[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 105 (Tuesday, June 20, 2017)]
[House]
[Pages H4982-H4984]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
STREAMLINING DHS OVERHEAD ACT
Mr. RUTHERFORD. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 2190) 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 real
property portfolio, and for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 2190
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 ``Streamlining DHS Overhead
Act''.
SEC. 2. LONG TERM REAL PROPERTY STRATEGIES.
(a) In General.--Title VII of the Homeland Security Act of
2002 (6 U.S.C. 341 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end
the following new sections:
``SEC. 710. CHIEF FACILITIES AND LOGISTICS OFFICER.
``(a) In General.--There is a Chief Facilities and
Logistics Officer of the Department who shall report directly
to the Under Secretary for Management. The Chief Facilities
[[Page H4983]]
and Logistics Officer shall be career reserved for a member
of the senior executive service.
``(b) Responsibilities.--The Chief Facilities and Logistics
Officer shall--
``(1) develop policies and procedures and provide program
oversight to manage real property, facilities, personal
property, mobile assets, equipment, and other material
resources of the Department;
``(2) manage and execute, in consultation with the
component heads, mission support services within the National
Capital Region for real property, facilities, and other
common headquarters and field activities for the Department;
and
``(3) provide tactical and transactional services for the
Department, including transportation, facility operations,
and maintenance.
``SEC. 711. LONG TERM REAL PROPERTY STRATEGIES.
``(a) In General.--
``(1) First strategy.--Not later than 180 days after the
date of the enactment of this section, the Under Secretary
for Management shall develop an initial 5-year regional real
property strategy for the Department that covers the five
fiscal years immediately following such date of enactment.
Such strategy shall be geographically organized, as
designated by the Under Secretary for Management.
``(2) Second strategy.--Not later than the first day of the
fourth fiscal year covered by the first strategy under
paragraph (1), the Under Secretary for Management shall
develop a second 5-year real property strategy for the
Department that covers the five fiscal years immediately
following the conclusion of such first strategy.
``(b) Requirements.--
``(1) Initial strategy.--The initial 5-year strategy
developed in accordance with paragraph (1) of subsection (a)
shall--
``(A) identify opportunities to consolidate real property,
optimize the usage of Federal assets, and decrease the number
of commercial leases and square footage within the
Department's real property portfolio;
``(B) provide alternate housing and consolidation plans to
increase efficiency through joint use of Department spaces
while decreasing the cost of leased space;
``(C) concentrate on geographical areas with a significant
Department presence, as identified by the Under Secretary for
Management;
``(D) examine the establishment of central Department
locations in each such geographical region and the co-
location of Department components based on the mission sets
and responsibilities of such components;
``(E) identify opportunities to reduce overhead costs
through co-location or consolidation of real property
interests or mission support activities, such as shared mail
screening and processing, centralized transportation and
shuttle services, regional transit benefit programs, common
contracting for custodial and other services, and leveraging
strategic sourcing contracts and sharing of specialized
facilities, such as training facilities and resources;
``(F) manage the current Department Workspace Standard for
Office Space in accordance with the Department office
workspace design process to develop the most efficient and
effective spaces within the workspace standard usable square
foot ranges for all leased for office space entered into on
or after the date of the enactment of this section, including
the renewal of any leases for office space existing as of
such date;
``(G) define, based on square footage, what constitutes a
major real property acquisition;
``(H) prioritize actions to be taken to improve the
operations and management of the Department's real property
inventory, based on life-cycle cost estimations, in
consultation with component heads; and
``(I) include any additional information determined
appropriate or relevant by the Under Secretary for
Management.
``(2) Second strategy.--The second 5-year strategy
developed in accordance with paragraph (2) of subsection (a)
shall include information required in subparagraphs (A), (B),
(C), (E), (F), (G), (H), and (I) of paragraph (1) and
information on the effectiveness of implementation efforts
pursuant to the Department-wide policy required in accordance
with subsection (c), including--
``(A) the impact of such implementation on departmental
operations and costs; and
``(B) the degree to which the Department established
central Department locations and co-located Department
components pursuant to the results of the examination
required by subparagraph (D) of paragraph (1).
