[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 111 (Monday, July 11, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H4645-H4647]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY CAMPUS SECURITY ACT

  Mr. LOUDERMILK. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 5636) to increase the effectiveness of and accountability 
for maintaining the physical security of NIST facilities and the safety 
of the NIST workforce.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 5636

       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 ``National Institute of 
     Standards and Technology Campus Security Act''.

     SEC. 2. NIST CAMPUS SECURITY.

       (a) Supervisory Authority.--The Department of Commerce 
     Office of Security shall directly manage the law enforcement 
     and security programs of the National Institute of Standards 
     and Technology through an assigned Director of Security for 
     the National Institute of Standards and Technology. This 
     subsection shall be carried out without increasing the number 
     of full time equivalent employees of the Department of 
     Commerce, including the National Institute of Standards and 
     Technology.
       (b) Reports.--Such Director of Security shall provide an 
     activities and security report on a quarterly basis for the 
     first year after the date of enactment of this Act, and on an 
     annual basis thereafter, to the Under Secretary for Standards 
     and Technology and to the Committee on Science, Space, and 
     Technology of the House of Representatives and the Committee 
     on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate.
       (c) Comptroller General Report.--Not later than 1 year 
     after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller 
     General shall submit a report to the Secretary of Commerce, 
     and to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the 
     House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 
     Science, and Transportation in the Senate, that--
       (1) evaluates the costs and performance of the National 
     Institute of Standards and Technology Police Services Group;
       (2) compares the total costs of that Police Services Group 
     with the estimated cost of private police contractors to 
     perform the same work;
       (3) examines any potential concerns with private police 
     contractors performing the duties of the Police Services 
     Group;
       (4) makes recommendations, based on the findings under 
     paragraphs (2) and (3), for how the National Institute of 
     Standards and Technology should spend its money on security 
     without diminishing the security on its campuses;
       (5) proposes oversight and direction that the Police 
     Services Group or outside security contractors need to ensure 
     physical security at National Institute of Standards and 
     Technology campuses;
       (6) establishes the percentage of National Institute of 
     Standards and Technology personnel, including the Police 
     Services Group and outside security contractors, that follow 
     security policies, processes, and procedures applicable to 
     their responsibilities;
       (7) determines the number of known security breaches and 
     other similar incidents at National Institute of Standards 
     and Technology campuses involving National Institute of 
     Standards and Technology personnel and external parties from 
     fiscal year 2012 to the date of the completion of this 
     report, and their impact and resolution; and
       (8) analyzes management, operational, and other challenges 
     encountered in the course of protecting National Institute of 
     Standards and Technology facilities and the extent to which 
     such challenges impact security, and includes assessment of 
     the National Institute of Standards and Technology's attempts 
     to mitigate those challenges.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Georgia (Mr. Loudermilk) and the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Eddie 
Bernice Johnson) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Georgia.


                             General Leave

  Mr. LOUDERMILK. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on H.R. 5636, the bill now under 
consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Georgia?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. LOUDERMILK. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5636, the National Institute 
of Standards and Technology Campus Security Act. I would like to thank 
Chairman Smith for his hard work in bringing

[[Page H4646]]

