funding requests.--As
part of the annual budget process, the Under Secretary for
Management shall review and make determinations regarding
annual component requests for funding for vehicle fleets. If
component heads have not taken steps in furtherance of
achieving optimal fleet size in the prior fiscal year
pursuant to paragraphs (4) and (5), the Under Secretary shall
provide rescission recommendations to the Committee on
Appropriations and the Committee on Homeland Security of the
House of Representatives and the Committee on Appropriations
and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs of the Senate regarding such component vehicle
fleets.
``(7) Accountability for vehicle fleet management.--
``(A) Prohibition on certain new vehicle leases and
acquisitions.--The Under Secretary for Management and
component heads may not approve in any fiscal year beginning
with fiscal year 2019 a vehicle lease, acquisition, or
replacement request if such component heads did not comply in
the prior fiscal year with paragraph (4).
``(B) Prohibition on certain performance compensation.--No
Department official with vehicle fleet management
responsibilities may receive annual performance compensation
in pay in any fiscal year beginning with fiscal year 2019 if
such official did not comply in the prior fiscal year with
paragraph (4).
``(C) Prohibition on certain car services.--Notwithstanding
any other provision of law, no senior executive service
official of the Department whose office has a vehicle fleet
may receive access to a car service in any fiscal year
beginning with fiscal year 2019 if such official did not
comply in the prior fiscal year with paragraph (4).
``(8) Motor pool.--
``(A) In general.--The Under Secretary for Management may
determine the feasibility of operating a vehicle motor pool
to permit components to share vehicles as necessary to
support mission requirements to reduce the number of excess
vehicles in the Department.
``(B) Requirements.--The determination of feasibility of
operating a vehicle motor pool under subparagraph (A) shall--
``(i) include--
``(I) regions in the United States in which multiple
components with vehicle fleets are located in proximity to
one another, or a significant number of employees with
authorization to use vehicles are located; and
``(II) law enforcement vehicles;
``(ii) cover the National Capital Region; and
``(iii) take into account different mission requirements.
``(C) Report.--The Secretary shall include in the
Department's next annual performance report required under
current law the results of the determination under this
paragraph.
``(9) Definitions.--In this subsection:
``(A) Component head.--The term `component head' means the
head of any component of the Department with a vehicle fleet.
``(B) Excess vehicle.--The term `excess vehicle' means any
vehicle that is not essential to support mission requirements
of a component.
``(C) Optimal fleet size.--The term `optimal fleet size'
means, with respect to a particular component, the
appropriate number of vehicles to support mission
requirements of such component.
``(D) Vehicle fleet.--The term `vehicle fleet' means all
owned, commercially leased, or Government-leased vehicles of
the Department or of
[[Page H4593]]
a component of the Department, as the case may be, including
vehicles used for law enforcement and other purposes.''.
SEC. 3. GAO REPORT AND INSPECTOR GENERAL REVIEW.
(a) GAO Report.--Not later than one year after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the
United States shall submit to the Committee on Homeland
Security of the House of Representatives and the Committee on
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs a report on the
following:
(1) The status of efforts at achieving a capability to
collect automated information as required under subsection
(c)(3) of section 701 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6
U.S.C. 341), as added by section 2 of this Act, and any
challenges that remain with respect to achieving the
capability to collect, assess, and report vehicle fleet (as
such term in defined in subsection (c)(9) of such section
701) data for the purpose of determining vehicle utilization.
(2) The extent to which the Under Secretary for Management
has identified and addressed any relevant security concerns,
including cybersecurity risks, related to such automation.
(3) The extent to which the Under Secretary collects,
assesses, and reports on vehicle fleet event data recorder
data.
(b) Inspector General Review.--The Inspector General of the
Department of Homeland Security shall--
(1) review implementation of subsection (c)(4) of section
701 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 341), as
added by section 2 of this Act, for fiscal years 2018 and
2020, and shall provide, upon request, to the Committee on
Homeland Security of the House of Representatives and the
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of
the Senate information regarding any such review; and
(2) submit to the committees specified in paragraph (1) a
report, not later than six months after completion of the
second review required under such paragraph, regarding the
effectiveness of such subsection with respect to cost
avoidance, savings realized, and component operations.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Pennsylvania (Mr. Perry) and the gentlewoman from New Jersey (Mrs.
Watson Coleman) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Pennsylvania.
General Leave
Mr. PERRY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
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 Pennsylvania?
There was no objection.
Mr. PERRY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 4785, the DHS Stop
Asset and Vehicle Excess Act, or the DHS SAVE Act, of 2016.
{time} 1515
In October of 2015, the DHS inspector general released a scathing
report of the Federal Protective Service's management of its vehicle
fleet, a report that reads like a laundry list of poor management
decisions. The IG found that the Federal Protective Service had more
vehicles than officers, and officers were authorized to drive from home
to work with government-owned vehicles, the bigger problem being that
that was where they got the bulk of the mileage on the vehicles--from
home to work and back--and not actually on the job. Additionally, the
report stated that the FPS was not in compliance with Federal and
departmental requirements, which is why I introduced the DHS SAVE Act.
This bill improves the management of DHS' vehicle fleets by
authorizing the Under Secretary for Management at the headquarters
level to oversee the components' vehicle fleets; it requires the
components to evaluate their fleets on an ongoing basis; it includes
penalties for the mismanagement of component fleets; and it requires
the DHS to identify alternative methods for the management of component
fleets. With the second largest civilian vehicle fleet in the Federal
Government, the DHS must absolutely have stricter controls in place at
the headquarters level in order to rein in rogue components.
