[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 48 (Monday, March 20, 2017)]
[House]
[Pages H2212-H2213]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         TRANSPARENCY IN TECHNOLOGICAL ACQUISITIONS ACT OF 2017

  Mr. RUTHERFORD. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass 
the bill (H.R. 1353) to amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to 
require certain additional information to be submitted to Congress 
regarding the strategic 5-year technology investment plan of the 
Transportation Security Administration.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 1353

       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 ``Transparency in 
     Technological Acquisitions Act of 2017''.

     SEC. 2. INFORMATION REQUIRED TO BE SUBMITTED TO CONGRESS 
                   UNDER THE STRATEGIC 5-YEAR TECHNOLOGY 
                   INVESTMENT PLAN OF THE TRANSPORTATION SECURITY 
                   ADMINISTRATION.

       (a) Additional Information Required.--Section 1611 of the 
     Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 563) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (g)--
       (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking 
     ``biennially'' and inserting ``annually'';
       (B) in paragraph (1), by striking ``and'';
       (C) in paragraph (2), by striking the period and inserting 
     ``; and''; and
       (D) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
       ``(3) information about acquisitions completed during the 
     fiscal year preceding the fiscal year during which the report 
     is submitted.''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following new subsections:
       ``(h) Notice of Covered Changes to Plan.--
       ``(1) Notice required.--The Administrator shall submit to 
     the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 
     Senate and the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of 
     Representatives notice of any covered change to the Plan by 
     not later than 90 days after the date on which the change is 
     made.
       ``(2) Definition of change.--In this subsection, the term 
     `covered change' means an increase or decrease in the dollar 
     amount allocated to the procurement of a technology or an 
     increase or decrease in the number of a technology.''.
       (b) Report on Equipment in Operation Post-Life-Cycle.--Not 
     later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this 
     Act, the Administrator of the Transportation Security 
     Administration shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, 
     Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee 
     on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives a report 
     describing any equipment of the Transportation Security 
     Administration that is in operation after--
       (1) the end of the life-cycle of the equipment specified by 
     the manufacturer of the equipment; or
       (2) the end of the useful life projection for the equipment 
     under the strategic 5-year technology investment plan of the 
     Transportation Security Administration, as required by 
     section 1611 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 
     563).
       (c) Notice to Airports and Airlines.--Upon the enactment of 
     this Act, the Administrator of the Transportation Security 
     Administration shall notify airports and airlines of any 
     changes to the 5-year technology investment plan of the 
     Transportation Security Administration.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Rutherford) and the gentlewoman from New York (Miss Rice) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Florida.