this bill through the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee.
  I chair the Oversight Subcommittee of the House Science, Space, and 
Technology Committee, and my subcommittee has been involved in the 
investigation of security issues at the National Institute of Standards 
and Technology over the past year.
  Not only did a now-former NIST police officer cause an explosion on 
the Gaithersburg campus while attempting to manufacture 
methamphetamine, there was also an alarming incident that took place on 
the NIST campus in Boulder, Colorado.
  In April, an individual with no identification, who was not an 
employee of NIST, was found in a building on the campus. The incident 
required a summons to county firefighters because of concerns that the 
individual may have been exposed to chlorine gas stored in the 
building's ``clean'' room. He was eventually transported to the local 
hospital, and the incident is currently part of an ongoing criminal 
investigation.
  There are quite a few reasons why this situation is so concerning to 
me.
  First, how does a non-NIST employee get on a campus, into a secure 
building, and then into a room where potentially dangerous, hazardous, 
or poisonous chemicals may be present.
  Most importantly, how did all this take place without NIST police or 
security knowledge? And what is the extent of damage that an individual 
could have caused by having access to that building and room?
  For a Federal agency that received a notice of violation by the 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission just 1 year ago for failing to--and I 
quote--``keep records showing the receipt, inventory, acquisition, 
transfer, and disposal of all special nuclear materials in its 
possession,'' this is extremely concerning.
  In the National Regulatory Commission's investigation, they 
discovered ``radioactive material and sources that were not included'' 
in the NIST inventory. While this raises additional accountability 
issues and concerns, it also emphasizes the need for adequate and 
effective security at NIST campuses.
  Having held numerous managerial and executive positions in the 
private and public sector, I know how important accountability is to 
the success and future of an organization. It is inexcusable that an 
important government agency like NIST is lagging behind in 
accountability, especially when it comes to the security and protection 
of its campuses and its employees.
  This legislation is an important example of how congressional 
oversight works. Being able to ``check on and check the Executive'' 
allows Congress to step in when an agency is lacking in efficiency and 
effectiveness to ensure adequate measures are taken and taxpayer 
dollars are protected.
  This bill directs the Department of Commerce Office of Security to 
get involved in the law enforcement and security programs at NIST. The 
bill also requires the Government Accountability Office to produce an 
analysis on the performance and efficiency of NIST security in its 
current state, make recommendations on how to improve security on NIST 
campuses, and look into the possibility of privatizing the NIST police 
force.
  This legislation takes an important step to protect the safety and 
security of those who work at, visit, and live in the vicinity of NIST 
campuses. We must take action to ensure accountability and effective 
security in one of our Nation's oldest physical science laboratories.
  I urge my colleagues to support this important piece of legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such 
time as I may consume.
  There have been two high-profile security incidents at the National 
Institute of Standards and Technology, NIST, facilities in the past 
year: one on the Gaithersburg campus and the other in Boulder, 
Colorado.
  These incidents have raised legitimate oversight questions that the 
Science, Space, and Technology Committee has pursued through both 
hearings and a year-long investigation.
  This bill, I take it, is meant to kick the investigation over to GAO 
since our own efforts, which were focused more on ``gotcha'' questions 
than substance, yielded little.
  Unfortunately, what this bill does not account for is that the 
security incidents also prompted the Director of NIST to take seriously 
the need to improve security policies, procedures, and management of 
the two NIST campuses.
  Last December, the Director, Dr. Willie May, convened an ad hoc panel 
of security experts to make recommendations accordingly. The experts 
made a number of significant recommendations on all aspects of NIST 
security. By mid April, the NIST Director had developed an action plan 
to immediately implement many of those recommendations while initiating 
more in-depth studies of other recommendations. These are very positive 
steps on the part of the agency and should not be overlooked or, worse, 
undermined.
  Science Committee minority staff have received copies of both the 
recommendations and the action plan because they asked for it. I wonder 
if the majority also thought to ask for these documents before drafting 
this bill without any expert input.
  We certainly agree with the majority that the GAO may have an 
important role in the process of strengthening security at NIST. 
However, any such GAO review should take into account ongoing reform at 
NIST as well as the expert opinion of GAO itself.
  Majority and minority staff alike received an e-mail from GAO experts 
the night before the committee markup expressing concern about the 
nature of some of the questions being asked of them in this 
legislation. Neither their feedback nor NIST's own feedback was 
incorporated during the committee markup. The bill was rushed through 
the committee and now is being rushed to the floor.
  I am also quite puzzled as to the need for this bill since the 
chairman already sent a joint request to GAO, along with the chairman 
of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, for a 
similarly scoped review of NIST security. GAO confirmed that review is 
already in their work queue.
  At best, this is an exercise in duplication, and we always talk about 
saving money. At worst, it is the wasting of valuable expertise of the 
GAO on an ill-conceived and ill-timed report.

  This bill may lead to an inefficient use of taxpayers dollars, but, 
at the end of the day, it will not do any other harm. I have faith in 
the GAO to make lemonade out of lemons. For that reason, I am not 
opposing moving forward today.
  However, I do call on my colleagues on the Science, Space, and 
Technology Committee to take more seriously our oversight 
responsibility and our responsibility to the taxpayer by taking into 
consideration expert input and relevant activities at the agency in 
question before rushing a sloppy bill to the floor just for a press 
release.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LOUDERMILK. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Smith), the chairman of the Science, Space and Technology 
Committee.
  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, first of all, I want to thank the 
gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Loudermilk), who is the chairman of the 
Oversight Subcommittee, for his significant oversight work on this 
issue and for introducing the result of that work, this bill, H.R. 
5636.
  I am pleased to cosponsor the National Institute of Standards and 
Technology Campus Security Act to help improve the safety and security 
of NIST facilities and their surrounding areas.
  Last July, a senior officer with the NIST Police Services Group 
attempted illegal production of meth at one of the laboratories located 
at NIST's Gaithersburg, Maryland, campus. The officer, who was 
previously the acting chief of police at the Gaithersburg campus, 
amazingly caused an explosion that burned his face and arm and blew out 
the lab windows.
  It is shocking that a Federal agency didn't know that a meth lab was 
being run on its property right under its nose, and, without the 
explosion, it might never have been discovered. The meth lab explosion 
and subsequent investigation have raised serious concerns about the 
safety and security of the entire NIST operation.

[[Page H4647]]

  Further, information obtained during the Science, Space, and 
Technology Committee's investigation of the meth lab appears to show a 
pattern of waste, fraud, abuse and misconduct by the NIST Police 
Services Group.
  For example, according to a recent Department of Commerce Inspector 
General's report, the very officer who caused the explosion on NIST's 
campus had committed time and attendance fraud by claiming that he 
worked many hours when he did not.
  So how do we know that this is not happening throughout the Police 
Services Group at NIST?
  These unfortunate examples undermine and jeopardize NIST's mission to 
promote U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness, which enhances 
economic security and improves our quality of life.
  This legislation is an important step forward to analyze the work of 
NIST's Police Services Group and outside contractors to ensure that 
they are adequately securing both NIST campuses to protect NIST 
employees, contractors, visitors, and surrounding communities from any 
potential hazards.
  This legislation and a thorough review, evaluation, and report by the 
U.S. Government Accountability Office will provide further 
recommendations and options to ensure a safe and secure NIST in the 
future.
  Again, I want to thank Chairman Loudermilk for his work on this 
matter, and I urge my colleagues to support the bill.
  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the 
balance of my time.
  Mr. LOUDERMILK. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join us in this 
bipartisan effort to ensure the safety and security of many--not just 
employees, but citizens and visitors to this important facility, and I 
urge them to support this bill.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Moolenaar). The question is on the 
motion offered by the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Loudermilk) that the 
House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 5636.
  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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