[House Report 116-95]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


116th Congress    }                                     {       Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session      }                                     {       116-95

======================================================================



 
             DHS OVERSEAS PERSONNEL ENHANCEMENT ACT OF 2019

                                _______
                                

  May 30, 2019.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

 Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, from the Committee on Homeland Security, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 2590]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Homeland Security, to whom was referred 
the bill (H.R. 2590) to require a Department of Homeland 
Security overseas personnel enhancement plan, and for other 
purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon 
with an amendment and recommends that the bill as amended do 
pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
Purpose and Summary..............................................     2
 Background and Need for Legislation.............................     3
 Hearings........................................................     3
 Committee Consideration.........................................     3
 Committee Votes.................................................     4
 Committee Oversight Findings....................................     4
 C.B.O. Estimate, New Budget Authority, Entitlement Authority, 
  and Tax Expenditures...........................................     4
 Federal Mandates Statement......................................
 Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives...........     5
 Duplicative Federal Programs....................................     5
 Congressional Earmarks, Limited Tax Benefits, and Limited Tariff 
  Benefits.......................................................     5
 Federal Mandates Statement......................................
 Advisory Committee Statement....................................
 Applicability to Legislative Branch.............................
 Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation..................     5

    The amendment is as follows:
  Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
following:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

  This Act may be cited as the ``DHS Overseas Personnel Enhancement Act 
of 2019''.

SEC. 2. OVERSEAS PERSONNEL BRIEFING.

  (a) In General.--Not later than 90 days after submission of the 
comprehensive 3-year strategy required under section 1910 of the 
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (Public Law 
114-328) and every 180 days thereafter, the Secretary of Homeland 
Security shall brief the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
Affairs of the Senate regarding Department of Homeland Security 
personnel with primary duties that take place outside of the United 
States.
  (b) Requirements.--The briefings required under subsection (a) shall 
include the following:
          (1) A detailed summary of, and deployment schedule for, each 
        type of personnel position with primary duties that take place 
        outside of the United States and how each such position 
        contributes to the Department of Homeland Security's 
        counterterrorism mission.
          (2) Information related to how the geographic and regional 
        placement of such positions contributes to the Department's 
        counterterrorism mission.
          (3) Information related to any risk mitigation plans for each 
        geographic and regional placement, including to address 
        counter-intelligence risks.
          (4) Information regarding the costs of deploying or 
        maintaining personnel at each geographic and regional 
        placement, including information on any cost-sharing agreement 
        with foreign partners to cover a portion or all the costs 
        relating to such deployment or maintenance.
          (5) Maintain and enhance practices to guard against counter-
        espionage and counter-intelligence threats, including cyber 
        threats, associated with Department personnel.
          (6) Information regarding trends in foreign efforts to 
        influence such personnel while deployed overseas to contribute 
        to the Department's counterterrorism mission.
          (7) Information related to the position-specific training 
        received by such personnel before and during placement at a 
        foreign location.
          (8) Challenges that may impede the communication of 
        counterterrorism information between Department personnel at 
        foreign locations and Department entities in the United States, 
        including technical, resource, and administrative challenges.
          (9) The status of efforts to implement the strategy referred 
        to in subsection (a).
          (10) The status of efforts (beginning with the second 
        briefing required under this section) to implement the 
        enhancement plan under section 3.

SEC. 3. OVERSEAS PERSONNEL ENHANCEMENT PLAN.

  (a) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the first briefing 
required under section 2, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee 
on Homeland Security of the House and the Committee on Homeland 
Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate a plan to enhance the 
effectiveness of Department of Homeland Security personnel at foreign 
locations.
  (b) Plan Requirements.--The plan required under subsection (a) shall 
include proposals to--
          (1) improve efforts of Department of Homeland Security 
        personnel at foreign locations, as necessary, for purposes of 
        providing foreign partner capacity development and furthering 
        the Department's counterterrorism mission;
          (2) as appropriate, redeploy Department personnel to respond 
        to changing threats to the United States;
          (3) enhance collaboration among Department personnel at 
        foreign locations, other Federal personnel at foreign 
        locations, and foreign partners;
          (4) improve the communication of counterterrorism information 
        between Department personnel at foreign locations and 
        Department entities in the United States, including to address 
        technical, resource, and administrative challenges; and
          (5) maintain practices to guard against counter-espionage 
        threats associated with Department personnel.

