[House Report 117-121]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


117th Congress   }                                     {        Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session     }                                     {       117-121

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



 
                   DHS CONTRACT REPORTING ACT OF 2021

                                _______
                                

 September 14, 2021.--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. 4363]

    The Committee on Homeland Security, to whom was referred 
the bill (H.R. 4363) to establish a daily public reporting 
requirement for covered contract awards of the Department of 
Homeland Security, 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..........................................     4
Committee Votes..................................................     4
Committee Oversight Findings.....................................     4
C.B.O. Estimate, New Budget Authority, Entitlement Authority, and 
  Tax Expenditures...............................................     4
Federal Mandates Statement.......................................     5
Duplicative Federal Programs.....................................     5
Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives............     5
Congressional Earmarks, Limited Tax Benefits, and Limited Tariff 
  Benefits Advisory Committee Statement..........................     5
Applicability to Legislative Branch..............................     5
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 Contract Reporting Act of 2021''.

SEC. 2. DAILY PUBLIC REPORT OF COVERED CONTRACT AWARDS.

  (a) Daily Report.--
          (1) In general.--The Secretary shall post, maintain, and 
        update in accordance with paragraph (2), on a publicly 
        available website of the Department, a daily report of all 
        covered contract awards. Each reported covered contract award 
        shall include information relating to--
                  (A) the contract number, modification number, or 
                delivery order number;
                  (B) the contract type;
                  (C) the amount obligated for such award;
                  (D) the total contract value for such award, 
                including all options;
                  (E) the description of the purpose for such award;
                  (F) the number of proposals or bids received;
                  (G) the name and address of the vendor, and whether 
                such vendor is considered a small business;
                  (H) the period and each place of performance for such 
                award;
                  (I) whether such award is multiyear;
                  (J) whether such award requires a small business 
                subcontracting plan; and
                  (K) the contracting office and the point of contact 
                for such office.
          (2) Update.--Updates referred to in paragraph (1) shall occur 
        not later than two business days after the date on which the 
        covered contract is authorized or modified.
          (3) Subscribing to alerts.--The website referred to in 
        paragraph (1) shall provide the option to subscribe to an 
        automatic notification of the publication of each report 
        required under such paragraph.
          (4) Effective date.--Paragraph (1) shall take effect on the 
        date that is 180 days after the date of the enactment of this 
        section.
  (b) Undefinitized Contract Action or Definitized Amount.--If a 
covered contract award reported pursuant to subsection (a) includes an 
undefinitized contract action, the Secretary shall--
          (1) report the estimated total contract value for such award 
        and the amount obligated upon award; and
          (2) once such award is definitized, update the total contract 
        value and amount obligated.
  (c) Exemption.--Each report required under subsection (a) shall not 
include covered contract awards relating to classified products, 
programs, or services.
  (d) Definitions.--In this section:
          (1) Covered contract award.--The term ``covered contract 
        award''--
                  (A) means a contract action of the Department with 
                the total authorized dollar amount of $4,000,000 or 
                greater, including unexercised options; and
                  (B) includes--
                          (I) contract awards governed by the Federal 
                        Acquisition Regulation;
                          (ii) modifications to a contract award that 
                        increase the total value, expand the scope of 
                        work, or extend the period of performance;
                          (iii) orders placed on a multiple award or 
                        multiple-agency contract that includes delivery 
                        or quantity terms that are indefinite;
                          (iv) other transaction authority agreements; 
                        and
                          (v) contract awards made with other than full 
                        and open competition.
          (2) Definitized amount.--The term ``definitized amount'' 
        means the final amount of a covered contract award after 
        agreement between the Department and the contractor at issue.
          (3) Department.--The term ``Department'' means the Department 
        of Homeland Security.
          (4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of 
        Homeland Security.
          (5) Small business.--The term ``small business'' means an 
        entity that qualifies as a small business concern, as such term 
        is described under section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 
        U.S.C. 632).
          (6) Total contract value.--The term ``total contract value'' 
        means the total amount of funds expected to be provided to the 
        contractor at issue under the terms of the contract through the 
        full period of performance.
          (7) Undefinitized contract action.--The term ``undefinitized 
        contract action'' means any contract action for which the 
        contract terms, specifications, or price is not established 
        prior to the start of the performance of a covered contract 
        award.

