[Senate Report 118-1]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
118th Congress} { Report
SENATE
1st Session } { 117-1
======================================================================
ACTIVITIES OF THE COMMITTEE ON
HOMELAND SECURITY AND
GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
__________
R E P O R T
of the
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND
GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
UNITED STATES SENATE
AND ITS
SUBCOMMITTEES
FOR THE
ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
March 1, 2023.--Ordered to be printed
__________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
39-010 WASHINGTON : 2023
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COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
GARY C. PETERS, Michigan, Chairman
THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware RAND PAUL, Kentucky
MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin
KRYSTEN SINEMA, Arizona JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma
JACKY ROSEN, Nevada MITT ROMNEY, Utah
ALEX PADILLA, California RICK SCOTT, Florida
JON OSSOFF, Georgia JOSH HAWLEY, Missouri
RICHARD BLUMENTAL, Connecticut ROGER MARSHALL, Kansas
David M. Weinberg, Staff Director
William E. Henderson III, Minority Staff Director
Laura W. Kilbride, Chief Clerk
------
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS DURING THE
117TH CONGRESS
GARY C. PETERS, Michigan, Chairman
THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware ROB PORTMAN, Ohio
MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin
KRYSTEN SINEMA, Arizona RAND PAUL, Kentucky
JACKY ROSEN, Nevada JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma
ALEX PADILLA, California MITT ROMNEY, Utah
JON OSSOFF, Georgia RICK SCOTT, Florida
JOSH HAWLEY, Missouri
------
SUBCOMMITTEES OF THE 117TH CONGRESS
PERMANENT SUBCOMMITTEE ON INVESTIGATIONS
JON OSSOFF, Georgia, Chair
THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin
MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire RAND PAUL, Kentucky
ALEX PADILLA, California JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma
RICK SCOTT, Florida
------
EMERGING THREATS AND SPENDING OVERSIGHT
MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire, Chair
KRYSTEN SINEMA, Arizona RAND PAUL, Kentucky
JACKY ROSEN, Nevada MITT ROMNEY, Utah
JON OSSOFF, Georgia RICK SCOTT, Florida
JOSH HAWLEY, Missouri
GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS AND BORDER MANAGEMENT
KRYSTEN SINEMA, Arizona, Chair
THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma
ALEX PADILLA, California RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin
JON OSSOFF, Georgia MITT ROMNEY, Utah
JOSH HAWLEY, Missouri
CONTENTS
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Page
I. Highlights of Activities.........................................1
A. Postal Service........................................ 3
B. Cybersecurity......................................... 4
C. Terrorism............................................. 8
D. Bolstering the Nation's Response to Disasters and
Emergencies.............................................. 11
E. Improving Government Efficiency and Use of Taxpayer
Dollars.................................................. 13
F. Increasing Government Accountability and Transparency. 15
G. Addressing the PFAS Contamination Crisis.............. 16
H. Ensuring a Fair and Accurate Census................... 17
I. Modernizing Federal and Presidential Records
Management............................................... 18
J. Securing the Nation's Border.......................... 19
K. Fighting Human Trafficking............................ 20
L. Ensuring Ethical Use of Artificial Intelligence....... 21
M. D.C. Statehood........................................ 21
II. Committee Jurisdiction..........................................22
III. Bills and Resolutions Referred and Considered...................25
IV. Hearings........................................................25
V. Reports, Prints, and GAO Reports................................43
VI. Official Communications.........................................57
VII. Legislative Actions.............................................58
Measures Enacted Into Law................................ 58
Postal Naming Bills...................................... 67
VIII.Activities of the Subcommittees.................................72
Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI)
I. Historical Background...........................................72
A. Subcommittee Jurisdiction............................. 72
B. Subcommittee Investigations........................... 74
II. Subcommittee Hearings during the 117th Congress.................81
III. Legislation Activities during the 117th Congress................84
IV. Reports, Prints, and Studies....................................85
V. GAO Reports....................................................120
Emerging Threats and Spending Oversight (ETSO)
I. Authority......................................................123
II. Activity.......................................................123
A. Hearings.......................................................123
B. Legislation....................................................128
C. GAO Reports....................................................137
Government Operations and Border Management (GOVOPS)
I. Authority......................................................140
II. Activity.......................................................140
A. Hearings.......................................................140
III. Legislation....................................................143
IV. GAO Reports....................................................144
118th Congress} { Report
SENATE
1st Session } { 117-1
======================================================================
ACTIVITIES OF THE COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND
SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
DURING THE 117TH CONGRESS
_______
March 1, 2023--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. PETERS, from the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, submitted the following
R E P O R T
This report reviews the legislative and oversight
activities of the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs and its Subcommittees during the 117th
Congress. These activities were conducted pursuant to the
Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946, as amended; by Rule
XXV(k) of the Standing Rules of the Senate; and by additional
authorizing resolutions of the Senate. See Section II,
``Committee Jurisdiction,'' for details.
Senator Gary C. Peters was Chairman of the Committee during
the 117th Congress; Senator Rob Portman was the Ranking Member.
Major activities of the Committee during the 117th Congress
included oversight and legislation involving the U.S. Postal
Service, cybersecurity, terrorism, government efficiency and
the use of taxpayer dollars, federal disaster response, reforms
to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), per- and
polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), the Census, border security,
artificial intelligence, and District of Columbia statehood.
Discussion of these major activities appears in Section I
below; additional information on these and other measures
appears in Section VII, ``Legislative Actions.''
Extensive information about the Committee's history,
hearings, legislation, documents, Subcommittees, and other
matters is available at the Web site, http://hsgac.senate.gov/.
I. HIGHLIGHTS OF ACTIVITIES
During the 117th Congress, Chairman Gary C. Peters and
Ranking Member Rob Portman led the Committee to collaboratively
address longstanding challenges to the nation's security, as
well as strengthen government's effectiveness. Over the last
two years, as the nation began to emerge from the challenges of
the COVID-19 pandemic, communities across the country continued
to face evolving threats to their safety and security, and
continued to rely on the federal government to efficiently
administer critical programs and services. During this time,
the country also witnessed lethal domestic terrorist attacks,
disruptive cyber-attacks, and increasingly severe natural
disasters--all while continuing to grapple with the aftermath
of a public health crisis that has taken the lives of more than
one million Americans.
Under Chairman Peters' leadership, the Committee authored
and enacted historic bipartisan legislation to strengthen our
national security and passed long overdue reforms to ensure
that the federal government can effectively serve the American
people for years to come.
To ensure our nation is better prepared to address emerging
homeland security threats, the Committee examined current and
rapidly evolving potential threats, including bioterrorism,
cyber-attacks, terrorism and natural disasters. The Committee
led oversight efforts and enacted bipartisan laws to protect
critical infrastructure from persistent and complex cyber-
attacks, harden our defenses against the rising threat of white
supremacist and anti-government violence, and improve the
federal response to disasters and emergencies, including public
health emergencies.
The Committee also led efforts to improve government
accountability and ensure federal agencies are effectively
serving the American people. Notably, Chairman Peters worked
with Ranking Member Portman and other leaders in the House and
the Senate to author and enact historic bipartisan legislation
to ensure the long-term stability of the United States Postal
Service. The Committee also prioritized strengthening
protections for Inspectors General, increasing transparency in
government, ensuring effective use of taxpayer dollars, and
supporting the federal workforce in their mission to serve
Americans across the country. These efforts included enacting
new laws that reduce the government's energy costs and ensure
that federal contractors are working in the best interest of
the American people, and not outside interests.
Finally, Chairman Peters utilized the Committee's role as
the Senate's chief oversight body to issue four comprehensive
investigative reports. This included the first bipartisan
investigation into the security failures related to the January
6th attack on the U.S. Capitol, an investigative report
detailing failures by national security agencies and major
social media companies to address the growing domestic
terrorism threat, and an investigation that identified
significant failures in the federal government's preparedness
and initial response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
During the 117th Congress, the Committee held 64 hearings
and roundtables to identify, discuss, and assess bipartisan
solutions to address national security threats and improve
government operations. The Committee also advanced 143 bills
and 38 post office naming bills to the Senate floor. Chairman
Peters authored and introduced 50 of those bills. In total, the
Committee helped enact 79 pieces of standalone legislation into
law, including 18 authored by Chairman Peters, and helped
secure a number of critical provisions as a part of larger
government funding bills and historic legislation, including
the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the Inflation
Reduction Act, and the American Rescue Plan Act. The Committee
also helped confirm 46 of President Biden's nominees to lead
the federal government and implement the Administration's
priorities. Under Chairman Peters' leadership, the Committee
showed that by working on a bipartisan basis, we can come
together to solve significant problems, protect our national
security and ensure the federal government is operating
efficiently and effectively.
A. SUPPORTING THE POSTAL SERVICE
Millions of people across the country, including veterans,
seniors, and small business owners, rely on the United States
Postal Service. This essential and trusted public institution
delivers critical supplies like medications and financial
documents to every address across the nation. However, despite
its importance, Congress had not passed significant reforms to
the Postal Service in more than a decade--and burdensome
financial requirements for the Postal Service threatened its
long-term stability and ability to provide reliable service.
During the 117th Congress, Chairman Peters and Ranking Member
Portman led the Committee to pass historic reforms to support
the Postal Service and confirmed effective leadership for this
essential institution.
As Ranking Member of the Committee during the 116th
Congress, Senator Peters led oversight efforts of Postal
Service operations to shed a light on how unfair policies
forced this treasured institution to make changes that impacted
delivery service and caused significant delivery delays for
medication, financial documents, and other critical mail.\1\ As
Chairman during the 117th Congress, Senator Peters worked
together with Ranking Member Portman, Senator Tom Carper, and
other Committee Members to build on these efforts and help the
Postal Service overcome unnecessary financial burdens. On May
19, 2022, Chairman Peters and Ranking Member Portman introduced
the Postal Service Reform Act.\2\ For nearly a year, Chairman
Peters worked hand-in-hand with Committee Members, Senate
Leadership, and the leaders of the House Committee on Oversight
and Reform to secure significant bipartisan support for the
legislation. As a result, the House passed their companion
bill\3\ with 342 votes on February 8, 2022, the Senate passed
the bill with 79 votes on March 8, 2022, and President Biden
signed the bill into law on April 6, 2022.\4\
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\1\Minority Staff Report, Senate Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs, Failure to Deliver: Harm Caused by U.S.
Postmaster General DeJoy's Changes to Postal Service Mail Delivery,
(September 16, 2020).
\2\S. 1720 (117th Cong.).
\3\H.R. 3076 (117th Cong.). Became Public Law No: 117-108.
\4\Public Law No: 117-108.
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The law eliminates a requirement for the Postal Service to
pre-fund every employee's retirement benefits and integrate
postal worker retirees' health care with Medicare. Together,
these two reforms will create more than $49 billion in savings
for the Postal Service. The new law also ensures greater
transparency from the Postal Service about their delivery
performance and requires the institution to continue delivering
six days a week. The new law is a notable example of how the
Committee has worked together and set aside partisanship to
enact meaningful reforms that will immensely benefit the
American people for generations to come.
In addition to passing these historic reforms, Chairman
Peters and the Committee also worked to provide the Postal
Service with leadership that will support its dedicated
workforce, focus on reliable mail delivery, and maintain the
Postal Service's public service mission to deliver to every
community. This Congress, the Committee worked on a bipartisan
basis to confirm President Biden's nominees, Derek Kan and
Daniel Tangherlini, to serve on the Postal Service Board of
Governors.\5\ During their confirmation process, both nominees
demonstrated their commitment to the Postal Service's mission
and were confirmed by the full Senate unanimously.
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\5\Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs,
Hearing on the Nominations of Hon. Derek T. Kan and Hon. Daniel M.
Tangherlini to be Governors, U.S. Postal Service, 117th Cong. (Mar. 31,
2022) (S. Hrg. 117-554).
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Finally, Chairman Peters led the Committee to press the
Postal Service to acquire more electric vehicles that will help
reduce the cost of operating their fleet in the long run. On
February 26, 2022, Chairman Peters sent a letter to Postal
Service leadership urging them to prioritize the acquisition of
electric vehicles to ensure the fleet is modern, safe and
sustainable for the Postal Service and for our environment.\6\
The Chairman also convened a Committee briefing in April with
the Postal Service on efforts to modernize their aging delivery
vehicle fleet--including by acquiring electric vehicles and
prioritizing union-made vehicles.\7\ These efforts resulted in
an announcement from the Postal Service saying that they intend
to expand their electric vehicle purchase order by at least
fifty percent. Furthermore, as a part of the Inflation
Reduction Act, the Committee secured $3 billion for the Postal
Service to purchase more electric vehicles. In December 2022,
the Postal Service announced they would use this historic
investment to invest in charging infrastructure and deploy over
66,000 electric vehicles by 2028--making a majority of new
vehicle purchases electric.\8\
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\6\Letter from Gary Peters, Chairman, Senate Committee on Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs, to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy
and USPS Board of Governors (February 26, 2022).
\7\Committee Member Briefing on U.S. Postal Service (April 7,
2022).
\8\Press Release, Senator Gary Peters: Peters Statement on Postal
Service Announcement to Significantly Increase Electric Vehicle Fleet,
(Dec. 20, 2022).
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B. STRENGTHENING CYBERSECURITY
Cyber-attacks continue to affect the country's national and
economic security. Attacks over the past two years have
demonstrated how they can compromise sensitive information and
severely disrupt daily life and Americans' livelihoods.
According to the World Economic Forum, malware and ransomware
attacks increased by 358 and 435 percent respectively in 2020,
and ``are outpacing societies' ability to effectively prevent
or respond to them''.\9\ In May 2021, criminal hackers breached
the network of Colonial Pipeline, forcing the company to shut
down over 5,500 miles of pipeline, leading to increased prices
and gas shortages for communities across the East coast.\10\ In
December 2020, cybersecurity firm FireEye became aware of a
cyber-attack against SolarWinds that allowed foreign
adversaries to access the networks of the Department of
Homeland Security (DHS), the Department of Defense, and other
federal agencies.\11\ In January 2021, a reported hack of the
Microsoft Exchange email service allowed cybercriminals to
access the servers of state and local governments, infectious
disease researchers, and businesses such as law firms and
defense contractors.\12\
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\9\World Economic Forum, The Global Risks Report 2022 17th Edition
(N.D. 2022).
\10\Veronica Stracqualursi, Geneva Sands and Arlette Saenz,
Cyberattack Forces Major Us Fuel Pipeline To Shut Down, CNN (May 8,
2021 6:12 PM), https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/08/politics/colonial-
pipeline-cybersecurity-attack/index.html
\11\Sara Wilson, Solarwinds Recap: All Of The Federal Agencies
Caught Up In The Orion Breach, FedScoop (December 22, 2020), https://
fedscoop.com/solarwinds-recap-federal-agencies-caught-orion-breach/
#::text=The%20SolarWinds%20hack%20has%20put,13
\12\Clare Duffy, Here's What We Know So Far About The Massive
Microsoft Exchange Hack, CNN (March 10, 2021 7:04 AM), https://
www.cnn.com/2021/03/10/tech/microsoft-exchange-hafnium-hack-explainer/
index.html; Brian Krebs, At Least 30,000 U.S. Organizations Newly
Hacked Via Holes In Microsoft's Email Software, Krebs On Security
(March 5, 2021), https://krebsonsecurity.com/2021/03/at-least-30000-u-
s-organizations-newly-hacked-via-holes-in-microsofts-email-software/
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During the 117th Congress, the Committee convened a number
of hearings and briefings with senior federal officials and
cybersecurity experts to help educate members about the scope
and severity of this threat. The Committee examined the impacts
of the SolarWinds attack and vulnerabilities in federal
networks.\13\ The Committee also convened the first
Congressional hearing with the Chief Executive Officer of
Colonial Pipeline to examine the significant breach of their
networks.\14\ The Committee learned from the Administration's
most senior cybersecurity officials on how lawmakers can work
to help protect federal and critical infrastructure
systems.\15\ The Committee also examined the vulnerability
found in open source code known as Log4j, and how experts
across the public and private sectors were working to mitigate
the effects of this massive cybersecurity risk.\16\
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\13\Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee,
Hearing on Understanding and Responding to the SolarWinds Supply Chain
Attack: The Federal Perspective, 117th Cong. (Mar. 18, 2021) (S. Hrg.
117-478).
\14\Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee,
Hearing on Threats to Critical Infrastructure: Examining the Colonial
Pipeline Cyber-Attack, 117th Cong. (June 8, 2021) (S. Hrg. 117-429).
\15\Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee,
Hearing on National Cybersecurity Strategy: Protection of Federal and
Critical Infrastructure Systems, 117th Cong. (Sept. 23, 2021).
\16\Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee,
Hearing on Responding to and Learning from the Log4Shell Vulnerability,
117th Cong. (Feb. 8, 2022).
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To address these growing cybersecurity threats, Chairman
Peters and Ranking Member Portman worked on a bipartisan basis
to enact some of the most significant and historic reforms to
our nation's cybersecurity policy. Chairman Peters and Ranking
Member Portman wrote and enacted a provision into law that, for
the first time, would require critical infrastructure owners
and operators to report to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure
Security Agency (CISA) if they experience a substantial cyber-
attack or if they make a ransomware payment.\17\ The law will
help CISA provide critical infrastructure companies with the
insight and resources needed to help respond to and recover
from network breaches so they can continue providing essential
services to the American people.\18\
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\17\S. 2875, Cyber Incident Reporting Act of 2021; S. 3600,
Strengthening American Cybersecurity Act of 2022. Provision enacted as
part of H.R. 2471, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022 (March 15,
2022).
\18\Press Release, Senators Gary Peters and Rob Portman: Peters &
Portman Landmark Provision Requiring Critical Infrastructure to Report
Cyber-Attacks Signed into Law as Part of Funding Bill, (Mar. 15, 2022).
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Chairman Peters also secured a provision in the
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that created an
authority for the DHS Secretary to declare a Significant
Incident in the event of an ongoing or imminent cyber-attack
that would impact national security, economic security, or
government operations.\19\ This declaration empowers CISA to
coordinate federal and non-federal response efforts, and gives
the DHS Secretary access to a $100 million Cyber Response and
Recovery Fund that would help support federal and non-federal
entities impacted by the event.\20\ As a part of the
infrastructure law, Chairman Peters also secured a provision
that requires the Environmental Protection Agency and CISA to
identify public water systems that, if degraded or rendered
inoperable due to a cyber-attack, would lead to significant
impacts on the health and safety of the public.\21\
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\19\S. 1316, Cyber Response and Recovery Act of 2012. Provision
enacted as part of H.R. 3684, Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
(Nov. 15, 2021).
\20\Press Release, Senator Gary Peters: Peters Provisions to
Strengthen Cybersecurity Signed Into Law as Part of Bipartisan
Infrastructure Bill, (Nov. 15, 2021).
\21\Ibid.
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The Committee also worked to help state and local
governments, who are frequent targets of ransomware, protect
their networks. In 2020, cybercriminals targeted at least 2,350
government entities with ransomware attacks, including nearly
1,700 educational institutions and 560 healthcare
facilities.\22\ These attacks can cost significant taxpayer
dollars and compromise sensitive personal information such as
Social Security numbers and credit card numbers. As a part of
the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Chairman Peters,
Ranking Member Portman, and Senator Maggie Hassan secured $1
billion over four years to fund the new State and Local
Cybersecurity Grant program, managed by CISA and the Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to support efforts by
state, local, Tribal, and territorial governments secure their
networks, assess their cybersecurity vulnerabilities, and build
up their cybersecurity workforce.\23\ The Committee approved
the State and Local Government Cybersecurity Act, which was
enacted in 2022.\24\ The law, written by Chairman Peters and
Ranking Member Portman, will promote stronger cybersecurity
coordination between DHS and state and local governments.\25\
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\22\Emisoft Malware Lab, The State of Ransomware in the US: Report
and Statistics 2020, Emisoft (blog) (Jan. 18, 2021) (https://
blog.emsisoft.com/en/37314/the-state-of-ransomware-in-the-us-report-
and-statistics-2020/).
\23\Press Release, Senator Gary Peters: Peters Provisions to
Strengthen Cybersecurity Signed Into Law as Part of Bipartisan
Infrastructure Bill, (Nov. 15, 2021).
\24\S. 2520, (117th Cong.), Became Public Law No: 117-150.
\25\Press Release, Senator Gary Peters: Three Peters Bills to
Strengthen State and Local Cybersecurity, Bolster Cyber Workforce, and
Secure Federal Supply Chains Signed Into Law, (June 22, 2022).
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K-12 schools also face increased cyber-attacks that can
disrupt classes and compromise the sensitive information of
students, educators and school staff. To combat this
significant threat, the Committee approved a bipartisan bill
written by Chairman Peters and Senator Rick Scott that directed
CISA to work with teachers, school administrators, other
federal departments and private sector organizations to better
understand cybersecurity risks specific to K-12 educational
institutions, which was later enacted.\26\
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\26\S. 1917 (117th Cong.), Became Public Law No: 117-47; Press
Release, Senators Gary Peters and Rick Scott, and Representative Jim
Langevin: Peters, Scott, and Langevin Bipartisan Bill to Help Protect
K-12 School Systems from Cyber-Attacks Signed Into Law, (Oct. 8, 2021).
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The Committee also approved legislation authored by
Chairman Peters, as well as Senators John Hoeven, Jacky Rosen,
and Maggie Hassan, that created a civilian personnel rotation
program for cybersecurity professionals at federal agencies,
which was later enacted.\27\ The law will help the federal
government attract and retain a highly skilled cybersecurity
workforce that will enhance our nation's ability to fight back
against cybersecurity threats from foreign adversaries and
criminal hackers.
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\27\S. 1097 (117th Cong.), Became Public Law No: 117-149; Press
Release, Senators Gary Peters, John Hoeven, Jacky Rosen: Peters, Hoeven
& Rosen Bipartisan Legislation to Strengthen Federal Cybersecurity
Workforce Signed into Law, (June 22, 2022).
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Federal agencies store sensitive information and manage
supply chains that are critical to our national security. As
demonstrated by the SolarWinds and Microsoft Exchange attacks,
federal networks are vulnerable to network breaches. The
Committee approved a bill written by Chairman Peters and
Senators Ron Johnson and Maggie Hassan, which was later
enacted, that required the creation of a standardized training
program to help federal employees responsible for purchasing
services and equipment identify whether those products could
compromise the federal government's information security and
supply chains.\28\ The Committee also approved and the Senate
unanimously passed legislation written by Chairman Peters and
Ranking Member Portman to require civilian federal agencies to
report to CISA if they experience a substantial cyber-
attack.\29\ The Committee also approved and the Senate
unanimously passed bipartisan legislation authored by Chairman
Peters and Ranking Member Portman to reauthorize the Federal
Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) and ensure
federal agencies can quickly and securely adopt cloud-based
technologies that improve government operations and
efficiency.\30\ This legislation was enacted as part of the
James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal
Year 2023.\31\
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\28\S. 2201, Supply Chain Security Training Act of 2021, (117th
Cong.). Became Public Law No: 117-145. Press Release, Senator Gary
Peters, Three Peters Bills to Strengthen State and Local Cybersecurity,
Bolster Cyber Workforce, and Secure Federal Supply Chains Signed into
Law, (June 22, 2022).
\29\S. 2902, Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2021
(117th Cong.). Passed the Senate as part of S. 3600, Strengthening
American Cybersecurity Act of 2022 (117th Cong.).
\30\S. 3099, Federal Secure Cloud Improvement and Jobs Act of 2021
(117th Cong.). Passed the Senate as part of S.3600, Strengthening
American Cybersecurity Act of 2022. Press Release, Senators Gary Peters
and Rob Portman: Senate Passes Peters, Portman Landmark Legislative
Package to Strengthen Public and Private Sector Cybersecurity (Mar. 2,
2022).
\31\H.R. 7776, (117th Cong.). Became Public Law No: 117-263.
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In addition to passing legislation, the Committee led the
confirmation of several of President Biden's nominees to lead
federal cybersecurity efforts, including CISA Director Jen
Easterly and the first National Cyber Director, Chris Inglis.
Since being confirmed, these officials have worked hand in hand
with Chairman Peters and the Committee to significantly
strengthen our nation's cybersecurity defenses.
RANSOMWARE INVESTIGATION AND REPORT
On May 24, 2022, Chairman Peters released a Majority staff
report detailing the results of his investigation into the role
cryptocurrencies play in emboldening and incentivizing
cybercriminals to commit ransomware attacks. The report found
that the federal government lacks sufficient data and
information on ransomware attacks and their use of
cryptocurrency. The report's findings highlighted the
importance of quickly implementing Peters' landmark law to
require critical infrastructure owners and operators to report
to CISA within 24 hours if they make a ransomware payment and
within 72 hours if they experience a substantial cybersecurity
incident. Once fully implemented, the law will ensure the
federal government is receiving much needed information on
ransomware attacks that will help protect critical
infrastructure and hold attackers accountable.\32\
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\32\Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee
Majority Staff Report, Use of Cryptocurrency in Ransomware Attacks,
Available Data, and National Security Concerns, (May 24, 2022).
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C. COMBATING TERRORISM
More than two decades after the September 11, 2001
terrorist attacks, the terrorism threat landscape for our
nation has evolved. While foreign terrorism remains a
persistent threat, national security experts have testified to
the Committee that the greatest threat to American communities
is domestic terrorism, specifically attacks fueled by white
supremacist and anti-government ideologies.\33\ Over the past
two years, the nation witnessed multiple horrific attacks
rooted in these and related ideologies that have taken dozens
of lives. On January 6, 2021, the world witnessed a violent and
unprecedented insurrection at the U.S. Capitol--an attack on
nation and our democratic process. Other attacks were racially
and religiously targeted, including attacks on houses of
worship and a deadly attack inspired by the racist and
antisemitic ``Great Replacement Theory'' that targeted the
Black community in Buffalo, New York. During the 117th
Congress, the Committee focused on ensuring the federal
government is better prepared to address the rapidly evolving
threat posed by domestic terrorism and protect the American
people from these attacks.
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\33\Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee,
Hearing on Threats to the Homeland: Evaluating the Landscape 20 Years
After 9/11, 117th Cong. (Sept. 21, 2021). Senate Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs Committee, Hearing on Threats to the Homeland,
117th Cong. (Nov. 17, 2022).
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The Committee convened numerous hearings and briefings with
federal officials and independent experts that focused on the
threat of domestic violent extremism, including white
supremacist and anti-government violence. The Committee heard
from experts representing faith-based, civil rights, and
academic and policy research organizations on how attacks, that
are motivated in part by hateful, racist ideologies, are
causing communities across the country to live in fear.\34\
Following attacks like the one targeting the Black community in
Buffalo, the Committee convened a hearing to hear from experts
about the threat posed by white supremacist extremism and
racist ideologies like the ``Great Replacement Theory.''\35\
During that hearing, Chairman Peters and the witnesses also
discussed how highly influential individuals continue to use
broadcast media platforms and social media to spread racist and
extremist rhetoric.\36\ The Committee also examined terrorism
threats to houses of worship and other public spaces.\37\
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\34\Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee,
Hearing on Domestic Terrorism and Violent Extremism: Examining the
Threat of Racially, Ethnically, Religiously, and Politically Motivated
Attacks Part 1, (Aug. 3, 2021) and Part 2, 117th Cong. (Aug. 5, 2021)
(S. Hrg. 117-262).
\35\Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee,
Hearing on Domestic Extremism in America: Examining White Supremacist
Violence in the Wake of Recent Attacks, 117th Cong. (Jun. 9, 2022).
\36\Press Release, Senator Gary Peters: Peters Convenes Hearing to
Examine Domestic Terrorist Threat Posed by White Supremacist Violence,
(June 9, 2022).
\37\Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee,
Hearing on Examining Threats Against Houses of Worship and Public
Spaces, 117th Cong. (Mar. 16, 2022).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
A key focus of many of these hearings was how the federal
government can more effectively align its counterterrorism
resources to address the threat posed by domestic terrorism.
This included convening a hearing examining the DHS Office of
Intelligence and Analysis, and inadequate intelligence
assessments the office produced, including the failure to
predict and prevent the January 6th attack on the U.S.
Capitol.\38\ The Committee also examined reports of
politicization within the office that downplayed the growing
threat posed by white supremacist and anti-government violence,
as well as challenges transmitting intelligence information to
state and local government and law enforcement partners.\39\
The Committee also convened several hearings to examine how
national security agencies, including DHS and the Federal
Bureau of Investigation (FBI), prioritize their
counterterrorism resources to address all terrorism
threats.\40\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\38\Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee,
Hearing on Examining the Role of the Department of Homeland Security's
Office of Intelligence and Analysis, 117th Cong. (May 18, 2021) (S.
Hrg. 117-480).
\39\Press Release, Senator Gary Peters: Peters Presses Experts on
How to Improve DHS Intelligence and Better Protect Communities from
Domestic Terrorism, (May 18, 2021).
\40\Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee,
Hearing on Resources and Authorities Needed to Protect and Secure the
Homeland, 117th Cong. (May 4, 2022).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Following these hearings and the examination of the
evolving domestic terrorism threat, the Committee approved
legislation to reauthorize the DHS's Nonprofit Security Grant
Program (NSGP).\41\ The program provides grants to help at-risk
institutions and nonprofit groups plan for and safeguard their
facilities against potential attacks. Grants can be used to
harden facilities, promote emergency preparedness training, and
strengthen security coordination between communities, emergency
responders and state and local government agencies.\42\
Chairman Peters also fought for significant increases in
funding for the NSGP. He secured $250 million for the program
as a part of the funding legislation that was signed into law
in March 15, 2022.\43\ As a part of the next funding bill that
was signed into law on December 29, 2022, Chairman Peters
secured $305 million for the program.\44\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\41\H.R. 6825, Nonprofit Security Grant Program Improvement Act of
2022. Passed the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee
on Aug. 3, 2022. Signed into law as part of H.R. 7776, (117th Cong.),
Public Law No: 117-263.
\42\Press Release, Senator Gary Peters: Peters Announces More than
$8 Million in Security Grants to Faith-Based and Nonprofit Institutions
Across Michigan, (Aug. 22, 2022).
\43\H.R. 2471 (117th Cong.), Became Public Law No: 117-103.
\44\Press Release, Senator Gary Peters: Following Peters' Calls,
Annual Spending Bill Includes Robust Funding to Help Protect Houses of
Worship From Threats, (Dec. 20, 2022).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In addition to securing these vital resources, the
Committee also utilized its oversight authorities to ensure
federal law enforcement and national security agencies are
better prepared to address threats against houses of worship,
as well as prevent attacks on public spaces that are often
inspired by hate. In 2019, Chairman Peters and Senator Ron
Johnson authored a law that required the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI) and DHS to track and publicly report
incidents of domestic terrorism across the country.\45\ After
enactment of this law, these agencies took steps to begin
tracking and reporting this data, but have still failed to meet
all of its requirements.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\45\Press Release, Senator Gary Peters: Peters Investigative Report
Shows DHS and FBI Are Not Adequately Addressing Domestic Terrorism
Threat, (Nov. 16, 2022).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In the 117th Congress, Chairman Peters repeatedly pressed
senior federal officials from the FBI and DHS to follow the
law, track incidents of domestic terrorism, and accurately
identify the ideologies that are inspiring these attacks.\46\
This will help the federal government more effectively track
align counterterrorism resources to address the rising domestic
terrorist threat.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\46\Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee,
Hearing on Threats to the Homeland, 117th Cong. (Nov. 17, 2022).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
INVESTIGATION INTO JANUARY 6TH CAPITOL ATTACK
On January 6, 2021, domestic terrorists, intent on
obstructing the Joint Session of Congress and certification of
the 2020 Presidential Election results, broke into the U.S.
Capitol building, vandalized and stole property, and ransacked
offices. They attacked members of law enforcement and
threatened the safety and lives of elected leaders. Tragically,
seven individuals, including three law enforcement officers,
ultimately lost their lives. The Committee, led by Chairman
Peters and Ranking Member Portman, worked jointly with the
Senate Rules Committee to produce the first bipartisan
hearings, investigation and bipartisan report examining the
security, planning, and response failures related to this
violent and unprecedented attack. The Committees' investigation
uncovered a number of failures leading up to and on January 6th
that allowed for the Capitol to be breached. The Committee
report also offered bipartisan recommendations that lawmakers,
Capitol security officials and national security officials
should take to ensure the Capitol is secure from ongoing
threats, many of which have since been implemented.\47\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\47\Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee &
Senate Rules Committee Bipartisan Staff Report, Examining the U.S.
Capitol Attack: A Review of the Security, Planning, and Response
Failures on January 6, (June 8, 2021).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN AMPLIFICATION OF DOMESTIC TERRORISM THREATS
Domestic terrorist attacks continue to be inspired by
dangerous and hateful ideologies that proliferate on widely
used social media platforms.\48\ In the 117th Congress,
Chairman Peters examined the role social media platforms play
in the amplification of extremist content and how the spread of
this rhetoric online translates into real-world violence that
presents a serious national security threat. On September 20,
2021, Chairman Peters sent letters to the Chief Executive
Officers of Facebook (now Meta), Twitter, and YouTube seeking
information about the relationship between violent extremist
content and the platforms' content prioritization algorithms
and targeted advertising tools that generate the majority of
the companies' revenue.\49\ On October 12, 2021, the Chairman
issued a separate letter to TikTok seeking the same
information, and sent additional requests to the FBI and DHS
about their policies and guidelines for countering the threat
of domestic extremism on social media, while protecting civil
rights and liberties.\50\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\48\Naomi Nix and Cat Zakrzeski, As Young Gunmen Turn Toward New
Social Networks, Old Safeguards Fail, Washington Post (May 26, 2022
2:02 PM) https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/05/26/shooters-
social-media/.
\49\Press Release, Senator Gary Peters: As Part of Ongoing Domestic
Terrorism and January 6 Investigations, Peters Presses Top Social Media
Companies for Information on Efforts to Monitor and Remove Violent
Extremist Content, (Sep. 20, 2021).
\50\Press Release, Senator Gary Peters: As Part of Ongoing Domestic
Terrorism and January 6 Investigations, Peters Presses TikTok, DHS and
FBI for Information on Efforts to Identify and Prevent Spread of
Extremist Content Online, (Oct. 12, 2021).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Following these requests for information, the Committee
convened two hearings to examine the spread of extremist
ideologies on social media. On October 28, 2021, the Committee
heard from independent experts on how tools that platforms
utilize to generate revenue and keep users engaged often
amplify extremist content, including dangerous and hateful
ideologies.\51\ In another hearing entitled Social Media's
Impact on Homeland Security, the Committee heard directly from
current and former Meta (previously Facebook), Twitter, YouTube
and TikTok executives responsible for designing and managing
these platforms on how the platforms are built to prioritize
increased user engagement and revenue over efforts to address
safety and security. This was the first time that chief product
officers from major social media companies testified before
Congress.\52\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\51\Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee,
Hearing on Social Media Platforms and the Amplification of Domestic
Extremism & Other Harmful Content, 117th Cong. (Oct. 28, 2022).
\52\Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee,
Hearing on Social Media's Impact on Homeland Security, 117th Cong.
(Sept. 14, 2022).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
INVESTIGATION INTO RISE OF DOMESTIC TERRORISM
At the end of the 117th Congress, Chairman Peters released
a comprehensive investigative report that found DHS and the FBI
have failed to effectively track and report data on the
domestic terrorism threat despite being required to do so by a
2019 law spearheaded by Chairman Peters. The investigation also
found that while independent experts and national security
officials call white supremacist and anti-government violence
the most significant terrorist threat facing our nation today,
this lack of data has limited Congress' ability to determine
whether counterterrorism agencies are allocating resources to
effectively address the growing threat posed by domestic
terrorism. The investigation also found that social media
companies' current business models are designed to prioritize
engagement and profits and--as a result--platforms end up
amplifying dangerous and radicalizing extremist content,
including white supremacist and anti-government content.\53\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\53\Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee
Majority Staff Report, The Rising Threat of Domestic Terrorism: A
Review of the Federal Response to Domestic Terrorism and the Spread of
Extremist Content on Social Media, (Nov. 16, 2022).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
D. BOLSTERING THE NATION'S RESPONSE TO DISASTERS AND EMERGENCIES
Severe storms, extreme flooding, rising water levels,
wildfires and high winds--along with other severe weather
driven by climate change--are contributing to destructive
natural disasters. These events have put homes, small
businesses, property, and communities at risk, and caused
billions of dollars in damages. In 2022, there were 15 weather
or climate-related disaster events with losses exceeding $1
billion each.\54\ These disasters led to the death of 342
Americans and caused untold economic devastation.\55\ During
the 117th Congress, the Committee, which is charged with
oversight of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA),
prioritized efforts to improve our nation's preparedness for
and response to disasters and emergencies. The Committee also
led the Senate to confirm the first woman--Deanne B. Criswell--
to serve as the Administrator of FEMA.\56\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\54\NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) U.S.
Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters (2023). https://
www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/billions/, (accessed Jan. 5, 2023).
\55\Ibid.
\56\Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee,
Hearing on Deanne B. Criswell to be Administrator, Federal Emergency
Management Agency, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 117th Cong.
