[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 199 (Tuesday, November 16, 2021)]
[House]
[Pages H6292-H6294]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    HOMELAND PROCUREMENT REFORM ACT

  Mr. CORREA. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 2915) to amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 regarding 
the procurement of certain items related to national security interests 
for Department of Homeland Security frontline operational components, 
and for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 2915

         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 ``Homeland Procurement Reform 
     Act'' or the ``HOPR Act''.

     SEC. 2. REQUIREMENTS TO BUY CERTAIN ITEMS RELATED TO NATIONAL 
                   SECURITY INTERESTS ACCORDING TO CERTAIN 
                   CRITERIA.

       (a) In General.--Subtitle D of title VIII of the Homeland 
     Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 391 et seq.) is amended by 
     adding at the end the following:

     ``SEC. 836. REQUIREMENTS TO BUY CERTAIN ITEMS RELATED TO 
                   NATIONAL SECURITY INTERESTS.

       ``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
       ``(1) Covered item.--The term `covered item' means any of 
     the following:
       ``(A) Footwear provided as part of a uniform.
       ``(B) Uniforms.
       ``(C) Holsters and tactical pouches.
       ``(D) Patches, insignia, and embellishments.
       ``(E) Chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear 
     protective gear.
       ``(F) Body armor components intended to provide ballistic 
     protection for an individual, consisting of 1 or more of the 
     following:
       ``(i) Soft ballistic panels.
       ``(ii) Hard ballistic plates.
       ``(iii) Concealed armor carriers worn under a uniform.
       ``(iv) External armor carriers worn over a uniform.
       ``(G) Any other item of clothing or protective equipment as 
     determined appropriate by the Secretary.

[[Page H6293]]

       ``(2) Frontline operational component.-- The term 
     `frontline operational component' means any of the following 
     organizations of the Department:
       ``(A) U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
       ``(B) U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
       ``(C) The United States Secret Service.
       ``(D) The Transportation Security Administration.
       ``(E) The Coast Guard.
       ``(F) The Federal Protective Service.
       ``(G) The Federal Emergency Management Agency.
       ``(H) The Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers.
       ``(I) The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
       ``(b) Requirements.--
       ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall ensure that any 
     procurement of a covered item for a frontline operational 
     component meets the following criteria:
       ``(A) To the maximum extent possible, not less than one-
     third of funds obligated in a specific fiscal year for the 
     procurement of such covered items shall be covered items that 
     are manufactured or supplied in the United States by entities 
     that qualify as small business concerns, as such term is 
     described under section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 
     U.S.C. 632).
       ``(B) Each contractor with respect to the procurement of 
     such a covered item, including the end-item manufacturer of 
     such a covered item--
       ``(i) is an entity registered with the System for Award 
     Management (or successor system) administered by the General 
     Services Administration; and
       ``(ii) is in compliance with ISO 9001:2015 of the 
     International Organization for Standardization (or successor 
     standard) or a standard determined appropriate by the 
     Secretary to ensure the quality of products and adherence to 
     applicable statutory and regulatory requirements.
       ``(C) Each supplier of such a covered item with an insignia 
     (such as any patch, badge, or emblem) and each supplier of 
     such an insignia, if such covered item with such insignia or 
     such insignia, as the case may be, is not produced, applied, 
     or assembled in the United States, shall--
       ``(i) store such covered item with such insignia or such 
     insignia in a locked area;
       ``(ii) report any pilferage or theft of such covered item 
     with such insignia or such insignia occurring at any stage 
     before delivery of such covered item with such insignia or 
     such insignia; and
       ``(iii) destroy any such defective or unusable covered item 
     with insignia or insignia in a manner established by the 
     Secretary, and maintain records, for three years after the 
     creation of such records, of such destruction that include 
     the date of such destruction, a description of the covered 
     item with insignia or insignia destroyed, the quantity of the 
     covered item with insignia or insignia destroyed, and the 
     method of destruction.
       ``(2) Waiver.--
       ``(A) In general.--In the case of a national emergency 
     declared by the President under the National Emergencies Act 
     (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) or a major disaster declared by the 
     President under section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford 
     Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 
     5170), the Secretary may waive a requirement in subparagraph 
     (A), (B) or (C) of paragraph (1) if the Secretary determines 
     there is an insufficient supply of a covered item that meets 
     the requirement.
       ``(B) Notice.--Not later than 60 days after the date on 
     which the Secretary determines a waiver under subparagraph 
     (A) is necessary, the Secretary shall provide to the 
     Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and 
     the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate and the 
     Committee on Homeland Security, the Committee on Oversight 
     and Reform, and the Committee on Appropriations of the House 
     of Representatives notice of such determination, which shall 
     include--
       ``(i) identification of the national emergency or major 
     disaster declared by the President;
       ``(ii) identification of the covered item for which the 
     Secretary intends to issue the waiver; and
       ``(iii) a description of the demand for the covered item 
     and corresponding lack of supply from contractors able to 
     meet the criteria described in subparagraph (B) or (C) of 
     paragraph (1).
       ``(c) Pricing.--The Secretary shall ensure that covered 
     items are purchased at a fair and reasonable price, 
     consistent with the procedures and guidelines specified in 
     the Federal Acquisition Regulation.
       ``(d) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
     enactment of this section and annually thereafter, the 
     Secretary shall provide to the Committee on Homeland 
     Security, the Committee on Oversight and Reform, and the 
     Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives, 
     and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
     Affairs and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate a 
     briefing on instances in which vendors have failed to meet 
     deadlines for delivery of covered items and corrective 
     actions taken by the Department in response to such 
     instances.
       ``(e) Effective Date.--This section applies with respect to 
     a contract entered into by the Department or any frontline 
     operational component on or after the date that is 180 days 
     after the date of enactment of this section.''.
       (b) Study.--
       (1) In general.--Not later than 18 months after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security 
     shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Security and 
     Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on 
     Homeland Security of the House of Representatives a study of 
     the adequacy of uniform allowances provided to employees of 
     frontline operational components (as defined in section 836 
     of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, as added by subsection 
     (a)).
       (2) Requirements.--The study conducted under paragraph (1) 
     shall--
       (A) be informed by a Department-wide survey of employees 
     from across the Department of Homeland Security who receive 
     uniform allowances that seeks to ascertain what, if any, 
     improvements could be made to the current uniform allowances 
     and what, if any, impacts current allowances have had on 
     employee morale and retention;
       (B) assess the adequacy of the most recent increase made to 
     the uniform allowance for first year employees; and
       (C) consider increasing by 50 percent, at minimum, the 
     annual allowance for all other employees.
       (c) Additional Report.--
       (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security 
     shall provide a report with recommendations on how the 
     Department of Homeland Security could procure additional 
     items from domestic sources and bolster the domestic supply 
     chain for items related to national security to--
       (A) the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
     Affairs and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; 
     and
       (B) the Committee on Homeland Security, the Committee on 
     Oversight and Reform, and the Committee on Appropriations of 
     the House of Representatives.
       (2) Contents.--The report required under paragraph (1) 
     shall include the following:
       (A) A review of the compliance of the Department of 
     Homeland Security with the requirements under section 604 of 
     title VI of division A of the American Recovery and 
     Reinvestment Act of 2009 (6 U.S.C. 453b) to buy certain items 
     related to national security interests from sources in the 
     United States.
       (B) An assessment of the capacity of the Department of 
     Homeland Security to procure the following items from 
     domestic sources:
       (i) Personal protective equipment and other items necessary 
     to respond to a pandemic such as that caused by COVID-19.
       (ii) Helmets that provide ballistic protection and other 
     head protection and components.
       (iii) Rain gear, cold weather gear, and other environmental 
     and flame resistant clothing.
       (d) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents in section 
     1(b) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-
     296; 116 Stat. 2135) is amended by inserting after the item 
     relating to section 835 the following:

``Sec. 836. Requirements to buy certain items related to national 
              security interests.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Correa) and the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Van 
Drew) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.


                             General Leave

  Mr. CORREA. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to 
include extraneous material on this measure.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. CORREA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2915, the Homeland Procurement 
Reform Act, or better known as HOPR Act. I am proud to have introduced 
this bipartisan legislation to reform the way the Department of 
Homeland Security purchases uniforms and protective equipment for its 
personnel.
  My bill seeks to improve the quality of uniforms and equipment issued 
to frontline DHS personnel by requiring, to the maximum extent 
possible, that at least one-third of the funds be used to purchase 
goods manufactured by American small businesses in America.
  Today, DHS has more than 60,000 men and women in uniform, but fewer 
than half of those uniforms are actually manufactured in the United 
States.
  Furthermore, in response to the concerns expressed by frontline 
personnel about how quickly they exhaust their annual uniform 
allowances, this bill directs DHS to study the adequacy of uniform 
allowances for those serving on the front lines.
  My bill also strengthens supply chain security for uniforms by 
mandating locked storage, reports of stolen goods, and the destruction 
of defective items for any item bearing official DHS insignia not 
manufactured in the United States.
  In response to supply chain shortages that we have been seeing 
recently during this pandemic, my bill also requires the Department to 
assess how to get more items related to national security from domestic 
sources.
  This provision is targeted at such items as personal protective 
equipment, or PPE, which we all know has

[[Page H6294]]

been quite scarce at points during this pandemic. Simply put, this bill 
is good for Homeland Security, good for Americans, and good for 
American businesses.
  H.R. 2915 is endorsed by the Warrior Protection and Readiness 
Coalition and passed out of the committee unanimously.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the Homeland Procurement 
Reform Act, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. VAN DREW. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in favor of the HOPR Act, H.R. 2915.
  Mr. Speaker, I commend my colleague, Mr. Correa, for his continued 
leadership on this issue to help bolster our domestic supply chains.
  This bill requires that, to the maximum extent possible, at least 
one-third of the funds obligated for the procurement of the Department 
of Homeland Security uniforms and gear covered by the HOPR Act be used 
to purchase goods manufactured by entities that qualify as United 
States small businesses.
  Additionally, this bill directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to 
conduct a study of the adequacy of uniform allowances provided to 
Department frontline personnel to determine what improvements can be 
made to current uniform allowances, including increasing allowances.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge Members to join me in supporting H.R. 2915, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. CORREA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  Mr. Speaker, if enacted, H.R. 2915 will simultaneously serve the 
frontline personnel who protect our homeland and support the domestic 
industrial base, especially small businesses.
  Most importantly, as noted in the committee report, it is our 
expectation that, once this measure is enacted into law, DHS implement 
it in a manner that supports small business domestic manufacturing.
  To that end, DHS is expected to prioritize buying from small 
businesses that manufacture the item here in the United States over 
purchasing foreign-manufactured goods supplied by a small business.
  Mr. Speaker, I am proud of the bipartisan work that went into 
creating this legislation that is cosponsored by my Republican 
colleague, Mr. Brian Mast of Florida. I also appreciate the efforts of 
Senator Shaheen of New Hampshire, who introduced the Senate companion 
of this bill, which the Senate Committee on Homeland Security ordered 
to be favorably reported this year.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the HOPR Act, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Correa) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 2915, 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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