                          PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

    H.R. 4363, the ``DHS Contract Reporting Act of 2021,'' 
seeks to enhance transparency and oversight of the Department 
of Homeland Security's (DHS) procurements by requiring the 
Department to provide a daily report of contracts awarded by 
its headquarters or components on a public website. For 
contract awards of $4 million or more, the bill would require 
DHS to report key information, such as contract type, the 
purpose of the contract, the number of proposals or bids 
received, and the name of the company that received the award. 
In addition, the bill requires that DHS's website allow 
interested parties to subscribe to automatic notifications to 
ensure timely access to the information.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    Each year, DHS spends billions of dollars to procure the 
goods and services needed to fulfill the Department's many 
missions. While the Department publicly announces some contract 
awards on official U.S. Government websites in accordance with 
Federal regulations, DHS offices and components are given 
discretion on when to issue press releases about contract 
awards. In addition, the official U.S. Government websites can 
be difficult to search and must be monitored continuously to 
keep pace with the Department's spending.
    This is concerning to the Committee because the Government 
Accountability Office (GAO) and DHS Office of Inspector General 
(OIG) have consistently reported on challenges DHS faces with 
contract management. For example, in June 2020, GAO determined 
that U.S. Customs and Border Protection misspent funding 
Congress appropriated for medical care and other supplies in 
response to a surge of migrants at the southern border.\1\ The 
OIG also found that the Federal Emergency Management Agency 
(FEMA) inappropriately awarded contracts to a vendor that was 
unable to deliver critical supplies following three major 
hurricanes and the California wildfires that occurred in 
2017.\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\U.S. Government Accountability Office, U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection--Obligations of Amounts Appropriated in the 2019 Emergency 
Supplemental, (June 11, 2020), available at https://www.gao.gov/
products/b-331888.
    \2\Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General, 
FEMA Should Not have Awarded Two Contracts to Bronze Star LLC, (May 7, 
2019), available at https://www.oig.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/assets/
2019-05/OIG-19-38-May19.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    H.R. 4363 promotes transparency into DHS's spending by 
creating an online clearinghouse the public can access to view 
contracts awarded Department-wide. The daily reports required 
under the bill would include contract awards with a total 
authorized value of $4 million or greater. In addition to 
contracts awarded in accordance with Federal Acquisition 
Regulation procedures and Other Transaction Authority 
agreements, the Committee expects the Department to report 
orders on multiple-award or multiple-agency contract vehicles 
as well as modifications to existing contracts that were not 
otherwise negotiated or included in the original contract. 
Providing timely access to the information required in H.R. 
4363 will enable better oversight of DHS's spending and insight 
for those companies interested in working with the Department.

                                HEARINGS

    For the purposes of clause 3(c)(6) of rule XIII of the 
Rules of the House of Representatives, the following hearings 
were used to develop H.R. 4363:
    The Committee did not hold a legislative hearing on H.R. 
4363 in the 117th Congress. However, the legislation was 
informed by hearings held in the 116th Congress. On July 15, 
2020, the Committee held a hearing entitled ``Children in CBP 
Custody: Examining Deaths, Medical Care Procedures, and 
Improper Spending.'' The Committee received testimony from Dr. 
Fiona S. Danaher, M.D., M.P.H., Pediatrician, Chelsea 
Pediatrics, Child Protection Team, Massachusetts General 
Hospital, Instructor in Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School; 
Dr. Roger A. Mitchell, Jr., M.D., Chief Medical Examiner, 
Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, Washington DC, Clinical 
Professor of Pathology at the George Washington University, 
Associate Professor of Surgery at Howard University; The 
Honorable Joseph V. Cuffari, Inspector General, DHS OIG; and 
Ms. Rebecca Gambler, Director, Homeland Security and Justice 
Team, GAO.
    On May 9, 2019, the Subcommittees on Emergency 
Preparedness, Response, and Recovery and Oversight, Management, 
and Accountability held a hearing entitled, ``FEMA Contracting: 
Reviewing Lessons Learned from Past Disasters to Improve 
Preparedness.'' The Subcommittees received testimony from Mr. 
Brian Kamoie, Associate Administrator for Mission Support, 
FEMA; Ms. Marie Mak, Director, GAO; Ms. Katherine Trimble, 
Deputy Assistant Inspector General for Audits, DHS OIG.