(March 25, 2021) (S. Hrg. 117-365); Rebecca Beitsch, Biden Taps
Criswell as First Woman to Lead FEMA, The Hill (Jan. 15, 2021) https://
thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/534388-biden-taps-criswell-as-
first-woman-to-lead-fema/
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Committee convened a number of hearings during the
117th Congress to examine the nation's readiness for
emergencies and disasters. On September 29, 2021, the Committee
heard from expert witnesses about how lawmakers can work to
improve preparedness for and response to increasingly severe
natural disasters, and strengthen the resiliency of our
nation's infrastructure to withstand their devastating
effects.\57\ The Committee also heard directly from senior
Administration officials--ncluding Administrator Criswell and
Secretary Mayorkas--on how the federal government is working to
ensure communities can stay safe and quickly recover when a
disaster or emergency strikes.\58\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\57\Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee,
Hearing On Addressing the Threat of Worsening Natural Disasters, 117th
Cong. (Oct. 21, 2022) (S. Hrg. 117-512).
\58\Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee,
Examining FEMA's Strategic Priorities and Disaster Preparedness, 117th
Cong. (June 22, 2022); Senate Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs Committee, Threats to the Homeland, 117th Cong. (November 17,
2022).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
A key takeaway from these hearings was that our nation's
infrastructure must be able to withstand these increasingly
common extreme weather events. As a part of the bipartisan
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Chairman Peters secured
$500 million for a historic program he created through the
Safeguarding Tomorrow through Ongoing Risk Mitigation Act
(STORM Act) to help states establish revolving loan funds for
local governments to carry out mitigation projects that reduce
natural disaster risk.\59\ This represented the first ever
funding for the program and will help ensure local communities
have access to federal resources to erect barriers and
breakers, improve stormwater drainage and invest in other
public works projects that will help mitigate the effects of
shoreline erosion, flooding, and other natural disasters.\60\
On December 20, 2022, Chairman Peters joined FEMA Administrator
Deanne Criswell to announce the Notice of Funding Opportunity
for states and localities to being accessing these funds.\61\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\59\S. 3418, Safeguarding Tomorrow Through Ongoing Risk Mitigation
Act (116th Cong.). Became Public Law No: 116-284.
\60\Press Release, Senator Gary Peters: Peters' $500 Million
Provision to Help Michigan Communities Address Shoreline Erosion and
Flooding Signed into Law as Part of Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill,
(Nov. 15, 2021); H.R. 3684, Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
(117th Cong.). Became Public Law No: 117-58.
\61\Press Release, Senator Gary Peters: Peters Joins Administrator
Criswell at FEMA HQ to Announce New Funding Opportunity for His Storm
Act Program, (December 20, 2022).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In addition, Chairman Peters and Ranking Member Portman
worked together to author legislation that was signed into law
to bolster our nation's response to disasters and emergencies.
These included:
The Civilian Reservist Emergency Workforce Act to protect
on-call and intermittent FEMA Reservists from losing their
full-time employment when they are called up to assist
communities with disaster response;\62\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\62\S. 2293 (117th Cong.). Became Public Law No: 117-178; Press
Release, Senators Gary Peters and Rob Portman: Peters and Portman
Bipartisan Legislation to Protect FEMA Reservists' Jobs During Disaster
Response Signed into Law, (September 30, 2022).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Planning for Animal Wellness (PAW) Act to help protect
pets and other animals during and in the aftermath of natural
disasters and emergencies;\63\ and
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\63\S. 4205 (117th Cong.). Became Public Law No: 117-212; Press
Release, Senators Gary Peters and Rob Portman: Peters and Portman
Bipartisan Bill to Protect Pets and Other Animals During and After
Disasters Signed into Law, (October 18, 2022).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Community Disaster Resilience Zones Act to make
permanent the FEMA's National Risk Index and utilize its data
to identify and designate community disaster resilience zones
for areas that are the most at risk to natural hazards.\64\
\64\S. 3875 (117th Cong.). Became Public Law No: 117-255; Press
Release, Senators Gary Peters and Rob Portman: Peters and Portman
Bipartisan Legislation to Help At-Risk Communities Invest in Disaster
Mitigation Projects Signed into Law, (December 21, 2022).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
INVESTIGATION INTO FEDERAL PANDEMIC PREPAREDNESS AND INITIAL COVID-19
RESPONSE
At the onset of the 117th Congress, Chairman Peters
launched an investigation into the federal government's initial
response to COVID-19 from December 2019 through March 2020, as
the virus quickly spread throughout the country. As a part of
this investigation, the Committee convened a hearing with
former officials and experts in public health and emergency
management to examine the federal government's preparation for
and response to the COVID-19 pandemic.\65\ The Committee also
convened a hearing with supply chain, pharmaceutical, and
medical experts to examine how the federal government failed to
anticipate shortages of critical drugs and medical supplies,
and take actions to acquire needed supplies at the onset of the
COVID-19 pandemic.\66\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\65\Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee,
COVID-19 Part 1: Hearing on Preparedness for COVID-19: The Initial
Pandemic Response and Lessons Learned, 117th Cong. (April 14, 2021) (S.
Hrg. 117-479).
\66\Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee,
COVID-19 Part II: Hearing on Evaluating the Medical Supply Chain and
Pandemic Response Gaps 117th Cong. (May 19, 2021) (S. Hrg. 117-479).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Following these hearings, Chairman Peters released a
Majority staff report on December 8, 2022, detailing the
findings of his investigation.\67\ The report identified
significant failures in the federal government's initial
response to the pandemic in those early and critical, months
and offered recommendations for Congress and the federal
government to improve preparedness and response for future
public health crises. As a part of the investigation, Committee
staff interviewed dozens of current and former senior
officials responsible for coordinating the nation's response to
COVID-19.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\67\Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee
Majority Staff Report, Historically Unprepared: Examination of the
Federal Government's Pandemic Preparedness and Initial COVID-19
Response, (December 8, 2022).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
E. IMPROVING GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY AND USE OF TAXPAYER DOLLARS
During the 117th Congress, communities across the nation
continued to rely on the federal government to administer
programs that are critical to Americans' lives and livelihoods.
Under Chairman Peters' leadership, the Committee conducted
oversight and passed legislation to ensure the federal
government is working effectively and efficiently for
taxpayers. In particular, the Committee utilized its broad
jurisdiction over federal agencies to improve the delivery of
essential services, ensure proper use of taxpayer dollars, and
provide the federal workforce with increased tools and
resources so they can better serve the country.
Chairman Peters convened several hearings to examine
government operations and how lawmakers can work to improve
them. The Committee convened a hearing with the Pandemic
Response Accountability Committee (PRAC) to assess the federal
government's use of COVID-19 pandemic emergency relief
spending.\68\ During the hearing, lawmakers heard from senior
officials and federal Inspectors General on how federal
agencies have worked to limit waste, fraud and abuse in federal
pandemic spending and ensure that relief funds reach the
Americans most in need. The Committee also convened a hearing
with non-governmental experts on how the government can use
customer experience strategies to help federal agencies deliver
modern, effective digital services to citizens, reduce waste,
and save taxpayer dollars.\69\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\68\Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee,
Hearing on Pandemic Response and Accountability: Reducing Fraud and
Expanding Access to COVID-19 Relief through Effective Oversight, 117th
Cong., (Mar. 17, 2022).
\69\Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee,
Hearing on Putting People First: Building Trust in Government through
Customer Experience, 117th Cong., (June 23, 2022).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In addition to holding hearings to examine these issues,
the Committee also focused on legislative efforts to ensure
that federal agencies have the resources needed to modernize
information technology systems that help deliver essential
services such as unemployment assistance and health care
benefits to the American people. As a part of the American
Rescue Plan Act, Chairman Peters and Senator Hassan secured an
historic $1 billion investment for the Technology Modernization
Fund (TMF), a program that provides funding to federal agencies
so they can modernize their information technology systems.\70\
As of February 2023, the TMF funded 38 projects across 18
federal agencies to secure federal networks, safeguard the
sensitive personal information they store, and save taxpayer
dollars by improving the effectiveness of government
systems.\71\ The funding secured by Chairman Peters through the
American Rescue Plan funded 27 of these projects.\72\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\70\H.R.1319, American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (117th Cong.) Became
Public Law No: 117-2.
\71\Technology Modernization Fund, The Technology Modernization
Fund Overview Webpage, https://tmf.cio.gov/ (accessed Jan. 5, 2023);
Press Release, Senators Gary Peters and Maggie Hassan: Peters and
Hassan Applaud Announcement of First Projects Funded by American Rescue
Plan to Modernize Federal Information Systems, (Sept. 30, 2021).
\72\Ibid.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Committee advanced other legislative efforts to improve
government operations and save taxpayer dollars. The Bulb
Replacement Improving Government with High-Efficiency
Technology (BRIGHT) Act, authored by Chairman Peters and
Senator Ron Johnson, was signed into law on October 17,
2022.\73\ The law will help save taxpayer dollars by directing
the General Services
Administration (GSA) to install the most life-cycle cost
effective and energy-efficient lighting in public
buildings.\74\ The Committee also helped pass the Promoting
Rigorous and Innovative Cost Efficiencies for Federal
Procurement and Acquisitions Act (PRICE Act).\75\ The law,
written by Chairman Peters and Senator Joni Ernst, expanded
opportunities for small businesses to work with the federal
government. It allows these companies to help the federal
government better serve the American people by providing
innovative solutions to challenges facing the country.\76\ A
bill written by Chairman Peters and Senator Rick Scott to save
taxpayer dollars by ensuring federal property and assets are
disaster resilient was also signed into law.\77\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\73\S. 442 (117th Cong.), Became Public Law No: 117-202.
\74\Press Release, Senators Gary Peters and Ron Johnson: Peters and
Johnson Legislation to Save Taxpayer Dollars by Ensuring Public
Buildings Utilize Energy-Efficient Lighting Signed into Law, (October
18, 2022).
\75\S. 583 (117th Cong.), Became Public Law No: 117-88.
\76\Press Release, Senators Gary Peters and Joni Ernst: Peters and
Ernst Bipartisan Bill to Expand Federal Contracting Opportunities for
Small Businesses Signed into Law, (Feb. 23, 2022).
\77\S. 3510, Disaster Resiliency Planning Act, (117th Cong.),
Became Public Law No: 117-88; Press Release, Senators Gary Peters and
Rick Scott: President Signs Peters and Scott Bipartisan Bill to Save
Taxpayer Dollars by Ensuring Federal Property and Assets Are Disaster
Resilient, (Dec. 5, 2022).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Finally, to help support the federal workforce, Chairman
Peters and Committee Members led the confirmation of President
Biden's nominee to lead the Office of Personnel Management
(OPM), Kiran Ahuja.\78\ OPM is the federal government's chief
human resources agency and personnel policy manager.\79\ Ahuja
was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on June 21, 2021.\80\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\78\Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee,
Hearing on Nominations of Kiran A. Ahuja to be Director, Office of
Personnel Management, and Anton A. Hajjar, Amber F. McReynolds, and
Ronald Stroman to be Governors, U.S. Postal Service, (Apr. 22, 2022)
(S. Hrg. 117-408).
\79\Office of Personnel Management About Page, Office of Personal
Management (https://www.opm.gov/about-us/) (accessed Jan. 5, 2023).
\80\Nomination of Kiran Arjandas Ahuja to be Director of the Office
of Personnel Management (PN 220). Confirmed by the Senate on June 22,
2021.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
F. INCREASING GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY
Every American deserves a federal government that is more
transparent and accountable. During the 117th Congress,
Chairman Peters led efforts to ensure the federal government
works in the best interests of the American people. The
Committee worked closely with government watchdogs, including
Inspectors General and the GAO, to discuss potential solutions
and identify needed reforms that would help achieve this goal.
The Committee also helped confirm eight nominees to serve as
Inspectors General across the federal government.
Inspectors General are essential to Congress' efforts to
hold the federal government accountable and uncover fraud,
waste, and abuse. On October 21, 2021, the Committee held a
hearing with federal Inspectors General to examine efforts to
protect the independence and integrity of Inspectors General as
they work to help Congress prevent waste, fraud, and abuse, and
ensure taxpayer dollars are being used efficiently.\81\
Following the hearing, the Committee passed legislation by
Chairman Peters and Ranking Member Portman that would expand
protections for Inspectors General.\82\ These long overdue
reforms to ensure Inspectors General are able to work
independently and without political interference later passed
the Senate and were signed into law as a part of the James M.
Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year
2023.\83\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\81\Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee,
Hearing on Safeguarding Inspector General Independence and Integrity,
117th Cong. (Oct. 21, 2022).
\82\Press Release, Senators Gary Peters and Rob Portman, Bipartisan
Legislation Led by Peters & Portman to Strengthen Inspector General
Protections Advances in Senate, (November 3, 2021).
\83\H.R. 7776, (117th Cong.). Became Public Law No: 117-263; Press
Release, Senators Gary Peters and Rob Portman: Peters & Portman
Provision to Strengthen Inspector General Protections Passes Senate as
Part of National Defense Bill (December 16, 2022).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
During the 117th Congress, Chairman Peters also focused on
ensuring that federal contractors are working in the best
interest of Americans. The federal government often contracts
with private companies to support important government
functions--such as the delivery of services and the approval of
prescription drugs. However, many contractors also conduct
business with the private sector or other outside entities, and
this can raise questions about the reliability of
consultations, advice or projects under federal contracts.\84\
To ensure federal contractors are working in the best interests
of American taxpayers, Chairman Peters, as well as Senators
Chuck Grassley, Maggie Hassan, and Joni Ernst, authored the
bipartisan Preventing Organizational Conflicts of Interest in
Federal Acquisition Act. The legislation, which was signed into
law, requires federal contractors to disclose other business
relationships with entities that could conflict with the work
that an agency has hired them to do.\85\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\84\Michael Forsythe and Walt Bogdanich, McKinsey Settles for
Nearly $600 Million Over Role in Opioid Crisis, New York Times (Last
Updated Nov. 5, 2021) https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/03/business/
mckinsey-opioids-settlement.html.
\85\S. 3905 (117th Cong.), Became Public Law No: 117-324; Press
Release, Senators Gary Peters, Chuck Grassley, Maggie Hassan, and Joni
Ernst: Peters, Grassley, Hassan & Ernst Bipartisan Legislation to
Prevent Conflicts of Interest in Federal Contracting Signed into Law
(Dec. 27, 2022).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
G. ADDRESSING THE PFAS CONTAMINATION CRISIS
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a class of
man-made chemicals that are widely used in industry and
consumer products and have caused harmful contamination and
exposure to communities across the nation.\86\ These chemicals
are environmentally persistent, bioaccumulative, remain in
human bodies for a long time and have been found in our air,
water, food, and soil.\87\ Scientific research shows that
exposure to these harmful pollutants can lead to serious
adverse health effects, including cancer, low infant birth
weight, damage to the immune system, liver disease, thyroid
disease, and reproductive and developmental issues.\88\ PFAS
contamination is a quickly-escalating health crisis, and under
the leadership of Chairman Peters, the Committee held hearings,
conducted oversight of federal agencies, and passed bipartisan
legislation to address this issue.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\86\White House Fact Sheet, Biden-Harris Administration Combatting
PFAS Pollution to Safeguard Clean Drinking Water for All Americans
(June 15, 2022) https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-
releases/2021/10/18/fact-sheet-biden-harris-administration-launches-
plan-to-combat-pfas-pollution/.
\87\Ibid.
\88\U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, PFOA, PFOS and Other
PFAS. https://www.epa.gov/pfas/our-current-understanding-human-health-
and-environmental-risks-pfas (accessed Jan 6, 2023).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
During the 117th Congress, Chairman Peters utilized the
committee's oversight authorities to assess the federal
government's approach to cleaning up PFAS. In particular, the
Chairman led efforts to ensure federal agencies are working to
prevent exposure to PFAS contamination for firefighters,
servicemembers, and communities with close proximity to
military bases and other Department of Defense (DOD) sites.
PFAS are a common ingredient in firefighting foams and personal
protective equipment and the DOD frequently uses these foams to
fight fires at military sites.
On December 9, 2021, Chairman Peters convened a Committee
hearing with federal officials after the DOD Office of
Inspector General (OIG) found that the Department failed to
control PFAS contamination at military sites across the nation.
The DOD OIG report showed that DOD had information that PFAS
chemicals in their firefighting foams presented health and
environmental concerns, but DOD did not take proper action to
warn servicemembers, first responders, their families, and
adjacent communities for five years.\89\ On July 28, 2022,
Chairman Peters convened a field hearing in East Lansing,
Michigan, where federal officials from DOD, Department of
Health and Human Services, and the Environmental Protection
Agency testified about how federal agencies are working to
address PFAS contamination across Michigan, including at
military sites. Witnesses representing state and local
perspectives from Michigan, also testified on a second panel
about the devastating impacts of PFAS exposure, and how the
federal government can better coordinate with state and local
governments to tackle the crisis.\90\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\89\Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee,
Hearing On Examining Federal Efforts To Address PFAS Contaminations
117th Cong. (December 9, 2021) (S. Hrg. 117-515); Press Release,
Senator Gary Peters: Peters Convenes Hearing Examining Department of
Defense Failures to Protect Servicemembers, Military Families, and
Michigan Communities from PFAS Exposure, (Dec. 9, 2021).
\90\Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee,
Field Hearing on Improving Interagency and Intergovernmental
Coordination on PFAS for Michigan Communities, 117th Cong. (August 1,
2022); Press Release, Senator Gary Peters: Peters Convenes Field
Hearing in East Lansing to Examine Efforts to Clean Up PFAS
Contamination in Michigan, (Aug. 1, 2022).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In addition to oversight efforts and hearings, the
Committee also advanced bipartisan legislation to address the
PFAS contamination crisis. This includes a bipartisan bill
authored by Chairman Peters, as well as Senators Dan Sullivan,
Maggie Hassan and Thom Tillis to protect the health and safety
of firefighters and emergency responders from PFAS
exposure.\91\ The law directs federal agencies to develop best
practices, training, and educational programs to reduce, limit
and prevent exposure to PFAS for firefighters and first
responders in the line of duty.\92\
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\91\S. 231, Protecting Firefighters from Adverse Substances Act
(117th Cong.). Became Public Law No: 117-248.
\92\Press Release, Senators Gary Peters, Dan Sullivan, Maggie
Hassan, and Thom Tillis: Peters, Sullivan, Hassan & Tillis Bipartisan
Bill to Protect Firefighters From Hazardous PFAS Chemicals Signed Into
Law, (Dec. 20, 2022).
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H. ENSURING A FAIR AND ACCURATE CENSUS
Every ten years, the United States census helps determine
everything from Congressional representation to how billions of
dollars in federal resources are disbursed. It affects
everything from school funding and classroom sizes, to money
for road construction, to where businesses decide to
locate.\93\ Inaccuracies in the census can have lasting impacts
on whether communities' have access to and benefit from vital
federal funding that supports critical health care programs,
infrastructure projects, schools and more in communities across
the country. The Committee is responsible for conducting
oversight of the U.S. Census Bureau.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\93\U.S. Census Bureau, Our Censuses. https://www.census.gov/
programs-surveys/censuses.html (accessed February 10, 2023).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In the 116th Congress, as Ranking Member, Chairman Peters
worked to ensure an accurate, on-time and cost-effective count
of the American people during the 2020 Census.\94\ The Chairman
built on these efforts during the 117th Congress to conduct
oversight of the 2020 census and ensure that the Bureau has
increased resources to ensure future censuses are fair and
accurate. This included leading the Senate to confirm Robert E.
Santos as the director of the U.S. Census Bureau.\95\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\94\Press Release: Senator Gary Peters: Peters Presses Census
Bureau on Prioritizing Hard-To-Count Communities, (February 5, 2020)
\95\Hansi Lo Wang, The Senate Has Confirmed the 1st Latino to Lead
the U.S. Census, Robert Santos, National Public Radio, (November 4,
2021) https://www.npr.org/2021/11/04/1014670567/first-latino-census-
director-robert-santos-person-of-color
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As a part of his oversight efforts, Chairman Peters held
hearings to examine the Census Bureau's operations. On March
23, 2021, the Committee heard from senior federal officials
about how the Bureau was working to ensure an accurate 2020
Census and how to improve operations at the Census Bureau.\96\
On July 25, 2022, Chairman Peters convened a field hearing in
Detroit, Michigan to discuss the impact of the 2020 Census on
local communities. The witnesses from this hearing also
discussed how undercounts in the 2020 Census could have
devastating consequences for communities like Detroit,
including reduced federal resources for programs that support
education, health care and infrastructure.\97\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\96\Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee,
Hearing on the 2020 Census and Current Activities of the U.S. Census
Bureau 117th Cong. (March 23, 2021) (S. Hrg. 117-515).
\97\Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee,
Field Hearing on Reviewing the 2020 Census: Local Perspectives in
Michigan 117th Cong. (July 25, 2022); Press Release, Senator Gary
Peters: Peters Convenes Field Hearing in Downtown Detroit to Examine
Impacts of 2020 Census on Michigan (July 25, 2022).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
One takeaway from these hearings was that the Census Bureau
requires increased resources to ensure they can effectively
carry out their mission. As a part of the Consolidated
Appropriations Act of 2023, Chairman Peters secured $1.4
billion for the U.S. Census Bureau to help them prepare for the
2030 Census.\98\
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\98\H.R. 2617 (117th Cong.). Became Public Law No: 117-328.
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I. MODERNIZING FEDERAL AND PRESIDENTIAL RECORDS MANAGEMENT
The federal government produces and receives an enormous
volume of documentation and records. These records are
essential to keeping an accurate account of what activities the
government engages in, and accurate federal records are also
critical to helping Congress hold the executive branch
accountable, ensure the appropriate use of taxpayer dollars,
and make sure the federal government is working effectively for
the American people. The National Records and Archives
Administration (NARA) is the independent agency tasked with
adequately maintaining and preserving presidential and federal
records and assuring public access to these documents.\99\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\99\The National Archives and Records Administration, About the
National Archives of the United States, https://www.archives.gov/
publications/general-info-leaflets/1-about-archives.html (accessed Jan.
5, 2023).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The process for appropriately maintaining and preserving
federal records has not been recently updated. In the 117th
Congress, the Committee convened a hearing to examine reforms
to improve how presidential and federal agency records are
maintained and preserved.\100\ The Committee heard from legal
and records management experts about how shortcomings by
administrations of both parties to correctly handle important
documents have resulted in a lack of transparency for the
American people and impeded Congress' ability to conduct
effective oversight. The Committee also heard how NARA's lack
of resources and outdated records management systems have
prevented veterans and other Americans from accessing
documentation needed to get critical benefits.\101\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\100\Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee,
Hearing on Correcting the Public Record: Reforming Federal and
Presidential Records Management, 117th Cong. (July 25, 2022).
\101\Press Release, Senator Gary Peters: Peters Convenes Hearing to
Examine Efforts to Modernize Federal Procurement Process and Encourage
Innovation in How Government Purchases Goods and Services, (May 12,
2022).
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J. SECURING THE NATION'S BORDERS
The Federal Government must have the tools and resources
necessary to secure our nation's borders. These efforts are
critical to our national and economic security, and border
states like Michigan rely on safe and efficient travel and
trade across points of entry to maintain their status as hubs
of international commerce. In addition, strong border security
measures help combat transnational drug trafficking
organizations and reduce the supply of illicit substances, such
as fentanyl, in the United States. Several agencies within DHS,
including Customs and Border Protection (CBP), are charged with
protecting our borders from the illegal movement of weapons,
drugs, contraband, and people, while promoting lawful entry and
exit.\102\ During the 117th Congress, the Committee conducted
oversight of the nation's border security, and assessed whether
DHS has the resources needed to secure the nation's borders,
facilitate lawful trade and travel, and ensure the efficient
processing of asylum seekers.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\102\Department of Homeland Security, Border Security Webpage,
https://www.dhs.gov/topics/border-security (accessed Jan. 26, 2023).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Committee convened several hearings to press both
senior administration officials and outside experts on how the
federal government is working to secure our borders and examine
what resources DHS needs to carry out this critical mission. On
May 13, 2021, the Committee heard from DHS Secretary Mayorkas
on how the Administration was working to reunite families that
were separated at the Southern Border.\103\ On May 5, 2022, the
Committee heard from senior administration officials about
their short-term plans for addressing migration at the Southern
Border. At this hearing, lawmakers also examined how Congress
and the Administration can work together to ensure our borders
are secure for years to come.\104\ In addition to these
hearings, Committee members were able to discuss border
security issues at several other full Committee hearings.\105\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\103\Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee,
Hearing on DHS Actions to Address Unaccompanied Minors at the Southern
Border, 117th Cong. (May 13, 2021) (S. Hrg. 117-426).
\104\Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee,
Hearing on Securing and Ensuring Order on the Southwest Border, 117th
Cong. (May 5, 2022).
\105\Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee,
Hearing on Threats to the Homeland, 117th Cong. (Nov. 17, 2022); Senate
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Hearing on
Resources and Authorities Needed to Protect and Secure the Homeland,
117th Cong. (May 4, 2022); Senate Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs Committee, Hearing on Threats to the Homeland: Evaluating the
Landscape 20 Years After 9/11, 117th Cong. (Sept. 21, 2021); Senate
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Hearing on
Resources and Authorities Needed to Protect and Secure the Homeland,
117th Cong. (Sept. 21, 2021).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
During these hearings, the Committee learned that DHS
required increased resources and funding to promote safe and
efficient travel and trade at ports of entry, Chairman Peters
worked to secure $3.8 billion as a part of the Infrastructure
Investment and Jobs Act to help CBP upgrade border facilities
to more efficiently and securely process travelers and trade at
land border crossings.\106\ Chairman Peters worked with
Senators Tom Carper, Maggie Hassan, Jacky Rosen, and Kyrsten
Sinema, to push for funding for non-intrusive inspection
systems, which have helped CBP detect illegal drugs like
fentanyl before they reach American communities.\107\ As a
result, funding legislation that was signed into law on March
15, 2022 included $87 million so CBP can purchase more of these
scanning technologies.\108\
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\106\H.R. 3684 (117th Cong.). Became Public Law No: 117-58; Press
Release, Senator Gary Peters: Peters Helps Senate Pass Historic
Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill to Invest in Michigan Roads, Bridges &
High-Speed Internet (Aug. 10, 2021).
\107\Press Release, Senator Gary Peters: Peters & Colleagues Call
for Robust Funding to Support DHS Border Security and Drug Detection,
(February 25, 2022).
\108\H.R. 2471, Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022 (117th
Cong.), Became Public Law No: 117-103.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Along with securing funding, the Committee also advanced
bipartisan bills to help strengthen security and increase
resources for CBP at our nation's ports of entry. For example,
the Committee advanced a bipartisan bill written by Chairman
Peters and Senator John Cornyn to improve screening of vehicles
and cargo entering the United States by increasing the use of
non-intrusive inspection systems.\109\
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\109\S. 4572, Non-Intrusive Inspection Expansion Act, (117th
Cong.); Press Release, Senators Gary Peters and John Cornyn: Peters and
Cornyn Bipartisan Bill to Improve Screening of Vehicles and Cargo at
Ports of Entry Advances in Senate, (August 3, 2022).
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K. FIGHTING HUMAN TRAFFICKING
Millions of men, women, and children are trafficked
worldwide, including thousands in the United States. According
to DHS, traffickers might use violence, manipulation, false
promises of jobs that pay well, or romantic relationships to
lure victims into trafficking situations.\110\ Based on calls
to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, the Polaris Project
found that in 2020 there were at least 16,658 human trafficking
victims and survivors in the United States.\111\ However, the
actual number of these crimes is likely much larger because
these crimes often go unreported. Eradicating these heinous
crimes will require stronger anti-trafficking policies and
ensuring that law enforcement professionals and the public are
able to recognize indicators of human trafficking.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\110\Department of Homeland Security, DHS Center for Countering
Human Trafficking, https://www.dhs.gov/dhs-center-countering-human-
trafficking (accessed Jan. 26, 2023).
\111\Polaris Project, Analysis of 2020 National Human Trafficking
Hotline Data, https://polarisproject.org/2020-us-national-human-
trafficking-hotline-statistics (accessed Jan. 26, 2023).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
During the 117th Congress, Chairman Peters and Ranking
Member Portman authored and helped enact bipartisan legislation
to ensure DHS has the tools and resources needed to combat
human traffickers, support victims, and stop these horrific
crimes. Legislation authored by Chairman Peters and Ranking
Member Portman called the Countering Human Trafficking Act of
2021, was signed into law on December 28, 2022.\112\ The law
makes permanent and strengthens DHS' Center for Countering
Human Trafficking (CCHT) by allowing the CCHT to build out a
robust permanent staff of Special Agents and criminal analysts,
as well as to modernize their systems and operations to support
worldwide investigations on trafficking and forced labor in
supply chains.\113\ Another bill authored by Chairman Peters
and Ranking Member Portman to increase coordination between DHS
components and the Blue Campaign, a national public awareness
effort designed to educate law enforcement and the public to
recognize human trafficking, was signed into law as a part of
the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year
2022.\114\
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\112\S. 2991 (117th Cong.), Became Public Law No: 117-322.
\113\Press Release, Senators Gary Peters and Rob Portman: Peters
and Portman Bipartisan Bill to Fight Human Trafficking Signed into Law,
(Dec. 28, 2022).
\114\S. 1605 (117th Cong.), Became Public Law No: 117-81; Press
Release, Senators Gary Peters and Rob Portman: Peters and Portman
Bipartisan Provision to Combat Human Trafficking Signed into Law as
Part of National Defense Bill, (Dec. 28, 2022).
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L. ENSURING ETHICAL USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to yield
significant benefits for society, including helping farmers
grow food more efficiently, predicting storm paths with
increased accuracy, and developing algorithms that can identify
diseases in patients.\115\ However, while there are clear
benefits to using AI, experts remain concerned that if used
improperly, this technology could harm American citizens and
compromise national security. Organizations, including the
National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence
(NSCAI), have raised the need to train the federal workforce on
AI, especially those who procure and manage these
technologies.\116\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\115\The White House, Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights, https://
www.whitehouse.gov/ostp/ai-bill-of-rights/ (accessed Jan. 26, 2023).
\116\National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence, Final
Report, (March 2021) https://www.nscai.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/
Full-Report-Digital-1.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In May 2022, the Committee convened a closed door
roundtable with AI experts to provide members with the
opportunity to examine these technologies, see how they
function, and discuss the importance of ensuring AI is used
ethically.\117\ The Committee also passed legislation that
would address the concerns expressed by organizations like the
NSCAI. Chairman Peters and Ranking Member Portman authored the
Artificial Intelligence Training for the Acquisition Workforce
Act.\118\ The bill, which was signed into law, creates a
training program to help federal employees responsible for
purchasing and managing AI technologies better understand the
capabilities and risks they pose to the American people.\119\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\117\Files on record with the Senate Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs Committee.
\118\S. 2551, (117th Cong.). Became Public Law No: 117-207.
\119\Press Release, Senators Gary Peters and Rob Portman: Peters
and Portman Bill to Help Improve Federal Workforce's Understanding of
Artificial Intelligence Signed into Law, (Oct. 18, 2022).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
M. D.C. STATEHOOD
Every American deserves equal representation in Congress.
Unfortunately, more than 700,000 residents of Washington,
D.C.--who pay taxes, serve in the military and work for the
American people--do not have an equal say in the laws and
decisions that govern them.
On June 22, 2021, the Committee held the second Senate
hearing in history on D.C. Statehood. The hearing examined the
Washington, D.C. Admission Act which was introduced by Senator
Tom Carper. During the hearing, the Committee heard from the
Mayor of Washington, D.C. as well as from policy, legal, and
civil rights experts on how making D.C. a state would give
residents full representation in Congress and give residents
and local elected officials full authority over local affairs,
including crucial safety and security matters.\120\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\120\Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee,
Hearing on Examining DC Statehood, 117th Cong. (June 22, 2021) (S. Hrg.
117-481).
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II. COMMITTEE JURISDICTION
The jurisdiction of the Committee (which was renamed the
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs when
the 109th Congress convened) derives from the Rules of the
Senate and Senate Resolutions:
RULE XXV
* * * * * * * *
(k)(1) Committee on Governmental Affairs, to which
committee shall be referred all proposed legislation, messages,
petitions, memorials, and other matters relating to the
following subjects:
1. Archives of the United States.
2. Budget and accounting measures, other than
appropriations, except as provided in the Congressional Budget
Act of 1974.
3. Census and collection of statistics, including economic
and social statistics.
4. Congressional organization, except for any part of the
matter that amends the rules or orders of the Senate.
5. Federal Civil Service.
6. Government information.
7. Intergovernmental relations.
8. Municipal affairs of the District of Columbia, except
appropriations therefor.
9. Organization and management of United States nuclear
export policy.
10. Organization and reorganization of the executive branch
of the Government.
11. Postal Service.
12. Status of officers and employees of the United States,
including their classification, compensation, and benefits.
(2) Such committee shall have the duty of----
(A) receiving and examining reports of the Comptroller
General of the United States and of submitting such
recommendations to the Senate as it deems necessary or
desirable in connection with the subject matter of such
reports;
(B) studying the efficiency, economy, and effectiveness of
all agencies and departments of the Government;
(C) evaluating the effects of laws enacted to reorganize
the legislative and executive branches of the Government; and
(D) studying the intergovernmental relationships between
the United States and the States and municipalities, and
between the United States and international organizations of
which the United States is a member.
SENATE RESOLUTION 70, 117TH CONGRESS
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS.
Sec. 12. (a) * * *
* * * * * * * *
(e) INVESTIGATIONS----
(1) IN GENERAL--The committee, or any duly authorized
subcommittee of the committee, is authorized to study or
investigate----
(A) the efficiency and economy of operations of all
branches of the Government including the possible existence of
fraud, misfeasance, malfeasance, collusion, mismanagement,
incompetence, corruption, or unethical practices, waste,
extravagance, conflicts of interest, and the improper
expenditure of Government funds in transactions, contracts,
and, activities of the Government or of Government officials
and employees and any and all such improper practices between
Government personnel and corporations, individuals, companies,
or persons affiliated therewith, doing business with the
Government, and the compliance or noncompliance of such
corporations, companies, or individuals or other entities with
the rules, regulations, and laws governing the various
governmental agencies and the Government's relationships with
the public;
(B) the extent to which criminal or other improper
practices or activities are, or have been, engaged in the field
of labor-management relations or in groups or organizations of
employees or employers, to the detriment of interests of the
public, employers, or employees, and to determine whether any
changes are required in the laws of the United States in order
to protect such interests against the occurrence of such
practices or activities;
(C) organized criminal activity which may operate in or
otherwise utilize the facilities of interstate or international
commerce in furtherance of any transactions and the manner and
extent to which, and the identity of the persons, firms, or
corporations, or other entities by whom such utilization is
being made, and further, to study and investigate the manner in
which and the extent to which persons engaged in organized
criminal activity have infiltrated lawful business enterprise,
and to study the adequacy of Federal laws to prevent the
operations of organized crime in interstate or international
commerce; and to determine whether any changes are required in
the laws of the United States in order to protect the public
against such practices or activities;
(D) all other aspects of crime and lawlessness within the
United States which have an impact upon or affect the national
health, welfare, and safety; including but not limited to
investment fraud schemes, commodity and security fraud,
computer fraud, and the use of offshore banking and corporate
facilities to carry out criminal objectives;
(E) the efficiency and economy of operations of all
branches and functions of the government with particular
reference to----
(i) the effectiveness of present national security methods,
staffing, and processes as tested against the requirements
imposed by the rapidly mounting complexity of national security
problems;
(ii) the capacity of present national security staffing,
methods, and processes to make full use of the Nation's
resources of knowledge and talents;
(iii) the adequacy of present intergovernmental relations
between the United States and international organizations
principally concerned with national security of which the
United States is a member; and
(iv) legislative and other proposals to improve these
methods, processes, and relationships;
(F) the efficiency, economy, and effectiveness of all
agencies and departments of the government involved in the
control and management of energy shortages including, but not
limited to, their performance with respect to----
(i) the collection and dissemination of accurate statistics
on fuel demand and supply;
(ii) the implementation of effective energy conservation
measures;
(iii) the pricing of energy in all forms;
(iv) coordination of energy programs with State and local
government;
(v) control of exports of scarce fuels;
(vi) the management of tax, import, pricing, and other
policies affecting energy supplies;
(vii) maintenance of the independent sector of the
petroleum industry as a strong competitive force;
(viii) the allocation of fuels in short supply by public
and private entities;
(ix) the management of energy supplies owned or controlled
by the Government;
(x) relations with other oil producing and consuming
countries;
(xi) the monitoring of compliance by governments,
corporations, or individuals with the laws and regulations
governing the allocation, conservation, or pricing of energy
supplies; and
(xii) research into the discovery and development of
alternative energy supplies; and
(G) the efficiency and economy of all branches and
functions of government with particular references to the
operations and management of Federal regulatory policies and
programs.
(2) EXTENT OF INQUIRIES.--In carrying out the duties
provided in paragraph (1), the inquiries of this committee or
any subcommittee of the committee shall not be construed to be
limited to the records, functions, and operations of any
particular branch of the Government and may extend to the
records and activities of any persons, corporation, or other
entity.
(3) SPECIAL COMMITTEE AUTHORITY.--For the purposes of this
subsection, the committee, or any duly authorized subcommittee
of the committee, or its chairman, or any other member of the
committee or subcommittee designated by the chairman is
authorized, in its, his or her, or their discretion----
(A) to require by subpoena or otherwise the attendance of
witnesses and production of correspondence, books, papers, and
documents;
(B) to hold hearings;
(C) to sit and act at any time or place during the
sessions, recess, and adjournment periods of the Senate;
(D) to administer oaths; and
(E) to take testimony, either orally or by sworn Statement,
or, in the case of staff members of the Committee and the
Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, by deposition in
accordance with the Committee Rules of Procedure.