``(c) Implementation Policies.--Not later than 90 days
after the development of each of the regional real property
strategies developed in accordance with subsection (a), the
Under Secretary for Management shall develop or update, as
applicable, a Department-wide policy implementing such
strategies.
``(d) Certifications.--Subject to subsection (g)(3), the
implementation policies developed pursuant to subsection (c)
shall require component heads to certify to the Under
Secretary for Management that such heads have complied with
the requirements specified in subsection (b) before making
any major real property decision or recommendation, as
defined by the Under Secretary, including matters related to
new leased space, renewing any existing leases, or agreeing
to extend or newly occupy any Federal space or new
construction, in accordance with the applicable regional real
property strategy developed in accordance with subsection
(a).
``(e) Underutilized Space.--
``(1) In general.--The implementing policies developed
pursuant to subsection (c) shall require component heads,
acting through regional property managers under subsection
(f), to annually report to the Under Secretary for Management
on underutilized space and identify space that may be made
available for use, as applicable, by other components or
Federal agencies.
``(2) Exception.--The Under Secretary for Management may
grant an exception to the workspace standard usable square
foot ranges described in subsection (b)(1)(F) for specific
office locations at which a reduction or elimination of
otherwise underutilized space would negatively impact a
component's ability to execute its mission based on readiness
performance measures or would increase the cost of such
space.
``(3) Underutilized space defined.--In this subsection, the
term `underutilized space' means any space with respect to
which utilization is greater than the workplace standard
usable square foot ranges pursuant to subsection (b)(1)(F).
``(f) Component Responsibilities.--
``(1) Regional property managers.--Each component head
shall identify a senior career employee of each such
component for each geographic region included in the regional
real property strategies developed in accordance with
subsection (a) to serve as each such component's regional
property manager. Each such regional property manager shall
serve as a single point of contact for Department
headquarters and other Department components for all real
property matters relating to each such component within the
region in which each such component is located, and provide
data and any other support necessary for the DHS Regional
Mission Support Coordinator strategic asset and portfolio
planning and execution.
``(2) Data.--Regional property managers under paragraph (1)
shall provide annually to the Under Secretary for Management,
via a standardized and centralized system, data on each
component's real property holdings, as specified by the
Undersecretary for Management, including relating to
underutilized space under subsection (e) (as such term is
defined in such subsection), total square footage leased,
annual cost, and total number of staff, for each geographic
region included in the regional real property strategies
developed in accordance with subsection (a).
``(g) Ongoing Oversight.--
``(1) In general.--The Under Secretary for Management shall
monitor components' adherence to the regional real property
strategies developed in accordance with subsection (a) and
the implementation policies developed pursuant to subsection
(c).
``(2) Annual review.--The Under Secretary for Management
shall annually review the data submitted pursuant to
subsection (f)(2) to ensure all underutilized space (as such
term is defined in subsection (e)) is properly identified.
``(3) Certification review.--The Under Secretary for
Management shall review, and if appropriate, approve,
component certifications under subsection (d) before such
components may make any major real property decision,
including matters related to new leased space, renewing any
existing leases, or agreeing to extend or newly occupy any
Federal space or new construction, in accordance with the
applicable regional real property strategy developed in
accordance with subsection (a).
``(4) Congressional reporting.--The Under Secretary for
Management shall annually provide information to the
Committee on Homeland Security and Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of
Representatives, the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs of the Senate, and the Inspector General
of the Department on the Department's real property
portfolio, including information relating to the following:
``(A) A summary of the Department's real property holdings
in each region described in the regional strategies developed
in accordance with subsection (a), and for each such
property, information including the total square footage
leased, the total cost, the total number of staff at each
such property, and the square foot per person utilization
rate for office space (and whether or not such conforms with
the workspace standard usable square foot ranges established
pursuant to subsection (b)(1)(F)).
