Congressional Record, Volume 162 Issue 111 (Monday, July 11, 2016)

[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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