(4) AUTHORITY OF OTHER COMMITTEES.--Nothing contained in
this subsection shall affect or impair the exercise of any
other standing committee of the Senate of any power, or the
discharge by such committee of any duty, conferred or imposed
upon it by the Standing Rules of the Senate or by the
Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946.
(5) SUBPOENA AUTHORITY.--All subpoenas and related legal
processes of the committee and its subcommittee authorized
under S. Res. 70, agreed to February 27, 2019 (116th Congress)
are authorized to continue.
III. BILLS AND RESOLUTIONS REFERRED AND CONSIDERED
During the 117th Congress, 424 Senate bills and 120 House
bills were referred to the Committee for consideration. In
addition, 11 Senate Resolutions and 1 Senate Concurrent
Resolutions were referred to the Committee.
The Committee reported 183 bills; and additional 24
measures were discharged.
Of the legislation received by the Committee, 81 measures
became public laws, including 50 postal naming bills.
IV. HEARINGS
During the 117th Congress, the Committee held 62 hearings
on legislation, oversight issues, and nominations. Hearing
titles and dates follow. The Committee also held 23 scheduled
business meetings.
Lists of hearings with copies of statements by Members an
witnesses, with archives going back to 1997, are online at the
Committee's Website, https://hsgac.senate.gov/.
Nomination of the Honorable Alejandro N. Mayorkas to be Secretary, U.S.
Department of Homeland Security. January 19, 2021. (S. Hearing
117-380)
This one panel hearing considered the nomination of
Alejandro N. Mayorkas to be Secretary, U.S. Department of
Homeland Security.
Nomination of Neera Tanden to be Director, Office of Management and
Budget. February 9, 2021. (S. Hearing 117-381)
This one panel hearing considered the nomination of Neera
Tanden to be Director, Office of Management and Budget.
Examining the January 6 Attack on the U.S. Capitol. February 23, 2021
The purpose of this hearing was to examine the events of
January 6, 2021 at the U.S. Capitol. Witnesses addressed
questions about their respective agency's typical preparations
and protocols for high-level events at the U.S. Capitol,
coordination with other law enforcement and federal agencies,
intelligence collection and dissemination prior to and on
January 6, and actions taken as the attack unfolded.
Witnesses: Robert J. Contee III, Acting Chief of Police,
Metropolitan Police Department, Washington D.C.; Steven A.
Sund, Former Chief of Police, U.S. Capitol Police; Michael C.
Stenger, Former Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper, U.S. Senate;
Paul D. Irving, Former Sergeant at Arms, U.S. House of
Representatives, Captain Carneysha Mendoza, Field Commander,
United States Capitol Police Special Operations Division.
GAO's 2021 High Risk List: Addressing Waste, Fraud, and Abuse. March 2,
2021. (S. Hearing 117-424)
The purpose of this hearing was to examine the Government
Accountability Office's 2021 update of the High Risk List. As
of March 2021 there were 36 high risk areas, and the witnesses'
testimony focused primarily on those areas that required
significant congressional attention, particularly those that
fell within the legislative jurisdiction of this committee.
Witnesses: The Honorable Eugene L. Dodaro, Comptroller
General of the United States, U.S. Government Accountability
Office
Examining the January 6 Attack on the U.S. Capitol, Part II. March 3,
2021
The purpose of this hearing was to examine the events of
January 6, 2021 at the U.S. Capitol. The witnesses addressed
questions about their agencies typical preparations and
protocols for a high-level event at the U.S. Capitol;
coordination with other law enforcement and federal agencies;
intelligence collected and disseminated prior to and on January
6; and actions taken as the attack unfolded.
Witnesses: Melissa Smislova, Acting Senior Official
Performing the Duties of the Under Secretary, Office of
Intelligence and Analysis, U.S. Department of Homeland
Security; Jill Sanborn, Assistant Director, Counterterrorism
Division, Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Department of
Justice; Robert G. Salesses, Senior Official Performing the
Duties of the Assistant Secretary for Homeland Defense and
Global Security, U.S. Department of Defense; Major General
William J. Walker, USA, Commanding General, District of
Columbia National Guard
Nominations of Shalanda D. Young to be Deputy Director, Office of
Management and Budget, and Jason S. Miller to be Deputy
Director for Management, Office of Management and Budget. March
4, 2021 (S. Hearing 117-382)
This hearing considered the nominations of Shalanda D.
Young to be Deputy Director, Office of Management and Budget,
and Jason S. Miller to be Deputy Director for Management,
Office of Management and Budget
Understanding and Responding to the SolarWinds Supply Chain Attack: The
Federal Perspective. March 18, 2021 (S. Hearing 117-478)
The purpose of this hearing was to examine how the
SolarWinds supply chain compromise occurred, to assess the
Federal response, and to identify recommendations to mitigate
future sophisticated cyber-attacks against the federal
government and private sector. The witnesses addressed the
current threat facing federal and non-federal entities from the
compromise, including any resource, information, policy, or
authority constraints facing the federal government's ability
to address this incident. Witnesses also discussed the roles
and responsibilities of the Federal Bureau of Investigation,
Office of Management and Budget, and the Cybersecurity and
Infrastructure Security Agency, relative to the other members
of the Unified Coordination Group established under PPD-41 and
associated coordination efforts with federal agencies impacted
by the attack. Finally, witnesses provided recommendations on
how federal agencies and private sector companies can better
equip themselves to identify, respond, and recover from
sophisticated cybersecurity attacks.
Witnesses: Christopher DeRusha, Federal Chief Information
Security Officer, Office of Management and Budget; Brandon
Wales, Acting Director, Cybersecurity and Information Security
Agency, U.S. Department of Homeland Security; Tonya Ugoretz,
Acting Assistant Director, Cyber Division, Federal Bureau of
Investigation, U.S. Department of Justice.
The 2020 Census and Current Activities of the U.S. Census Bureau. March
23, 2021 (S. Hearing 117-425)
The purpose of this hearing was to examine the 2020
Decennial Census and ongoing the current activities of the U.S.
Census Bureau. In 2021, the Bureau was working to complete the
census, which faced unprecedented challenges in 2020, including
the Coronavirus pandemic and political interference in census
operations. The data processing phase of the census was
ongoing, as the Bureau announced it would deliver apportionment
data by April 30, 2021 and redistricting data by September 30,
2021. The Committee had not held a hearing on the 2020 Census
since July 16, 2019.
Witnesses: Ron S. Jarmin, Ph.D., Acting Director, United
States Census Bureau; J. Christopher Mihm, Managing Director,
Strategic Issues, U.S. Government Accountability Office; Nick
Marinos, Director, Information Technology & Cybersecurity, U.S.
Government Accountability Office.
Nomination of Deanne B. Criswell to be Administrator, Federal Emergency
Management Agency, U.S. Department of Homeland Security. March
25, 2021. (S. Hearing 117-365)
This hearing considered the nomination of Deanne B.
Criswell to be Administrator, Federal Emergency Management
Agency, U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Preparedness for COVID-19: The Initial Pandemic Response and Lessons
Learned. April 14, 2021. (S. Hearing 117-479)
The purpose of this hearing was to examine the United
States' preparedness prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, to assess
the initial Federal response to the pandemic, and to identify
recommendations to improve Federal preparedness and emergency
response efforts for potential future pandemics and public
health threats. The witnesses reviewed the state of
preparedness at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, public
health and emergency management plans and structures, and
whether resources were effectively utilized. Witnesses also
examined the initial Federal response and relevant issues
including interagency coordination, supply chain challenges,
and engagement with the public, state and local partners, and
the private sector. Finally, witnesses provided recommendations
for how the Federal government can better prepare and respond
to the COVID-19 pandemic and future crises.
Witnesses: The Honorable Nicole Lurie, M.D., Former
Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (2009-2017)
at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Julie L.
Gerberding, M.D., Former Director (2002-2009) of the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention at the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services; The Honorable Joseph Nimmich, Former
Deputy Administrator (2014-2017) of the Federal Emergency
Management Agency at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security;
Elizabeth A. Zimmerman, Former Associate Administrator (2014-
2017) Office of Response and Recovery of the Federal Emergency
Management Agency at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Nominations of Kiran A. Ahuja to be Director, Office of Personnel
Management, and Anton A. Hajjar, Amber F. McReynolds, and
Ronald Stroman to be Governors, United States Postal Service.
April 22, 2021. (S. Hearing 117-408)
This hearing considered the nominations of Kiran A. Ahuja
to be Director, Office of Personnel Management, and Anton A.
Hajjar, Amber F. McReynolds, and Ronald Stroman to be
Governors, U.S. Postal Service.
Prevention, Response, and Recovery: Improving Federal Cybersecurity
Post-SolarWinds. May 11, 2021. (S. Hearing 117-478)
The purpose of this hearing is to examine how various
federal agencies responded to recent cybersecurity incidents,
including SolarWinds, and to identify recommendations to
mitigate future sophisticated cyber-attacks against the federal
government and private sector. The witnesses discussed how
their agencies and its components were affected by and
responded to recent cyber-attacks, including how agencies
addressed their Emergency Directives for SolarWinds, why a
major incident declaration was or was not made, and how various
agencies and its components performed incident response
activities.
Witnesses: Brandon Wales, Acting Director, Cybersecurity
and Information Security Agency, U.S. Department of Homeland
Security; Ryan A. Higgins, Chief Information Security Officer,
U.S. Department of Commerce; Janet Vogel, Chief Information
Security Officer, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.
DHS Actions to Address Unaccompanied Minors at the Southern Border. May
13, 2021. (S. Hearing 117-426)
The purpose of this hearing was to examine Department of
Homeland Security (DHS) actions to address the increase of
unaccompanied minors at the southern border. The witness
discussed DHS's coordination to transfer unaccompanied minors
to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in
accordance with law. The witness also provided resource needs,
including budgetary requirements for the Department, and
Customs and Border Protection for their response and
appropriate care to unaccompanied minors.
Witness: The Honorable Alejandro N. Mayorkas, Secretary,
U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Examining the Role of the Department of Homeland Security's Office of
Intelligence and Analysis. May 18, 2021. (S. Hearing 117-480)
The purpose of this hearing was to examine the Department
of Homeland Security's Office of Intelligence and Analysis
(I&A). The witnesses discusses historical challenges facing DHS
I&A, and what the appropriate role, authority, and mission of
I&A should be in the future.
Witnesses: The Honorable Francis X. Taylor, Former Under
Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis (2014-2017), U.S.
Department of Homeland Security; Patricia Cogswell, Former
Deputy Administrator (2018-2020), Transportation Security
Administration, U.S. Department of Homeland Security; Mike
Sena, President, National Fusion Center Association; Faiza
Patel, Director, Liberty & National Security Program, Brennan
Center for Justice, New York University School of Law.
COVID-19 Part II: Evaluating the Medical Supply Chain and Pandemic
Response Gaps. May 19, 2021. (S. Hearing 117-479)
The purpose of this hearing was to examine the state of the
U.S. medical supply chain prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the
federal government's actions to address and mitigate
anticipated medical supply shortages during the initial
response to the pandemic, and to identify reforms necessary to
strengthen the resilience of the medical supply chain for
future public health emergencies. The witnesses addressed the
state of U.S. medical supply chain readiness at the start of
the COVID-19 pandemic, including the longstanding reliance on
foreign sources for critical drugs and medical supplies. The
witnesses also discussed the use of federal authorities and
resources to mitigate supply shortages and suggested necessary
reforms to strengthen domestic manufacturing and U.S. medical
supply chain vulnerabilities.
Witnesses: Shereef Elnahal, M.D., President and Chief
Executive Officer, University Hospital, Newark, New Jersey;
Robert Handfield, Ph.D., Professor, Poole College of
Management, North Carolina State University; Stephen
Schondelmeyer, Pharm.D., Ph.D., Professor, College of Pharmacy,
Co-Principal Investigator, Resilient Drug Supply Project,
University of Minnesota; Kimberly Glas, President and Chief
Executive Officer, National Council of Textile Organizations.
Nominations of John K. Tien to be Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of
Homeland Security; Robert P. Silvers to be Under Secretary for
Strategy, Policy, and Plans, U.S. Department of Homeland
Security; and Jonathan E. Meyer to be General Counsel, U.S.
Department of Homeland Security. May 27, 2021. (S. Hearing 117-
409).
This hearing considered the nominations of John K. Tien to
be Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of Homeland Security;
Robert P. Silvers to be Under Secretary for Strategy, Policy,
and Plans, U.S. Department of Homeland Security; and Jonathan
E. Meyer to be General Counsel, U.S. Department of Homeland
Security.
Threats to Critical Infrastructure: Examining the Colonial Pipeline
Cyber Attack. June 8, 2021. (S. Hearing 117-429)
The purpose of this hearing was to examine cybersecurity
incidents against critical infrastructure entities,
specifically focusing on the attack against Colonial Pipeline.
The witness discussed how the company responded to the
ransomware attack they suffered and their interaction with the
Federal government and private sector cybersecurity companies.
The witness also explained general cybersecurity and incident
response processes, actions taken by Colonial Pipeline to
remediate other existing vulnerabilities, and recommendations
for the Committee to improve the cybersecurity of critical
infrastructure.
Witness: Joseph A. Blount, Jr., President and Chief
Executive Officer, Colonial Pipeline.
Nominations of Robin Carnahan to be Administrator, General Services
Administration; Jen Easterly to be Director, Cybersecurity and
Infrastructure Security Agency, U.S. Department of Homeland
Security; and Chris Inglis to be National Cyber Director,
Executive Office of the President. June 10, 2021. (S. Hearing
117-410).
This hearing considered the nominations of Robin Carnahan
to be Administrator, General Services Administration; Jen
Easterly to be Director, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure
Security Agency, U.S. Department of Homeland Security; and
Chris Inglis to be National Cyber Director, Executive Office of
the President.
Examining D.C. Statehood. June 22, 2021. (S. Hearing 117-481)
The purpose of the hearing was to discuss the merits of S.
51, the Washington D.C. Admission Act, and the issue of D.C.
statehood. The witnesses discussed Constitutional, economic,
and legislative aspects of D.C. statehood.
Witnesses: The Honorable Muriel E. Bowser, Mayor, District
of Columbia; The Honorable Marc H. Morial, President and Chief
Executive Officer, National Urban League; Richard Primus,
D.Phil., Theodore J. Antoine Collegiate Professor of Law,
University of Michigan Law School, Roger Pilon, Ph.D., Vice
President for Legal Affairs, The Cato Institute; Derek T.
Muller, Professor of Law, University of Iowa College of Law.
Nominations of Robert L. Santos to be Director, U.S. Census Bureau,
U.S. Department of Commerce, and Ed Gonzalez to be Assistant
Secretary for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S.
Department of Homeland Security. July 15, 2021.
(S. Hearing 117-411)
This hearing considered the nominations of Robert L. Santos
to be Director, U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Department of
Commerce, and Ed Gonzalez to be Assistant Secretary for
Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Department of
Homeland Security.
Resources and Authorities Needed to Protect and Secure the Homeland.
July 27, 2021. (S. Hearing 117-302)
The purpose of this hearing was to discuss the Department
of Homeland Security's budget request and legislative
priorities for Fiscal Year 2022. The witness addressed the need
for additional resources and authorities to protect and secure
the homeland, and how the Department's budget request met the
current and future homeland security needs of the nation.
Witness: The Honorable Alejandro N. Mayorkas, Secretary,
U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Domestic Terrorism and Violent Extremism: Examining the Threat of
Racially, Ethically, Religiously, and Politically Motivated
Attacks Part I. August 3, 2021. (S. Hearing 117-262)
The purpose of these hearings, the first in a series of
committee hearings on domestic terrorism, was to examine how
domestic terrorists and violent extremists target racial,
ethnic, and religious communities in the United States. The
witness provided expert testimony from the scholarly community
and as representatives of communities impacted by the domestic
terrorism and violent extremism threat.
Witnesses: Wade Henderson, Interim President and Chief
Executive Officer, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human
Rights; Eric Fingerhut, President and Chief Executive Officer,
The Jewish Federations of North America; John Yang, President
and Executive Director, Asian Americans Advancing Justice; Paul
Goldenberg, Senior Fellow, Rutgers University and Chairman and
President, Cardinal Point Strategies; Seth G. Jones, Ph.D.,
Senior Vice President, Harold Brown Chair, and Director,
International Security Program, Center for Strategic and
International Studies.
Domestic Terrorism and Violent Extremism: Examining the Threat of
Racially, Ethically, Religiously, and Politically Motivated
Attacks Part II. August 5, 2021. (S. Hearing 117-262)
The purpose of these hearings, the first in a series of
committee hearings on domestic terrorism, was to examine how
domestic terrorists and violent extremists target racial,
ethnic, and religious communities in the United States. The
witness provided expert testimony from the scholarly community
and as representatives of communities impacted by the domestic
terrorism and violent extremism threat.
Witnesses: Elizabeth Neumann, Former Assistant Secretary
(2018-2020), Counterterrorism and Threat Prevention at the U.S.
Department of Homeland Security; Maya Berry, Executive
Director, Arab American Institute; Jonathan Greenblatt, Chief
Executive Office and National Director, Anti-Defamation League;
Brian Levin, Director, Center for the Study of Hate &
Extremism, California State University, San Bernardino.
Nominations of Tovah R. Calderon to be an Associate Judge, District of
Columbia Court of Appeals, and Kenia Seoane Lopez, Rupa R.
Puttagunta, and Sean C. Staples to be Associate Judges,
Superior Court of the District of Columbia. September 14, 2021.
(S. Hearing 117-263)
This hearing considered the nominations of Tovah R.
Calderon to be an Associate Judge, District of Columbia Court
of Appeals, and Kenia Seoane Lopez, Rupa R. Puttagunta, and
Sean C. Staples to be Associate Judges, Superior Court of the
District of Columbia.
Threats to the Homeland: Evaluating the Landscape 20 Years After 9/11.
September 21, 2021.
The purpose of this hearing was to update the public
understanding of prevailing threats to the security of the
United States of America. The witnesses highlighted the most
pressing domestic and foreign threats faced by the United
States, as determined by their respective agencies. The
witnesses also discussed efforts their agencies took to counter
these threats.
Witnesses: The Honorable Alejandro N. Mayorkas, Secretary,
U.S. Department of Homeland Security; The Honorable Christopher
A. Wray, Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S.
Department of Justice; The Honorable Christine Abizaid,
Director, National Counterterrorism Center, Office of the
Director of National Intelligence.
Nominations of Cathy A. Harris to be a Member and Chair, and Tristan L.
Leavitt and Raymond A. Limon to be Members, Merit Systems
Protection Board. September 22, 2021. (S. Hearing 117-265)
This hearing considered the nominations of Cathy A. Harris
to be a Member and Chair, and Tristan L. Leavitt and Raymond A.
Limon to be Members, Merit Systems Protection Board.
National Cybersecurity Strategy: Protection of Federal and Critical
Infrastructure Systems. September 23, 2021. (S. Hearing 117-
266).
The purpose of this hearing was to examine the government's
strategy, and specific efforts, in addressing cyber-attacks
against federal and critical infrastructure systems. The
witnesses discussed their organization's efforts to protect
federal systems and critical infrastructure from ransomware and
other cyber threats, including the implementation of the
President's Executive Order on Improving the Nation's
Cybersecurity. The witnesses also proposed requirements for
private sector entities to report significant cyber incidents
to the government, and on Federal Information Security
Modernization Act reform.
Addressing the Threat of Worsening Natural Disasters. September 29,
2021. (S. Hearing 117-512)
The purpose of this hearing was to examine the state of
national preparedness and discuss possible recommendations to
improve the country's readiness to face natural disasters. The
witnesses discussed state and local perspective on
preparedness, and how to improve the disaster response
partnership between the states and federal government.
Witnesses: Sima Merick, President, National Emergency
Managers Association and Executive Director, Ohio Emergency
Management Agency; Jerry Hancock, Executive Director, Michigan
Stormwater Floodplain Association and Stormwater and Floodplain
Programs Coordinator, Ann Arbor, Michigan; Jennifer Pipa, Vice
President of Disaster Programs, American Red Cross, John S.
Butler, Second Vice President, International Association of
Fire Chiefs and Fire Chief, Fairfax County, Virginia.
Nominations of the Honorable Ernest W. DuBester and the Honorable Susan
T. Grundmann to be Members, Federal Labor Relations Authority,
and Kurt T. Rumsfeld to be General Counsel, Federal Labor
Relations Authority. October 20, 2021. (S. Hearing 117-412)
This hearing considered the nominations of the Honorable
Ernest W. DuBester and the Honorable Susan T. Grundmann to be
Members, Federal Labor Relations Authority, and Kurt T.
Rumsfeld to be General Counsel, Federal Labor Relations
Authority.
Safeguarding Inspector General Independence and Integrity. October 21,
2021. (S. Hearing 117-513)
The purpose of this hearing was to examine the challenges
that inspectors general face in conducting impartial,
independent oversight and to gather recommendations on
necessary reforms. This hearing also examined legislative
proposals to safeguard inspector general independence, protect
the investigative authorities of inspectors general, and
strengthen congressional oversight of inspectors general and
their offices.
Witnesses: Allison C. Lerner, Chair, Council of the
Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency; Kevin H.
Winters, Chair, Integrity Committee, Council of the Inspectors
General on Integrity and Efficiency; The Honorable Michael E.
Horowitz, Inspector General, U.S. Department of Justice.
Social Media Platforms and the Amplification of Domestic Extremism &
Other Harmful Content. October 28, 2021. (S. Hearing 117-514)
The purpose of this hearing was to examine the extent to
which social media companies-through algorithms, advertisement-
targeting, and other operations and practices such as
subscription models-contribute to the amplification of
extremist and harmful content, as well as enable the
exploitation of online platforms by bad actors. The witnesses
explained the impact of social media companies' business models
on the proliferation of domestic terrorism, disinformation,
illicit activities, and other threats to homeland security.
Witnesses: The Honorable Karen Kornbluh, Director, Digital
Innovation and Democracy Initiative and Senior Fellow, The
German Marshall Fund of the United States; David Sifry, Vice
President Center for Technology and Society, Anti-Defamation
League; Cathy O'Neil, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer, O'Neil
Risk Consulting & Algorithmic Auditing; Nathaniel Persily,
Ph.D., Co-Director, Stanford Cyber Policy Center and James B.
McClathy Professor of Law, Stanford Law School; Mary Anne
Franks, D.Phil., Professor of Law and Michael R. Klein
Distinguished Scholar Chair, University of Miami.
Nominations of Erik A. Hooks to be Deputy Administrator, Federal
Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Department of Homeland
Security; the Honorable Michael Kubayanda to be Commissioner,
Postal Regulatory Commission; Laurel A. Blatchford to be
Controller, Office of Federal Financial Management, Office of
Management and Budget; and Ebony M. Scott and Donald W. Tunnage
to be Associate Judges, Superior Court of the District of
Columbia. November 18, 2021. (S. Hearing 117-413)
This hearing considered the nominations of Erik A. Hooks to
be Deputy Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency,
U.S. Department of Homeland Security; the Honorable Michael
Kubayanda to be a Commissioner, Postal Regulatory Commission;
Laurel A. Blatchford to be Controller, Office of Federal
Financial Management, Office of Management and Budget; and
Ebony M. Scott and Donald W. Tunnage to be Associate Judges,
Superior Court of the District of Columbia.
Roundtable FedRAMP Reform: Recommendations to Reduce Burden, Enhance
Security, and Address Inefficiencies in the Government Cloud
Authorization Process. November 30, 2021. (S. Hearing 117-581)
Nominations of Loren L. AliKhan and John P. Howard III to be Associate
Judges, District of Columbia Court of Appeals, and Adrienne
Jennings Noti to be an Associate Judge, Superior Court of the
District of Columbia. December 2, 2021. (S. Hearing 117-414)
This hearing considered the Nominations of Loren L. AliKhan
and John P. Howard III to be Associate Judges, District of
Columbia Court of Appeals, and Adrienne Jennings Noti to be an
Associate Judge, Superior Court of the District of Columbia.
Examining Federal Efforts to Address PFAS Contamination. December 9,
2021. (S. Hearing 117-515)
The purpose of this two-panel hearing was to examine how to
improve federal efforts to address contamination from
Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS). The
panels consisted of federal government witnesses from the
Department of Defense and the Environmental Protection Agency
and state-level government leaders and advocates. The first
panel discussed the impact PFAS contamination and exposure can
have on service members and communities across the country.
Federal witnesses also explained how an evidence-based,
enterprise-wide, scientific and epidemiological approach can
prevent any applicable future harm. The second panel provided
further details how the federal government can learn from their
on-the-ground experience and implement effective state-level
policy interventions.
Witnesses: The Honorable Sean O'Donnell, Inspector General,
Environmental Protection Agency and Acting Inspector General,
U.S. Department of Defense; Michael J. Roark, Deputy Inspector
General for Evaluations, U.S. Department of Defense; Richard G.
Kidd, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Environment and Energy
Resilience, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Sustainment,
U.S. Department of Defense; Laura Macaluso, Acting Deputy
Assistant Secretary for Force Safety and Occupational Health,
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Readiness, U.S.
Department of Defense, Anthony M. Spaniola, Co-Chair, Great
Lakes PFAS Action Network; Andrea Amico, Co-Founder, Testing
for Peace; Mark Johnson, Deputy Director for Business and
Regulatory Affairs, Environmental Protection Agency, State of
Ohio.
Nominations of Margaret A. Burnham, Gabrielle M. Dudley, Henry
Klibanoff, and Brenda E. Stevenson to be Members, Civil Rights
Cold Case Records Review Board. January 13, 2022. (S. Hearing
117-552)
This hearing considered the nominations of Margaret A.
Burnham, Gabrielle M. Dudley, Henry Klibanoff, and Brenda E.
Stevenson to be Members, Civil Rights Cold Case Records Review
Board.
Nominations of the Honorable Shalanda D. Young to be Director, Office
of Management and Budget, and the Honorable Nani A. Coloretti
to be Deputy Director, Office of Management and Budget.
February 1, 2022. (S. Hearing 117-516)
This hearing considered the Nominations of the Honorable
Shalanda D. Young to be Director, Office of Management and
Budget, and the Honorable Nani A. Coloretti to be Deputy
Director, Office of Management and Budget.
Nominations of William J. Valdez to be Under Secretary for Management,
U.S. Department of Homeland Security; Dimitri Kusnezov to be
Under Secretary for Science & Technology, U.S. Department of
Homeland Security; and the Honorable Kenneth L. Wainstein to be
Under Secretary for Intelligence & Analysis, U.S. Department of
Homeland Security. February 3, 2022. (S. Hearing 117-517)
This hearing considered the Nominations of William J.
Valdez to be Under Secretary for Management, U.S. Department of
Homeland Security; Dimitri Kusnezov to be Under Secretary for
Science & Technology, U.S. Department of Homeland Security; and
the Honorable Kenneth L. Wainstein to be Under Secretary for
Intelligence & Analysis, U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Responding to and Learning from the Log4Shell Vulnerability. February
8, 2022. (S. Hearing 117-519).
The purpose of this hearing was to hear private sector and
subject matter experts' perspectives on the discovery,
response, and remediation of the Log4Shell vulnerability.
Witnesses discussed their opinions on the private sector and
government's response to the discovery of Log4Shell, including
any lessons learned. The witnesses also discussed the benefits
and security challenges resulting from the ubiquity of open-
source code in modern software, and actions the federal
government and Congress can take to improve software security.
Witnesses: David Nalley, President, Apache Software
Foundation; Brad Arkin, Senior Vice President and Chief
Security and Trust Officer, Cisco Systems, Incorporated; Jen
Miller-Osborn, Deputy Director of Threat Intelligence, Unit 42,
Palo Alto Networks; Trey Herr, Ph.D., Director, Cyber
Statecraft Initiative, Scowcroft Center for Strategy and
Security, The Atlantic Council.
Addressing the Gaps in America's Biosecurity Preparedness. February 17,
2022. (S. Hearing 117-520).
The purpose of this hearing was to examine the state of the
country's biosecurity posture and the nation's level of
preparedness to respond to biological threats. The witnesses
discussed the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) current
operating organization for biosecurity, DHS's biosurveillance
capabilities, as well as the fragmented structure of
biosecurity efforts across the federal government. The
witnesses also provided additional actions both Congress and
the executive branch can take to increase the country's
biosecurity.
Witnesses: Christopher P. Currie, Director, Homeland
Security and Justice, U.S. Government Accountability Office;
Asha M. George, DrPH, Executive Director, Bipartisan Commission
on Biodefense; Gerald W. Parker, JR., DVM, Ph.D., Associate
Dean for Global One Health College of Veterinary Medicine &
Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University.
Examining the Senate Confirmation Process and Federal Vacancies. March
3, 2022. (S. Hearing 117-521)
The purpose of this hearing was to examine delays in the
nominations process for appointees requiring Senate
confirmation and vacancies within the executive branch. The
witnesses discussed delays within the background investigation
and paperwork process, the Senate's process for considering
nominees, and ideas for reform.
Witnesses: Anne Joseph O'Connell, Adelbert H. Sweet
Professor of Law, Stanford Law School; Kristine Simmons, Vice
President of Government Affairs, Partnership for Public
Service; Adam White, Co-Executive Director, C. Boyden Gray
Center for the Study of the Administrative State George Mason
University and Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute.
Nominations of Krista Boyd to be Inspector General, Office of Personnel
Management, and the Honorable Dana K. Bilyeu, Leona M. Bridges,
Michael F. Gerber, Stacie Olivares, and Javier E. Saade to be
Members, Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board. March 10,
2022. (S. Hearing 117-553).
This hearing considered the nominations of Krista Boyd to
be Inspector General, Office of Personnel Management, and the
Honorable Dana K. Bilyeu, Leona M. Bridges, Michael F. Gerber,
Stacie Olivares, and Javier E. Saade to be Members, Federal
Retirement Thrift Investment Board.
Correcting the Public Record: Reforming Federal and Presidential
Records Management. March 15, 2022. (S. Hearing 117-562).
The purpose of this hearing was to assess federal records
management practices and policies, and ensure the National
Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is equipped to
handle the rapid proliferation of electronic records.
Additionally, this hearing also examined gaps in existing
records laws, and discussed what Congress can do to ensure that
presidential and federal records are adequately maintained and
preserved.
Witnesses: Jason R. Baron, Professor of the Practice,
College of Information Studies, University of Maryland; Anne
Weismann, Outside Counsel for Citizens for Responsibility and
Ethics in Washington and the Project on Government Oversight;
Jonathan Turley, J.B. and Maurice C. Shapiro Professor of
Public Interest Law, The George Washington University Law
School.
Violent Extremism and Terrorism: Examining the Threat to House of
Worship and Public Space. March 16, 2022. (S. Hearing 117-563).
The purpose of this hearing was to examine the threat of
violent extremism and terrorism against houses of worship and
other public spaces. The witnesses discussed the threat
landscape and what their agencies and departments were doing to
counter these threats.
Witnesses: Ryan T. Young, Executive Assistant Director,
Intelligence Branch, Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S.
Department of Justice; Stephanie Dobitsch, Deputy Under
Secretary for Intelligence Enterprise Operations, Office of
Intelligence and Analysis, U.S. Department of Homeland
Security; Christopher Logan, Deputy Assistant Administrator,
Grant Programs Directorate, Federal Emergency Management
Agency, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Marcus Coleman,
Director, Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships,
U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Pandemic Response and Accountability: Reducing Fraud and Expanding
Access to COVID-19 Relief through Effective Oversight. March
17, 2022. (S. Hearing 117-564).
The purpose of this hearing was to assess the efforts,
concerns, and findings of federal oversight entities involved
in overseeing the COVID-19 pandemic response, such as the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the Pandemic Response
Accountability Committee (PRAC), the Government Accountability
Office (GAO), and the Inspector General of the Department of
Labor. The witnesses reviewed the execution of federal
pandemic-related programs, challenges in the distribution of
pandemic spending, and potential reforms to improve relief
efforts during future national emergencies.
Witnesses: The Honorable Jason S. Miller, Deputy Director
for Management, Office of Management and Budget; The Honorable
Gene L. Dodaro, Comptroller General of the United States, U.S.
Government Accountability Office; The Honorable Michael E.
Horowitz, Chair, Pandemic Response Accountability Committee and
Inspector General, U.S. Department of Justice; The Honorable
Larry D. Turner, Inspector General, U.S. Department of Labor.
Nominations of The Honorable Derek T. Kan and The Honorable Daniel M.
Tangherlini to be Governors, U.S. Postal Service. March 31,
2022. (S. Hearing 117-554)
This hearing considered the nominations of The Honorable
Derek T. Kan and The Honorable Daniel M. Tangherlini to be
Governors, U.S. Postal Service.
Resources and Authorities Needed to Protect and Secure the Homeland.
May 4, 2022. (S. Hearing 117-572).
The purpose of this hearing was to discuss the Department
of Homeland Security's budget request and legislative
priorities for Fiscal Year 2023. The witness addressed the need
for additional resources and authorities to protect and secure
the homeland, and how the Department's budget request met the
homeland security needs of the nation.
Witness: The Honorable Alejandro N. Mayorkas, Secretary,
U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Securing and Ensuring Order on the Southwest Border. May 5, 2022. (S.
Hearing 117-573).
The purpose of this hearing was to examine the federal
government's efforts to secure the southwest border and prepare
to manage migration changes that may follow the termination of
the Title 42 public health order. The witnesses discussed
preparations to safely and efficiently manage potential mass
migration events and the resources needed for these efforts.
Witnesses: The Honorable January Contreras, Assistant
Secretary, Administration for Children and Families, U.S.
Department of Health & Human Services; Maryann E. Tierney,
Senior Coordinating Official, Southwest Border Coordination
Center, U.S. Department of Homeland Security; Benjamine
``Carry'' Huffman, Acting Chief Operating Officer, U.S. Customs
and Border Protection, U.S. Department of Homeland Security;
Blas Nunez-Neto, Acting Assistant Secretary for Border and
Immigration Policy, Office of Strategy, Policy, and Plans, U.S.
Department of Homeland Security; Emily Mendrala, Deputy
Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, U.S.
Department of State.
Pathways to Procurement Innovation. May 12, 2022. (S. Hearing 117-574).
The purpose of this hearing was to discuss opportunities
for improving federal procurement, particularly to ensure
timely acquisition of goods and services and to provide greater
access to innovative businesses. The witnesses discussed
federal procurement issues including agencies' increasing
requirements for secure and modern technology, shortages of
trained and experienced federal acquisition management
professionals, the increasing uses of the federal procurement
system to pursue socioeconomic goals, and barriers to entry for
new companies. The witnesses shared their perspectives on
procurement innovation and recommendations for meeting these
challenges.
Witnesses: Soraya Correa, President & Chief Executive
Officer, Soraya Correa & Associates, LLC; Grant M. Schneider,
Senior Director of Cybersecurity Services, Venable LLP;
Elizabeth Sullivan, President, Madison Services Group, Inc.
Rising Threats: Ransomware Attacks and Ransom Payments Enabled by
Cryptocurrency. June 7, 2022. (S. Hearing 117-575).
The purpose of this hearing was to examine the rise in
ransomware attacks, the role of cryptocurrency in enabling
ransom payments, and the need to quickly and efficiently
implement Chairman Peters and Ranking Member Portman's
legislation, the Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical
Infrastructure Act. The hearing also examined key findings and
recommendations identified in Chairman Peters' Majority staff
report, titled ``Use of Cryptocurrency in Ransomware Attacks,
Available Data, and National Security Concerns.'' The hearing
also built on the Committee's ongoing oversight of
cybersecurity including Ranking Member Portman's report on the
REvil ransomware gang and hearings on Log4Shell, Protection of
Federal and Critical Infrastructure Systems, Colonial Pipeline,
and SolarWinds.
Witnesses: Megan Stifel, Chief Strategy Officer, Institute
for Security and Technology; Bill Siegel, Chief Executive
Officer, Coveware; Jacqueline Burns Koven, Head of Cyber Threat
Intelligence, Chainalysis.
Domestic Extremism in America: Examining White Supremacist Violence in
the Wake of Recent Attacks. June 9, 2022 (S. Hearing 117-576).
The purpose of this hearing was to examine the threat of
white supremacy, violent extremism, and terrorism, including
ideological motivations of violence, such as Great Replacement
Theory. The witnesses provided information about the
transnational elements of white supremacist violence, evaluated
the extent to which social media has been used to amplify
violent extremism and terrorism, and discussed governmental and
non-governmental tools available to address these threats.
Elizabeth Yates, Ph.D., Senior Researcher on Antisemitism,
Human Rights First; Eric K. Ward, Executive Director, Western
States Center; Michael German, Fellow, Brennan Center for
Justice, New York University School of Law; The Honorable
Nathan A. Sales, Nonresident Senior Fellow, Atlantic Council
and Former Ambassador-at-Large and Coordinator for
Counterterrorism (2017-2021) U.S. Department of State.
Examining FEMA's Strategic Priorities and Disaster Preparedness. June
22, 2022 (S. Hearing 117-577).
The purpose of this hearing was to discuss strategic
priorities for FEMA and to conduct Committee oversight on
FEMA's readiness to respond to current and future disasters.
The witness explained FEMA's work to simplify federal disaster
assistance, mitigate future disasters, improve equity, and
implement FEMA's 2022-2026 strategic plan.
Witness: The Honorable Deanne B. Criswell, Administrator,
Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Department of
Homeland Security.
Putting People First: Building Trust in Government through Customer
Experience. June 23, 2022
The purpose of this hearing was to examine customer
experience (CX) strategies in the federal government and
understand how more effective CX leadership and program
implementation can deliver more effective services to all
Americans. The Committee and witnesses examined the
Administration's efforts to enhance CX, highlighted agency
obstacles and opportunities in implementing Executive Order
14058, and discussed options for Congress to shape federal CX
efforts.