``(B) An accounting of all underutilized space (as such
term is defined in subsection (e)).
``(C) An accounting of all instances in which the
Department or its components consolidated their real property
holdings or co-located with another entity within the
Department.
``(D) A list of all certifications provided pursuant to
subsection (d) and all such certifications approved pursuant
to paragraph (3) of this subsection.
``(5) Inspector general review.--Not later than 120 days
after the last day of the fifth fiscal year covered in each
of the initial and second regional real property strategies
developed in accordance with subsection (a), the Inspector
General of the Department
[[Page H4984]]
shall review the information submitted pursuant to paragraph
(4) and issue findings regarding the effectiveness of the
implementation of the Department-wide policy and oversight
efforts of the management of real property facilities,
personal property, mobile assets, equipment and the
Department's other material resources as required under this
section.''.
(b) Reporting.--The Secretary of Homeland Security shall
submit to the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs of the Senate copies of the regional
strategies developed in accordance with section 710(a) of the
Homeland Security Act of 2002 (as added by subsection (a) of
this section) not later than 90 days after the date of the
development of each such strategy.
(c) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents in section
1(b) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 is amended by
inserting after the item relating to section 709 the
following new items:
``Sec. 710. Chief Facilities and Logistics Officer.
``Sec. 711. Long term real property strategies.''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Florida (Mr. Rutherford) and the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr.
Thompson) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Florida.
General Leave
Mr. RUTHERFORD. 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 material on the bill under
consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Florida?
There was no objection.
Mr. RUTHERFORD. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 2190, the
Streamlining DHS Overhead Act.
Despite being the Nation's third largest Federal department, the
Department of Homeland Security continues to struggle with challenges
from its integration of 22 different Federal departments and agencies.
One example of these challenges is the Department's management of its
real estate portfolio. DHS pays $2 billion a year to occupy more than
100 million square feet of space. Weak internal oversight and a lack of
property management processes have further intensified the problem.
Collaboration and coordination is important in these instances, and
doing nothing has led to a footprint larger than what DHS needs to
carry out its mission.
This legislation directly addresses these challenges by mandating the
development of regional real property strategies that focus on
consolidating leases, where appropriate, to the mission. It also gives
the Under Secretary for Management oversight tools to ensure DHS
property is being managed efficiently.
Another important part of this legislation is its outlining of
responsibilities for the Chief Facilities and Logistics Officer to
achieve cost savings.
As we have seen from the 2-year majority staff investigation,
increased accountability and promoting efficiency is needed so DHS can
more effectively use its resources to focus on its mission of securing
the homeland while also saving taxpayer funds.
Improving the Department's operation and promoting efficiencies
within its real property portfolio is an issue that both sides of the
aisle and the Department should be able to work together on.
H.R. 2190 is commonsense legislation. I urge my colleagues' support.
I reserve the balance of my time.
{time} 1915
Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as
I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2190, the Streamlining DHS
Overhead Act. Each year, the Department of Homeland Security spends
nearly one-fourth of its entire budget on acquisitions.
DHS has a vast and diversified portfolio of assets and real property.
Given the importance of these assets to DHS' mission, it is essential
that DHS manage its real property investments efficiently and
effectively. This legislation establishes a chief facilities and
logistics officer to not only oversee real property, but to seek
efficiencies in how the properties are managed.
H.R. 2190 also requires a 5-year regional real property strategy to
help decisionmakers pinpoint opportunities to reduce overhead costs
through co-location or consolidation efforts. This bipartisan bill was
approved unanimously by the Committee on Homeland Security on May 3.
Mr. Speaker, in closing, I urge passage of H.R. 2190, Streamlining
DHS Overhead Act. Enactment of this legislation conveys our interest in
ensuring that the Department makes smart choices when it comes to
managing its vast real estate property portfolio.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. RUTHERFORD. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R.
2190, as amended, and I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. 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. 2190, 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.
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