SEC. 4. TERMINATION.

  The briefing requirement under section 2 shall terminate on the date 
that is four years after the submission of the strategy referred to in 
such section.

                          PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

    H.R. 2590, the ``DHS Overseas Personnel Enhancement Act of 
2019,'' supplements an existing Federal mandate, originally 
authored by Chairman Thompson, that the Department of Homeland 
Security (DHS) have a three-year strategic plan for overseas 
deployment of DHS personnel. The bill requires regular 
congressional briefings regarding DHS personnel with primary 
duties overseas and implementation of the mandated strategic 
plan.  Ninety days after the first briefing, H.R. 2590 requires 
DHS to submit a plan to enhance the effectiveness of the 
overseas deployments of DHS personnel to Congress and conduct 
subsequent congressional briefings on its implementation 
status. Providing this basic information to Congress will 
ensure Congress better understands how DHS is using limited 
resources and how Congress can best support the Department.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    In the 114th Congress, then-Ranking Member Bennie G. 
Thompson (D-MS) authored H.R. 4780, the Department of Homeland 
Security (DHS) Strategy for International Programs Act which 
requires DHS to submit an inventory of personnel and resources 
deployed abroad and a three-year strategic plan for overseas 
deployment of DHS personnel to the appropriate Senate and House 
committees. This bill was later signed into law through the 
National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) in December 2016. DHS 
has failed to meet the statutorily required timeframe to 
provide their three-year strategic plan for overseas 
deployments to the committee;
    As introduced by Representative John Katko (R-NY, H.R 2590, 
the ``DHS Overseas Personnel Enhancement Act of 2019,'' builds 
upon this mandate by requiring the Department to brief the 
appropriate Senate and House oversight committees on a regular 
basis about DHS personnel deployed overseas and conduct 
subsequent briefings on their plans to more effectively deploy 
personnel.
    As amended, this legislation will ensure DHS is regularly 
informing Congress of planned deployment schedules for overseas 
positions, any plans or efforts to mitigate safety risks along 
with cyber or counter-intelligence threats to DHS personnel 
living abroad, and the cost of deploying personnel along with 
cost-sharing agreements with foreign partners.
    Given persistent staff shortages in critical mission spaces 
within the Department, it is imperative that DHS is using 
limited resources effectively and efficiently. H.R. 2590 would 
ensure Congress is provided with basic information about DHS 
overseas personnel to ensure the various component missions are 
carried out in a strategic manner.

                                HEARINGS

    The Committee did not hold any legislative hearings on H.R. 
2590 in the 116th Congress.

                        COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION

    The Committee met on May 15, 2019, to consider H.R. 2590 
and ordered the measure to be reported to the House with a 
favorable recommendation, as amended, by unanimous consent.

                            COMMITTEE VOTES

    Clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives requires the Committee to list the recorded 
votes on the motion to report legislation and amendments 
thereto.
    No recorded votes were requested during consideration of 
H.R. 2590.

                      COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS

    In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules 
of the House of Representatives, the Committee advises that the 
findings and recommendations of the Committee, based on 
oversight activities under clause 2(b)(1) of rule X of the 
Rules of the House of Representatives, are incorporated in the 
descriptive portions of this report.

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE ESTIMATE NEW BUDGET AUTHORITY, ENTITLEMENT 
                    AUTHORITY, AND TAX EXPENDITURES

    With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(2) of rule 
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section 
308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 and with respect 
to requirements of clause (3)(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules 
of the House of Representatives and section 402 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee adopts as its 
own the estimate of the estimate of new budget authority, 
entitlement authority, or tax expenditures or revenues 
contained in the cost estimate prepared by the Director of the 
Congressional Budget Office.