Witnesses: Martha Dorris, Founder and Chief Executive
Officer, Dorris Consulting International; William Eggers,
Executive Director, Center for Government Insights, Deloitte,
LLP; Mathew Lira, Partner, Hangar Capital.
Nominations of Errol R. Arthur, Kendra D. Briggs, and Carl Ezekiel Ross
to be Associate Judges, Superior Court of the District of
Columbia. July 12, 2022. (S Hearing 117-557)
This hearing considered the nominations of Errol R. Arthur,
Kendra D. Briggs, and Carl Ezekiel Ross to be Associate Judges,
Superior Court of the District of Columbia.
Protecting the Homeland from Unmanned Aircraft Systems. July 14, 2022.
The purpose of this hearing was to discuss the authorities
provided to the Department of Homeland Security and Department
of Justice to counter unmanned aircraft systems, in conjunction
with the Federal Aviation Administration. The witnesses
discussed the evolving threat posed by unmanned aircraft
systems, the utilization of office's authorities used to combat
this threat, and the Administration's proposals to potentially
expand these authorities. The witnesses also addressed how the
Department of Homeland Security coordinated with the Department
of Justice and the Federal Aviation Administration as they
exercised their current authorities to counter unmanned
aircraft systems.
Witnesses: Samantha Vinograd, Acting Assistant Secretary
for Counterterrorism and Threat Prevention and Law Enforcement
Policy, Office of Strategy, Policy, and Plans, U.S. Department
of Homeland Security; Brad Wiegmann, Deputy Assistant Attorney
General, National Security Division, U.S. Department of
Justice; Tonya D. Coultas, Deputy Associate Administrator for
Security and Hazardous Materials Safety, Federal Aviation
Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation.
Addressing Weapons of Mass Destruction and Health Security Threats to
the Homeland. July 19, 2022.
The purpose of this hearing was to examine the country's
preparedness to respond to chemical, biological, radiological,
nuclear (CBRN), and health security threats. The witnesses
discussed the threat landscape for weapons of mass destruction
(WMD) and health threats to the homeland. The witnesses also
provided additional actions both Congress and the executive
branch could take to improve the country's preparedness for WMD
and health threats, including pending legislation to
reauthorize authorities.
Witnesses: Gary Rasicot, Acting Assistant Secretary,
Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office, U.S. Department
of Homeland Security; Pritesh Gandhi, M.D., MPH, Chief Medical
Officer, U.S. Department of Homeland Security; Tina Won
Sherman, Ph.D., Director, Homeland Security and Justice, U.S.
Government Accountability Office.
Nomination of the Honorable David P. Pekoske to be Administrator,
Transportation Security Administration, U.S. Department of
Homeland Security. July 21, 2022. (S. Hearing 117-558)
This hearing considered the nomination of the Honorable
David P. Pekoske to be Administrator, Transportation Security
Administration, U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Reviewing the 2022 Census: Local Perspectives in Michigan. July 25,
2022.
The purpose of this hearing was to examine the 2020
Decennial Census and its operations and impacts in local
communities, with a focus on communities in the state of
Michigan as a case study. The witnesses discussed their
community's experiences with the 2020 Census, including aspects
such as successes and challenges during enumeration, public
engagement and communications, analysis of the census results,
post-census options available to localities, and lessons for
the 2030 Census.
Witnesses: The Honorable Michael E. Duggan, Mayor, City of
Detroit; Jeffrey Morenoff, Ph.D., Professor of Public Policy
and Sociology, University of Michigan; N. Charles Anderson,
President & Chief Executive Officer, Urban League of Detroit &
Southeastern Michigan; Jane C. Garcia, Vice Chair, Latin
Americans for Social and Economic Development (LA SED); Maha
Freij, President & Chief Executive Officer, Arab Community
Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS); Kelley J.
Kuhn, President & Chief Executive Officer, Michigan Nonprofit
Association.
Improving Interagency and Intergovernmental Coordination on PFAS for
Michigan Communities. August 1, 2022.
The purpose of this hearing was to discuss the need for a
more coordinated federal response to per- and polyfluoroalkyl
substances (PFAS) contamination and explore interagency and
intergovernmental policy solutions that would holistically
address PFAS research, risk, and remediation. This hearing
featured both a federal as well as a state, local, and tribal
panel. The hearing also provided a platform to exchange ideas
regarding how federal policy could best be integrated with
efforts on the ground to protect communities from PFAS
contamination.
Witnesses: Patrick Breysse, Ph.D., Director, National
Center for Environmental Health/Agency for Toxic Substances and
Disease Registry, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Bruno Pigott,
Deputy Assistant Administrator, Office of Water, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency; Richard Kidd, Deputy Assistant
Secretary for Environment and Energy Resilience, Office of the
Assistant Secretary of Defense (Sustainment); U.S. Department
of Defense, Nancy Balkus, P.E., Deputy Assistant Secretary of
the Air Force (Environment, Safety, and Infrastructure),
Department of the Air Force; John Gillespie, Senior Subject
Matter Expert, Environmental Restoration, Air Force Civil
Engineer Center; Abigail Hendershott, Executive Director,
Michigan PFAS Action Response Team; Breanna Knudsen, Tribal
Environmental Response Program Specialist, Planning Department,
Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan; Cheryl Murphy,
Ph.D., Director, Center for PFAS Research, Michigan State
University, LT. Col Craig Minor, USAF (RET.), Former Resident,
Wurtsmith Air Force Base, Cathy Wusterbarth, Founder, Need Our
Water and Oscoda Citizens for Clean Water and Community Leader,
Great Lakes PFAS Action Network.
Social Media's Impact on Homeland Security. September 14, 2022.
The purpose of this two-panel hearing was to examine the
extent social media platforms' business models and product
development-through algorithms, targeted advertising,
subscription models, and other operations and practices-
contribute to the amplification of content that threatens
homeland security. The witnesses discussed their experience
with these issues, including their knowledge of how social
media platforms develop and use features and products including
algorithms and targeted advertising; how they balance business
incentives and user safety; and efforts they have taken to
ensure their algorithms and advertisements do not amplify
harmful content.
Witnesses: Alex Roetter, Former Senior Vice President for
Engineering (2014-2016), Twitter; Brian Boland, Former Vice
President (2018-2020) Partnerships Product Marketing, Partner
Engineering, Marketing, Strategic Operations & Analytics,
Facebook; Geoffrey Cain, Senior Fellow for Critical Emerging
Technologies, Lincoln Network; Chris Cox, Chief Product
Officer, Meta; Neal Mohan, Chief Product Officer, Youtube;
Vanessa Pappas, Chief Operating Officer, TikTok; Jay Sullivan,
General Manager of Bluebird, Twitter.
Nominations of Colleen J. Shogan to be Archivist of the United States,
National Archives and Records Administration; Vijay Shanker to
be an Associate Judge, District of Columbia Court of Appeals;
and Laura E. Crane, Leslie A. Meek, and Veronica M. Sanchez to
be Associate Judges, Superior Court of the District of
Columbia. September 21, 2022. (S. Hearing 117-556)
This hearing considered the nominations of Colleen J.
Shogan, Ph.D., to be Archivist of the United States National
Archives and Records Administration; Vijay Shanker, to be an
Associate Judge, District of Columbia Court of Appeals; Laura
E. Crane, to be an Associate Judge, Superior Court of the
District of Columbia; Leslie A. Meek, to be an Associate Judge,
Superior Court of the District of Columbia; Veronica M.
Sanchez, to be an Associate Judge, Superior Court of the
District of Columbia.
Nominations of Robert H. Shriver III to be Deputy Director, Office of
Personnel Management; and Richard L. Revesz to be
Administrator, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs,
Office of Management and Budget. September 29, 2022. (S.
Hearing 117-580).
This hearing considered the nominations of Robert H.
Shriver III to be Deputy Director, Office of Personnel
Management; and Richard L. Revesz to be Administrator, Office
of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and
Budget.
Threats to the Homeland. November 17, 2022.
The purpose of this hearing was to update the public
understanding of prevailing threats to the security of the
United States of America. The witnesses highlighted the most
pressing domestic and foreign threats faced by the United
States, as determined by their respective agencies. The
witnesses also discussed efforts their agencies took to counter
these threats.
Witnesses: The Honorable Alejandro N. Mayorkas, Secretary,
U.S. Department of Homeland Security; The Honorable Christopher
A. Wray, Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S.
Department of Justice; The Honorable Christine Abizaid,
Director, National Counterterrorism Center, Office of the
Director of National Intelligence.
V. REPORTS, PRINTS, AND GAO REPORTS
During the 117th Congress, the Committee prepared and
issued 144 reports and 2 Committee Prints on the following
topics. Reports issues by the Subcommittees, are listed in
their respective sections of this document.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Activities of the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs and its Subcommittees for the One Hundred
Sixteenth Congress. S. Rept. 117-1.
To direct the Administrator of the Federal Emergency
Management Agency to develop guidance for firefighters and
other emergency responses personnel on best practices to
protect them from exposure to PFAS and to limit and prevent the
release of PFAS into the environment, and for other purposes.
S. Rept. 117-21, re. S. 231.
To require the Director of the Office of Management and
Budget to submit to Congress an annual report on projects that
are over budget and behind schedule, and for other purposes. S.
Rept. 117-22, re. S. 636.
To amend the Federal Funding Accountability and
Transparency Act of 2006, to require the budget justifications
and appropriation requests of agencies be made publicly
available. S. Rept 117-23, re. S. 272.
To authorize the Secretary of Homeland Security to work
with cybersecurity consortia for training, and for other
purposes. S. Rept. 117-24, re. S. 658.
To require each agency, in providing notice of a rule
making, to include a link to a 100-word plain language summary
of the proposed rule. S. Rept. 117-25, re. S. 522.
To promote innovative acquisition techniques and
procurement strategies, and for other purposes. S. Rept. 117-
26, re. S. 583.
To amend Title 5, United States Code, to provide for the
halt in pension payments for members of Congress sentenced for
certain offenses, and for other purposes. S. Rept. 117-27, re.
S. 693.
To prohibit contracting with persons that have business
operations with the Maduro regime, and for other purposes. S.
Rept. 117-28, re. S. 688.
To establish the federal clearinghouse on school safety
best practices, and for other purposes. S. Rept. 117-29, re. S.
111.
To require the collection of voluntary feedback on services
provided by agencies, and for other purposes. S. Rept. 117-30,
re. S. 671.
To provide for joint reports by relevant federal agencies
to congress regarding incidents of terrorism, and for other
purposes. S. Rept. 117-31, re. S. 517.
To establish a K-12 education cybersecurity initiative, and
for other purposes. S. Rept. 117-32, re. S. 1917.
To require the Director of the Office of Management and
Budget to establish or otherwise provide an artificial
intelligence training program for the acquisition workforce,
and for other purposes. S. Rept. 117-40, re. S. 2551.
To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to provide for
engagement with state, local, tribal, and territorial
governments, and for other purposes. S. Rept. 117-42, re. S.
2520.
To manage supply chain risk through counterintelligence
training, and for other purposes. S. Rept. 117-43, re. S. 2201.
To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and
Emergency Assistance Act to provide certain employment rights
to reservists of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and
for other purposes. S. Rept. 117-44, re. S. 2293.
To establish a federal rotational cyber workforce program
for the federal cyber workforce. S. Rept. 117-47, re. S. 1097.
To enhance cybersecurity education. S. Rept. 117-59, re. S.
2305.
To establish a Department of Human Security Center for
Countering Human Trafficking, and for other purposes. S. Rept.
117-73, re. S. 2991.
To amend Title 40, United States Code, to require the
Administrator of General Services to procure the most life-
cycle cost effective and energy efficient lighting produces and
to issue guidance on the efficiency, effectiveness, and economy
of those products, and for other purposes. S. Rept. 117-80, re.
S. 442.
To establish the federal clearinghouse on safety and
security best practices for faith-based organizations and
houses of worship, and for other purposes. S. Rept. 117-81, re.
S. 2123.
To establish the artificial intelligence hygiene working
group, and for other purposes. S. Rept. 117-82, re. S. 3035.
To require the Comptroller General of the United States to
review certain legislation in order to identify potential risks
of duplication of and overlap with existing federal programs,
offices, and initiatives. S. Rept. 117-94, re. S. 664.
To require a guidance clarity statement on certain agency
guidance, and for other purposes. S. Rept. 117-95, re. S. 533.
To amend Chapter 8 of Title 5, United States Code, to
require federal agencies to submit to the Comptroller General
of the United States a report on rules that are revoked,
suspended, replace, amended, or otherwise made ineffective. S.
Rept. 117-96, re. S. 629.
To establish a civilian cyber security reserve as a pilot
project to address the cyber security needs of the United
States with respect to national security, and for other
purposes. S. Rept. 117-97, re. S. 1324.
To direct the Director of the Office of Management and
Budget to standardize the use of core-base statistical area
designations across federal programs, to allow between 120 and
180 days for public comment on any proposed change to such
designations, and to report on the scientific basis and
estimated impact to federal programs for any proposed change to
such designations, and for other purposes. S. Rept. 117-98, re.
S. 1941.
To require a pilot program on the participation of non-
asset based third-party logistics providers in the customs-
trade partnership against terrorism. S. Rept. 117-99, re. S.
2322.
To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to ensure that
the needs of children are considered in homeland security
planning, and for other purposes. S. Rept. 117-100, re. H.R.
4426.
To amend the Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 2018 to
require the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management
Agency to waive certain debts owed to the United States related
to covered assistance provided to an individual or household,
and for other purposes. S. Rept. 117-101, re. H.R. 539.
To require the Director of the Government Publishing Office
to establish and maintain an online portal accessible to the
public that allows the public to obtain electronic copies of
all congressionally mandated reports in one place, and for
other purposes. S. Rept. 117-106, re. S. 2838.
To amend the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act
of 2006 to repeal certain obsolete requirements, and for other
purposes. S. Rept. 117-107, re. S. 3499.
To provide redress to the employees of Air America. S.
Rept. 117-113, re. S. 407.
To establish the National Deepfake and Digital Provenance
Task Force, and for other purposes. S. Rept. 117-114, re. S.
2559.
To amend Title 44, United States Code, to establish the
Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program within the
General Services Administration, and for other purposes. S.
Rept. 117-115, re. S. 3099.
To provide for the implementation of certain trafficking in
contracting provisions, and for other purposes. S. Rept. 117-
116, re. S. 3470.
To require the Director of the Office of Management and
Budget to issue guidance with respect to natural disaster
resilience, and for other purposes. S. Rept. 117-117, re. S.
3510.
To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish an
acquisition professional career program, and for other
purposes. S. Rept. 117-118, re. H.R. 367.
To waive certain pay limitations for Department of
Agriculture and Department of the Interior employees engaged in
emergency wildland fire suppression activities, and for other
purposes. S. Rept. 117-119, re. S. 138.
To establish a daily public reporting requirement for
covered contract awards of the Department of Homeland Security,
and for other purposes. S. Rept. 117-120, re. H.R. 4363.
To prevent catastrophic wildland fires by establishing a
commission to study and recommend wildland fire prevention,
mitigation, suppression, management, and rehabilitation
policies for the federal government, and for other purposes. S.
Rept. 117-121, re. S. 2150.
To require a report on federal support to the cybersecurity
of commercial satellite systems, and for other purposes. S.
Rept. 117-122, re. S. 3511.
To amend Title 5, United States Code, to increase death
gratuities and funeral allowances for federal employees, and
for other purposes. S. Rept. 117-123, re. S. 3487.
To establish an advisory group to encourage and foster
collaborative efforts among individuals and entities engaged in
disaster recovery relating to debris removal, and for other
purposes. S. Rept. 117-128, re. S. 3512.
To authorize preparedness programs to support communities
containing technological hazards and emerging threats. S. Rept.
117-129, re. S. 4166.
To authorize the Director of the Cybersecurity and
Infrastructure Security Agency to establish an apprenticeship
program and to establish a pilot program on cybersecurity
training for veterans and members of the armed forces
transitioning to civilian life, and for other purposes. S.
Rept. 117-131, re. S. 2274.
To establish an Office of Civil Rights, Equity, and
Community Inclusion at the Federal Emergency Management Agency,
and for other purposes. S. Rept. 117-133, re. S. 3502.
To amend the Civil Rights Cold Case Records Collection Act
of 2018 to extend the termination date of the Civil Rights Cold
Case Records Review Board. S. Rept. 117-134, re. S. 3655.
To develop a comprehensive, strategic plan for federal
electric vehicle fleet battery management, and for other
purposes. S. Rept. 117-139, re. S. 4057.
To require the Administrator of the Federal Emergency
Management Agency to establish a working group relating to best
practices and federal guidance for animals in emergencies and
disasters, for other purposes. S. Rept. 117-140, re. S. 4205.
To require the President to develop and maintain products
that show the risk of natural hazards across the United States,
and for other purposes. S. Rept. 117-141, re. S. 3875.
To allow members of Congress to opt out of the Federal
Employees Retirement System, and allow members who opt out of
the Federal Employees Retirement System to continue to
participate in the Thrift Savings Plan. S. Rept. 117-143, re.
S. 471.
To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and
Emergency Assistance Act to improve the provision of certain
disaster assistance, and for other purposes. S. Rept. 117-144,
re. S. 3092.
To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and
Emergency Assistance Act to increase the threshold for
eligibility for assistance under Sections 403, 406, 407, and
502 of such act, and for other purposes. S. Rept. 117-145, re.
H.R. 5641.
To amend Chapter 81 of Title 5, United States Code, to
create a presumption that a disability or death of a federal
employee in fire protection activities caused by any of certain
diseases is the result of the performance of such employees
duty, and for other purposes. S. Rept. 117-146, re. S. 1116.
To authorize the Administrator of General Services to
establish an enhanced use lease pilot program, and for other
purposes. S. Rept. 117-147, re. S. 2793.
To provide an increased allocation of funding under certain
programs for assistance in areas of persistent poverty, and for
other purposes. S. Rept. 117-148, re. S. 3552.
To extend other transaction authority for the Department of
Homeland Security. S. Rept. 117-149, re. S. 4553.
To amend the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 to clarify a
provision relating to certain contents of registrations under
the act. S. Rept. 117-150, re. S. 4254.
To improve plain writing and public experience, and for
other purposes. S. Rept. 117-159, re. S. 4577.
To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and
Emergency Assistance Act to authorize the President to provide
professional counseling services to victims of emergencies
declared under such act, and for other purposes. S. Rept. 117-
162, re. S. 3677.
To streamline the sharing of information among federal
disaster assistance agencies, to expedite the delivery of life-
saving assistance to disaster survivors, to speed the recovery
of communities from disasters, to protect the security and
privacy of information provided by disaster survivors, and for
other purposes. S. Rept. 117-163, re. S. 4599.
To amend Section 1115 of Title 31, United States Code, to
amend the description of how performance goals are achieved,
and for other purposes. S. Rept. 117-164, re. H.R. 2617.
To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to enhance
funding and administration of the Nonprofit Security Grant
Program of the Department of Homeland Security, and for other
purposes. S. Rept. 117-165, re. H.R. 6825.
To permit disabled law enforcement officers, Customs and
Border Protection officers, firefighters, air traffic
controllers, nuclear materials couriers, members of the Capitol
police, members of the Supreme Court police, employees of the
Central Intelligence Agency performing intelligence activities
abroad or having specialized security requirements, and
diplomatic security special agents of the Department of State
to receive retirement benefits in the same manner as if they
had not been disabled. S. Rept. 117-173, re. H.R. 521.
To correct the inequitable denial of enhanced retirement
and annuity benefits of certain U.S. Customs and Border
Protection officers. S. Rept. 117-175, re. s. 3868.
To require the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border
Protection to establish procedures for conducting maintenance
projects at ports of entry at which the Office of Field
Operations conducts certain enforcement and facilitation
activities. S. Rept. 117-176, re. S. 3903.
To enhance the cybersecurity of the healthcare and public
health sector. S. Rept. 117-177, re. S. 3904.
To amend Title 5, United States Code, to authorize the
appointment of spouses of members of the Armed Forces who are
on active duty, disabled, or deceased to positions in which the
spouses will work remotely. S. Rept. 117-178, re. S. 4337.
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 purpose. S. Rept. 117-
192, re. S. 1009.
To require the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border
Protection to regularly review and update policies and manuals
related to inspections at ports of entry. S. Rept. 117-193, re.
S. 4460.
To direct the Administrator of the Federal Emergency
Management Agency to submit to Congress a report on preliminary
damage assessments and make necessary improvements to processes
in the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and for other
purposes. S. Rept. 117-194, re. H.R. 3709.
To require the United States Fire Administration to conduct
on-site investigations of major fires, and for other purposes.
S. Rept. 117-195, re. H.R. 7077.
To direct the Comptroller General of the United States to
submit a report to Congress on case management personnel
turnover of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and for
other purposes. S. Rept. 117-199, re. H.R. 5343.
To facilitate the reskilling of federal employees, and for
other purposes. S. Rept. 117-204, re. S. 1330.
To modify eligibility requirements for certain hazard
mitigation assistance programs and for other purposes. S. Rept.
117-205, re. S. 1877.
To implement merit-based reforms to the civil service
hiring system that replace degree-based hiring with skills and
competency-based hiring. S. Rept. 117-206, re. S. 3423.
To improve performance and accountability in the federal
government, and for other purposes. S. Rept. 117-207, re. S.
4167.
To establish the Department of Homeland Security Trade and
Economic Security Council and the position of Assistant
Secretary for Trade and Economic Security within the Department
of Homeland Security, and for other purposes. S. Rept. 117-208,
re. S. 4243.
To advance government innovation through leading-edge
procurement capability, and for other purposes. S. Rept. 117-
209, re. S. 4623.
To amend the Carl Levin and Howard P. ``Buck'' McKeon
National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2015 to
modify requirements relating to data centers of certain federal
agencies, and for other purposes. S. Rept. 117-210, re. S.
4629.
To amend the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 to require
certain disclosures by registrants regarding exemptions under
the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, as amended. S.
Rept. 117-212, re. S. 4893.
To require the Comptroller General of the United States to
provide certain information with respect to unimplemented
priority recommendations as part of the Comptroller General's
annual reporting to Congress, and for other purposes. S. Rept.
117-213, re. S. 4128.
To amend the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of
1974 to authorize appropriations for the United States Fire
Administration and firefighter assistance grant programs. S.
Rept. 117-214, re. S. 4882.
To support remediation of illicit cross-border tunnels, and
for other purposes. S. Rept. 117-215, re. H.R. 4209.
To amend Title 31, United States Code, to require the chief
operating officer of each agency to compile a list of
unnecessary programs, and for other purposes. S. Rept. 117-216,
S. 2135.
To require the Director of the Cybersecurity and
Infrastructure Security Agency to establish cybersecurity
guidance for small organizations, and for other purposes. S.
Rept. 117-217, re. S. 2483.
To require the Director of the Office of Personnel
Management to establish and maintain a public directory of the
individuals occupying government policy and supporting
positions, and for other purposes. S. Rept. 117-218, re. S.
3650.
To require the Office of Federal Procurement Policy to
develop government-wide procurement policy and guidance to
mitigate organizational conflict of interests relating to
national security and foreign policy, and for other purposes.
S. Rept. 117-219, re. S. 4516.
To require U.S. Customs and Border Protection to expand the
use of non-intrusive inspection systems at land ports of entry.
S. Rept. 117-220, re. S. 4572.
To restrict the flow of illicit drugs into the United
States, and for other purposes. S. Rept. 117-221, re. S. 4645.
To reauthorize and amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002
to create stronger accountability mechanisms for joint task
forces. S. Rept. 117-222, re. S. 4656.
To improve the visibility, accountability, and oversight of
agency software asset management practices, and for other
purposes. S. Rept. 117-223, re. S. 4908.
To require the Administrator of General Services to
transfer certain surplus computers and technology equipment to
nonprofit computer refurbishers for repair, distribution, and
return, and for other purposes. S. Rept. 117-224, re. H.R.
3544.
To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish a
mentor-protege program, and for other purposes. S. Rept. 117-
225, re. H.R. 408.
To amend the Inspector General Act of 1978, and for other
purposes. S. Rept. 117-226, re. H.R. 2662.
To strengthen Buy American requirements, and for other
purposes. S. Rept. 117-227, re. S. 732.
To require the establishment of cybersecurity information
sharing agreements between the Department of Homeland Security
and Congress, and for other purposes. S. Rept. 117-228, re. S.
4000.
To authorize the Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement to pay stipends to members of transnational
criminal investigative units who have been properly vetted. S.
Rept. 117-229, re. S. 4326.
To direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to submit a
plan to make federal assistance available to certain urban
areas that previously received urban area security initiative
funding to preserve homeland security capabilities, and for
other purposes. S. Rept. 117-230, re. H.R. 5615.
To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to make
technical corrections to the requirement that the Secretary of
Homeland Security submit quadrennial homeland security reviews,
and for other purposes. S. Rept. 117-231, re. H.R. 370.
To authorize the reclassification of the tactical
enforcement officers (commonly known as the ``shadow wolves'')
in the Homeland Security Investigations Tactical Patrol Unit
operating on the lands of the Tohono O'Odham Nation as special
agents. S. Rept. 117-235, re. S. 2541.
To improve services for trafficking victims by establishing
in Homeland Security Investigations, the investigators maintain
purposeful awareness to combat trafficking trauma program and
the victim assistance program. S. Rept. 117-236, re. S. 4611.
To require the federal government to produce a national
climate adaptation and resilience strategy, and for other
purposes. S. Rept. 117-237, re. S. 3531.
To establish a government-wide approach to improving
digital identity, and for other purposes. S. Rept. 117-238, re.
S. 4528.
To address the preference for United States industry with
respect to patent rights in inventions made with Department of
Homeland Security research assistance, and for other purposes.
S. Rept. 117-239, re. S. 4902.
To require the purchase of domestically made flags of the
United States of America for use by the federal government. S.
Rept. 117-240, re. S. 4399.
To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to provide for
the responsibility of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure
Security Agency to maintain capabilities to identify threats to
industrial control systems, and for other purposes. S. Rept.
117-247, re. S. 2439.
To make technical corrections to Title XXII of the Homeland
Security Act of 2002, and for other purposes. S. Rept. 117-248,
re. S. 2540.
To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish the
Cyber Incident Review Office in the Cybersecurity and
Infrastructure Security Agency of the Department of Homeland
Security, and for other purposes. S. Rept. 117-249, re. S.
2875.
To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to enhance the
Blue Campaign of the Department of Homeland Security, and for
other purposes. S. Rept. 117-250, re. S. 2989.
To encourage the migration of federal government
information technology systems to quantum-resistant
cryptography, and for other purposes. S. Rept. 117-251, re. S.
4592.
To provide for the perpetuation, administration, and
funding of federal executive boards, and for other purposes. S.
Rept. 117-252, re. S. 4894.
To require a review of Department of Homeland Security
Trusted Traveler Programs, and for other purposes. S. Rept.
117-253, re. H.R. 473.
To establish an Interagency Committee on Global
Catastrophic Risk, and for other purposes. S. Rept. 117-254, S.
4488.
To require the United States Postal Service to continue
selling the multinational species conservation funds semi-
postal stamp until all remaining stamps are sold, and for other
purposes. S. Rept. 117-255, re. S. 521.
To prohibit certain individuals from downloading or using
Tiktok on any device issued by the United States or a
government corporation. S. Rept. 117-256, re. S. 1143.
To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to authorize the
Secretary of Homeland Security to make a declaration of a
significant incident, and for other purposes. S. Rept. 117-257,
re. S. 1316.
To amend Section 324 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster
Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to incentivize states,
Indian tribes, and territories to close disaster recovery
projects by authorizing the use of excess funds for management
costs for other disaster recovery projects. S. Rept. 117-258,
re. S. 4654.
To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and
Emergency Assistance Act, review a final rule of the Federal
Emergency Management Agency, and for other purposes. S. Rept.
117-259, re. H.R. 7211.
To amend Title 5, United States Code, to provide for a full
annuity supplement for certain air traffic controllers. S.
Rept. 117-260, re. S. 419.
To require the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish
a national risk management cycle, and for other purposes. S.
Rept. 117-261, re. S. 1350.
To require the reduction of the reliance and expenditures
of the federal government on legacy information technology
systems, and for other purposes. S. Rept. 117-262, re. S. 3897.
To modify the Fire Management Assistance Cost Share, and
for other purposes. S. Rept. 117-263, re. S. 4328.
To amend Title 31, United States Code, to require agencies
to include a list of outdated or duplicative reporting
requirements in annual budget justifications, and for other
purposes. S. Rept. 117-264, re. S. 4477.
To require the Archivist of the United States to submit to
Congress a comprehensive plan for reducing the backlog of
requests for records from the National Personnel Records
Center, and for other purposes. S. Rept. 117-265, re. S. 4816.
To prohibit federal procurement from companies operating in
the Russian Federation, and for other purposes. S. Rept. 117-
266, re. S. 4930.
To ban the federal procurement of certain drones and other
unmanned aircraft systems and for other purposes. S. Rept. 117-
267, re. S. 73.
To ensure that certain federal infrastructure programs
require the use of materials produced in the United States, and
for other purposes. S. Rept. 117-268, re. S. 1303.
To provide for domestic sourcing of personal protective
equipment, and for other purposes. S. Rept. 117-269, re. S.
1306.
To promote United States values and fulfill agency missions
through the use of innovative applied artificial intelligence
technologies, and for other purposes. S. Rept. 117-270, re. S.
1353.
To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish the
National Cyber Resilience Assistance Fund, to improve the
ability of the federal government to assist in enhancing
critical infrastructure cyber resilience to improve security in
the national cyber ecosystem, to address systemically important
critical infrastructure, and for other purposes. S. Rept. 117-
271, re. S. 2491.
To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to require
research and development to identify and evaluate the extent to
which critical domain risks within the United States supply
chain pose a substantial threat to Homeland Security, and for
other purposes. S. Rept. 117-272, re. S. 2525.
To amend Title 5, United States Code, to improve the
effectiveness of major rules in accomplishing their regulatory
objectives by promoting their regulatory objectives by
promoting retrospective review, and for other purposes. S.
Rept. 117-273, re. S. 2801.
To modernize federal information security management, and
for other purposes. S. Rept. 117-274, re. S. 2902.
To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish in
the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency the
National Cyber Exercise Program, and for other purposes. S.
Rept. 117-275, re. S. 2993.
To establish a Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction
Office and an Office of Health Security in the Department of
Homeland Security, and for other purposes. S. Rept. 117-276,
re. S. 4465.
To enhance the authority granted to the Department of
Homeland Security and Department of Justice with respect to
unmanned aircraft systems and unmanned aircraft, and for other
purposes. S. Rept. 117-277, re. S. 4687.
To establish the duties of the Director of the
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency regarding open
source software security, and for other purposes. S. Rept. 117-
278, re. S. 4913.
To require an interagency strategy for creating a unified
posture on counter-unmanned aircraft systems (C-UAS)
capabilities and protections at international borders of the
United States. S. Rept. 117-279, re. S. 4919.
To authorize the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security
Agency of the Department of Homeland Security to hold an annual
cybersecurity competition relating to offensive and defensive
cybersecurity disciplines, and for other purposes. S. Rept.
117-280, re. H.R. 6824.
To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to authorize the
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to establish
an industrial control systems cybersecurity training
initiative, and for other purposes. S. Rept. 117-281, re. H.R.
7777.
To strengthen the security and integrity of the United
States scientific and research enterprise. S. Rept. 117-282,
re. S. 1351.
COMMITTEE PRINTS
The Committee issued the following Committee Prints during
the 117th Congress:
Rules of Procedure. Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs. (Printed. 44 pp. S. Prt. 117-7). Rules of
Procedure. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations on
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. (Printed. 23 pp. S.
Prt. 117-8).
GAO REPORTS
Also during the 117th Congress, the Government
Accountability Office (GAO) issued 92 reports at the request of
the Committee. GAO reports requested by the Subcommittees
appear in their respective sections. Reports are listed here by
title, GAO number, and release date.
Rural Hospital Closures: Affected Residents Had Reduced
Access to Health Care Services. GAO-21-93. December 22, 2020.
U.S. Department of Energy Contracting: Improvements Needed
to Ensure the U.S. Department of Energy Assesses Its Full Range
of Contracting Fraud Risks. GAO-21-44. January 13, 2021.
Chemical Security: Overlapping Programs Could Better
Collaborate to Share Information and Identify Potential
Security Gaps. GAO-21-12. January 21, 2021.
Southwest Border: Department of Homeland Security and
Department of Justice Have Implemented Expedited Credible Fear
Screening Pilot Programs, but Should Ensure Timely Data Entry.
GAO-21-144. January 25, 2021.
Man-Made Chemicals and Potential Health Risks: The U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency Has Completed Some Regulatory-
Related Actions for PFAS. GAO-21-37. January 27, 2021.
Countering Violent Extremism: The U.S. Department of
Homeland Security Needs to Improve Grants Management and Data
Collection. GAO-21-216. February 1, 2021.
United States Assistance to Mexico: The U.S. Department of
State and U.S. Agency for International Development Should
Strengthen Risk Management for Programs under the Merida
Initiative. GAO-21-335. March 1, 2021.
High-Risk Series: Dedicated Leadership Needed to Address
Limited Progress in Most High-Risk Areas. GAO-21-384T. March 2,
2021.
Electricity Grid: Opportunities Exist For the U.S.
Department of Energy to Better Support Utilities in Improving
Resilience to Hurricanes. GAO-21-274. March 5, 2021.
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency: Actions
Needed To Ensure Organizational Changes Result In More
Effective Cybersecurity for Our Nation. GAO-21-236. March 10,
2021.
Decennial Census: U.S. Census Bureau Should Assess
Significant Data Collection Challenges As It Undertakes
Planning For 2030. GAO-21-365. March 22, 2021.
2020 Census: U.S. Census Bureau Needs To Ensure
Transparency Over Data Quality, Finalize Plans For Data
Protection, And Examine Lessons Learned. GAO-21-462T. March 23,
2021.
COVID-19: The Department of Health and Human Services
Should Clarify Agency Roles For Emergency Return of U.S.
Citizens During a Pandemic. GAO-21-334. April 19, 2021.
Medicaid: Information on the Use of Electronic Asset
Verification to Determine Eligibility for Selected
Beneficiaries. GAO-21-473R. April 23, 2021.
National Health Service Corps: Program Directs Funding to
Areas with Greatest Provider Shortages. GAO-21-323. April 30,
2021
Disaster Recovery: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development Should Take Additional Action to Assess Community
Development Block Grant Fraud Risks. GAO-21-177. May 5, 2021.
Foreign Assistance: State Department Should Better Assess
Results of Efforts to Improve Financial and Some Program Data.
GAO-21-373. May 10, 2021.
Oral Presentation On the Department of Homeland Security's
Countering Weapons Of Mass Destruction (CWMD) Office. May 18,
2021.
Puerto Rico Recovery: The Federal Emergency Management
Agency Made Progress in Approving Projects, but Should Identify
and Assess Risks to the Recovery. GAO-21-264. May 19, 2021.
La Recuperacion De Puerto Rico: FEMA Progreso En La
Aprobacion De Proyectos, Pero Deberia Identificar Y Evaluar Los
Riesgos Para La Recuperacion. GAO-21-442. May 19, 2021.
Biodefense: The U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Exploring New Methods to Replace Biowatch and Could Benefit
from Additional Guidance. GAO-21-292. May 20, 2021.
Physician Workforce: Caps on Medicare-Funded Graduate
Medical Education at Teaching Hospitals. GAO-21-391. May 21,
2021.
Oil and Gas: The Department of the Interior Should
Strengthen Management of Key Data Systems Used to Oversee
Development on Federal Lands. GAO-21-209. May 27, 2021.
U.S. Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector
General: Actions Needed to Address Long-Standing Management
Weaknesses. GAO-21-316. June 3, 2021.
Homeland Security: U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Needs to Fully Implement Key Practices in Acquiring Biometric
Identity Management System. GAO-21-386. June 8, 2021.
Health Care Funding: Planned Parenthood Federation of
America Affiliates' Expenditures of Federal Funds, 2016 Through
2018. GAO-21-608R. June 22, 2021.
Domestic Medical Supply Manufacturing. July 19, 2021.
Countering Violent Extremism: The U.S. Department of
Homeland Security Can Further Enhance Its Strategic Planning
and Data Governance Efforts. GAO-21-507. July 20, 2021.
Federal Contracting: Senior Leaders Should Use Leading
Companies' Key Practices to Improve Performance. GAO-21-491.
July 27, 2021.
Paycheck Protection Program: Small Business Administration
Added Program Safeguards, but Additional Actions are Needed.
GAO-21-577. July 29, 2021.
Capitol Attack: Special Event Designations Could Have Been
Requested for January 6, 2021, but not All U.S. Department of
Homeland Security Guidance is Clear. GAO-21-105255. August 9,
2021.
Capital Fund Proposal: Upfront Funding Could Benefit Some
Projects, But Other Potential Effects Not Clearly Identified.
GAO-21-215. September 10, 2021.
Federal Real Property Asset Management: Additional
Direction in Government-Wide Guidance Could Enhance Natural
Disaster Resilience. GAO-21-596. September 14, 2021.
Federal Rulemaking: Selected Agencies Should Fully Describe
Available Public Comment Data and Their Limitations. GAO-21-
103181. September 21, 2021.
Paycheck Protection Program: Program Changes Increased
Lending to the Smallest Businesses and in Underserved
Locations. GAO-21-601. September 21, 2021
Information Technology Modernization: U.S. Department of
Agriculture Needs to Improve Oversight of Farm Production and
Conservation Program Mission Area. GAO-21-512. September 23,
2021.
