[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 141 (Friday, August 6, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E873]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




HONORING THE SERVICE OF SORAYA CORREA, CHIEF PROCUREMENT OFFICER OF THE 
                    DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. BENNIE G. THOMPSON

                             of mississippi

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, August 6, 2021

  Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Madam Speaker, I rise to honor Soraya 
Correa, the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Chief Procurement 
Officer, upon her retirement from Federal service.
  Ms. Correa has been a dedicated public servant for more than four 
decades. She started her Federal career as a clerk typist for 
construction contracts in 1980 and rose through the ranks to serve in 
leadership positions at several different agencies, including the 
General Services Administration and the National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration. Ms. Correa has been with DHS since its inception. She 
served as an executive within DHS's Office of Procurement Operations, 
Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and U.S. Citizenship and 
Immigration Services before she was appointed Chief Procurement Officer 
of the Department in January 2015.
  Ms. Correa has been a driving force in maturing DHS's management 
functions and has forged a reputation as one of the Federal 
government's most innovative procurement leaders. She has led several 
initiatives at DHS focused on building a highly qualified acquisition 
workforce that is empowered to take smart risks to procure what the 
Department needs. For example, she created the Procurement Innovation 
Lab in March 2015 as a testbed for new acquisition techniques aimed at 
improving the Department's procurement process and saving taxpayer 
dollars. In 2016, Ms. Correa and her team were awarded the prestigious 
DHS Secretary's Award for Excellence for this effort.
  As Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, I have come to 
appreciate Ms. Correa's steadfast commitment to fostering an open 
dialogue with industry and promoting opportunities for small, 
disadvantaged, and minority-owned businesses that face barriers to 
entering the Federal marketplace. Under her leadership, DHS has 
continued to earn an ``A'' grade on the Small Business Administration's 
Small Business Procurement Scorecard; a grade it has earned for a total 
of 11 years in a row.
  Ms. Correa has received many accolades from both industry and 
government throughout her career, including the 2018 Presidential Rank 
Award for Distinguished Service. We thank Ms. Correa for her service to 
our country and wish her the very best in her retirement.

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