[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 148 (Monday, September 23, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H5595-H5596]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       PRODUCING ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES FOR HOMELAND SECURITY ACT

  Mr. GREEN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
pass the bill (H.R. 9459) to amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to 
enable secure and trustworthy technology through other transaction 
contracting authority, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 9459

       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 ``Producing Advanced 
     Technologies for Homeland Security Act'' or the ``PATHS 
     Act''.

     SEC. 2. RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ACQUISITION PILOT PROGRAM 
                   EXTENSION.

       (a) In General.--Section 831 of the Homeland Security Act 
     of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 391) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a)--
       (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking 
     ``Until September 30, 2024, and subject to subsection (d)'' 
     and inserting ``Until September 30, 2027, and subject to 
     subsection (c)''; and
       (B) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
       ``(3) Other transaction authority involving artificial 
     intelligence.--Not later than 72 hours after the use or 
     extension of the transaction authority authorized under 
     paragraph (1) involving artificial intelligence technology, 
     the Secretary shall notify the Committee on Appropriations 
     and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
     Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Appropriations and 
     the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of 
     Representatives and offer a briefing explaining the reason 
     for the use or extension.''; and
       (2) in subsection (c)(1), in the matter preceding 
     subparagraph (A), by striking ``September 30, 2024'' and 
     inserting ``September 30, 2027''.
       (b) Reduction in Amount of Covered Contract Award.--
     Subparagraph (A) of section 7113(d)(1) of the James M. Inhofe 
     National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 (6 
     U.S.C. 112 note; Public Law 117-263) is amended by striking 
     ``$4,000,000'' and inserting ``$1,000,000''.

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


                             General Leave

  Mr. GREEN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their 
remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 9459.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Tennessee?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. GREEN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 9459, the PATHS Act.
  DHS' other transaction authority is an important tool in the 
Department's limited arsenal of mechanisms to acquire innovative new 
research and prototypes.
  This bill also includes some commonsense transparency reforms to DHS' 
use of OTA authority.
  Mr. Speaker, I commend my colleague, the gentleman from Mississippi 
(Mr. Guest), for his work on this measure.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CORREA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill would authorize the Department of Homeland 
Security to continue to use other transaction authority, or OTA, for an 
additional 3 years.
  OTA allows the Department to work with nontraditional government 
contractors to conduct research and prototype projects outside the 
framework of the traditional acquisition process.

                              {time}  1645

  DHS' ability to use OTA expires on September 30, just 1 week from 
now. Let's pass this legislation and ensure that this does not happen 
again.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GREEN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may 
consume to the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Guest) the Congressman 
who represents my parents and who is the vice chairman of the Committee 
on Homeland Security.
  Mr. GUEST. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 9459, the 
Producing Advanced Technologies for Homeland Security Act. I am 
grateful to my colleagues on the Homeland Security Committee for 
advancing this bipartisan piece of legislation that I am proud to lead 
with my friend from Maryland, Congressman Glenn Ivey.
  Mr. Speaker, the Department of Homeland Security has a constantly 
evolving mission, and to meet these needs, the Department was 
previously granted authority to enter into other transactional 
agreements, or OTAs. These legally binding agreements allow the 
Department to engage with nontraditional contractors that would not 
normally do business with the Federal Government.
  This authority allows the Department of Homeland Security to operate 
quickly and more efficiently. These agreements have allowed entities to 
produce prototypes of nonintrusive inspection technology that can 
detect illicit materials hidden inside vehicles crossing the border and 
has researched machine learning practices to assist U.S. Customs and 
Border Protection.
  The usefulness of this authority has been demonstrated in my home 
State of Mississippi, as The University of Southern Mississippi was 
part of a project to develop sensors for unmanned vehicles used by both 
DHS and the United States Coast Guard.
  It is critical that we pass this legislation before the authority 
expires on September 30.
  This bill served as a companion to Senator Peters' Senate bill, which 
passed unanimously out of markup in the Senate in April of this year. 
It would extend the Department's OTA authority by 3 years to 2027.
  Mr. Speaker, I am also glad to say that this bill provides additional 
accountability and places guardrails on the current program.
  It would require advanced notification to Congress should the 
authority be used in any advancement of artificial intelligence 
technology.
  It would amend the DHS Contract Reporting Act of 2021 to ensure 
greater--once again, greater--transparency by reducing the amount of a 
contract to be reported on the DHS website from $4 million to $1 
million.
  Again, I thank Mr. Ivey for his leadership on this important 
legislation, and I appreciate Chairman Green and the committee staff 
for their work on this timely and relevant issue.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support this bill.
  Mr. CORREA. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the

[[Page H5596]]

gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Ivey), a cosponsor of this measure.
  Mr. IVEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  I rise today as a proud cosponsor of the Producing Advanced 
Technologies for Homeland Security Act.
  Other transaction authority, or OTA, is a vital tool that enables DHS 
to more quickly obtain cutting-edge, emerging technologies that address 
specific operational needs.
  For example, DHS has used OTA to fund research and development of 
digital IDs that people can store on their phone and advanced 
technology to improve the detection of explosive materials at airport 
checkpoints.
  This bipartisan bill also provides for increased transparency into 
the Department's use of OTA by requiring DHS to notify the public and 
Congress when it uses the authority to enter into agreements worth over 
$1 million or for agreements involving artificial intelligence.
  A lapse in DHS' authority would impede the Department's ability to 
rapidly develop solutions for border security, aviation security, and 
other critical homeland security concerns.
  Mr. Speaker, 5 years ago when OTA did briefly lapse, that is exactly 
what happened. DHS was forced to delay or stop 48 projects.
  DHS estimates that if OTA lapses again next week, 77 planned and 
underway projects would be halted or delayed.
  A potential halt in OTA would be inefficient, wasteful, and 
potentially harmful to the security of our homeland.
  In closing, I thank my colleague, Congressman Guest, for sponsoring 
this legislation, and I urge my colleagues to support it.
  Mr. CORREA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  I thank Representatives   Michael Guest and Glenn Ivey for 
cosponsoring this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support this important 
legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. GREEN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my 
time.
  I, again, urge my colleagues to support H.R. 9459, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Green) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 9459.
  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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