Critical Infrastructure Protection: Education Should Take
Additional Steps to Help Protect K-12 Schools From Cyber
Threats. GAO-22-105024. October 13, 2021.
Federal Reserve Lending Programs: Credit Markets Served by
the Program have Stabilized, but Vulnerabilities Remain. GAO-
22-104640. October 19, 2021.
COVID-19 Pandemic: Observations on the Ongoing Recovery of
the Aviation Industry. GAO-22-104429. October 21, 2021.
COVID-19: Federal Agencies' Initial Reentry and Workplace
Safety Planning. GAO-22-104295. October 25, 2021.
Federal Hiring: The Office of Personnel Management Should
Collect and Share COVID-19 Lessons Learned to Inform Hiring
During Future Emergencies. GAO-22-104297. October 25, 2021.
COVID-19: Lessons Learned from the U.S. Department of the
Interior and the U.S. Department of the Treasury's
Administration of CARES Act Funds Could Improve Federal
Emergency Relief to Tribes. GAO-22-104349. October 29, 2021.
COVID-19: The U.S. Department of Stare Carried Out Historic
Repatriation Effort but Should Strengthen its Preparedness for
Future Crises. GAO-22-104354. November 2, 2021.
KC-46 Tanker: Air Force Needs to Mature Critical
Technologies in New Aerial Refueling System Design. GAO-22-
104530. January 27, 2022.
COVID-19: Federal Telework Increased during the Pandemic,
but More Reliable Data are Needed to Support Oversight. GAO-22-
104282. February 8, 2022.
Banking Services: Regulators Have Taken Actions to Increase
Access, but Measurement of Actions' Effectiveness Could be
Improved. GAO-22-104468. February 14, 2022.
2020 Census Data Protection and Privacy Review. February
15, 2022.
Capitol Attack: Federal Agencies' Use of Open Source Data
and Related Threat Products Prior to January 6, 2021. GAO-22-
105256SU. February 16, 2022.
Biodefense: Opportunities to Address National Strategy and
Programmatic Challenges. GAO-22-105733. February 17, 2022.
Capitol Attack: The Capitol Police Need Clearer Emergency
Procedures and a Comprehensive Security Risk Assessment
Process. GAO-22-105001. February 17, 2022.
Critical Infrastructure Protection: Cybersecurity and
Infrastructure Security Agency Should Improve Priority Setting,
Stakeholder Involvement, and Threat Information Sharing. GAO-
22-104279. March 1, 2022.
Capitol Attack: Additional Actions Needed to Better Prepare
Capitol Police Officers for Violent Demonstrations. GAO-22-
104829. March 7, 2022.
Indian Health Service: Information on Third-Party
Collections and Processes to Procure Supplies and Services.
GAO-22-104742. March 10, 2022.
2020 Census: U.S. Census Bureau Released Apportionment and
Redistricting Data, but Needs to Finalize Plans for Future Data
Products. GAO-22-105324. March 14, 2022.
COVID-19: The Department of Stare Should Strengthen
Policies to Better Maintain Overseas Operations in Future
Crises. GAO-22-104519. March 16, 2022.
Emergency Relief Funds: Significant Improvements are Needed
to Ensure Transparency and Accountability for COVID-19 And
Beyond. GAO-22-105715. March 17, 2022.
Indian Health Service: Relief Funding and Agency Response
to COVID-19 Pandemic. GAO-22-104360. March 31, 2022.
Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction: The U.S. Department
of Homeland Security Could Improve its Acquisition of Key
Technology and Coordination with Partners. GAO-22-104498. April
19, 2022.
Native American Veterans: Improvements to U.S. Department
of Veterans Affairs Management Could Help Increase Mortgage
Loan Program Participation. GAO-22-104627. April 19, 2022.
Scientific Integrity: U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services Agencies Need to Develop Procedures and Train Staff on
Reporting and Addressing Political Interference. GAO-22-104613.
April 20, 2022.
State Department: Additional Actions Needed to Address it
Workforce Challenges. GAO-22-104233SU. April 26, 2022.
Capitol Attack: Federal Agencies' Use of Open Source Data
and Related Threat Products Prior to January 6, 2021. GAO-22-
105963. May 2, 2022.
Department of Defense Animal Use: Objectives and
Performance Measures Needed to Monitor Use of Alternatives for
Trauma Training. GAO-22-103992. May 3, 2022.
Artificial Intelligence: Key Practices to Help Federal Use
of Artificial Intelligence. May 11, 2022.
COVID-19: U.S. Food and Drug Administration Took Steps to
Help Make Test Available; Policy for Future Public Health
Emergencies Needed. GAO-22-104266. May 12, 2022.
Border Patrol: Actions Needed to Improve Checkpoint
Oversight and Data. GAO-22-104568. June 6, 2022.
Maritime Cargo Security: U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Should Provide Additional Guidance for Certain Non-
Containerized Cargo Inspections. GAO-22-104210. June 22, 2022.
COVID-19: Agencies Increased Use of Some Regulatory
Flexibilities and are Taking Steps to Assess Them. GAO-22-
105047. June 23, 2022.
Federal Personal Property: Better Internal Guidance and
More Action from the General Services Administration are Needed
to Help Agencies Maximize Use of Excess. GAO-22-104626. June
28, 2022.
State Department: Additional Actions Needed To Address It
Workforce Challenges. GAO-22-105932. July 12, 2022.
Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction: The U.S. Department
of Homeland Security Office Has Opportunities to Improve
Partner Services and Employee Morale. GAO-22-106133. July 19,
2022.
Persistent Chemicals: Technologies for PFAS Assessment,
Detection, and Treatment. GAO-22-105088. July 28, 2022.
Spectrum Management: Improved Planning and Interagency
Collaboration Could Strengthen Spectrum Reallocation Efforts.
GAO-22-106170. August 2, 2022.
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Acquisition Management:
Action Needed to Ensure Success of New Oversight Framework.
GAO-22-105195. August 11, 2022.
Federal Real Property: General Services Administration
Could Further Support Agencies' Post Pandemic Planning For
Office Space Use. GAO-22-105105. September 7, 2022.
Privacy: Dedicated Leadership Can Improve Programs and
Address Challenges. GAO-22-105065. September 22, 2022.
Medicare Telehealth: Actions Needed to Strengthen Oversight
and Help Provided Educate Patients on Privacy and Security
Risks. GAO-22-104454. September 26, 2022.
Southwest Border: Challenges and Efforts Implementing New
Processes for Noncitizen Families. GAO-22-105456. September 28,
2022.
Persistent Chemicals: The U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency Should Use New Data to Analyze the Demographics of
Communities with PFAS in Their Drinking Water. GAO-22-105135.
September 30, 2022.
Critical Infrastructure Protection: Additional Federal
Coordination is Needed to Enhance K-12 Cybersecurity. GAO-23-
105480. October 20, 2022.
Federal Vehicles: Agency Fleets Have Potential to
Transition to Electric Vehicles. GAO-23-105635. October 20,
2022.
Federal Real Property: Agencies Attribute Substantial
Increases in Reported Deferred Maintenance to Multiple Factors.
GAO-23-106124. October 28, 2022.
Renewable Fuel Standard: Actions Needed to Improve
Decision-Making in the Small Refinery Exemption Program. GAO-
23-105801. November 3, 2022.
Aviation Security: The U.S. Transportation Security
Administration Should Assess Potential For Discrimination And
Better Inform Passengers Of The Complaint Process. GAO-23-
105201. November 7, 2022.
Wildland Fire: Barriers to Recruitment and Retention of
Federal Wildland Firefighters. GAO-23-105517. November 17,
2022.
Internal Revenue Service: Information about Funding,
Financial Reporting Controls, and The Government Accountability
Office Recommendations. GAO-23-106351. November 28, 2022.
CARES Act: Structural Characteristics That Can Help
Insulate U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Agencies
against Potential Political Interference. GAO-23-105415.
December 15, 2022.
COVID-19 Funds: Lessons Learned Could Improve Future
Distribution of Federal Emergency Relief to Tribal Recipients.
GAO-23-105473. December 15, 2022.
Oral Presentation on U.S. Park Police Staffing. December
16, 2022.
Federal Reserve Lending Programs: Risks Remain Low in
Related Credit Markets, and Main Street Loans Have Generally
Performed Well. GAO-23-105629. December 19, 2022.
Information Management: Agencies Need To Streamline
Electronic Services. GAO-23-105562. December 20, 2022.
Unemployment Insurance: Data Indicate Substantial Levels of
Fraud during The Pandemic; Department of Labor Should Implement
An Antifraud Strategy. GAO-23-105523. December 22, 2022.
VI. OFFICIAL COMMUNICATIONS
During the 117th Congress, 741 official communications were
referred to the Committee. Of these, 722 were Executive
Communications, and 19 were Petitions or Memorials. Of the
official communications, 340 dealt with the District of
Columbia.
VII. LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS
During the 117th Congress, the Committee reported
significant legislation that was approved by Congress and
signed by the President.
The following are brief legislative histories of measures
to the Committee and, in some cases, drafted by the Committee,
which (1) became public law or (2) were favorable reported from
the Committee and passed by the Senate, but did not become law.
In addition to the measures listed below, the Committee
received during the 117th Congress numerous legislative
proposals that were not considered or reported, or that were
reported but not passed by the Senate. Additional information
on these measures appears in the Committee's Legislative
Calendar for the 117th Congress.
A. MEASURES ENACTED INTO LAW
The following measures considered by the Committee were
enacted into Public Law. The descriptions following the signing
date of each measure note selected provisions of the text, and
are not intended to serve as section-by-section summaries.
H.R. 26.--Construction Consensus Procurement Improvement
Act of 2021. (Public Law 117-28). July 26, 2021.
This bill prohibits the federal government from using
reverse auctions for complex, specialized, or substantial
design and construction services. Reverse auctions allow the
sellers to bid down the price of a project and typically result
in the contractor with the lowest bid winning the contract. The
Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council (FARC) must define
complex, specialized, or substantial design and construction
services. The General Services Administration (GSA) shall
report to specified congressional committees on this bill's
effectiveness.
H.R. 521.--First Responder Fair (RETIRE) Act. (Public Law
117-225). December 09, 2022.
This bill allows disabled federal first responders (e.g.,
law enforcement officers, customs and border protection
officers, and firefighters) to continue receiving federal
retirement benefits in the same manner as though they had not
been disabled. Under current law, federal first responders are
subject to a mandatory retirement age of 57. To facilitate this
earlier retirement, federal first responders are required to
pay a greater percentage of their salary towards retirement.
Additionally, their annuity amount is calculated at a higher
rate than other federal employees. This bill allows a federal
first responder to remain in the accelerated retirement system
if they are placed in another civil service position outside of
that system after returning to work from a work-related injury
or illness. Further, if such an employee is separated from
service before they are entitled to receive an annuity, they
may receive a refund of their accelerated contributions.
S. 231.--Protecting Firefighters from Adverse Substances
(PFAS) Act. (Public Law 117-248). December 20, 2022.
This act requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
to develop guidance for firefighters and other emergency
response personnel on training, education programs, and best
practices to protect them from exposure to perfluoroalkyl and
polyfluoroalkyl substances, commonly referred to as PFASs, from
firefighting foam and to prevent the release of PFASs into the
environment. These substances are man-made and may have adverse
human health effects. A variety of products contain the
compounds, such as nonstick cookware or weatherproof
clothing.This bill requires the Department of Homeland Security
to develop and conduct an exercise related to the detection and
prevention of terrorist and foreign fighter travel. The bill
requires the national exercise program (a program to test and
evaluate the national preparedness goal, National Incident
Management System, National Response Plan, and other related
plans and strategies) to include emerging threats.
S. 272.--Congressional Budget Justification Transparency
Act of 2021. (Public Law 117-40). September 24, 2021.
This bill requires federal agencies to make budget
justification materials available to the public on a website.
The bill also requires the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) to make certain details regarding the materials available
to the public, including a list of the agencies that submit
budget justification materials to Congress, the dates that the
materials are submitted to Congress and posted online, and
links to the materials.
S. 442.--Bulb Replacement Improving Government with High-
efficiency Technology (BRIGHT) Act. (Public Law 117-202).
October 17, 2022.
This act expands requirements relating to the procurement
and use of energy-efficient lighting in federal buildings.
Under current law, public buildings that are constructed or
managed by the General Services Administration (GSA) must be
equipped with energy-efficient light bulbs and fixtures. Under
the act, buildings must be equipped with the most life-cycle
cost effective and energy-efficient lighting systems available,
including with respect to sensors, fixture distribution, and
other elements. The act also specifically establishes
requirements relating to the procurement of such lighting
systems and modifies other requirements accordingly. The act
also requires the GSA to provide information to federal, state,
local, and tribal entities about procuring and using such
lighting systems in furtherance of governmental efficiency.
S. 583.--Promoting Rigorous and Innovative Cost
Efficiencies for Federal Procurement and Acquisitions (PRICE)
Act of 2021. (Public Law 117-88). February 22, 2022.
This bill directs the Management Directorate of the
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to publish an annual
report on a DHS website on projects that have used innovative
procurement techniques within DHS to accomplish specified
goals. Such goals are improving or encouraging better
competition, reducing time to award, achieving cost savings,
achieving better mission outcomes, or meeting the goals for
contracts and awarded to small business concerns. The
Management Directorate shall (1) develop and disseminate
guidance and offer training for specified personnel concerning
when and how to use such techniques, and (2) share best
practices across DHS and make available to other federal
agencies information to improve procurement methods and
training. The Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) shall
convene a Chief Acquisition Officers Council (CAOC) to examine
best practices for acquisition innovation in contracting in the
federal government.
S. 658.--National Cybersecurity Preparedness Consortium Act
of 2021. (Public Law 117-122). May 12, 2022.
This bill allows the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
to work with one or more consortia composed of nonprofit
entities to develop, update, and deliver cybersecurity training
in support of homeland security.
H.R. 1917.--Hazard Eligibility and Local Projects Act.
(Public Law 117-332). January 05, 2023.
This bill makes an entity seeking assistance under a hazard
mitigation assistance program eligible to receive such
assistance for certain projects already in progress.
Specifically, this bill covers a project that is an acquisition
and demolition project for which an entity began
implementation, including planning or construction, before or
after requesting assistance for the project under a hazard
mitigation assistance program, and qualifies for a categorical
exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) must have
determined that the project qualifies for a categorical
exclusion, is compliant with applicable floodplain management
and protection of wetland regulations and criteria, and does
not require consultation under any other environmental or
historic preservation law or regulation or involve any
extraordinary circumstances. FEMA must report to Congress,
within 180 days of enactment and annually thereafter for three
years, on use of the authority under this bill. Such authority
terminates three years after enactment.
S. 1097.--Federal Rotational Cyber Workforce Program Act of
2021. (Public Law 117-149). June 21, 2022.
This bill establishes a rotational cyber workforce program
under which certain federal employees may be detailed among
rotational cyber workforce positions at other agencies. This
bill authorizes an agency to determine whether a workforce
position involving information technology, cybersecurity, or
other cyber-related functions in that agency is eligible for
the program. Additionally, the bill requires the Office of
Personnel Management (OPM) to issue a Federal Rotational Cyber
Workforce Program operation plan providing policies, processes,
and procedures for detailing employees among rotational cyber
workforce positions at agencies. The Government Accountability
Office (GAO) must assess the operation and effectiveness of the
rotational cyber workforce program by addressing the extent to
which agencies have participated in the program and the
experiences of employees serving in the program.
H.R. 2617.--Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023. (Public
Law 117-328). December 29, 2022.
This bill provides appropriations to federal agencies for
the remainder of FY2023, provides supplemental appropriations
for disaster relief and to support Ukraine, extends several
expiring authorities, and modifies or establishes various
programs that address a wide range of policy areas. The bill
includes the 12 regular appropriations bills that fund federal
agencies for FY2023. These bills include the Agriculture, Rural
Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies
Appropriations Act, 2023; the Commerce, Justice, Science, and
Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2023; the Department of
Defense Appropriations Act, 2023; the Energy and Water
Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2023; the
Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act,
2023; the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act,
2023; the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related
Agencies Appropriations Act, 2023; the Departments of Labor,
Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies
Appropriations Act, 2023; the Legislative Branch Appropriations
Act, 2023; the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and
Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2023; the Department of
State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations
Act, 2023; and the Transportation, Housing and Urban
Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2023.
S. 1828.--Helping American Victims Afflicted by
Neurological Attacks (HAVANA) of 2021. (Public Law 117-46).
October 08, 2021.
This bill specifically authorizes the Central Intelligence
Agency (CIA), the Department of State, and other agencies to
provide payments to agency personnel who incur brain injuries
from hostilities while on assignment. Specifically, the bill
allows agency personnel and their families to receive payments
for brain injuries that are incurred (1) during a period of
assignment to a foreign or domestic duty station; (2) in
connection with war, insurgency, hostile acts, terrorist
activity, or other agency-designated incidents; and (3) not as
the result of willful misconduct. The bill's authority applies
to injuries incurred before, on, or after the date of the
bill's enactment. Agencies must submit classified reports on
the bill's implementation, including the number of payments
made and the amount of each payment. Since 2016, some
intelligence, diplomatic, and other governmental personnel have
reported experiencing unusual cognitive and neurological
impairments while on assignment (particularly abroad), the
source of which is currently under investigation. Symptoms were
first reported by personnel stationed in Cuba and have since
been collectively referred to as Havana Syndrome.
S. 1917.--K-12 Cybersecurity Act of 2021. (Public Law 117-
47). October 08, 2021.
This bill requires the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure
Security Agency (CISA) to study the cybersecurity risks facing
elementary and secondary schools and develop recommendations
that include cybersecurity guidelines designed to assist
schools in facing those risks. The use of such recommendations
shall be voluntary. The study must evaluate the challenges that
schools face in securing (1) information systems owned, leased,
or relied upon by those schools; and (2) sensitive student and
employee records. Further, the bill requires CISA to (1)
develop an online training toolkit designed for school
officials; and (2) make available on the Department of Homeland
Security website the study's findings, the cybersecurity
guidelines, and the toolkit.
S. 1941.--Metropolitan Areas Protection and Standardization
Act (MAPS) of 2021. (Public Law 117-219). December 05, 2022.
This act limits the automatic application of, and directs
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to provide
information about, changes to the standards for designating a
core-based statistical area (CBSA). The standards are used to
delineate metropolitan and micropolitan areas for statistical
purposes. Specifically, any change to the standards of CBSA
delineations (1) shall not apply automatically for any
nonstatistical use by any domestic assistance program, and (2)
shall apply for such uses only if a relevant agency determines
that the change supports the purposes of the program and is in
the public interest and the change is adopted through
rulemaking procedures. The OMB must ensure that any change to
the standards of CBSA delineations are accompanied by a public
report that explains the scientific basis, criteria, and
methodology for such change and the opinions of experts in
statistics and demographics who were consulted regarding the
change; are not influenced by any nonstatistical
considerations; and are not applied automatically for any
nonstatistical use by any domestic assistance program.
Additionally, the OMB must collect information on the uses of
CBSA delineations by domestic assistance programs for purposes
including prime recipient and subrecipient eligibility for, and
distribution of, any federal service, benefit, or funding. The
Government Accountability Office (GAO) must submit a report
assessing the information collected by the OMB pursuant to this
act.
S. 2201.--Supply Chain Security Training Act of 2021.
(Public Law 117-145). June 16, 2022.
This bill requires the Federal Acquisition Institute (FAI)
to develop a training program for officials with supply chain
risk management responsibilities at federal agencies (defined
to include the legislative and judicial branches, as well as
the executive branch, of the federal government). The program
shall be designed to prepare such personnel to perform supply
chain risk management activities and identify and mitigate
supply chain security risks that arise throughout the
acquisition life cycle, including for the acquisition of
information and communications technology. The Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) shall (1) promulgate guidance to
federal agencies requiring executive agency adoption and use of
the program, and (2) make the guidance available to federal
agencies of the legislative and judicial branches.
S. 2293.--Civilian Reservist Emergency Workforce Act (CREW)
of 2021. (Public Law 117-178). September 29, 2022.
This bill makes employment protections under the Uniformed
Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA)
applicable to Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
reservists who deploy to major disaster and emergency sites. It
allows such reservists to claim such rights under USERRA even
if they do not provide notice of their absence from work due to
deployment.
H.R. 4426.--Homeland Security for Children Act. (Public Law
117-130). June 6, 2022.
This bill requires the Department of Homeland Security
(DHS) to ensure that the needs of children are considered in
homeland security planning. Specifically, each DHS office and
component must take into account the needs of children,
including children within underserved communities, in mission
planning and execution. DHS must require each office and
component to seek advice and feedback from organizations
representing the needs of children. The bill directs the
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to identify and
integrate the needs of children into activities to prepare for,
protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate against
the risk of natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and other
disasters, including by appointing a technical expert to
coordinate such integration.
S. 2520.--State and Local Government Cybersecurity Act of
2021. (Public Law 117-150). June 21, 2021.
This bill provides for collaboration between the Department
of Homeland Security (DHS) and state, local, tribal, and
territorial governments, as well as corporations, associations,
and the general public, regarding cybersecurity. The bill
expands DHS responsibilities through grants and cooperative
agreements, including provision of assistance and education
related to cyber threat indicators, proactive and defensive
measures and cybersecurity technologies, cybersecurity risks
and vulnerabilities, incident response and management,
analysis, and warnings. The bill requires the National
Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center, upon
request, to coordinate with entities such as the Multi-State
Information Sharing and Analysis Center to engage in specified
activities, including to (1) conduct exercises with state,
local, tribal, or territorial government entities; (2) provide
operational and technical cybersecurity training to such
entities; and (3) promote cybersecurity education and
awareness.
S. 2551.--Artificial Intelligence Training for the
Acquisition Workforce (AI Training) Act. (Public Law 117-207).
October 17, 2022.
This bill requires the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) to establish or otherwise provide an artificial
intelligence (AI) training program for the acquisition
workforce of executive agencies (e.g., those responsible for
program management or logistics), with exceptions. The purpose
of the program is to ensure that the workforce has knowledge of
the capabilities and risks associated with AI. The OMB must (1)
update the program at least every two years, and (2) ensure
there is a way to understand and measure the participation of
the workforce and to receive and consider feedback from program
participants.
S. 2991.--Countering Human Trafficking Act of 2021. (Public
Law 117-322). December 27, 2022.
This act provides statutory authority for the Center for
Countering Human Trafficking (CCHT) within the Department of
Homeland Security (DHS). The CCHT coordinates DHS efforts to
combat human trafficking and the importation of goods produced
with forced labor. The act requires the CCHT to develop a
strategy to improve the systems and processes used throughout
DHS to combat human trafficking and the importation of goods
produced with forced labor. The act transfers the functions and
resources of the Blue Campaign (i.e., the national public
awareness effort to combat human trafficking) to the CCHT. DHS
may also transfer to the CCHT any other component, directorate,
or office of the department related to combating human
trafficking.
H.R. 5641.--Small Project Efficient and Effective Disaster
Recovery Act. (Public Law 117-189). October 10, 2022.
This act increases to $1 million the threshold for
eligibility for assistance for what qualifies as a small
project under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and
Emergency Assistance Act, thereby allowing more recovery
projects to proceed under simplified procedures. The threshold
must be reviewed every three years. The Inspector General (IG)
of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) must conduct an
audit, and report to Congress, on whether there has been waste
and abuse as a result of the change in the threshold.
S. 3059.--Courthouse Ethics and Transparency Act. (Public
Law 117-125). May 13, 2022.
This bill requires federal judicial officers, bankruptcy
judges, and magistrate judges to file periodic transaction
reports disclosing certain securities transactions. The bill
also requires online publication of judicial financial
disclosure reports. Specifically, the bill requires federal
judicial officers, bankruptcy judges, and magistrate judges to
file reports within 45 days after a purchase, sale, or exchange
that exceeds $1,000 in stocks, bonds, commodities futures, and
other forms of securities. Additionally, the bill directs the
Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts to establish a
searchable internet database of judicial financial disclosure
reports. The office must, within 90 days of the date by which a
report must be filed, make the report available on the database
in a searchable, sortable, and downloadable format. The bill
does not require the immediate and unconditional availability
of reports filed by a judicial officer or employee if the
Judicial Conference finds that revealing personal and sensitive
formation could endanger that individual or a family member of
that individual.
S. 3092.--FEMA Improvement, Reform, and Efficiency (FIRE)
Act of 2022. (Public Law 117-251). December 20, 2022.
This bill addresses the federal government's approach to
wildfires. Specifically, the bill requires the Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to report to Congress
regarding the use of relocation assistance under the Robert T.
Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act for
wildfire risk. FEMA, in coordination with the National Weather
Service, must study, develop recommendations for, and initiate
a process for the use of forecasts and data, including
information that supports Red Flag Warnings and similar weather
alert and notification methods, to establish plans and actions
that can be implemented prior to a wildfire event that can
limit the impact, duration, or severity of the fire; and
mechanisms to increase interagency collaboration to expedite
the delivery of disaster assistance. The Government
Accountability Office (GAO) must report to Congress regarding
wildfires, including the effectiveness of FEMA programs. Each
state, local agency, or private mental health organization
providing professional crisis counseling assistance must ensure
that those providing case management services to victims of a
major disaster have training to address impacts in communities
and to individuals with socioeconomically disadvantaged
backgrounds. FEMA must conduct a study and develop a plan to
address providing housing assistance to survivors of major
disasters or emergencies when presented with challenges such as
the presence of multiple families within a single household.
The bill allows Indian tribal governments to apply for grants
for equipping, upgrading, and constructing state and local
emergency operations centers.
S. 3470.--End Human Trafficking in Government Contracts Act
of 2022. (Public Law 117-211). October 17, 2022.
This bill requires the implementation of certain
contracting provisions related to human trafficking.
Specifically, the bill requires, upon receipt of an office of
inspector general report substantiating an allegation that the
recipient of a contract, grant, or cooperative agreement (or
any subgrantee, subcontractor, or agent of the recipient)
engaged in human trafficking, that the agency refer the matter
to the agency suspension and debarment office (current law
requires that the agency consider remedial actions that include
such referral). The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) must
report to Congress on implementation of provisions to end human
trafficking in government contracting.
S. 3499.--A bill to amend the Post-Katrina Emergency
Management Reform Act of 2006. (Public Law 117-253). December
20, 2022.
This act repeals a provision of the Post-Katrina Emergency
Management Reform Act of 2006 that requires the Department of
Homeland Security to promulgate regulations to minimize the
excessive use by contractors of subcontractors or tiers of
subcontractors to perform the principal work of any contract
for facilitating response to or recovery from a natural or man-
made disaster.
S. 3510.--Disaster Resiliency Planning Act. (Public Law
117-221). December 05, 2022.
This act requires the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
to establish guidance that requires federal agencies to
incorporate natural disaster resilience into real property
asset management and investment decisions. Specifically, the
guidance must direct each agency to incorporate assessments of
natural disaster risk information conducted by the agency, such
as vulnerability and other risk assessments, into real property
asset management and investment decisions.
S. 3655.--Civil Rights Cold Case Investigations Support Act
of 2022. (Public Law 117-222). December 05, 2022.
This act extends the Civil Rights Cold Case Records Review
Board until 2026 (or 2027 if the board opts for an additional
one-year extension). The board reviews the decisions of federal
agencies to postpone the disclosure of civil rights cold case
records (i.e., unsolved civil rights cases from 1940-1979).
H.R. 7077.--Empowering the U.S. Fire Administration Act.
(Public Law 117-246). December 20, 2022.
This act authorizes the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) to
conduct on-site fire safety investigations of major fires and
other fires under other specified circumstances. In the case of
a major fire, the USFA may send incident investigators (e.g.,
safety specialists, fire protection engineers, codes and
standards experts, researchers, and fire training specialists)
to the site. Any such investigation shall (1) be conducted in
coordination and cooperation with appropriate federal, state,
local, tribal, and territorial authorities; and (2) examine the
previously determined cause and origin of the fire and assess
broader systematic matters. Upon concluding any such
investigation, the USFA must issue a public report to federal,
state, local, tribal, and territorial authorities on the
findings of such investigation or collaborate with another
investigating federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial
agency on that agency's report. The act makes an exception
where issuing a report would have a negative impact on a
potential or ongoing criminal investigation. Additionally, the
USFA may send fire investigators to conduct fire safety
investigations at the site of any fire with unusual or
remarkable context that results in losses less severe than
those occurring as a result of a major fire, in coordination
and cooperation with the appropriate federal, state, local,
tribal, and territorial authorities.
S. 3875.--Community Disaster Resilience Zones Act of 2022.
(Public Law 117-255). December 20, 2022.
This act requires the President to continue to maintain a
natural hazard assessment program that develops and maintains
publicly available products to show the risk of natural hazards
across the United States. Such products shall show the risk of
natural hazards and include ratings and data for loss exposure,
social vulnerability, community resilience, and any other
element determined by the President. The President shall (1)
review the underlying methodology of any product that is a
natural hazard risk assessment and receive public input on the
methodology and data used for the product, and (2) consider
including additional data in any product that is a natural
disaster hazard risk assessment. Additionally, the President
must conduct such reviews to evaluate and update the
assessments at least every five years. Using the reviewed
assessments, the President must periodically identify and
designate community disaster resilience zones (CDRZs), which
shall be (1) the 50 census tracts assigned the highest
individual hazard risk ratings; and (2) in each state, not less
than 1% of census tracts that are assigned a high individual
risk rating, taking into consideration specified geographic
balance. The President may provide financial, technical, or
other assistance to an eligible entity (a state, Indian tribal
government, or local government) that plans to perform a
resilience or mitigation project within, or that primarily
benefits, a CDRZ.
S. 3905.--Preventing Organizational Conflicts of Interest
in Federal Acquisition Act. (Public Law 117-324). December 27,
2022.
This act addresses conflicts of interest in federal
acquisitions. Specifically, the act directs the Federal
Acquisition Regulatory Council to revise the Federal
Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to provide and update definitions
related to specific types of organizational conflicts of
interest; definitions, guidance, and illustrative examples
related to relationships of contractors with public, private,
domestic, and foreign entities that may cause contract support
to be subject to potential organizational conflicts; and
illustrative examples of situations related to the potential
organizational conflicts identified. Further, the council must
revise the FAR to provide executive agencies with solicitation
provisions and contract clauses to avoid or mitigate
organizational conflicts, for agency use as needed, that
require contractors to disclose information relevant to
potential organizational conflicts and limit future contracting
with respect to potential conflicts with the work to be
performed under awarded contracts; allow agencies to tailor
such solicitation provisions and contract clauses as necessary
to address risks associated with conflicts of interest and
other considerations that may be unique to the agency; require
agencies to establish or update agency conflict of interest
procedures to implement the revisions to the FAR made under
this act and periodically assess and update such procedures as
needed to address agency-specific conflict issues; and update
FAR procedures to permit contracting officers to take into
consideration professional standards and procedures to prevent
organizational conflicts of interest to which an offeror or
contractor is subject.
H.R. 7535.--Quantum Computing Cybersecurity Preparedness
Act. (Public Law 117-260). December 21, 2022.
This act addresses the migration of executive agencies'
information technology systems to post-quantum cryptography.
Post-quantum cryptography is encryption strong enough to resist
attacks from quantum computers developed in the future. The act
does not apply to national security systems. The Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) shall issue guidance on the
migration of information technology to post-quantum
cryptography. Each executive agency must maintain an inventory
of all information technology in use by the executive agency
that is vulnerable to decryption by quantum computers. After
the National Institutes of Standards and Technology (NIST) has
issued post-quantum cryptography standards, the OMB shall issue
guidance requiring each executive agency to develop a plan to
migrate information technology of the agency to post-quantum
cryptography. OMB shall submit to Congress a report on a
strategy to address the risk posed by the vulnerabilities of
information technology of executive agencies to weakened
encryption due to the potential and possible capability of a
quantum computer to breach such encryption; the funding needed
by executive agencies to secure such information technology
from the risk posed by an adversary of the United States using
a quantum computer to breach the encryption; and a description
of federal civilian executive branch coordination efforts led
by NIST, including timelines, to develop standards for post-
quantum cryptography.
S. 4205.--Planning for Animal Wellness (PAW) Act. (Public
Law 117-212). October 17, 2022.
This act directs the Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA) to establish a working group relating to best practices
and federal guidance for animals in emergencies and disasters.
Specifically, the working group shall (1) encourage and foster
collaborative efforts among individuals and entities working to
address the needs of household pets, service and assistance
animals, and captive animals in emergency and disaster
preparedness, response, and recovery; and (2) review best
practices and federal guidance on sheltering and evacuation
planning relating to the needs of such pets and animals.
B. POSTAL NAMING BILLS
H.R. 91--To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 810 South Pendleton Street in Easley,
South Carolina as the ``Private First Class Barrett Lyle Austin
Post Office Building''. (Public Law 117-193). October 11, 2022.
H.R. 92--To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 110 Johnson Street in Pickens, South
Carolina, as the ``Specialist Four Charles Johnson Post
Office''. (Public Law 117-194). October 11, 2022.
H.R. 203--To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 4020 Broadway Street in Houston,
Texas, as the ``Benny C. Martinez Post Office Building''.
(Public Law 117-265). December 27, 2022.
H.R. 208--To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 500 West Main Street, Suite 102 in
Tupelo, Mississippi, as the ``Colonel Carlyle Smitty Harris
Post Office''. (Public Law 117-33). August 06, 2021.
H.R. 228--To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 2141 Ferry Street in Anderson,
California, as the ``Norma Comnick Post Office Building''.
(Public Law 117-230). December 19, 2022.
H.R. 264--To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 1101 Charlotte Street in Georgetown,
South Carolina, as the ``Joseph Hayne Rainey Memorial Post
Office Building''. (Public Law 117-34). August 06, 2021.
H.R. 700--To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 303 East Mississippi Avenue in
Elwood, Illinois, as the ``Lawrence M. `Larry' Walsh Sr. Post
Office''. (Public Law 117-231). December 19, 2022.
H.R. 735--To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 502 East Cotati Avenue in Cotati,
California, as the ``Arturo L. Ibleto Post Office Building''.
(Public Law 117-155). June 14, 2022.
H.R. 767--To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 40 Fulton Street in Middletown, New
York, as the ``Benjamin A. Gilman Post Office Building''.
(Public Law 117-156). June 14, 2022.
H.R. 772--To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 229 Minnetonka Avenue South in
Wayzata, Minnesota, as the ``Jim Ramstad Post Office''. (Public
Law 117-35). August 06, 2021.
H.R. 960--To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 3493 Burnet Avenue in Cincinnati,
Ohio, as the ``John H. Leahr and Herbert M. Heilbrun Post
Office''. (Public Law 117-93). March 11, 2022.
H.R. 1095--To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 101 South Willowbrook Avenue in
Compton, California, as the ``PFC James Anderson, Jr., Post
Office Building''. (Public Law 117-268). December 27, 2022.
H.R. 1170--To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 1 League in Irvine, California, as
the ``Tuskegee Airman Lieutenant Colonel Robert J. Friend
Memorial Post Office Building''. (Public Law 117-152). June 23,
2022.
H.R. 1298--To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 1233 North Cedar Street in Owasso,
Oklahoma, as the ``Technical Sergeant Marshal Roberts Post
Office Building''. (Public Law 117-143). June 16, 2022.
H.R. 1444--To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 132 North Loudoun Street, Suite 1 in
Winchester, Virginia, as the ``Patsy Cline Post Office''.
(Public Law 117-157). June 24, 2022.
S. 566--To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 42 Main Street in Slatersville, Rhode
Island, as the ``Specialist Matthew R. Turcotte Post Office''.
(Public Law 117-87). February 22, 2022.
H.R. 2044--To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 17 East Main Street in Herington,
Kansas, as the ``Captain Emil J. Kapaun Post Office Building''.
(Public Law 117-91). March 10, 2022.
H.R. 2142--To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 170 Manhattan Avenue in Buffalo, New
York, as the ``Indiana Hunt-Martin Post Office Building''.
(Public Law 117-195). October 11, 2022.
H.R. 2324--To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 2800 South Adams Street in
Tallahassee, Florida, as the ``D. Edwina Stephens Post
Office''. (Public Law 117-153). June 23, 2022.
H.R. 2472--To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 82422 Cadiz Jewett Road in Cadiz,
Ohio, as the ``John Armor Bingham Post Office''. (Public Law
117-269). December 27, 2022.
H.R. 2473--To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 275 Penn Avenue in Salem, Ohio, as
the ``Howard Arthur Tibbs Post Office''. (Public Law 117-270).
December 27, 2022.
H.R. 3175--To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 135 Main Street in Biloxi,
Mississippi, as the ``Robert S. McKeithen Post Office
Building''. (Public Law 117-232). December 19, 2022.
H.R. 3210--To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 1905 15th Street in Boulder,
Colorado, as the ``Officer Eric H. Talley Post Office
Building''. (Public Law 117-92). March 10, 2022.
H.R. 3419--To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 66 Meserole Avenue in Brooklyn, New
York, as the ``Joseph R. Lentol Post Office''. (Public Law 117-
94). March 11, 2022.
H.R. 3508--To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 39 West Main Street in Honeoye Falls,
New York, as the ``CW4 Christian J. Koch Post Office''. (Public
Law 117-196). October 11, 2022.
H.R. 3539--To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 223 West Chalan Santo Papa in
Hagatna, Guam, as the ``Atanasio Taitano Perez Post Office''.