                        COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION

    The Committee met on July 28, 2021, a quorum being present, 
to consider H.R. 4363 and ordered the measure to be favorably 
reported to the House, as amended, by voice vote.

                            COMMITTEE VOTES

    Clause 3(b) of rule XIII 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. 4363.

                      COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS

    In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII, the 
Committee advises that the findings and recommendations of the 
Committee, based on oversight activities under clause 2(b)(1) 
of rule X, 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 and section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 
1974, and with respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(3) of 
rule XIII and section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 
1974, the Committee has requested but not received from the 
Director of the Congressional Budget Office a statement as to 
whether this bill contains any new budget authority, spending 
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in 
revenues or tax expenditures.

                       FEDERAL MANDATES STATEMENT

    An estimate of Federal mandates prepared by the Director of 
the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 423 of the 
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act was not made available to the 
Committee in time for the filing of this report. The Chairman 
of the Committee shall cause such estimate to be printed in the 
Congressional Record upon its receipt by the Committee.

                      DUPLICATIVE FEDERAL PROGRAMS

    Pursuant to clause 3(c) of rule XIII, the Committee finds 
that H.R. 4363 does not contain any provision that establishes 
or reauthorizes a program known to be duplicative of another 
Federal program.

         STATEMENT OF GENERAL PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

    Pursuant to clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the objective of 
H.R. 4363 is to enhance transparency and oversight of DHS 
procurements by requiring the Department to provide a daily 
report of contracts awarded by its headquarters and components 
on a public website.

   CONGRESSIONAL EARMARKS, LIMITED TAX BENEFITS, AND LIMITED TARIFF 
                 BENEFITS ADVISORY COMMITTEE STATEMENT

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

                  APPLICABILITY TO LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

    The Committee finds that H.R. 4363 does not relate to the 
terms and conditions of employment or access to public services 
or accommodations within the meaning of section 102(b)(3) of 
the Congressional Accountability Act.

             SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF THE LEGISLATION

Section 1. Short Title.

    This section states that the Act may be cited as the ``DHS 
Contract Reporting Act of 2021''.

Sec. 2. Daily Public Report of Covered Contract Awards.

    Subsection 2(a) directs the Secretary of Homeland Security 
to provide a daily report of all covered contract awards on a 
public website and outlines the information to be included in 
each report. The daily reports are to include the contract 
number; the contract type; the purpose of the contract; the 
number of proposals or bids received; the name and address of 
the vendor, and whether the vendor is considered a small 
business; the period and each place of performance; and whether 
the contract is required to have a small business 
subcontracting plan. The subsection also directs that covered 
contract awards be included in the daily report not later than 
two business days after they are authorized or modified. 
Additionally, the website is to provide the option to subscribe 
to receive an automatic notification when each daily report is 
published. Lastly, this subsection establishes an effective 
date of 180 days after the enactment of the section.
    Subsection 2(b) identifies how the Secretary is required to 
report undefinitized contract actions in the daily reports. 
Specifically, the Secretary must report the estimated total 
contract value and the amount obligated upon award. Once the 
award is definitized, the Secretary must report the updated 
total contract value and amount obligated.
    Subsection 2(c) exempts covered contract awards relating to 
classified products, programs, or services from being included 
in the daily report.
    Subsection 2(d) defines key terms for the purpose of the 
bill, including ``covered contract award,'' ``definitized 
amount,'' ``total contract value,'' and ``undefinitized 
contract action.''

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