                             General Leave

  Mr. RUTHERFORD. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and 
to include any extraneous material in the Record.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Florida?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. RUTHERFORD. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  I rise today in strong support of H.R. 1353, the Transparency in 
Technological Acquisitions Act of 2017. I commend the gentlewoman from 
New York (Miss Rice) for introducing this very important bill.
  Over the course of the last Congress, the Transportation and 
Protective Security Subcommittee conducted rigorous oversight of TSA's 
technology and equipment acquisition process, and they found it fraught 
with waste and inefficiencies. The committee also found that TSA fails 
to effectively communicate its procurement needs with the private 
sector.
  Our government relies upon private sector innovation to develop 
security technologies. However, that innovation comes with a price tag, 
and we cannot reasonably expect the private sector to spend millions of 
dollars in research and development of new emerging technologies 
without greater transparency and communication, both with the TSA and 
the Department of Homeland Security, as to exactly what their future 
needs and technology investments will be in the future.
  This bill will provide greater transparency into TSA's acquisition 
plan, allowing for industry to better meet emerging needs, and enable 
better congressional oversight.
  I urge my colleagues to support this important piece of legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Miss RICE of New York. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume. I rise in support of H.R. 1353, the Transparency in 
Technological Acquisitions Act of 2017.
  Mr. Speaker, last Congress, I served as the ranking member of the 
Transportation and Protective Security Subcommittee, and we held 
multiple hearings on TSA's acquisition processes.
  In the course of conducting oversight and engaging with stakeholders, 
we learned that deficiencies in TSA's planning for technology 
investments were causing serious issues for technology companies who 
produce products to meet the Agency's needs.
  Under the Transportation Security Acquisition Reform Act, TSA was 
required to develop a 5-year technology investment plan. Stakeholders 
widely supported this strategy and welcomed the release of TSA's first 
5-year plan in August of 2015, but that support eroded when the budget 
request for the same year did not align with the acquisition schedule 
in the 5-year plan.
  The purpose of the plan was to give businesses the time and certainty 
they need to align their resources and planning to meet TSA's 
technology needs. Security technology manufacturers looked at the plan 
and invested significant resources in the technology that TSA planned 
to acquire, but then they saw the budget request and found that TSA had 
shifted direction and no longer planned to procure that technology.
  That lost investment of time and resources hurts all technology 
manufacturers, but it can completely destroy small businesses and 
discourage small-business owners from working with the Federal 
Government.
  My bill, H.R. 1353, will help solve this problem by requiring TSA to 
report to Congress on their 5-year plan annually instead of biennially, 
and it will require TSA to notify Congress and all relevant 
stakeholders of any changes or updates to the plan.
  These commonsense steps will help ensure that there is ongoing 
engagement between TSA and industry stakeholders so that manufacturers 
of all sizes can continue to meet TSA's technological needs and 
continue to innovate and address security vulnerabilities.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge Members to support this legislation.
  I want to thank Subcommittee Ranking Member Bonnie Watson Coleman, 
Congressman Keating, and Subcommittee Chairman John Katko for

[[Page H2213]]

being original cosponsors of this bipartisan legislation.
  H.R. 1353 was unanimously approved by the full Committee on Homeland 
Security earlier this month. Enacting my bill will ensure that TSA's 
technology objectives are more closely aligned with the industry's 
stakeholders that produce technologies to help TSA meet those 
objectives.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank the Chair for his support, and I yield back the 
balance of my time.
  Mr. RUTHERFORD. Mr. Speaker, I first want to congratulate my 
colleague, Miss Rice, for what I think is a great bill that is going to 
bring some accountability to TSA.
  Once again, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield 
back the balance of my time.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, as a senior member of the House 
Committee on Homeland Security I rise in support of H.R. 1353, the 
``Transparency in Technological Acquisitions Act.''
  This bipartisan bill requires the Transportation Security 
Administration (TSA) to provide more frequent and detailed updates on 
its strategy to invest in security technology.
  The five-year investment plan includes information such as:
  1. Transportation security risks and gaps that could be addressed by 
technology
  2. Current and expected trends in domestic and international travel
  3. Opportunities for public-private partnerships and collaboration 
with small and disadvantaged companies, other government agencies, 
university centers of excellence and national laboratories
  4. Resources required to protect technology from cyber theft, 
diversion, sabotage or attack
  5. Potential effects on commercial airline passengers.
  This bill would require the updates to be submitted annually and to 
include information on acquisitions made during the previous fiscal 
year.
  Requiring TSA to provide annual updates on the acquisition plan and 
to notify Congress and industry stakeholders about any changes to the 
plan which will provide much-needed clarity, certainty, and 
transparency.
  In 2015, TSA screened more than 708 million passengers, which is more 
than 1.9 million per day.
  Of the 2,653 firearms discovered in carry-on bags, 82.8 percent were 
loaded.
  Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport ranked 3rd among 
airports with the most firearms discovered in 2015.
  This last January, Esteban Santiago shot and killed five people 
inside Fort Lauderdale airport using a firearm stored in his luggage.
  Terrorism and cyberattacks are likely to remain a reality for the 
transportation industry for the foreseeable future.
  It is absolutely critical that we invest in minimizing transportation 
safety security risks to keep our citizens safe.
  I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 1353.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Fitzpatrick). The question is on the 
motion offered by the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Rutherford) that the 
House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 1353.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. RUTHERFORD. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

                          ____________________