(Public Law 117-197). October 11, 2022.
H.R. 3579--To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 200 East Main Street in Maroa,
Illinois, as the ``Jeremy L. Ridlen Post Office''. (Public Law
117-141). June 15, 2022.
H.R. 3613--To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 202 Trumbull Street in Saint Clair,
Michigan, as the ``Corporal Jeffrey Robert Standfest Post
Office Building''. (Public Law 117-147). June 16, 2022.
H.R. 4168--To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 6223 Maple Street in Omaha, Nebraska,
as the ``Petty Officer 1st Class Charles Jackson French Post
Office''. (Public Law 117-142). June 15, 2022.
H.R. 4622--To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 226 North Main Street in Roseville,
Ohio, as the ``Ronald E. Rosser Post Office''. (Public Law 117-
274). December 27, 2022.
H.R. 4899--To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 10 Broadway Street West in Akeley,
Minnesota, as the ``Neal Kenneth Todd Post Office''. (Public
Law 117-276). December 27, 2022.
H.R. 5271--To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 2245 Rosa L. Parks Boulevard in
Nashville, Tennessee, as the ``Thelma Harper Post Office
Building''. (Public Law 117-277). December 27, 2022.
H.R. 5577--To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 3900 Crown Road Southwest in Atlanta,
Georgia, as the ``John R. Lewis Post Office Building''. (Public
Law 117-184) October 04, 2022.
H.R. 5659--To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 1961 North C. Street in Oxnard,
California, as the ``John R. Hatcher III Post Office
Building''. (Public Law 117-280). December 27, 2022.
H.R. 5794--To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 850 Walnut Street in McKeesport,
Pennsylvania, as the ``First Sergeant Leonard A. Funk, Jr. Post
Office Building''. (Public Law 117-281). December 27, 2022.
H.R. 5809--To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 1801 Town and Country Drive in Norco,
California, as the ``Lance Corporal Kareem Nikoui Memorial Post
Office Building''. (Public Law 117-198). October 11, 2022.
H.R. 5900--To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 2016 East 1st Street in Los Angeles,
California, as the ``Marine Corps Reserve PVT Jacob Cruz Post
Office''. (Public Law 117-283). December 27, 2022.
H.R. 6080--To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 5420 Kavanaugh Boulevard in Little
Rock, Arkansas, as the ``Ronald A. Robinson Post Office''.
(Public Law 117-290). December 27, 2022.
H.R. 6267--To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 15 Chestnut Street in Suffern, New
York, as the ``Sergeant Gerald T. `Jerry' Donnellan Post
Office''. (Public Law 117-294). December 27, 2022.
H.R. 6386--To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 450 West Schaumburg, Illinois, as the
``Veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan Memorial Post Office
Building''. (Public Law 117-295). December 27, 2022.
H.R. 6614--To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 4744 Grand River Avenue in Detroit,
Michigan, as the ``Rosa Louise McCauley Parks Post Office
Building''. (Public Law 117-243). December 19, 2022.
H.R. 6917--To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 301 East Congress Parkway in Crystal
Lake, Illinois, as the ``Ryan J. Cummings Post Office
Building''. (Public Law 117-299). December 27, 2022.
S. 3825--To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 3903 Melear Drive in Arlington,
Texas, as the ``Ron Wright Post Office Building''. (Public Law
117-239). December 20, 2022.
S. 3826--To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 1304 4th Avenue in Canyon, Texas, as
the ``Gary James Fletcher Post Office Building''. (Public Law
117-217). December 02, 2022.
S. 3884--To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 404 U.S. Highway 41 in Baraga,
Michigan, as the ``Cora Reynolds Anderson Post Office''.
(Public Law 117-218). December 02, 2022.
H.R. 7518--A bill to designate the facility of the United
States Postal Service located at 23200 John R. Road in Hazel
Park, Michigan, as the ``Roy E. Dickens Post Office''. (Public
Law 117-305). December 27, 2022.
H.R. 8025--A bill to designate the facility of the United
States Postal Service located at 100 South 1st Street in
Minneapolis, Minnesota, as the ``Martin Olav Sabo Post
Office''. (Public Law 117-309). December 27, 2022.
S. 4411--A bill to designate the facility of the United
States Postal Service located at 5302 Galveston Road in
Houston, Texas, as the ``Vanessa Guillen Post Office
Building''. (Public Law 117-352). January 05, 2023.
H.R. 8203--A bill to designate the facility of the United
States Postal Service located at 651 Business Interstate
Highway 35 North, Suite 420, in New Braunfels, Texas, as the
``Bob Krueger Post Office''. (Public Law 117-311). December 27,
2022.
H.R. 9308--A bill to designate the facility of the United
States Postal Service located at 6401 El Cajon Boulevard in San
Diego, California, as the ``Susan A. Davis Post Office''.
(Public Law 117-314). December 27, 2022.
VIII. ACTIVITIES OF THE SUBCOMMITTEES
PERMANENT SUBCOMMITTEE ON INVESTIGATIONS
Chairman: Jon Ossoff
Ranking Minority Member: Ron Johnson
The following is the Activities Report of the Permanent
Subcommittee on Investigations for the 117th Congress.
I. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
A. Subcommittee Jurisdiction
The Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations was originally
authorized by Senate Resolution 189 on January 28, 1948. At its
creation in 1948, the Subcommittee was part of the Committee on
Expenditures in the Executive Departments. The Subcommittee's
records and broad investigative jurisdiction over government
operations and national security issues, however, actually
antedate its creation, since it was given custody of the
jurisdiction of the former Special Committee to Investigate the
National Defense Program (the so-called ``War Investigating
Committee'' or ``Truman Committee''), chaired by Senator Harry
S. Truman during the Second World War and charged with exposing
waste, fraud, and abuse in the war effort and war profiteering.
Today, the Subcommittee is part of the Committee on Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs.\1\
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\1\In 1952, the parent committee's name was changed to the
Committee on Government Operations. It was changed again in early 1977,
to the Committee on Governmental Affairs, and again in 2005, to the
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, its present
title.
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The Subcommittee has had twelve chairmen: Senators Homer
Ferguson of Michigan (1948); Clyde R. Hoey of North Carolina
(1949-1952); Joseph R. McCarthy of Wisconsin (1953-1954); John
L. McClellan of Arkansas (1955-1972); Henry M. Jackson of
Washington (1973-1978); Sam Nunn of Georgia (1979-1980 and
1987-1994); William V. Roth of Delaware (1981-1986 and 1995-
1996); Susan M. Collins of Maine (1997-2001); Norman B. Coleman
of Minnesota (2003-2007); Carl M. Levin of Michigan (2001-2002
and 2007-2014); Robert J. Portman of Ohio (2015-2021); and Jon
Ossoff of Georgia (2021-2023).
Until 1957, the Subcommittee's jurisdiction focused
principally on waste, inefficiency, impropriety, and illegality
in government operations. Its jurisdiction then expanded over
time, today encompassing investigations within the broad ambit
of its parent committee's responsibility for matters relating
to the efficiency and economy of operations of all branches of
the government, including matters related to: (a) waste, fraud,
abuse, malfeasance, and unethical practices in government
contracting and operations; (b) organized criminal activities
affecting interstate or international commerce; (c) criminal
activity affecting the national health, welfare, or safety,
including investment fraud, commodity and securities fraud,
computer fraud, and offshore abuses; (d) criminality or
improper practices in labor-management relations; (e) the
effectiveness of present national security methods, staffing
and procedures, and U.S. relationships with international
organizations concerned with national security; (f) energy
shortages, energy pricing, management of government-owned or
controlled energy supplies, and relationships with oil
producing and consuming countries; and (g) the operations and
management of Federal regulatory policies and programs. While
retaining the status of a subcommittee of a standing committee,
the Subcommittee has long exercised its authority on an
independent basis, selecting its own staff, issuing its own
subpoenas, and determining its own investigatory agenda.
The Subcommittee acquired its sweeping jurisdiction in
several successive stages. In 1957--based on information
developed by the Subcommittee--the Senate passed a Resolution
establishing a Select Committee on Improper Activities in the
Labor or Management Field. Chaired by Senator McClellan, who
also chaired the Subcommittee at that time, the Select
Committee was composed of eight Senators--four of whom were
drawn from the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations and
four from the Committee on Labor and Public Welfare. The Select
Committee operated for three years, sharing office space,
personnel, and other facilities with the Permanent
Subcommittee. Upon its expiration in early 1960, the Select
Committee's jurisdiction and files were transferred to the
Permanent Subcommittee, greatly enlarging the latter body's
investigative authority in the labor-management area.
The Subcommittee's jurisdiction expanded further during the
1960s and 1970s. In 1961, for example, it received authority to
make inquiries into matters pertaining to organized crime and,
in 1963, held the famous Valachi hearings examining the inner
workings of the Italian Mafia. In 1967, following a summer of
riots and other civil disturbances, the Senate approved a
Resolution directing the Subcommittee to investigate the causes
of this disorder and to recommend corrective action. In January
1973, the Subcommittee acquired its national security mandate
when it merged with the National Security Subcommittee. With
this merger, the Subcommittee's jurisdiction was broadened to
include inquiries concerning the adequacy of national security
staffing and procedures, relations with international
organizations, technology transfer issues, and related matters.
In 1974, in reaction to the gasoline shortages precipitated by
the Arab-Israeli war of October 1973, the Subcommittee acquired
jurisdiction to investigate the control and management of
energy resources and supplies as well as energy pricing issues.
In 1997, the full Committee on Governmental Affairs was
charged by the Senate to conduct a special examination into
illegal or improper activities in connection with Federal
election campaigns during the 1996 election cycle. The
Permanent Subcommittee provided substantial resources and
assistance to this investigation, contributing to a greater
public understanding of what happened, to subsequent criminal
and civil legal actions taken against wrongdoers, and to
enactment of campaign finance reforms in 2001.
In 1998, the Subcommittee marked the fiftieth anniversary
of the Truman Committee's conversion into a permanent
subcommittee of the U.S. Senate.\2\ Since then, the
Subcommittee has developed particular expertise in complex
financial matters, examining the collapse of Enron Corporation
in 2001, the key causes of the 2008 financial crisis,
structured finance abuses, financial fraud, unfair credit
practices, money laundering, commodity speculation, and a wide
range of offshore and tax haven abuses. It has also focused on
issues involving health care fraud, foreign corruption, and
waste, fraud, and abuse in government programs. In the half-
century of its existence, the Subcommittee's many successful
investigations have made clear to the Senate the importance of
retaining a standing investigatory body devoted to keeping
government not only efficient and effective, but also honest
and accountable.
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\2\This anniversary also marked the first date upon which internal
Subcommittee records generally began to become available to the public.
Unlike most standing committees of the Senate whose previously
unpublished records open after a period of twenty years has elapsed,
the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, as an investigatory body,
may close its records for fifty years to protect personal privacy and
the integrity of the investigatory process. With this 50th anniversary,
the Subcommittee's earliest records, housed in the Center for
Legislative Archives at the National Archives and Records
Administration, began to open seriatim. The records of the predecessor
committee--the Truman Committee--were opened by Senator Nunn in 1980.
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B. Subcommittee Investigations
Armed with its broad jurisdictional mandate, the
Subcommittee has conducted investigations into a wide variety
of topics of public concern, ranging from financial misconduct,
to commodities speculation, predatory lending, and tax evasion.
Over the years, the Subcommittee has also conducted
investigations into criminal wrongdoing, including money
laundering, the narcotics trade, child pornography, labor
racketeering, human trafficking, the opioid crisis, and
organized crime activities. In addition, the Subcommittee has
investigated a wide range of allegations of waste, fraud, and
abuse in government programs and consumer protection issues,
addressing problems ranging from unfair credit card practices
to health care fraud. In the 117th Congress, the Subcommittee
held five hearings and issued four reports on a wide range of
issues. Under Chairman Ossoff, the Subcommittee focused on
conditions in privatized military housing, abuse and
mistreatment of women in detention, and poor conditions in
federal prisons.
(1) Historical Highlights
The Subcommittee's investigatory record as a permanent
Senate body began under the chairmanship of Republican Senator
Homer Ferguson and his Chief Counsel (and future Attorney
General and Secretary of State) William P. Rogers, as the
Subcommittee inherited the Truman Committee's role in
investigating fraud and waste in U.S. Government operations.
This investigative work became particularly colorful under the
chairmanship of Senator Clyde Hoey, a North Carolina Democrat
who took the chair from Senator Ferguson after the 1948
elections. Under Senator Hoey's leadership, the Subcommittee
won national attention for its investigation of the so-called
``five percenters,'' notorious Washington lobbyists who charged
their clients five percent of the profits from any federal
contracts they obtained on the client's behalf. Given the
Subcommittee's jurisdictional inheritance from the Truman
Committee, it is perhaps ironic that the ``five percenters''
investigation raised allegations of bribery and influence-
peddling that reached right into the White House and implicated
members of President Truman's staff. In any event, the
fledgling Subcommittee was off to a rapid start.
What began as colorful soon became contentious. When
Republicans returned to the majority in the Senate in 1953,
Wisconsin's junior senator, Joseph R. McCarthy, became the
Subcommittee's chairman. Two years earlier, as Ranking Minority
Member, Senator McCarthy had arranged for another Republican
senator, Margaret Chase Smith of Maine, to be removed from the
Subcommittee. Senator Smith's offense, in Senator McCarthy's
eyes, was her issuance of a ``Declaration of Conscience''
repudiating those who made unfounded charges and used character
assassination against their political opponents. Although
Senator Smith had carefully declined to name any specific
offender, her remarks were universally recognized as criticism
of Senator McCarthy's accusations that Communists had
infiltrated the State Department and other government agencies.
Senator McCarthy retaliated by engineering Senator Smith's
removal, replacing her with the newly-elected senator from
California, Richard Nixon.
Upon becoming Subcommittee Chairman, Senator McCarthy
staged a series of highly publicized anti-Communist
investigations, culminating in an inquiry into Communism within
the U.S. Army, which became known as the Army-McCarthy
hearings. During the latter portion of those hearings, in which
the parent Committee examined the Wisconsin Senator's attacks
on the Army, Senator McCarthy recused himself, leaving South
Dakota Senator Karl Mundt to serve as Acting Chairman of the
Subcommittee. Gavel-to-gavel television coverage of the
hearings helped turn the tide against Senator McCarthy by
raising public concern about his treatment of witnesses and
cavalier use of evidence. In December 1954, the Senate censured
Senator McCarthy for unbecoming conduct. In the following year,
the Subcommittee adopted new rules of procedure that better
protected the rights of witnesses. The Subcommittee also
strengthened the rules ensuring the right of both parties on
the Subcommittee to appoint staff, initiate and approve
investigations, and review all information in the
Subcommittee's possession.
In 1955, Senator John McClellan of Arkansas began eighteen
years of service as Chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on
Investigations. Senator McClellan appointed a young Robert F.
Kennedy as the Subcommittee's Chief Counsel. That same year,
members of the Subcommittee were joined by members of the
Senate Labor and Public Welfare Committee on a special
committee to investigate labor racketeering. Chaired by Senator
McClellan and staffed by Robert Kennedy and other Subcommittee
staff members, this special committee directed much of its
attention to criminal influence over the Teamsters Union, most
famously calling Teamster leaders Dave Beck and Jimmy Hoffa to
testify. The televised hearings of the special committee also
introduced Senators Barry Goldwater and John F. Kennedy to the
nation, as well as led to passage of the Landrum-Griffin Labor
Act.
After the special committee completed its work, the
Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations continued to
investigate organized crime. In 1962, the Subcommittee held
hearings during which Joseph Valachi outlined the activities of
La Cosa Nostra, or the Mafia. Former Subcommittee staffer
Robert Kennedy--who had by then become Attorney General in his
brother's administration--used this information to prosecute
prominent mob leaders and their accomplices. The Subcommittee's
investigations also led to passage of major legislation against
organized crime, most notably the Racketeer Influenced and
Corrupt Organizations (RICO) provisions of the Crime Control
Act of 1970. Under Chairman McClellan, the Subcommittee also
investigated fraud in the purchase of military uniforms,
corruption in the Department of Agriculture's grain storage
program, securities fraud, and civil disorders and acts of
terrorism. In addition, from 1962 to 1970, the Subcommittee
conducted an extensive probe of political interference in the
awarding of government contracts for the Pentagon's ill-fated
TFX (``tactical fighter, experimental'') aircraft. In 1968, the
Subcommittee also examined charges of corruption in U.S.
servicemen's clubs in Vietnam and elsewhere around the world.
In 1973, Senator Henry ``Scoop'' Jackson, a Democrat from
Washington, replaced Senator McClellan as the Subcommittee's
chairman. During his tenure, recalled Chief Clerk Ruth Young
Watt--who served in this position from the Subcommittee's
founding until her retirement in 1979--Ranking Minority Member
Charles Percy, an Illinois Republican, became more active on
the Subcommittee than Chairman Jackson, who was often
distracted by his Chairmanship of the Interior Committee and
his active role on the Armed Services Committee.\3\ Senator
Percy also worked closely with Georgia Democrat Sam Nunn, a
Subcommittee member who subsequently succeeded Senator Jackson
as Subcommittee Chairman in 1979. As Chairman, Senator Nunn
continued the Subcommittee's investigations into the role of
organized crime in labor-management relations and also
investigated pension fraud.
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\3\It had not been uncommon in the Subcommittee's history for the
Chairman and Ranking Minority Member to work together closely despite
partisan differences, but Senator Percy was unusually active while in
the minority--a role that included his chairing an investigation of the
hearing aid industry.
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Regular reversals of political fortunes in the Senate
during the 1980s and 1990s saw Senator Nunn trade the
chairmanship three times with Delaware Republican William Roth.
Senator Nunn served from 1979 to 1980 and again from 1987 to
1995, while Senator Roth served from 1981 to 1986, and again
from 1995 to 1996. These fifteen years saw a strengthening of
the Subcommittee's bipartisan tradition in which investigations
were initiated by either the majority or minority and fully
supported by the entire Subcommittee. For his part, Senator
Roth led a wide range of investigations into commodity
investment fraud, offshore banking schemes, money laundering,
and child pornography. Senator Nunn led inquiries into federal
drug policy, the global spread of chemical and biological
weapons, abuses in federal student aid programs, computer
security, airline safety, and health care fraud. Senator Nunn
also appointed the Subcommittee's first female counsel, Eleanor
Hill, who served as Chief Counsel to the Minority from 1982 to
1986 and then as Chief Counsel from 1987 to 1995.
Strong bipartisan traditions continued in the 105th
Congress when, in January 1997, Republican Senator Susan
Collins of Maine became the first woman to chair the Permanent
Subcommittee on Investigations. Senator John Glenn of Ohio
became the Ranking Minority Member, while also serving as
Ranking Minority Member of the full Committee. Two years later,
in the 106th Congress, after Senator Glenn's retirement,
Michigan Democrat Carl Levin succeeded him as the
Subcommittee's Ranking Minority Member. During Senator
Collins's chairmanship, the Subcommittee conducted
investigations into issues affecting Americans in their day-to-
day lives, including mortgage fraud, deceptive mailings and
sweepstakes promotions, phony credentials obtained through the
Internet, day trading of securities, and securities fraud on
the Internet. Senator Levin initiated an investigation into
money laundering. At his request, in 1999, the Subcommittee
held hearings on money laundering issues affecting private
banking services provided to wealthy individuals, and, in 2001,
on how major U.S. banks providing correspondent accounts to
offshore banks were being used to advance money laundering and
other criminal schemes.
During the 107th Congress, both Senator Collins and Senator
Levin chaired the Subcommittee. Senator Collins served as
Chairman until June 2001, when the Senate majority changed
hands; at that point, Senator Levin assumed the chairmanship
and Senator Collins, in turn, became the Ranking Minority
Member. In her first six months chairing the Subcommittee at
the start of the 107th Congress, Senator Collins held hearings
examining issues related to cross-border fraud, the improper
operation of tissue banks, and federal programs designed to
fight diabetes. When Senator Levin assumed the chairmanship, as
his first major effort, the Subcommittee initiated an 18-month
bipartisan investigation into the Enron Corporation, which had
collapsed into bankruptcy. As part of that investigation, the
Subcommittee reviewed over two million pages of documents,
conducted more than one hundred interviews, held four hearings,
and issued three bipartisan reports focusing on the role played
by Enron's Board of Directors, Enron's use of tax shelters and
structured financial instruments, and how major U.S. financial
institutions contributed to Enron's accounting deceptions,
corporate abuses, and ultimate collapse. The Subcommittee's
investigative work contributed to passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley
Act, which enacted accounting and corporate reforms in July
2002. In addition, Senator Levin continued the money laundering
investigation initiated while he was the Ranking Minority
Member, and the Subcommittee's work contributed to enactment of
major reforms strengthening U.S. anti-money laundering laws in
the 2001 USA PATRIOT Act (Patriot Act). Also during the 107th
Congress, the Subcommittee opened new investigations into
offshore tax abuses, border security, and abusive practices
related to the pricing of gasoline and other fuels.
In January 2003, at the start of the 108th Congress, after
the Senate majority party again changed hands, Senator Collins
was elevated to Chairman of the full Committee on Governmental
Affairs, and Republican Senator Norman Coleman of Minnesota
became Chairman of the Subcommittee. Over the next two years,
Senator Coleman held hearings on topics of national and global
concern including illegal file sharing on peer-to-peer
networks, abusive practices in the credit counseling industry,
the dangers of purchasing pharmaceuticals over the Internet,
SARS preparedness, border security, and how the former Iraqi
President Saddam Hussein had abused the United Nations Oil-for-
Food Program. At the request of Senator Levin, then Ranking
Minority Member, the Subcommittee examined how some U.S.
accounting firms, banks, investment firms, and tax lawyers were
designing, promoting, and implementing abusive tax shelters
across the country. Also at Senator Levin's request, the
Subcommittee investigated how some U.S. financial institutions
were failing to comply with anti-money laundering controls
mandated by the Patriot Act, using as a case history Riggs Bank
accounts involving Augusto Pinochet, the former President of
Chile, and Equatorial Guinea, an oil-rich country in Africa.
During the 109th Congress, Senator Coleman held additional
hearings on abuses associated with the United Nation's Oil-for-
Food Program and initiated a series of hearings on federal
contractors who were paid with taxpayer dollars but failed to
meet their own tax obligations, resulting in billions of
dollars in unpaid taxes. He also held hearings on border
security issues, securing the global supply chain, federal
travel abuses, abusive tax refund loans, and unfair energy
pricing. At Senator Levin's request, the Subcommittee held
hearings on offshore tax abuses responsible for $100 billion in
unpaid taxes each year, and on U.S. vulnerabilities caused by
states forming two million companies each year with hidden
owners.
During the 110th Congress, in January 2007, after the
Senate majority shifted, Senator Levin once again became
Subcommittee Chairman, while Senator Coleman became the Ranking
Minority Member. Senator Levin chaired the Subcommittee for the
next seven years. He focused the Subcommittee on investigations
into complex financial and tax matters, including unfair credit
card practices, executive stock option abuses, excessive
speculation in the natural gas and crude oil markets, and
offshore tax abuses involving tax haven banks and non-U.S.
persons dodging payment of U.S. taxes on U.S. stock dividends.
The Subcommittee's work contributed to enactment of two
landmark bills, the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility
and Disclosure Act (Credit CARD Act), which reformed credit
card practices, and the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act
(FATCA), which tackled the problem of hidden offshore bank
accounts used by U.S. persons to dodge U.S. taxes. At the
request of Senator Coleman, the Subcommittee also conducted
bipartisan investigations into Medicare and Medicaid health
care providers who cheat on their taxes, fraudulent Medicare
claims involving deceased doctors or inappropriate diagnosis
codes, U.S. dirty bomb vulnerabilities, federal payroll tax
abuses, abusive practices involving transit benefits, and
problems involving the United Nations Development Program.
During the 111th Congress, Senator Levin continued as
Subcommittee Chairman, while Senator Tom Coburn joined the
Subcommittee as its Ranking Minority Member. Under their
leadership, the Subcommittee dedicated much of its resources to
a bipartisan investigation into key causes of the 2008
financial crisis, looking in particular at the role of high-
risk home loans, regulatory failures, inflated credit ratings,
and high-risk, conflicts-ridden financial products designed and
sold by investment banks. The Subcommittee held four hearings
and released thousands of documents. The Subcommittee's work
contributed to passage of another landmark financial reform
bill, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection
Act of 2010. In addition, the Subcommittee held hearings on
excessive speculation in the wheat market, tax haven banks that
helped U.S. clients evade U.S. taxes, how to keep foreign
corruption out of the United States, and Social Security
disability fraud.
During the 112th Congress, Senator Levin and Senator Coburn
continued in their respective roles as Chairman and Ranking
Minority Member of the Subcommittee. In a series of bipartisan
investigations, the Subcommittee examined how a global banking
giant, HSBC, exposed the U.S. financial system to an array of
money laundering, drug trafficking, and terrorist financing
risks due to poor anti-money laundering controls; how two U.S.
multinational corporations, Microsoft and Hewlett Packard
engaged in offshore tax abuses; and how excessive commodity
speculation by mutual funds and others were taking place
without Dodd-Frank safeguards such as position limits being put
into effect. At the request of Senator Coburn, the Subcommittee
also conducted bipartisan investigations into problems with
Social Security disability determinations that, due to poor
procedures, perfunctory hearings, and poor quality decisions,
resulted in over one in five disability cases containing errors
or inadequate justifications; how Department of Homeland
Security state and local intelligence fusion centers failed to
yield significant, useful information to support federal
counterterrorism efforts; and how certain federal contractors
that received taxpayer dollars through stimulus funding failed
to pay their federal taxes.
During the 113th Congress, Senator Levin continued as
Chairman, while Senator John McCain joined the Subcommittee as
its Ranking Minority Member. They continued to strengthen the
Subcommittee's strong bipartisan traditions, conducting all
investigations in a bipartisan manner. During the 113th
Congress, the Subcommittee held eight hearings and released ten
reports on a variety of investigations. The investigations
examined high risk credit derivatives trades at JPMorgan;
hidden offshore accounts opened for U.S. clients by Credit
Suisse in Switzerland; corporate tax avoidance in case studies
involving Apple, Caterpillar, and a structured financial
product known as basket options; online advertising abuses;
conflicts of interest affecting the stock market and high speed
trading; IRS processing of 501(c)(4) applications; defense
acquisition reforms; and bank involvement with physical
commodities. At the end of the 113th Congress, Senator Levin
retired from the Senate.
During the 114th Congress, Senator Rob Portman became
Subcommittee Chairman with Senator Claire McCaskill serving as
Ranking Minority Member. Under the Chairman and Ranking
Member's leadership, the Subcommittee held six hearings and
issued eight reports addressing a range of public policy
concerns. Investigations examined the impact of the U.S.
corporate tax code on cross-border mergers acquisitions; online
sex trafficking; the federal government's efforts to protect
unaccompanied migrant children from human trafficking; consumer
protection in the cable and satellite television industry;
terrorist networks' use of the Internet and social media to
radicalize and recruit; the U.S. State Department's oversight
of a grantee involved in political activities in Israel; and
efforts by Medicare and private health insurance systems to
combat the opioid epidemic. The Subcommittee also initiated the
first successful civil contempt proceedings to enforce a Senate
subpoena in twenty years. The Subcommittee's long-term
investigation of online sex trafficking culminated in a final
report and hearing on January 10, 2017, at the start of the
115th Congress.
(2) More Recent Investigations
During the 115th Congress, Senator Portman continued as
Chairman while Senator Tom Carper became the Subcommittee's
Ranking Minority Member. Under the Chairman and Ranking
Member's leadership, the Subcommittee held six hearings and
issued six reports. The Subcommittee examined the opioid
crisis, including the price increase of an opioid overdose
reversal drug and the cost to federal healthcare programs and
Chinese online drug sellers shipping illicit opioids to the
United States through international mail; the federal
government's efforts to protect unaccompanied alien children;
federal agency compliance with the Digital Accountability and
Transparency Act; federal infrastructure permitting; and
Backpage.com's knowing facilitation of online sex trafficking.
During the 116th Congress, Senator Portman again served as
Subcommittee Chairman while Senator Carper continued his tenure
as Ranking Minority Member. The Subcommittee held seven
hearings and issued nine reports covering a wide range of
issues. The Subcommittee examined China's impact on the U.S.
education system, private sector data breaches, Federal
Infrastructure Permitting and FAST-41, federal cybersecurity,
the cost of government shutdowns, E-Rulemaking comment systems,
China's talent recruitment plans and the impact on the U.S.
research enterprise, Chinese government-owned carriers and
threats to U.S. networks, the art industry and U.S. policies
that undermine sanctions, HHS shelter grants for UACs, and
oversight and implementation of the STOP Act.
Faced with the unprecedented circumstances of the COVID-19
pandemic, the Subcommittee conducted a virtual roundtable in
April 2020 to examine continuity of Senate operations and
remote voting in times of crisis. This fully remote roundtable
was the first entirely virtual proceeding held in either
chamber of Congress. The processes and standards developed by
Subcommittee staff in conjunction with larger Senate community
standardized the practices for virtual and hybrid hearings
across the Senate for the remainder of the pandemic.
II. SUBCOMMITTEE HEARINGS DURING THE 117TH CONGRESS
During the 117th Congress, Senator Jon Ossoff served as
Subcommittee Chairman with Senator Ron Johnson serving as
Ranking Minority Member.
Mistreatment of Military Families in Privatized Housing. April 26,
2022. S. Hrg. 117-561.
The Subcommittee uncovered ongoing mistreatment of service
members and their families and mismanagement by one of the
largest private military housing companies--Balfour Beatty
Communities, LLC (``Balfour'')--that put the health and safety
of military families at risk. Balfour operates more than 43,000
on-base homes at 55 separate Army, Navy, and Air Force bases in
26 states serving approximately 150,000 residents. PSI's eight
month-long bipartisan inquiry found numerous instances between
November 2019 and February 2022 where Balfour's executives and
managers failed to properly respond to both repairs and
environmental hazards such as mold in homes on two military
bases--the Fort Gordon Army Base in Georgia, where Balfour
operates approximately 1,000 homes, and Sheppard Air Force Base
in Texas, where Balfour operates an estimated 700 homes. The
PSI review was a case study of these bases, particularly Ft.
Gordon. Balfour's failures in these instances exposed military
service members and their families living on these bases to
hazards that jeopardized their health and safety.
The hearing featured two panels of witnesses. The first
panel included Captain Samuel Choe, USA, Former Resident in
Balfour Beatty Housing, Fort Gordon Army Base; Technical
Sergeant Jack Fe Torres, USAF, Current Resident in Balfour
Beatty Housing, Sheppard Air Force Base; Rachel Christian,
Founder and Chief Legislative Officer, Armed Forces Housing
Advocates; and Jana Wanner, Military Spouse. The second panel
featured Richard C. Taylor, President, Facility Operations,
Renovation and Construction, Balfour Beatty Communities; and
Paula Cook, Vice President, Military Community Management,
Balfour Beatty Communities.
Corruption, Abuse, and Misconduct at U.S. Penitentiary Atlanta. July
26, 2022.
The Subcommittee's second hearing concluded a ten-month
investigation into abuse, corruption, and misconduct at U.S.
Penitentiary Atlanta (``USPA''), a federal prison in Georgia.
The investigation revealed long-term failures of federal prison
administration that likely contributed to loss of life;
jeopardized the health and safety of inmates and staff; and
undermined public safety and civil rights in Georgia and the
Southeast Region of the United States. Further, it found that
gross misconduct persisted at this prison for at least nine
years, and that much of the information was known to BOP and
accessible to BOP leadership during that period.
Correctional Services staff at USPA engaged in misconduct
with impunity and, according to BOP's own internal
investigations, lacked regard for human life. Vast quantities
of contraband, including weapons and narcotics, flowed through
the prison, enabled by staff corruption. Conditions for inmates
and pre-trial detainees have been abusive and inhumane,
violated both the Eighth Amendment right to be free from cruel
and unusual punishment and the Sixth Amendment right to
counsel.
Interviews and records revealed a facility where inmates,
including presumptively innocent pre-trial detainees, were
denied proper nutrition, access to clean drinking water, and
hygiene products; lacked access to medical care; endured months
of lockdowns with limited or no access to the outdoors or basic
services; and had rats and roaches in their food and cells.
The hearing featured two panels of witnesses. The first
panel included Erika Ramirez, Ph.D., Former Chief Psychologist,
U.S. Penitentiary Atlanta; Terri Whitehead, Former Jail
Administrator, U.S. Penitentiary Atlanta; and Rebecca Shepard,
Staff Attorney, Federal Defender Program, Inc. The second panel
featured Michael Carvajal, Director, Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Uncounted Deaths in America's Prisons and Jails: How the Department of
Justice Failed to Implement the Death in Custody Reporting Act.
September 20, 2022.
The Subcommittee's third hearing was held in conjunction
with the release of its report titled Unaccounted Deaths in
America's Prisons and Jails: How the Department of Failed to
Implement the Death in Custody Reporting Act. The hearing
examined the Subcommittee's findings that the Department of
Justice (DOJ) was failing to effectively implement the Death in
Custody Reporting Act of 2013 (``DCRA 2013''). DCRA 2013, which
reauthorized a law first passed in 2000, requires states that
accept certain federal funding to report to DOJ about who is
dying in prisons and jails. DOJ's failed implementation of DCRA
2013 undermined the effective, comprehensive, and accurate
collection of custodial death data. This failure in turn
undermined transparency and Congressional oversight of deaths
in custody.
The hearing featured two panels of witnesses. The first
panel included Vanessa Fano, Sister of Jonathon Fano, Witness'
Brother Died in the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison in
Louisiana; Belinda L. Maley, Mother of Matthew Loflin, Witness'
Son Died in the Chatham County Detention Center in Georgia; and
Andrea Armstrong, Professor of Law, Loyola University New
Orleans College of Law. The second panel featured Maureen A.
Henneberg, Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Operations and
Management, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of
Justice; and Gretta L. Goodwin, Ph.D., Director of Homeland
Security and Justice, U.S. Government Accountability Office.
Medical Mistreatment of Women in ICE Detention. November 15, 2022.
The Subcommittee's fourth hearing was released in
conjunction with its report titled Medical Mistreatment of
Women in ICE Detention. The hearing examined the Subcommittee's
investigation of alleged mistreatment of Immigration and
Customs Enforcement (``ICE'') detainees housed in the Irwin
County Detention Center (``ICDC'') in Ocilla, Georgia. The
Subcommittee's investigation identified serious issues relating
to medical treatment of women held in ICDC:
Female detainees appeared to have been subjected
to excessive, invasive, and often unnecessary gynecological
procedures.
There appeared to have been repeated failures to
secure informed consent for offsite medical procedures
performed on ICDC detainees.
Medical care provided to detainees at ICDC was
known by DHS to be deficient, but neither ICE nor LaSalle took
effective corrective action.
ICE did not conduct thorough oversight of off-
site medical providers and procedures.
The hearing featured two panels of witnesses. The first
panel included Karina Cisneros Preciado, Former Detainee at
Irwin County Detention Center; Peter H. Cherouny, MD, Professor
Emeritus of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Services,
University of Vermont College of Medicine; and Margaret G.
Mueller, MD, Associate Professor, Obstetrics and Gynecology,
Northwestern Medicine. The second panel featured Stewart D.
Smith, DHSc, Assistant Director, U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement Health Service Corps, U.S. Department of Homeland
Security; Pamela Hearn, MD, Medical Director, LaSalle
Corrections; and the Honorable Joseph V. Cuffari, Ph.D.,
Inspector General, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Office
of Inspector General.
Sexual Abuse of Female Inmates in Federal Prisons. December 13, 2022.
The Subcommittee's final hearing was held in conjunction
with the release of a report titled Sexual Abuse of Female
Inmates in Federal Prisons. The hearing examined the
Subcommittee's findings that:
BOP employees sexually abused female prisoners in
at least two-thirds (19 of 29 facilities) of federal prisons
that have held women over the past decade.
BOP has failed to successfully implement the
Prison Rape Elimination Act. It failed to prevent, detect, and
stop recurring sexual abuse in at least four federal prisons,
including abuse by senior prison officials. At FCI Dublin, for
example, the former Warden and Chaplain both sexually abused
female prisoners.
BOP management failures enabled continued sexual
abuse of female prisoners by BOP's own employees.
BOP Office of Internal Affairs' investigative
practices are seriously flawed. There is currently a backlog of
8,000 internal affairs cases, including at least hundreds of
sexual abuse cases.
The hearing featured two panels of witnesses. The first
panel included Carolyn Richardson, Formerly Incarcerated in the
Federal Bureau of Prisons; Briane Moore, Formerly Incarcerated
in the Federal Bureau of Prisons; Linda De La Rosa, Formerly
Incarcerated in the Federal Bureau of Prisons; and Brenda V.
Smith, Professor of Law, American University Washington College
of Law. The second panel included the Honorable Michael E.
Horowitz, Inspector General, U.S. Department of Justice; and
Colette S. Peters, Director, Federal Bureau of Prisons.
III. LEGISLATIVE ACTIVITIES DURING THE 117TH CONGRESS
The Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations does not have
legislative authority, but because its investigations play an
important role in bringing issues to the attention of Congress
and the public, the Subcommittee's work contributes to the
development of legislative initiatives. The Subcommittee's
activity during the 117th Congress was no exception, with
Subcommittee hearings and Members playing prominent roles in
several legislative initiatives.