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]


    On May 15, the House Committee on Homeland Security ordered 
reported the following bills:
           H.R. 542, the Supporting Research and 
        Development for First Responders Act, which would 
        codify laboratory programs that currently exist at the 
        Department of Homeland Security (DHS);
           H.R. 2589, the Unifying DHS Intelligence 
        Enterprise Act, which would direct DHS to manage and 
        provide guidance for the use of intelligence throughout 
        the department;
           H.R. 2590, the DHS Overseas Personnel 
        Enhancement Act of 2019, which would require DHS to 
        devise a plan to improve the effectiveness of 
        department personnel who are stationed at foreign 
        locations;
           H.R. 2609, the DHS Acquisition Review Board 
        Act of 2019, which would direct the department to 
        establish a board to review major acquisition programs 
        and enhance accountability and uniformity in the review 
        process for DHS acquisitions; and
           H.R. 2621, the Homeland Security Assessment 
        of Terrorists Use of Ghost Guns Act, which would 
        require DHS to evaluate the threat posed by firearms 
        without unique serial numbers.
    DHS is currently carrying out activities similar to those 
required by the bills listed above, and any new activities 
required under the legislation would not require substantial 
action by the department. Thus, CBO estimates that implementing 
each bill would not significantly affect spending by DHS.
    The CBO staff contact for these estimates is Mark 
Grabowicz. The estimates were reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, 
Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

                      DUPLICATIVE FEDERAL PROGRAMS

    The Committee adopts as its own the estimate of Federal 
mandates prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office pursuant to section 423 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform 
Act.

                    PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

    The Committee states that pursuant to clause 3(c)(4) of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, H.R. 
2590 would require the Department of Homeland Security to 
regularly brief the appropriate Senate and House committees on 
Department personnel deployed overseas and their efforts to 
more effectively deploy them.

                          ADVISORY ON EARMARKS

    In compliance with rule XXI of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives, this bill, as reported, contains no 
congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff 
benefits as defined in clause 9(d), 9(c), or 9(f) of the rule 
XXI.

             SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF THE LEGISLATION

Section 1. Short title

    This section provides that this bill may be cited as the 
``DHS Overseas Personnel Enhancement Act of 2019''.

Sec. 2. Overseas personnel briefing

    This section requires DHS to brief the appropriate Senate 
and House authorizing committees regarding the deployment of 
DHS personnel overseas not later than 90 days after submitting 
the comprehensive three-year strategy for deployment of 
personnel overseas for vetting and screening (as required under 
Public Law 114-328).
    This section also describes the information the Committees 
will expect to be provided in this briefing, which must include 
the following: a description for each overseas personnel 
position and its deployment schedule; how deployment locations 
support the Department's counterterrorism mission; any training 
received by personnel overseas; any challenges regarding 
information sharing; the implementation status of the mandate 
three-year deployment strategy; and the status of enhancement 
plan under section 3 of this act.

Sec. 3. Overseas personnel enhancement plan

    This section requires that not later than 90 days after the 
first briefing required under section 2, DHS must submit to the 
appropriate Senate and House authorizing committees a plan to 
enhance the effectiveness of Department personnel at foreign 
posts. This plan must include proposals to carry out the 
following: improve the efforts to build foreign partners' 
capacity; redeploy personnel in response to changing threats; 
enhance collaboration among Department personnel, other federal 
personnel and foreign partners, including the communication of 
counterterrorism information to address challenges; and 
practices to guard against cyber and counter-espionage threats 
directed at Department personnel abroad.

Sec. 4. Termination

    This section states that that briefing requirement will 
only be required for the four years after the submission of the 
underlying, mandated strategy cited in section 2.

                                  [all]