I urge all Members to join me in supporting this important bipartisan
legislation.
Mr. Speaker, 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 H.R. 4785, the DHS Stop Asset and Vehicle Excess
Act.
H.R. 4785 seeks to bolster how the Department of Homeland Security
acquires, manages, and oversees its fleet of, roughly, 53,000 vehicles.
In 2014, the Department's inspector general found that the DHS did
not adequately manage or have the enforcement authority to ensure that
the composition of its motor vehicle fleet was right-sized. The
inspector general observed that each DHS component managed
decisionmaking about its own fleet, thereby making it difficult for the
DHS fleet manager to provide adequate oversight and ensure compliance
with Federal laws, regulations, policies, and directives.
One major issue that the inspector general identified is that, while
the DHS fleet manager had decisionmaking authority regarding vehicle
leases, it did not oversee and approve the acquisition of component-
owned vehicles. Last year, the inspector general amplified concerns
about how the DHS manages its vehicle fleet in a report that was
focused on operations with the Federal Protective Service. In a review
issued in October of 2015, the inspector general found that, among
other things, the DHS was unable to oversee policies related to home-
to-work vehicle use by FPS employees and that vehicle acquisition
decisions by the FPS leadership were ad hoc.
H.R. 4785 seeks to improve the management of the DHS vehicle fleet by
strengthening the oversight and management of the Department's fleet by
the Under Secretary for Management by requiring the Under Secretary to
issue a standardized vehicle allocation methodology for use throughout
the Department, to oversee vehicle acquisition and lease
decisionmaking, and to ensure components compliance with Federal laws
and Department policies that relate to fleet management.
The DHS has the second largest civilian vehicle fleet in the Federal
Government at an operating cost of about $462 million. As such,
enhancing oversight and management should help the Department to more
effectively spend limited taxpayer dollars on what the Department
actually needs to carry out its missions.
I would note that H.R. 4785 includes language I authored to ensure
that the inspector general's oversight of the DHS' management of its
vehicle fleet continues by reviewing the development, use, and
submission of vehicle allocation tools and fleet management plans as
required. It requires the inspector general to specifically report to
Congress on the effectiveness of the submission requirements with
respect to cost avoidance, savings realized, and component operations.
As the IG has reported, the DHS' inability to adequately monitor and
oversee the Department-wide vehicle fleet limits its ability to detect
waste and abuse. Therefore, it is imperative that the DHS continue to
work to develop proper processes for fleet management and to ensure
that components heads utilize the appropriate procedures to inform
efforts at achieving an optimal fleet size.
I commend my colleague from Pennsylvania (Mr. Perry) for introducing
this legislation and for working in a bipartisan fashion to advance it.
I urge the passage of H.R. 4785.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. PERRY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Anecdotally, it has been some time since we had the hearing on this
subject, but, as I recall, the vast majority of these vehicles in the
Federal Protective Service were SUVs, including the ones that travel
around Washington, D.C. Of those, the vast majority of them had an
average of about 15,000 miles on them, and the fleet was generally
turned over about 30 percent at a time almost on an annual basis. I
just recall what 15,000 miles is to most people in America. That is a
new vehicle, and it is an SUV. Do you really need an SUV? I understand
it in parts of, maybe, the Midwest or in mountainous terrain or in
swampy terrain or something--but, really, in Washington, D.C.? Folks at
the FPS had absolutely no issue with the program, which is what
prompted me to further this legislation and offer it.
I thank the gentlewoman from New Jersey for her collaborative help
and for her willingness to work with me on this and for her support on
this.
Once again, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 4785.
[[Page H4594]]
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 4785,
the Department of Homeland Security Stop Asset and Vehicle Excess
(SAVE) Act.
H.R. 4785 will amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 and direct the
Under Security of Management for the Department of Homeland Security to
oversee and manage vehicle fleets throughout the department.
As a senior member of the House Committee on Homeland Security and a
senior member of the Committee on Homeland Security Subcommittee on
Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Security Technologies, I
believe that authorizing the Under Secretary is important in ensuring
that DHS is well-managed.
This bill improves the management of DHS fleets by authorizing the
Under Secretary to impose penalties for the mismanagement of fleets and
requires the DHS to identify alternative methods for management.
The Under Secretary shall also be responsible for ensuring that
components are in compliance with federal law, federal regulations,
executive branch guidance, and department policy.
This legislation also requires the DHS Under Security to monitor
compliance with federal laws and regulations related to the use of
government vehicles, develop a methodology to determine optimal fleet
size, and approve vehicle leases and acquisitions.
In addition, H.R. 4785 requires DHS agencies to report data on
vehicle use quarterly and submit fleet management plans, including
cost-benefit analyses, annually to the Under Secretary.
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that H.R. 4785 includes an amendment I
offered during full committee markup that addresses the management of
the fleet vehicles used by protective services under the purview of
DHS.
The Jackson Lee Amendment requires a GAO report on the status of
efforts to achieve capability to collect automated information as
required by the bill, and to assess the ability of Under Secretary for
Management to identify and address any relevant security concerns
regarding vehicles used by protective services.
It is of the utmost importance that DHS have stricter controls in
place in order to reign in the cost of fleet management.
H.R. 4785 will provide better management and oversight of the second
largest civilian vehicle fleet in the federal government, and thus save
millions of taxpayer dollars.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Perry) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 4785, 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.
____________________