1. Prison Camera Reform Act (P.L. 117-321)
The Subcommittee's multiple investigations into crime and
corruption in federal prisons underscored the role that broken
or outdated security camera systems play in enabling misconduct
and abuse. Senators Ossoff, Grassley, and Durbin introduced the
bipartisan Prison Camera Reform Act of 2021, requiring the BOP
to upgrade its security camera systems to ensure that all
facilities have the coverage necessary to protect the safety
and wellbeing of incarcerated people and staff.
The bill was referred to the Judiciary Committee and passed
the Senate by unanimous consent on October 20, 2021. A
companion bill passed the House on December 14, 2022, and the
bill was signed into law on December 27, 2022.
2. Federal Prison Oversight Act (S. 4988)
The Subcommittee's ten-month investigation into corruption,
abuse, and misconduct at USP Atlanta and the BOP, Senators
Ossoff, Durbin, and Braun introduced major bipartisan
legislation to overhaul federal prison oversight on September
28, 2022. That investigation uncovered a lack of oversight of
the federal prison system that led to long-term failures that
likely contributed to loss of life; jeopardized the health and
safety of incarcerated people and staff; and undermined public
safety and civil rights. Specifically, the bill:
Requires the DOJ's Inspector General (DOJ IG) to
conduct comprehensive, risk-based inspections of the BOP's 122
correctional facilities, provide recommendations to fix
problems, and assign each facility a risk score, with higher-
risk facilities required to be inspected more often.
Requires the DOJ IG to report its findings and
recommendations to Congress and the public, and BOP must
respond to all inspection reports within 60 days with a
corrective action plan.
Establishes an independent DOJ Ombudsman to
investigate the health, safety, welfare, and rights of
incarcerated people and staff. The Ombudsman would create a
secure hotline and online form for family members, friends, and
representatives of incarcerated people to submit complaints and
inquiries.
The bill was referred to the Judiciary Committee. A
bipartisan House companion bill was also introduced September
28, 2022.
IV. REPORTS, PRINTS, AND STUDIES
In connection with its investigations, the Subcommittee
often issues lengthy and detailed reports. During the 117th
Congress, the Subcommittee released four such reports, listed
below.
1. Mistreatment of Military Families in Privatized Housing, April 26,
2022 (Report Prepared by the Majority and Minority Staff of the
Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations and released in
conjunction with the Subcommittee's hearing on April 26, 2022.)
During service to the nation, America's military service
members and their families may live in on-base housing across
the country. Nearly all of the family housing on military
installations are operated by private companies, and service
members pay rent to these companies with taxpayer dollars. The
U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations
(``Subcommittee'' or ``PSI'') has uncovered ongoing
mistreatment of these service members and their families and
mismanagement by one of the largest private military housing
companies--Balfour Beatty Communities, LLC (``Balfour'')--that
has put the health and safety of military families at risk.
Balfour operates more than 43,000 on-base homes at 55
separate Army, Navy, and Air Force bases in 26 states serving
approximately 150,000 residents.\1\ PSI's eight month-long
inquiry found numerous instances between November 2019 and
February 2022 where Balfour's executives and managers failed to
properly respond to both repairs and environmental hazards such
as mold in homes on two military bases--the Fort Gordon Army
Base in Georgia (``Ft. Gordon''), where Balfour operates
approximately 1,000 homes, and Sheppard Air Force Base in Texas
(``Sheppard AFB''), where Balfour operates an estimated 700
homes. The PSI review was a case study of these bases,
particularly Ft. Gordon. Balfour's failures in these instances
exposed military service members and their families living on
these bases to hazards that jeopardized their health and
safety.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\See Balfour Beatty Communities, Find Your Home-Military, https:/
/www.balfourbeattycommunities.com/find-your-home/military (last visited
Apr. 11, 2022).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
PSI's inquiry found numerous examples since late 2019 of
poor conditions in Balfour's military housing and disregard of
safety concerns and environmental hazards that put military
families at risk, including:
Failures to properly remediate mold growth in
military housing subjected medically vulnerable spouses and
children of U.S. service members at Ft. Gordon to mold exposure
deemed by their physicians to pose significant health risks.
One child of a service member living in Balfour
housing at Ft. Gordon suffered from severe atopic dermatitis
that her physician believed was likely caused by untreated mold
growth in the service member's home. Other families, including
one with a child with a pre-existing medical condition,
expressed frustration at Balfour's lackluster response to
concerns about their children's mold exposure. The spouse of a
service member at the Sheppard AFB also had asthma which she
believed was exacerbated due to mold exposure in their home and
their children suffered from respiratory issues they believed
were also due to these exposures.
Military families were moved into homes at Ft.
Gordon with broken floor tiles held together by packing tape,
clogged HVAC vents, carpets filled with pet hair, rusting
pipes, and broken appliances--including a furnace leaking gas.
Military families at Ft. Gordon lived in Balfour
housing where significant water leaks went unrepaired for
months causing, in several cases, collapsed and punctured
ceilings, warped walls, doorframes, and flooring, and damage to
service members' belongings and appliances.
According to a Balfour employee, Balfour's
facility manager at Ft. Gordon stated that health concerns
about asbestos are ``overblown or overstated'' and suggested
that the employee should just ``glue down'' broken floor tiles
that may contain asbestos without testing them for asbestos or
attempting to remediate the issue.
These poor conditions persisted well after Richard Taylor,
one of Balfour's two co-presidents, publicly pledged in
testimony before Congress on December 5, 2019, to improve
Balfour's ability to monitor repairs and responses to
conditions such as mold, to prioritize the health and safety of
residents, and to prepare homes for move-ins.\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\See House Armed Services Committee, Subcommittee on Readiness,
Written Testimony of Richard C. Taylor at 3-6, Hearing on Privatized
Housing: Are Conditions Improving for Our Military Families, 116th
Congress (Dec. 5, 2019) (``2019 Taylor HSAC Testimony''). According to
Balfour's leadership directory, Mr. Taylor's military housing
responsibilities include ``preventative maintenance, optimal utilities
management, quality assurance, and above all, Zero Harm, the Balfour
Beatty safety pledge.'' See ``Our Leadership,'' Balfour Beatty
Communities, https://www.balfourbeattycommunities.com/get-to-know-us/
leadership (last visited Apr. 10, 2022).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mr. Taylor's pledge came in response to Balfour learning
that its military housing operations were the subject of a
Department of Justice (``DOJ'') fraud investigation initiated
earlier that year.\3\ In December 2021, Balfour pled guilty to
committing major fraud against the United States from 2013 to
2019. Balfour's fraudulent activities included Balfour
employees manipulating and falsifying its military housing work
order data to obtain performance incentive fees from taxpayer
funds that it had not earned.\4\ Balfour was ordered to pay
$65.4 million in fines and restitution and was placed under an
independent compliance monitor for three years.\5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\See 2019 Taylor HSAC Testimony at 2.
\4\See U.S. Department of Justice: Justice Department Announces
Global Resolution of Criminal and Civil Investigations with Privatized
Military Housing Contractor for Defrauding U.S. Military (Dec. 22,
2021) (``DOJ Balfour Guilty Plea Press Release''). See: https://
www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-announces-global-resolution-
criminal-and-civil-investigations-privatized. According to DOJ's press
release, Balfour was eligible for performance incentives for managing
and maintaining military housing if it ``satisfied performance
objectives related to, among other things, maintenance of the
housing[.]'' When ``Balfour employees altered or manipulated [work
order] data,'' this ``falsely inflated'' Balfour's performance metrics
and, ultimately, ``fraudulently induce[d] the [military] service
branches to pay performance incentive fees which [Balfour] had not
earned.'' See id.
\5\Id. DOJ also specifically noted that Balfour's compliance
program and internal controls were not yet fully implemented or tested
to ensure prevention and detection of similar conduct in the future,
and Balfour agreed to be subject to independent compliance monitoring
for at least three years as part of its guilty plea. See id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In announcing the guilty plea, Deputy Attorney General Lisa
O. Monaco said, ``Instead of promptly repairing housing for
U.S. service members as required, [Balfour] lied about the
repairs to pocket millions of dollars in performance bonuses.
This pervasive fraud was a consequence of [Balfour's] broken
corporate culture, which valued profit over the welfare of
service members.''\6\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\6\See DOJ Balfour Guilty Plea Press Release.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Despite Balfour's awareness of the DOJ investigation, PSI
uncovered multiple instances after 2019--even after Balfour's
guilty plea in December 2021--where Balfour employees recorded
inaccurate and incomplete housing work order data for repair
requests in its internal work order tracking system--named
Yardi--which could lead to Balfour receiving improper
performance fees from taxpayers' funds.\7\ For example:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\7\The Subcommittee was not able to determine the extent to which
Balfour received improper payments due to the inaccurate work order
data discussed in this report.
Contrary to company policy, Balfour employees
repeatedly failed to record military families' complaints about
mold in their home in Balfour's Yardi internal data management
software, and also inaccurately entered the complaints about
mold on multiple occasions referring to them instead as issues
involving ``interior repairs,'' ``painting,'' ``carpentry,'' or
``plumbing'' issues;
According to a former Balfour employee, two
successive Balfour facility managers at Ft. Gordon routinely
directed maintenance staff to advise military families to
contact them directly, instead of submitting repair requests
online.\8\ However, the families' verbal repair requests often
would not be logged into Balfour's internal work order tracking
system. Further, when a service member followed up on his
repeated verbal requests for mold remediation in his home,
Balfour staff cited the lack of such a record in Yardi to
allege that the service member had not been complaining about
mold in his home, which the service member adamantly denies;
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\8\From 2019 to present, Balfour has had three facility managers at
Ft. Gordon--1) the manager who was in charge of the Ft. Gordon facility
department from 2019 until early October 2020 (``Former Balfour
Facility Manager''); 2) Tom Rodriguez, who took over in October 2020
and remained in charge until November 2021, and 3) the current facility
manager. The two successive managers referenced above are the Former
Balfour Facility Manager and Mr. Rodriguez.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Another former Balfour supervisor informed the
Subcommittee that due to pressure from the Balfour facility
manager, Balfour's maintenance staff at Ft. Gordon prematurely
closed out mold work orders after only making superficial
repairs and without trying to fix the root cause of the mold
growth; and
A senior Balfour executive acknowledged to the
Subcommittee that she was made aware of concerns of inaccurate
and incomplete work order data at Ft. Gordon after 2019, but
failed to ensure that Balfour took any action to investigate or
correct these problems, thus highlighting structural oversight
deficiencies that remain at Balfour.
The types of improper behavior uncovered by PSI at Balfour
after 2019 bear striking similarities to the types of conduct
which Balfour admitted to in its December 2021 guilty plea for
actions it took between 2013 and 2019.
The Subcommittee's Inquiry
In August 2021, the Subcommittee initiated its inquiry into
Balfour's military housing operations after Chairman Ossoff
received multiple housing complaints from residents when he
visited Ft. Gordon the previous month. Examining homes at Ft.
Gordon, the Subcommittee sought to determine whether Balfour
has fulfilled the public pledge that its co-president, Richard
Taylor, made in December 2019 to improve how the company
responds to mold and other significant environmental issues,
how it addresses residents' health and safety concerns and
basic repairs, and how it prepares homes prior to move-in.
Given Balfour's December 2021 guilty plea for fraud
connected to its compliance and internal controls practices,
and that Balfour is eligible to collect incentive payments from
taxpayer dollars for completing timely repairs, the
Subcommittee further sought to assess whether Balfour has
improved its compliance controls and internal procedures. The
Subcommittee also sought to determine whether Balfour's work
order data is now more accurate and complete than it had been
between 2013 and 2019, the time period DOJ examined in its
fraud investigation of Balfour.
The Subcommittee received and reviewed more than 11,000
pages of records from Balfour. These records included Balfour's
written policies and procedures, work order data and records,
e-mails and internal memos concerning the presence of mold and
asbestos and other potentially unsafe conditions in the homes
that Balfour manages for the U.S. military. The Subcommittee
also received internal complaints, reports, and analyses
regarding the poor conditions of some of these homes.
In addition, the Subcommittee received and reviewed
documents provided by military families and former Balfour
employees. These records included those families'
correspondence with Balfour, the maintenance requests the
families filed, and medical records of their consultation with
physicians concerning the potential effect of environmental
hazards, such as mold, on the health and safety of family
members.
Beyond reviewing records, the Subcommittee interviewed more
than one dozen military family members and former Balfour
employees. The Subcommittee secured testimony from eleven
executives, managers, and employees from Balfour--ranging from
maintenance supervisors to Balfour's co-president. Finally, the
Subcommittee received briefings from the U.S. Department of
Defense (``DoD''), the U.S. Army, the Government Accountability
Office, and advocacy groups for military families.
The Subcommittee's Key Findings
Balfour's staff at Ft. Gordon frequently ignored or delayed
responding to urgent requests from military families to address
conditions such as mold and roof leaks that threatened the
families' health and safety. A former Balfour employee at Ft.
Gordon (``Former Balfour Ft. Gordon Employee #1'') described to
the Subcommittee how military families often contacted him
multiple times each week because other Balfour employees were
not responding properly to those families' repair requests,
including requests involving potentially serious health
issues.\9\ The Subcommittee's inquiry found numerous
corroborating examples:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\9\See Former Balfour Ft. Gordon Employee #1, Balfour Beatty
Communities, Interview with PSI.
From October 2020 until July 2021, Balfour failed
to address water leaks and mold growth in the home of a
military family at Ft. Gordon. According to a Balfour internal
memo--the unrepaired water leak resulted in a ``[h]ole in the
ceiling of the master bedroom'' and left the bathroom wall
``wet and squishy.''\10\ The mold in the home exposed the
military spouse in this family--who has a serious immune
disorder--to risks of ``significant health consequences,''
according to her doctor.\11\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\10\See Balfour Document Production to PSI with production number
BBCPSI-011021 (hereafter, references to documents produced by Balfour
to PSI will be identified by their production numbers, i.e., BBCPSI-
xxxxxx).
\11\See BBCPSI-007427.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In 2020, Balfour's failure to respond to mold in
the Ft. Gordon home of an U.S. Army officer likely caused that
officer's 8-year daughter to suffer from severe atopic
dermatitis, a serious skin condition, according to the girl's
physician.
Balfour's months-long failure in the summer of
2020 to repair a roof leak in another military family's home at
Ft. Gordon led to mold growth that required the military spouse
to seek treatment from an infectious disease specialist for her
respiratory symptoms.
For six weeks in 2020, Balfour's facility manager
at Ft. Gordon did not return ``multiple'' calls from a military
family even after their hallway ceiling caved in due to a roof
leak that had gone unrepaired for months.
As recently as February 2022, Balfour failed to
promptly repair a water leak, which a military family reported
in October 2021, or to remediate mold that had formed as a
result of the leak until a hole appeared in the military
family's bathroom ceiling months after the leak first
began.\12\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\12\As noted above, this PSI inquiry primarily focused on Ft.
Gordon and Sheppard AFB as a case study of Balfour's operational,
management, and work order data recording practices. This report
details the specific experiences of nine military families due to
Balfour's failures to make timely and thorough repairs to their homes
on these two bases, to repair and clean homes prior to move-ins and to
fully and properly address environmental hazards in these homes. These
nine military families represent a small percentage of residents served
by Balfour at Ft. Gordon and Sheppard AFB. However, the Subcommittee's
interviews of former Balfour employees, information provided to PSI by
military housing advocates, and Balfour's own records together show
that many other families--particularly at Ft. Gordon--experienced
similar housing issues due to failures on Balfour's part. As noted
above, a former Balfour employee described receiving multiple calls
each week from frustrated Ft. Gordon military families. Further, a
tracking chart that Balfour produced to PSI with summaries of Ft.
Gordon residents' written comments contain dozens of complaints after
2019 from military service members and veterans--who are not from the
nine families detailed in this report--concerning Balfour's delays and
failures to address conditions like water leaks and mold hazards in
these homes. See generally BBCPSI-011019. Lastly, just since May 2021,
the advocacy group Armed Forces Housing Advocates (AFHA) has helped 350
families deal with problems due to Balfour's housing operations at
military bases in seven states across the United States: California
(119), Colorado (6), Texas (30), Florida (23), Georgia (124), South
Carolina (1), and Oklahoma (47).
Balfour repeatedly failed to clean or to make basic repairs
to homes at Ft. Gordon prior to move-ins. Balfour failed to
clean or remove carpets, including when it was requested to
accommodate concerns about exacerbation of asthma and severe
allergies, for three of the eight Ft. Gordon military families
whose experiences are detailed in this report. Information
provided to PSI by former Balfour employees and military
families, as well as Balfour's records, further show that
Balfour's failure to clean or make basic repairs prior to move-
ins at Ft. Gordon was widespread. For example, a former Balfour
employee told the Subcommittee that he received multiple
complaints in a typical week from new residents about
conditions such as mold, clogged HVAC vents, rusting pipes,
broken appliances, and leaks that had not been repaired or
addressed while the homes were vacant.\13\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\13\See Former Balfour Ft. Gordon Employee 1 PSI Interview.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Subcommittee uncovered numerous examples of
inaccuracies and omissions in Yardi, Balfour's internal work
order data tracking system after 2019, when the company
initially vowed to correct these problems. In December 2021,
Balfour pled guilty for having knowingly obtained incentive
fees from 2013 to 2019 based on inaccurate and incomplete work
order data. Balfour misrepresented that ``maintenance issues
raised by residents were being addressed in a timely manner,''
according to the criminal charges filed against Balfour.\14\
The Subcommittee found that inaccurate and incomplete work
order data has persisted at Ft. Gordon since 2019.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\14\U.S. v. Balfour Beatty Communities, LLC, 1:21-cr-742-EGS
(D.D.C.), Information T 9, Dkt. 1.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Specifically, the Subcommittee found numerous instances
where Balfour's internal records show that military families at
Ft. Gordon and Sheppard AFB reported mold in their homes, yet
Balfour's internal work order database did not reflect those
repair requests nor did it cite ``mold'' as the issue reported.
Instead, they described these requests as being related to
``internal repairs,'' ``carpentry'' and ``painting,'' for
instance. Further, former Balfour employees described to the
Subcommittee the practices in 2020 and 2021 by two successive
facility managers at Ft. Gordon--that included telling staff to
encourage military families to verbally request repairs and
then frequently not entering those verbal requests into
Balfour's internal tracking system--that likely undermined the
data integrity of this system.\15\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\15\See Former Balfour Ft. Gordon Employee #1 PSI Interview.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
A senior Balfour executive acknowledged to the Subcommittee
that she was made aware of concerns of inaccurate and
incomplete work order data at Ft. Gordon after 2019, but failed
to ensure that Balfour took any action to investigate or
correct these concerns, highlighting ongoing internal oversight
weaknesses at Balfour. Paula Cook, a Balfour vice president
with ``executive leadership responsibility for the Army
military housing portfolio,''\16\ admitted in an interview with
the Subcommittee that she knew that the Balfour facility
manager who was in charge at Ft. Gordon from 2019 to early
October 2020 (``Former Balfour Ft. Gordon Facility Manager''),
was not implementing repairs that he promised to make for
residents.\17\ Ms. Cook did not directly supervise this
employee. However, as a senior Balfour executive she failed to
ensure that Balfour took steps to investigate or correct these
issues at Ft. Gordon.\18\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\16\See ``Our Leadership,'' Balfour Beatty Communities, https://
www.balfourbeattycommunities.com/get-to-know-us/leadership (last
visited Apr. 10, 2022). In 2019, Balfour restructured its military
housing business and ``split the roles of Community Management, which
is responsible for customer service and support and community leasing
activities, and Facilities Management, which is responsible for
maintenance.'' See Taylor 2019 HSAC Testimony at 3. Since 2019, Ms.
Cook has been one of three Community Management vice presidents and is
responsible for the 17 Army bases where Balfour operates housing. The
other two Community Management vice presidents oversee Balfour's
housing operations on U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force bases, respectively.
\17\Paula Cook, Balfour Beatty Communities, Interview with PSI.
\18\See id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Further, in February 2021, an Army officer at Ft. Gordon
presented Ms. Cook with allegations of missing mold work orders
for his home in 2020.\19\ A day earlier, Ms. Cook had received
an email in which Tom Rodriguez, Former Balfour Ft. Gordon
Facility Manager's successor at Ft. Gordon, wrote that when he
``arrived on site [on] October 5, 2020[,] words could not
describe the total Chaos that was the Facilities
Department.''\20\ Yet, Ms. Cook told the Subcommittee that she
``did not ask anyone anything'' in order to investigate the
Army officer's allegations of missing work orders in 2020
despite being aware of concerns raised by Balfour's own staff
about the chaotic state of the facility department at Ft.
Gordon at that time.\21\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\19\See BBCPSI-000994.
\20\See BBCPSI-008394.
\21\Paula Cook PSI Interview. Ms. Cook was not directly responsible
for Balfour's work order data and records, but, as she acknowledged in
her interview, she had access to these data and records and she often
was informed of concerns that military families expressed about delayed
or inadequate repairs. Similarly, while Ms. Cook did not directly
supervise Facilities Management staff like Tom Rodriguez or Former
Balfour Facility Manager, she had direct access to senior Facility
Management executives like Richard Taylor. See id.; see also, e.g.,
BBCPSI-009598. Ultimately, regardless of whom she supervised directly,
Ms. Cook is a senior Balfour executive. As a result, once she was made
aware of critical data integrity issues regarding problems with
Balfour's work order data she had a responsibility to follow up and to
ensure that these issues were addressed by the appropriate Balfour
staff.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Subcommittee identified significant gaps that remain in
Balfour's compliance procedures. Balfour admitted that its
``inadequate controls [from 2013 to 2019] contributed to the
misconduct'' relevant to its December 2021 guilty plea.\22\
However, the Subcommittee found that as of late 2021,
significant gaps in compliance procedures continued to exist at
Balfour. For example, Balfour's compliance staff were kept in
the dark for months about two internal complaints submitted by
departing facility employees at Ft. Gordon--including one that
specifically stated that the way Tom Rodriguez, Balfour's
facility manager at Ft. Gordon from October 2020 to November
2021 ``handles asbestos needs to be investigated.''\23\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\22\U.S. v. Balfour Beatty Communities, LLC, 1:21-cr-742-EGS
(D.D.C.), Statement of Facts at A-10, Dkt. 5-1 (``U.S. v. Balfour
Statement of Facts'').
\23\See Richard Taylor, Balfour Beatty Communities, Interview with
PSI; see also BBCPSI-008033
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Subcommittee uncovered numerous specific instances
where Balfour's housing practices since 2019 put military
families' health and safety at risk. The Subcommittee further
found that Balfour's practices since 2019 at the bases it
examined mirror Balfour's practices between 2013 and 2019 that
led to its December 2021 guilty plea for fraud. The chart below
provides a comparison between Balfour's conduct from 2013 to
2019 and the actions the Subcommittee discovered that Balfour
was engaged in after 2019:
2. Uncounted Deaths in America's Prisons and Jails: How the Department
of Justice Failed to Implement the Death in Custody Reporting
Act, September 20, 2022. (Report Prepared by the Majority and
Minority Staff of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations
and released in conjunction with the Subcommittee's hearing on
September 20, 2022.)
Approximately 1.5 million people are incarcerated in state
and local correctional facilities throughout the United
States.\24\ Thousands die every year.\25\ The Death in Custody
Reporting Act of 2013 (``DCRA 2013'' or ``the
reauthorization'')--reauthorizing a law that first passed in
2000--requires states that accept certain federal funding to
report to the Department of Justice (``DOJ'' or ``the
Department'') about who is dying in prisons and jails.\26\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\24\Government Accountability Office, Deaths in Custody: Additional
Action Needed to Help Ensure Data Collected by DOJ are Utilized, at 1
(GAO-22-106033) (Sept. 20, 2022).
\25\ In FY 2019, for example, a total of 3,853 individuals died in
state prisons or private prison facilities under a state contract and a
total of 1,200 individuals died in local jails. See Department of
Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics,
Mortality in State and Federal Prisons 2001-2019-Statistical Tables
(Dec. 2021) (bjs.ojp.gov/content/pub/pdf/msfp0119st.pdf); Department of
Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics,
Mortality in Local Jails 2000-2019-Statistical Tables (Dec. 2021)
(bjs.ojp.gov/content/pub/pdf/mlj0019st.pdf).
\26\Death in Custody Reporting Act of 2013, Pub. L. No. 113-242;
Death in Custody Reporting Act of 2000, Pub. L. No. 106-297. DCRA 2013,
which became law in 2014, requires federal agencies to report deaths in
custody to DOJ. Id. This report and investigation focuses on the
portion of DCRA 2013 that concerns deaths in state or local custody,
and does not consider the portion of the law that concerns deaths in
federal custody.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Over the course of a ten-month bipartisan investigation
into DOJ's implementation of the law, the Permanent
Subcommittee on Investigations (``PSI'' or ``the
Subcommittee'') found that DOJ is failing to effectively
implement DCRA 2013. DOJ's failed implementation of DCRA 2013
undermined the effective, comprehensive, and accurate
collection of custodial death data.
This failure in turn undermined transparency and
Congressional oversight of deaths in custody. The Subcommittee
has found that DOJ will be at least eight years past-due in
providing Congress with the DCRA 2013-required 2016 report on
how custodial deaths can be reduced. The Subcommittee also
highlights the following key facts: in Fiscal Year (``FY'')
2021 alone, DOJ failed to identify at least 990 prison and
arrest related deaths; and 70 percent of the data DOJ collected
was incomplete.\27\ DOJ failed to implement effective data
collection methodology, despite internal warnings from the DOJ
Office of the Inspector General (``OIG'') and the Bureau of
Justice Statistics (BJS).\28\ DOJ's failures were preventable.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\27\Government Accountability Office, Deaths in Custody: Additional
Action Needed to Help Ensure Data Collected by DOJ are Utilized, at 1
(GAO-22-106033) (Sept. 20, 2022).
\28\Dr. E. Ann Carson, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Report
Comparing Bureau of Justice Statistics and Bureau of Justice Assistance
Mortality Death Collections, to fulfill Terms of Clearance for OMB
Control Number 1121-0249 (May 11, 2021) (omb.report/icr/202105-1121-
001/doc/111526800); Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector
General, Review of the Department of Justice's Implementation of the
Death in Custody Reporting Act of 2013 (Dec. 2018) (oig.justice.gov/
reports/2018/e1901.pdf).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The co-sponsors of DCRA, which passed the United States
Senate by unanimous consent and the United States House of
Representatives by wide bipartisan margins in both 2000 and
again in 2013, described why collecting death data was
critical: it would bring a ``new level of accountability to our
Nation's correctional institutions''; ``provide openness in
government''; ``bolster public confidence and trust in our
judicial system''; and ``bring additional transparency.''\29\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\29\Statement of Representative Asa Hutchinson, Congressional
Record, H6737 (July 24, 2000); Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy,
Congressional Record, S6341 (Dec. 4, 2014).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
DOJ itself described the law in similar terms. According to
DOJ:
The requirements set forth in DCRA provide an opportunity
to improve understanding of why deaths occur in custody and
develop solutions to prevent avoidable deaths. Knowledge of the
circumstances leading to death and the number of fatalities is
crucial to developing policies and program changes that could
reduce the number of deaths in custody.\30\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\30\Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance, Death in
Custody Reporting Act (DCRA) Data Collection (bja.ojp.gov/program/dcra/
overview).
DCRA 2013 requires ``at a minimum'' that states report to
DOJ the following information about custodial deaths: the name,
gender, race, ethnicity, and age of the deceased; the date,
time, and location of death; the law enforcement agency that
was holding the decedent; and a brief description of the
circumstances surrounding the death.\31\ DCRA 2013 also
requires DOJ to report to Congress on how that information can
be used to prevent avoidable deaths.\32\ This report was due on
December 18, 2016, two years after DCRA 2013 became law.\33\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\31\Death in Custody Reporting Act of 2013, Pub. L. No. 113-242.
\32\Death in Custody Reporting Act of 2013, Pub. L. No. 113-242.
\33\Death in Custody Reporting Act of 2013, Pub. L. No. 113-242.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
DOJ's efforts to implement DCRA 2013 were a continuation of
its efforts to implement the original version of the law, the
Death in Custody Reporting Act of 2000 (``DCRA 2000'')\34\. In
response to DCRA 2000, DOJ tasked its criminal justice
statistics agency, BJS, with creating a national survey of
deaths in federal, state, and local custody.\35\ From 2000
through 2019, BJS collected, studied, and made public
information about deaths in custody, information that went far
beyond the statutory requirements.\36\ During this period, BJS
claims to have collected data from an average of 98 percent of
all local jails and 100 percent of all state prisons.\37\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\34\Death in Custody Reporting Act of 2000, Pub. L. No. 106-297.
DCRA 2000 required DOJ to collect almost all of the same information as
required under DCRA 2013. Specifically, the law required that the
information collected ``at a minimum'' includes: (1) the name, gender,
race, ethnicity, and age of the deceased; (2) the date, time, and
location of death; and (3) a brief description of the circumstances
surrounding the death. Id. Unlike DCRA 2013, DCRA 2000 did not require
the collection of ``the law enforcement agency that detained, arrested,
or was in the process of arresting the deceased.''
\35\Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of
Justice Statistics, Mortality in Correctional Institutions (MCI)
(Formerly Deaths in Custody Reporting Program (DCRP) (bjs.ojp.gov/data-
collection/mortality-correctional-institutions-mci-formerly-deaths-
custody-reporting-program).
\36\Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of
Justice Statistics, Mortality in Correctional Institutions (MCI)
(Formerly Deaths in Custody Reporting Program (DCRP) (bjs.ojp.gov/data-
collection/mortality-correctional-institutions-mci-formerly-deaths-
custody-reporting-program).
\37\Dr. E. Ann Carson, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Report
Comparing Bureau of Justice Statistics and Bureau of Justice Assistance
Mortality Death Collections, to fulfill Terms of Clearance for OMB
Control Number 1121-0249, at 3 (May 11, 2021) (omb.report/icr/202105-
1121-001/doc/111526800).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In a change from DCRA 2000, DCRA 2013 authorizes the
Attorney General to withhold up to 10 percent of Edward Byrne
Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (``JAG'') funding from states
that accepted those funds but did not report custodial death
data to DOJ.\38\ In 2016, two years after DCRA 2013 became law,
DOJ decided that BJS could no longer implement DCRA 2013.\39\
DOJ explained its rationale in a December 2016 report to
Congress.\40\ According to DOJ, because BJS was a statistical
agency, it was precluded from administering a data collection
program with ``compliance and penalty determinations,'' such as
the penalty included in DCRA 2013.\41\ DOJ informed Congress
that it would be reassigning the state death data collection
from BJS to the Bureau of Justice Assistance (``BJA''), a
grant-making agency within DOJ's Office of Justice Programs
(``OJP'').\42\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\38\Department of Justice, Report of the Attorney General to
Congress Pursuant to the Death in Custody Reporting Act, at 5 (Dec. 16,
2016) (www.justice.gov/archives/page/file/918846/download).
\39\See Department of Justice, Report of the Attorney General to
Congress Pursuant to the Death in Custody Reporting Act (Dec. 16, 2016)
(www.justice.gov/archives/page/file/918846/download).
\40\Department of Justice, Report of the Attorney General to
Congress Pursuant to the Death in Custody Reporting Act (Dec. 16, 2016)
(www.justice.gov/archives/page/file/918846/download).
\41\Department of Justice, Report of the Attorney General to
Congress Pursuant to the Death in Custody Reporting Act, at 8 n.17
(Dec. 16, 2016) (www.justice.gov/archives/page/file/918846/download);
Dr. Phelan Wyrick, Department of Justice, Interview with Senate
Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (Sept. 12, 2022).
\42\Department of Justice, Report of the Attorney General to
Congress Pursuant to the Death in Custody Reporting Act, at 8 n.17
(Dec. 16, 2016) (www.justice.gov/archives/page/file/918846/download).
Federal data collection remained with BJS however, because there was no
penalty associated with federal data collection. See Death in Custody
Reporting Act of 2013, Pub. L. No. 113-242.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
However, BJS had already been collecting, studying, and
reporting on state and local death data for sixteen years.\43\
BJS continued to collect state and local custodial death data
until BJA finally began its collection in FY 2020.\44\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\43\Dr. Phelan Wyrick, Department of Justice, Interview with Senate
Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (Sept. 12, 2022); Department
of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics,
Mortality in Correctional Institutions (MCI) (Formerly Deaths in
Custody Reporting Program (DCRP) (bjs.ojp.gov/data-collection/
mortality-correctional-institutions-mci-formerly-deaths-custody-
reporting-program).
\44\Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of
Justice Statistics, Mortality in Correctional Institutions (MCI)
(Formerly Deaths in Custody Reporting Program (DCRP) (bjs.ojp.gov/data-
collection/mortality-correctional-institutions-mci-formerly-deaths-
custody-reporting-program).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Since the transfer of data collection responsibility to
BJA, DOJ has not publicly reported on any data that BJA has
collected.\45\ Additionally, DOJ is not expected to complete
the statutorily required report to Congress before September
2024, at least eight years past due.\46\ DOJ also has no plans
to make public any further state and local death
information.\47\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\45\See Dr. Phelan Wyrick, Department of Justice, Interview with
Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (Sept. 12, 2022). DOJ
is not required to make public DCRA data under the statute. Death in
Custody Reporting Act of 2013, Pub. L. No. 113-242.
\46\Dr. Phelan Wyrick, Department of Justice, Interview with Senate
Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (Sept. 12, 2022); Government
Accountability Office, Deaths in Custody: Additional Action Needed to
Help Ensure Data Collected by DOJ are Utilized, at 7 (GAO-22-106033)
(Sept. 20, 2022).
\47\Dr. Phelan Wyrick, Department of Justice, Interview with Senate
Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (Sept. 12, 2022).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In December 2021, PSI began a ten-month bipartisan
investigation into DOJ's efforts to implement DCRA 2013, and,
specifically, BJA's efforts to collect and report on state and
local custodial deaths.\48\ During the course of this
investigation, PSI interviewed a DOJ official who spoke on
behalf of the agency, family members of ten people who died in
state or local custody across the country, and two criminal
justice experts to assess how DCRA data can be used to bring
transparency to custodial deaths.\49\ On March 23, 2022, PSI
requested that the Government Accountability Office (``GAO'')
analyze data that BJA had collected for FY 2021 pursuant to
DCRA 2013.\50\ Based on a review of public and non-public
information, including GAO's analysis, the Subcommittee found
that DOJ has failed to implement DCRA 2013.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\48\The Subcommittee did not evaluate DOJ's efforts to comply with
the section of DCRA 2013 concerning federal agencies' reporting of
deaths in custody, which is administered by BJS and appears to be
proceeding pursuant to the requirements of the law.
\49\Dr. Phelan Wyrick, Department of Justice, Interview with Senate
Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (Sept. 12, 2022); University
of California Los Angeles School of Law Carceral Mortality Project,
Briefing with Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (Aug. 3,
2022); Shanelle Jenkins, Interview with Senate Permanent Subcommittee
on Investigations (May 31, 2022); Sandy Ray, Interview with Senate
Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (May 25, 2022); Dawn Reid,
Interview with Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (May 9,
2022); Melania Brown, Interview with Senate Permanent Subcommittee on
Investigations (May 9, 2022); Glenda Hester, Interview with Senate
Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (May 6, 2022); Belinda Maley,
Interview with Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (May 4,
2022); Sherilyn Sabo, Interview with Senate Permanent Subcommittee on
Investigations (Apr. 22, 2022); Vanessa Fano, Interview with Senate
Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (Apr. 20, 2022); Linda Franks,
Interview with Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (Apr.
14, 2022); Jennifer Bradley, Interview with Senate Permanent
Subcommittee on Investigations (Apr. 19, 2022); Professor Andrea
Armstrong, Loyola University New Orleans School of Law, Briefing with
Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (Apr. 19, 2022).
\50\Letter from Chair Jon Ossoff, Senate Permanent Subcommittee on
Investigations, to Government Accountability Office (Mar. 23, 2022);
U.S. Government Accountability Office, About Page (www.gao.gov/about)
(accessed Sept. 19, 2022).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Subcommittee notes that DOJ failed to provide full and
complete information to the Subcommittee.\51\ DOJ's resistance
to bipartisan Congressional oversight impeded Congress' ability
to understand whether DCRA 2013 had been properly implemented,
delaying potential reforms that could restore the integrity of
this critical program.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\51\Letter from Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations to
Department of Justice (Dec. 3, 2021); Letter from Department of Justice
to Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (Feb. 11, 2022);
Letter from Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations to
Department of Justice (Apr. 27, 2022). DOJ provided only a single
interview to the Subcommittee and provide only aggregate death data
from six states over two-years.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Subcommittee's Key Findings
1. Nearly One Thousand Missing Deaths. As part of its
review for PSI, GAO identified at least 990 deaths that were
potentially reportable to BJA in FY 2021, but that BJA had not
counted.\52\ Of the 990 uncounted deaths, 341 were prison
deaths disclosed on states' public websites and 649 were
arrest-related deaths disclosed in a reliable, public
database.\53\ GAO determined that BJA's collection was missing
information that is already in the public domain.\54\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\52\Government Accountability Office, Deaths in Custody: Additional
Action Needed to Help Ensure Data Collected by DOJ are Utilized, at 10
n.33 (GAO-22-106033) (Sept. 20, 2022).
\53\Government Accountability Office, Deaths in Custody: Additional
Action Needed to Help Ensure Data Collected by DOJ are Utilized, at 10
n.33 (GAO-22-106033) (Sept. 20, 2022).
\54\Government Accountability Office, Deaths in Custody: Additional
Action Needed to Help Ensure Data Collected by DOJ are Utilized, at 10
(GAO-22-106033) (Sept. 20, 2022).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Incomplete Data. GAO found that for FY 2021, the vast
majority of death in custody information that BJA collected
from the states was incomplete.\55\ Specifically, 70 percent of
records on deaths in custody were missing at least one DCRA
2013-required data field; approximately 40 percent of the
records did not include a description of the circumstances
surrounding the death; and 32 percent of the records were
missing more than one DCRA 2013-required data field.\56\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\55\Government Accountability Office, Deaths in Custody: Additional
Action Needed to Help Ensure Data Collected by DOJ are Utilized, at 9
(GAO-22-106033) (Sept. 20, 2022).
\56\Government Accountability Office, Deaths in Custody: Additional
Action Needed to Help Ensure Data Collected by DOJ are Utilized, at 9
(GAO-22-106033) (Sept. 20, 2022).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Failure to Report. DCRA 2013 required DOJ to report to
Congress by December 18, 2016 on how the data it collected can
be used ``to reduce the number of such deaths'' and to
``examine the relationship, if any, between the number of such
deaths and the actions of management of such jails, prisons,
and other specified facilities relating to such deaths.''\57\
DOJ does not expect to complete these reporting requirements
before September 2024--eight years late.\58\ DOJ has not yet
evaluated whether the data that it had collected in FY 2020 or
FY 2021 is of sufficient quality to be used in the DCRA 2013-
required analysis and report to Congress.\59\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\57\Death in Custody Reporting Act of 2013, Pub. L. No. 113-242.
\58\Dr. Phelan Wyrick, Department of Justice, Interview with Senate
Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (Sept. 12, 2022).
\59\Dr. Phelan Wyrick, Department of Justice, Interview with Senate
Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (Sept. 12, 2022).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. Failed Transition. DOJ failed to properly manage the
transition of DCRA 2013 data collection from BJS to BJA. BJA's
failure to properly collect and report on custodial death data
stands in marked contrast to BJS's successful efforts to do
these same things for 20 years. To the extent that DOJ sought
to assign DCRA 2013 responsibilities to BJA, it should have
done more to equip it with the resources and strategies it
already knew to be successful so that DOJ could meet its
statutory obligations.\60\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\60\Dr. Phelan Wyrick, Department of Justice, Interview with Senate
Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (Sept. 12, 2022). The
Subcommittee further notes that DOJ's rationale for reassigning the
state death data collection from BJS--a statistical agency that had
successfully collected and published DCRA data for 20 years--to BJA--a
grant-making agency with no track record of collecting or reporting on
similar data--was that the DCRA 2013 JAG penalty precluded BJS's
administration of the program. Department of Justice, Report of the
Attorney General to Congress Pursuant to the Death in Custody Reporting
Act (Dec. 16, 2016) (www.justice.gov/archives/page/file/918846/
download). Yet, DOJ's decision came two years after BJS had already
been collecting state death data pursuant to DCRA 2013, and DOJ
permitted BJS to continue its collection for another three years. Dr.
Phelan Wyrick, Department of Justice, Interview with Senate Permanent
Subcommittee on Investigations (Sept. 12, 2022).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
DOJ's failure to implement DCRA has deprived Congress and
the American public of information about who is dying in
custody and why. This information is critical to improve
transparency in prisons and jails, identifying trends in
custodial deaths that may warrant corrective action--such as
failure to provide adequate medical care, mental health
services, or safeguard prisoners from violence--and identifying
specific facilities with outlying death rates. DOJ's failure to
implement this law and to continue to voluntarily publish this
information is a missed opportunity to prevent avoidable
deaths.
3. Medical Mistreatment of Women in ICE Detention, November 15, 2022
(Report Prepared by the Majority and Minority Staff of the
Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations and released in
conjunction with the Subcommittee's hearing on November 15,
2022.)
In May 2021, the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations
(``Subcommittee'' or ``PSI'') initiated a bipartisan
investigation into the alleged mistreatment of Immigration and
Customs Enforcement (``ICE'') detainees housed in the Irwin
County Detention Center (``ICDC'') in Ocilla, Georgia. Over the
course of its 18-month-long investigation, the Subcommittee
examined multiple allegations of medical abuse against
detainees at ICDC, a private detention center owned and
operated by LaSalle Southeast, LLC (``LaSalle'' or ``LaSalle
Corrections''). The allegations stemmed from a September 2020
whistleblower complaint (``September 2020 complaint'') filed by
immigration advocacy groups and attorneys alleging that an off-
site obstetrician and gynecologist (``OB-GYN''), Dr. Mahendra
Amin, performed ``high rates'' of unauthorized hysterectomies
on ICDC detainees.\61\ The groups also alleged that ICDC had
poor medical conditions and lax COVID-19 mitigation
procedures.\62\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\61\Complaint by Project South, Georgia Detention Watch, Georgia
Latino Alliance for Human Rights & South Georgia Immigrant Support
Network to Joseph V. Cuffari, Cameron Quinn, Thomas P. Giles, & David
Paulk, Re: Lack of Medical Care, Unsafe Work Practices, and Absence of
Adequate Protection Against COVID-19 for Detained Immigrants and
Employees Alike at the ICDC County Detention Center (Sept. 14, 2020)
(projectsouth.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/OIG-ICDC-Complaint-1.pdf)
[hereinafter Project South Complaint].
\62\Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Subcommittee's investigation identified serious issues
relating to ICDC and specifically connected to Dr. Amin's care:
LFemale detainees appear to have been subjected to
excessive, invasive, and often unnecessary gynecological
procedures.
LThere appears to have been repeated failures to
secure informed consent for off-site medical procedures
performed on ICDC detainees.
LMedical care provided to detainees at ICDC was
known by DHS to be deficient, but neither ICE nor LaSalle took
effective corrective action.
LICE did not conduct thorough oversight of off-
site medical providers and procedures.
The Subcommittee did not substantiate the allegations of
mass hysterectomies on ICDC detainees. Records indicate that
Dr. Amin performed two hysterectomies on ICDC detainees between
2017 and 2019. Both procedures were deemed medically necessary
by ICE.
Dr. Amin stopped treating ICE detainees after the September
2020 complaint became public. In December 2020, former ICDC
detainees filed a class action lawsuit (``December 2020
lawsuit'') against ICDC, ICE, Dr. Amin, Irwin County Hospital
(``ICH''), and other federal and nonfederal parties alleging
that the detainees had undergone nonconsensual and unnecessary
gynecological procedures.\63\ In addition, the lawsuit alleged
a broader pattern of medical abuse and mistreatment of
detainees at ICDC. The plaintiffs demanded $5 million in money
damages and other relief. The litigation is ongoing.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\63\Consolidated Amended Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus and
Class Action Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief and for
Damages (Dec. 21, 2020), Oldaker v. Giles, M.D. GA (No. 7:20-cv-00224-
WLS-MSH).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
As of early 2022, Dr. Amin was under criminal investigation
by multiple federal agencies.\64\ PSI staff attempted on
multiple occasions to obtain voluntary testimony from Dr. Amin
regarding his treatment of female ICE detainees at ICDC. Dr.
Amin declined these requests. On February 7, 2022, the
Subcommittee served Dr. Amin with a subpoena for deposition.
Through his attorney, Dr. Amin submitted an affidavit stating
that he declined to provide testimony pursuant to his Fifth
Amendment privilege against self-incrimination. The
Subcommittee accepted Dr. Amin's invocation of his rights and
did not question him throughout the investigation.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\64\Letter from Counsel for Dr. Amin to the Senate Permanent
Subcommittee on Investigations (Feb. 21, 2022). PSI is unaware of the
current status of these investigations.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In May 2021, the Department of Homeland Security (``DHS'')
directed ICE to discontinue its contract with ICDC. As of
September 3, 2021, all immigrant detainees were removed from
the ICDC facility and moved to other detention facilities.
Effective October 7, 2021, ICE terminated the contract with
LaSalle regarding its management of ICDC.\65\ As of today, ICDC
is still utilized to detain individuals under the custody of
the U.S. Marshals Service. The federal government continues to
contract with LaSalle to operate other detention facilities
throughout the country.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\65\U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Office of Inspector
General, Medical Processes and Communication Protocols Need Improvement
at Irwin County Detention Center (OIG-22-14) (Jan. 3, 2022) (https://
www.oig.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/assets/2022-01/OIG-22-14-
Jan22.pdf).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Subcommittee investigated the veracity of the
allegations surrounding medical treatment at ICDC and sought to
determine whether these treatments occurred against a backdrop
of general medical neglect or abuse at the facility. The
Subcommittee also sought to determine whether gaps in ICE
policies permitted an off-site provider of medical care to
perform unnecessary, nonconsensual, or excessive procedures on
ICE detainees.
1. Female Detainees Appear to Have Been Subjected to Excessive,
Invasive, and Often Unnecessary Gynecological Procedures
According to expert medical analysis conducted for the
Subcommittee, under Dr. Amin's care, female detainees appear to
have undergone excessive, invasive, and often unnecessary
gynecological procedures. Over the course of its review, the
Subcommittee determined that Dr. Amin holds no board
certifications, and in 2013 the Department of Justice (``DOJ'')
and the State of Georgia sued Dr. Amin, claiming he had
committed Medicaid fraud by ordering unnecessary and excessive
medical procedures.\66\ That lawsuit was settled in 2015, when
Dr. Amin and his codefendants paid a $520,000 settlement to the
federal government while admitting no wrongdoing.\67\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\66\Complaint (July 8, 2013), United States v. Hospital Authority
of Irwin County, M.D. Ga. (No. 7:13-cv-00097-HL).
\67\The United States of America's Filing of Settlement Agreement
(July 8, 2013), United States v. Hospital Authority of Irwin County,
M.D. Ga. (No. 7:13-cv-00097-HL); U.S. Department of Justice, U.S.
Attorney's Office Middle District of Georgia, Hospital Authority of
Irwin County Resolves False Claims Act Investigation for $520,000 (Apr.
29, 2015) (www.justice.gov/usao-mdga/pr/hospital-authority-irwin-
county-resolves-false-claims-act-investigation-520000).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Subcommittee's review of Dr. Amin's treatment practices
of ICE detainees after the settlement, from 2017 to 2020,
identified a similar pattern of potentially excessive medical
procedures. Dr. Amin was a clear outlier in both the number and
types of procedures he performed compared to other OB-GYNs that
treated ICE detainees. ICDC housed roughly 4 percent of female
ICE detainees nationwide from 2017 to 2020. Dr. Amin accounted
for roughly 6.5 percent of total OB-GYN visits among all ICE
detainees in the same time period. However, he performed nearly
one-third of certain OB-GYN procedures on ICE detainees across
the country between 2017 and 2020 and more than 90 percent of
some key procedures.
For example, from 2017 to 2020:\68\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\68\The Subcommittee recognizes that this data in and of itself
does not indicate that the treatments were unnecessary. ICE does not
track the demographic information of its female population, and the
agency could not provide the Subcommittee with information regarding
key variables of the female detainee population, including age and
medical history.
LDr. Amin performed 44 laparoscopies to excise
lesions, or 94 percent of all such procedures conducted on all
ICE detainees.\69\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\69\A laparoscopy may be used to obtain a small tissue sample for
testing or even remove organs like the appendix or gallbladder, and it
is generally performed under anesthesia. Johns Hopkins Medicine,
Laparoscopy (www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/treatment-tests-and-
therapies/laparoscopy) (accessed Nov. 13, 2022).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
LDr. Amin administered 102 Depo-Provera
injections, or 93 percent of all such injections provided by
all OB-GYN specialists to ICE detainees.\70\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\70\Depo-Provera is an injection that contains the hormone
progestin and is typically administered every three months to prevent
pregnancy and manage issues related to the menstrual cycle. Mayo
Clinic, Depo-Provera (contraceptive injection) (www.mayoclinic.org/
tests-procedures/depo-provera/about/pac-20392204) (accessed Nov. 13,
2022).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
LDr. Amin performed 163 limited pelvic exams, or
92 percent of limited pelvic exams conducted on all ICE
detainees.
LDr. Amin performed 53 dilation and curettage
(``D&C'') procedures, or 82 percent of all D&C procedures
conducted by all OB-GYN specialists treating ICE detainees.\71\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\71\A D&C procedure removes tissue from inside the uterus. During
this procedure, a provider will dilate the cervix and then use a
surgical instrument called a curette (a sharp instrument or suction
device) to remove uterine tissue. Mayo Clinic, Dilation and Curettage
(D&C) (www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/dilation-and-curettage/
about/pac-20384910) (accessed Nov. 13, 2022).
Following the September 2020 complaint, the ICE Health
Services Corps (``IHSC'') stated it ``conducted a comparative
analysis of medical referrals and claims completed after
receiving allegations about Dr. Amin.''\74\ IHSC also stated
that it ``conduct[ed] an analysis of referral and claims data
at ICDC compared to other ICE detention facilities housing
females and determined that the number of referrals and claims
was not abnormal.''\75\ IHSC stated that it never identified
any red flags regarding Dr. Amin's treatment of detainees
before or after officials reviewed his procedures following the
publication of the September 2020 complaint.\76\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\74\U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Q&A Paper: Responses
to Allegations of Inappropriate Care Provided by Dr. Amin for the
Female Population of the Irwin County Detention Center (ICDC) (June 23,
2021) (response on file with the Subcommittee) [hereinafter June 23,
2021 ICE Q&A Paper].
\75\Id. Information ICE used in this analysis is discussed in more
detail in Section IV
\76\U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Health Service Corps,
Briefing with Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (Sept.
29, 2021). ICE later stated to the Subcommittee that based on the
comparative analysis, ICE noted a possible overutilization of the D&C
and laparoscopic procedures, but that it would need an expert OB-GYN
review of the medical records because its analysis was based solely on
medical claims data. Email from U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement Staff to the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on
Investigations (Nov. 11, 2022).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
An IHSC Regional Clinical Director (``RCD'') approved each
procedure before it was authorized. In interviews with the
Subcommittee, IHSC officials explained that the disparity in
the number of Dr. Amin's procedures compared to other doctors
treating ICE detainees alone did not raise alarm either when
the RCD approved the surgeries, or when IHSC retrospectively
reviewed Dr. Amin's medical care. However, IHSC could not
explain or provide context explaining why Dr. Amin was such an
outlier compared to other doctors treating ICE detainees.
To better understand the appropriateness of Dr. Amin's
treatment and care of ICDC detainees, the Subcommittee engaged
Dr. Peter Cherouny, an OB-GYN physician who previously
conducted medical reviews for the Department of Health and
Human Services (``HHS'') Office of Inspector General (``OIG'')
in other contexts. To support this investigation, Dr. Cherouny
conducted an independent review of more than 16,600 pages of
medical records obtained by the Subcommittee, pertaining to
approximately 94 ICDC women Dr. Amin treated.
Dr. Cherouny identified significant issues with the care
Dr. Amin provided to ICDC detainees and found Dr. Amin's use of
certain surgical procedures to be ``too aggressive'' and
inappropriate.\77\ Dr. Cherouny's key findings include:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\77\Dr. Peter Cherouny, Interview with Senate Permanent
Subcommittee on Investigations (Jan. 26, 2022); Memorandum from Dr.
Peter Cherouny to Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (Oct.
27, 2022).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
LDr. Cherouny found that Dr. Amin performed 40 D&C
procedures with a laparoscopy on ICDC detainees. He found that
Dr. Amin's use of these procedures were ``too aggressive'' and
that the ``vast majority [of cases where Dr. Amin performed a
D&C] appear to be manageable with imaging and appropriate
hormonal therapy.''\78\
\78\Memorandum from Dr. Peter Cherouny to Senate Permanent
Subcommittee on Investigations (Oct. 27, 2022).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
LDr. Cherouny concluded that Dr. Amin's practices
were ``woefully behind the times'' and his treatment of ICDC
detainees ``is not meeting current standards of care.''\79\ He
added, ``[d]ue to a lack of knowledge or capability, Dr. Amin
persistently uses inpatient, surgical options as diagnostic
tools for benign clinical conditions.''\80\ Such conditions are
``more appropriately managed with imaging studies and
outpatient clinical tools.''\81\ Dr. Cherouny told the
Subcommittee that Dr. Amin ``appears unaware of these current
options or does not have them available in his office or
hospital.''\82\ In one interview with the Subcommittee, Dr.
Cherouny summarized Dr. Amin's care as ``pretty good medicine
for the 1980s, but we're not there anymore.''\83\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\79\Id.
\80\Letter from Dr. Peter Cherouny to Senate Permanent Subcommittee
on Investigations (Oct. 27, 2022).
\81\Id.
\82\Id.
\83\Dr. Peter Cherouny, Interview with Senate Permanent
Subcommittee on Investigations (Sept. 8, 2022).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
LDr. Cherouny found that ``Dr. Amin seemed to use
a boiler plate approach to care. He uses a D&C and laparoscopy
for primary diagnostic reasons and seems to `pile on' the
pathologic diagnoses postoperatively.''\84\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\84\Memorandum from Dr. Peter Cherouny to Senate Permanent
Subcommittee on Investigations (Oct. 27, 2022).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
LDr. Cherouny flagged that because Dr. Amin is not
board certified, Dr. Amin ``likely does no or limited
continuing education to stay current'' on up-to-date medical
practices in these areas. He explained further that there
appeared to be board certified OB-GYN providers in the area of
ICDC and that he was ``concerned'' with how and why Dr. Amin
was selected to treat this population.\85\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\85\Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
LDr. Cherouny found that Dr. Amin performed 36
transvaginal ultrasounds on patients in the records he
reviewed. Those records indicate Dr. Amin generally had
``[p]oor performance and documentation of transvaginal
ultrasound evaluation.''\86\ Dr. Cherouny commented further
that Dr. Amin is ``clearly not skilled in ultrasound of the
female pelvis'' and that he ``appears to frequently confuse
normal findings for pathology and uses these as indications for
surgery.''\87\ Dr. Cherouny explained to the Subcommittee that
these practices did not appear to comply with the American
Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine Guidelines.\88\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\86\Letter from Dr. Peter Cherouny to Senate Permanent Subcommittee
on Investigations (Oct. 27, 2022).
\87\Memorandum from Dr. Peter Cherouny to Senate Permanent
Subcommittee on Investigations (Oct. 27, 2022).
\88\The American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine is a
multidisciplinary medical association of more than 10,000 physicians,
sonographers, scientists, students, and other healthcare providers. See
American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine, Training Guidelines
(https://www.aium.org/resources/ptGuidelines.aspx) (accessed Nov. 13,
2022).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
LDr. Cherouny explained that Dr. Amin ``does not
appear to follow the current recommendations regarding Pap
smear management through colposcopy and further
treatment.''\89\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\89\Letter from Dr. Peter Cherouny to Senate Permanent Subcommittee
on Investigations (Oct. 27, 2022).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
LDr. Cherouny also found that Dr. Amin did not
give ``adequate time to affect a clinical response'' in most of
the 40 cases he examined where Depo-Provera injections were
administered for abnormal uterine bleeding.\90\ He explained
that the ``adequate time'' for a response to this medication
was six months and that was not given to these patients.\91\
Dr. Cherouny noted that Dr. Amin generally used 2-6 weeks of
clinical response time before declaring that the Depo-Provera
medication failed and proceeded to surgery.\92\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\90\Letter from Dr. Peter Cherouny to Senate Permanent Subcommittee
on Investigations (Feb. 1, 2022).
\91\Letter from Dr. Peter Cherouny to Senate Permanent Subcommittee
on Investigations (Oct. 27, 2022).
\92\Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
LDr. Cherouny explained that 40 patient records--
of the 94 examined--indicated the patients had benign ovarian
cysts removed by Dr. Amin, despite the fact that benign ovarian
cysts ``generally resolve without surgical intervention.''\93\
He noted that in the records he reviewed, Dr. Amin
``persistently finds and removes functional ovarian cysts'' and
that the ``vast majority'' of the cysts ``did not require
removal.''\94\ He also noted that there are risks with this
surgery like any other, including infection and bleeding, and
other issues that ``can result in pain and infertility, among
other risks.''\95\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\93\Letter from Dr. Peter Cherouny to Senate Permanent Subcommittee
on Investigations (Feb. 1, 2022).
\94\Letter from Dr. Peter Cherouny to Senate Permanent Subcommittee
on Investigations (Oct. 27, 2022); Memorandum from Dr. Peter Cherouny
to Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (Oct. 27, 2022).
\95\Letter from Dr. Peter Cherouny to Senate Permanent Subcommittee
on Investigations (Feb. 1, 2022).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
LDr. Cherouny explained that seven patients
underwent a Loop Electrosurgical Excision Procedure
(``LEEP''),\96\ used to identify abnormalities on Pap
smears,\97\ and he found that the records he reviewed suggest
Dr. Amin has ``limited knowledge and/or skill in Pap smear
management.''\98\ He noted that the ``point of the [LEEP]
procedure is to get tissue for diagnostic purposes and in each
case [Dr. Amin] failed this outcome.''\99\ Dr. Cherouny
attributed these failures to Dr. Amin's ``technique'' in
performing the procedure.\100\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\96\A LEEP is a procedure in which a provider uses a heated,
electric wire to remove cell s and tissues in the cervix and vagina.
John Hopkins Medicine, Loop Electrosurgical Excision Procedure (LEEP)
(www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/treatment-tests-and-therapies/loop-
electrosurgical-excision-procedure-leep) (accessed Nov. 13, 2022).
\97\A Pap smear or Pap test is a procedure used to test for
cervical cancer in women. A Pap test requires a provider to insert an
instrument called a speculum into the vagina to take a tissue sample
from the cervix using a soft brush and scraping device known as a
spatula. Mayo Clinic, Pap Smear (www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/
pap-smear/about/pac-20394841) (accessed Nov. 13, 2022).
\98\Memorandum from Dr. Peter Cherouny to Senate Permanent
Subcommittee on Investigations (Oct. 27, 2022).
\99\Id.
\100\Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
LDr. Cherouny also found that ``Dr. Amin
frequently prescribes multiple treatments for a vaginal
discharge complaint without an appropriate clinical
evaluation.''\101\ The failure to conduct appropriate clinical
evaluation in these circumstances ``results in patients
receiving multiple treatments for the same complaints without
improvement.''\102\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\101\Letter from Dr. Peter Cherouny to Senate Permanent
Subcommittee on Investigations (Oct. 27, 2022).
\102\Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
LDr. Cherouny stated that ``[i]t appears there
was, likely, no oversight of the care provided to these
patients. The repetitive nature of some of the issues, like
inadequate cervical tissue after a LEEP procedure, would seem
to prompt a review in many hospitals.''\103\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\103\Memorandum from Dr. Peter Cherouny to Senate Permanent
Subcommittee on Investigations (Oct. 27, 2022).
Additionally, the Subcommittee interviewed three
physicians--Dr. Ted Anderson, Dr. Margaret Mueller, and Dr.
Sarah Collins.\104\ These physicians were part of a medical
team asked by attorneys and advocacy groups later involved with
the December 2020 lawsuit to review the medical charts for 19
ICDC detainees Dr. Amin treated.\105\ The plaintiffs in the
December 2020 lawsuit filed the summary findings of the medical
review team and declarations from these doctors summarizing the
chart reviews of select individual plaintiffs in support of the
litigation.\106\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\104\Dr. Anderson is the Vice Chair for Clinical Operations and
Director of the Division of Gynecology at Vanderbilt University Medical
Center. Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Ted L. Anderson, MD, PhD
(https://www.vumc.org/obgyn/person/ted-l-anderson-md-phd) (accessed
Nov. 13, 2022). Dr. Collins is an Assistant Professor at the
Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine. Northwestern
Medicine, Sarah A. Collins, MD (https://www.nm.org/doctors/1942401948/
sarah-a-collins-md) (accessed Nov. 13, 2022). Dr. Mueller is also an
Assistant Professor at the Northwestern University, Feinberg School of
Medicine. Northwestern Medicine, Margaret G. Mueller, MD (https://
www.nm.org/doctors/1346570405/margaret-g-mueller-md) (accessed Nov.
13,2022).
\105\The review team consisted of nine board-certified OB-GYN
physicians and two nursing experts. The team examined 3,200 pages of
medical records for 19 women who alleged medical maltreatment while
detained at ICDC. The records for these 19 detainees were included in
the files of the 94 detainees that Dr. Cherouny reviewed. Executive
Summary of Findings by the Independent Medical Review Team Regarding
Medical Abuse Allegations at the Irwin County Detention Center (Oct.
21, 2020) (on file with the Subcommittee).
\106\Docket, Oldaker v. Giles, M.D. GA (No. 7:20-cv-00224-WLS-MSH).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
These experts concluded that Dr. Amin subjected women to
aggressive and unethical gynecological care.\107\ They found
that Dr. Amin quickly scheduled surgeries when non-surgical
options were available, misinterpreted test results, performed
unnecessary injections and treatments, and proceeded without
informed consent.\108\ Dr. Collins later reviewed a new set of
over 500 pages of medical records associated with 36 ICDC
detainees in coordination with attorneys involved in the
lawsuit by former detainees.\109\ Dr. Collins stated that in
many cases, Dr. Amin appeared to have proceeded with
unnecessary or excessive treatment regardless of patient
conditions.\110\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\107\Executive Summary of Findings by the Independent Medical
Review Team Regarding Medical Abuse Allegationsat the Irwin County
Detention Center (Oct. 21, 2020) (on file with the Subcommittee).
\108\Id. Informed consent requires that patients are well informed
of the planned benefits, potential risks, and possible alternative
options of medical treatments, procedures or surgeries that a
healthcare provider intends to perform. Importantly, it also requires
that the patient clearly understands the benefits and potential risks
of the proposed treatment option and is afforded ample opportunity to
ask questions and obtain medically sound responses. Based on witness
testimony to the Subcommittee and a review of medical records by a
number of physicians, it appears that informed consent was not provided
to multiple ICDC detainees treated off-site by OB-GYN specialist Dr.
Amin. Dr. Amin did not voluntarily sit for an interview with the
Subcommittee. However, in civil litigation against Dr. Amin he has
claimed he always obtains informed consent from his patients.
\109\Email from Counsel for the National Immigration Project of the
National Lawyers Guild to the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on
Investigations (Oct. 22, 2021).
\110\Dr. Sarah Collins, Interview with Senate Permanent
Subcommittee on Investigations (Oct. 19, 2021).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subcommittee staff interviewed six former ICDC detainee
patients treated by Dr. Amin--Karina Cisneros Preciado, Jaromy
Floriano Navarro, Wendy Dowe, Maribel Castaneda-Reyes, Jane Doe
#1, and Jane Doe #2--who described negative experiences with
Dr. Amin.\111\ All of these women, except Jane Doe #2, are
plaintiffs in the December 2020 lawsuit. These women described
feeling confused, afraid, and violated after their treatment by
Dr. Amin. Several reported that they still live with physical
pain and uncertainty regarding the effect of his treatments on
their fertility. These women also described instances in which
Dr. Amin was rough and insensitive while performing procedures,
continued despite their complaints regarding pain, and failed
to disclose the potential side effects of certain procedures or
even answer questions regarding his diagnosis or treatment
plan. Several women stated that they did not provide their
consent to the examinations or procedures Dr. Amin performed.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\111\All of these women entered ICDC detention following arrests by
local law enforcement in the interior of the United States. These
women's records were included in the documents reviewed by the medical
experts engaged by the Subcommittee. Two former ICDC detainees the
Subcommittee interviewed asked to remain anonymous.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. There Appears to Have Been Repeated Failures to Secure Informed
Consent for Off-Site Medical Procedures Performed on ICDC
Detainees
Obtaining informed consent from any patient is a sacrosanct
responsibility of practicing physicians. This is particularly
true when treating a vulnerable population in a confined
institution. The American Medical Association's Code of Medical
Ethics describes the importance of informed consent:
To enable patients to participate meaningfully in
decisions about health care, physicians have a responsibility
to provide information and help patients understand their
medical condition and options for treatment. [ ...] Informed
consent to medical treatment is fundamental in both ethics and
law. It helps patients make well-considered decisions about
their care and treatment.\112\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\112\American Medical Association, Code of Medical Ethics: Consent,
Communication & Decision Making, (https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-
care/ethics/code-medical-ethics-consent-communication-decision-making)
(accessed Nov. 13, 2022).
Furthermore, the Code of Medical Ethics advises: ``Document
the informed consent conversation and the patient's (or
surrogate's) decision in the medical record in some manner.
When the patient/surrogate has provided specific written
consent, the consent form should be included in the
record.''\113\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\113\American Medical Association, Informed Consent: Code of
Medical Ethics Opinion 2.1.1 (https://www.amaassn.org/delivering-care/
ethics/informed-consent) (accessed Nov. 13, 2022).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
ICE Performance-Based National Detention Standards
(``PBNDS'') define informed consent as: ``An agreement by a
patient to a treatment, examination, or procedure after the
patient receives the material facts about the nature,
consequences, and risks of the proposed treatment, examination
or procedure; the alternatives to it; and the prognosis if the
proposed action is not undertaken.''\114\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\114\U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and
Customs Enforcement, Performance-BasedNational Detention Standards
2011, at 469-470 (Revised December 2016) (https://www.ice.gov/doclib/
detentionstandards/2011/pbnds2011r2016.pdf).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Subcommittee found that ICE does not monitor informed
consent procedures for off-site medical providers and does not
have a responsibility to do so.\115\ IHSC officials stated to
the Subcommittee that it is the sole professional obligation of
the off-site provider to obtain informed consent from patients.
Furthermore, there is no requirement in ICE's process for the
approval or review of off-site medical procedures that an ICE
official verifies that a consent form from a visit with an off-
site provider is included in a detainee's medical file. The
Subcommittee also found that LaSalle, the ICDC contractor, did
not have any contractual obligation with ICE to oversee the
off-site care of detainees housed at its facility.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\115\U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Health Service Corps,
Briefing with Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (Sept.
29, 2021). According to ICE, the agency does not have a responsibility
to monitor informed consent because providers are professionally and
legally obligated to ensure informed consent. Email from U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement Staff to the Senate Permanent
Subcommittee on Investigations (Nov. 11, 2022).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
According to medical experts who reviewed the records of
Dr. Amin's ICDC patients, there was a lack of informed consent
in many instances. For example, based on the records Dr.
Cherouny reviewed, he stated that Dr. Amin did not provide
sufficient information regarding surgical procedures with
detainee patients.\116\ The medical records reviewed do not
consistently document thorough patient-doctor discussions and
do not establish that patients were fully informed of all of
their treatment options, including the benefits and risks of
surgical procedures and other treatments, or whether they were
clearly given a choice to opt out of any treatment at all.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\116\Memorandum from Dr. Peter Cherouny to Senate Permanent
Subcommittee on Investigations (Oct. 27, 2022).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Former ICDC detainees interviewed by Subcommittee staff
stated that Dr. Amin did not explain or answer questions
regarding examinations, medication administration, or surgical
procedures he performed on them. For example, one former
detainee treated by Dr. Amin, Ms. Castaneda-Reyes, stated that
she was told she was having surgery to remove an ovarian cyst
and that when she arrived for the surgery, an electronic tablet
and a stylus were simply handed to her to sign with no
explanation from the nurses, the anesthesiologist, or Dr. Amin
about the surgery or its risks, and they did not ask if she had
any questions.\117\ This would appear to violate best practices
of the doctor-patient informed consent process.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\117\Maribel Castaneda-Reyes, Interview with Senate Permanent
Subcommittee on Investigations (Oct. 5, 2021).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Subcommittee received incomplete records from ICH, the
hospital where Dr. Amin performed the procedures on ICDC
detainees, and no records from Dr. Amin. Thus, the Subcommittee
could not verify whether any consent forms for the anonymized
patients the medical experts reviewed may have existed in files
separately maintained by Dr. Amin or ICH. The records from ICH
included signed consent forms from some anonymized ICDC
patients. In some cases, the records indicate that a nurse
discussed the surgical process with Dr. Amin's patients.
However, these files do not indicate that Dr. Amin himself
engaged in a thorough discussion with all of his patients
regarding the informed consent process as would be expected
medical practice for a physician. Furthermore, the records
provided to the Subcommittee do not establish that the
detainees Dr. Amin treated were fully informed of all of their
treatment options.
3. Medical Care Provided to Detainees at ICDC Was Known by DHS to Be
Deficient, but neither ICE nor LaSalle Took Effective
Corrective Action
Following its review of records and interviews with former
detainees, former employees, and DHS auditors, the Subcommittee
found that ICDC detainees made frequent complaints about the
quality and timeliness of medical care they received at the
facility.\118\ Former ICDC nurses described deficiencies and
delays in the treatment of detainees. Moreover, DHS offices
responsible for oversight of detention facilities identified
numerous, repeated, and serious deficiencies with the ICDC
medical unit as far back as 2012, but ICDC and ICE failed to
take effective corrective action to address these issues.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\118\The Subcommittee did not seek to verify every complaint heard
from witnesses or every allegation reviewed in written grievances.
However, the Subcommittee reviewed an estimated 760 grievances and
nearly 650 of them were related to medical care. In addition, the
complaints by detainees mirrored observations that former ICDC
nursesrelayed to Subcommittee staff in interviews and that have
previously been documented by DHS.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
ICDC medical staff dealt with a large number of medical
complaints from detainees on a regular basis. These complaints
ranged from cosmetic issues like dandruff and dry skin to more
serious medical and mental health conditions.\119\ When
detainees were not satisfied with the services they received
from the medical unit, they submitted grievances to be
addressed by ICDC leadership. The Subcommittee reviewed more
than 760 grievances filed by ICDC ICE detainees between 2018
and 2020. Of those grievances reviewed, the Subcommittee
identified 659 medical grievances that contained allegations of
delayed or deficient medical care. For example, one detainee
stated that the facility failed to provide their diabetes
medicine and as a result they started experiencing blurry
vision due to elevated sugar levels.\120\ In other instances,
an individual with chronic seizures and those with other
chronic ailments, such as asthma, high blood pressure, and
anemia, stated they were forced to wait days and weeks for the
ICDC medical staff to address their critical prescription
needs. Records reviewed by the Subcommittee showed that medical
unit staff generally responded to these grievances within 24 to
48 hours.\121\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\119\See, e.g., LaSalle--167885-88, LaSalle--216450, LaSalle--
216456 (sick calls for dandruff); LaSalle--232939-40, LaSalle--232942
(sick calls for dry skin and dry scalp); LaSalle--177638-41 (mental
health sick call for depression); LaSalle--281516-19 (sick call for
pain related to a hernia).
\120\Records indicate that ICDC staff responded three days later
stating that staff would contact the detainee's previous detention
center again to request records and obtain medication names and
dosages. LaSalle--002652.
\121\Records indicate that ICDC medical staff generally responded
to these grievances within one to two days after the grievance was
filed. LaSalle--000187; LaSalle--002668; LaSalle--002598; LaSalle--
002600.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
One detainee interviewed by Subcommittee staff said he
submitted multiple requests related to a toothache but never
received a response.\122\ He claimed his pain eventually
stopped because the tooth fell out.\123\ Another detainee, who
fell and broke her foot while at ICDC, told Subcommittee staff
she was not taken to see anyone to treat the injury for a full
month.\124\ Former detainees also described making multiple
requests for access to their own medical laboratory or imaging
results that went unaddressed.\125\ The Subcommittee was not
able to review the medical records for these detainees and
could not verify their claims. Some detainees alleged that
their medical complaints were either not addressed or they
received delayed care.\126\ The Subcommittee did not obtain
records to corroborate the allegations made by these detainees.
However, medical records reviewed by the Subcommittee showed
that the ICDC medical unit frequently responded to medical
requests within a few days and provided lab or imaging results
when requested.\127\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\122\Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations Staff Visit to
Irwin County Detention Center (Aug. 17, 2021) (memorandum on file with
the Subcommittee).
\123\Id.
\124\A.K., Interview with Senate Permanent Subcommittee on
Investigations (June 23, 2021).
\125\Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations Staff Visit to
Irwin County Detention Center (Aug. 17, 2021) (memorandum on file with
the Subcommittee).
\126\Id.
\127\For example, one detainee filed a sick call request on
September 9, 2020 requesting test results and complaining of skin
irritation and pain in her ovaries (LaSalle--177857-61). She was seen
for all three requests at the medical unit on September 10, 2020 where
she also requested her medical records at the same visit (LaSalle--
177863-65). The detainee received her medical records on September 21,
2020 (LaSalle--177869). The detainee requested all of her ICDC medical
records on December 7, 2020 (LaSalle--178320). She signed an
acknowledgment that shereceived her ICDC medical records on December
10, 2020 (LaSalle--178329).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Interviews with former ICDC staff provided additional
insight on the issues with the ICDC medical unit. A former
nurse described the facility's medical unit as ``filthy.''\128\
Another former nurse described ICDC as ``the least clean place
of any place I have worked in.''\129\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\128\LPN #1, formerly of Irwin County Detention Center, Interview
with Senate Permanent Subcommittee onInvestigations (June 30, 2021).
\129\LPN #2, formerly of Irwin County Detention Center, Interview
with Senate Permanent Subcommittee onInvestigations (July 12, 2021).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
As far back as 2012, internal DHS audit and oversight
entities identified deficiencies with the ICDC medical
unit.\130\ For example, the DHS Office for Civil Rights and
Civil Liberties (``CRCL'') cited issues at ICDC with record
maintenance and medication distribution, including an incident
involving a cancer patient who was never allegedly provided
medication.\131\
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\130\U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Office for Civil Rights
and Civil Liberties, Redacted Irwin Rec & Close Memorandum from FY13
Expert Report Memorandum (Nov. 5, 2012) (notes from document review on
file with the Subcommittee).
\131\U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Office for Civil Rights
and Civil Liberties, Redacted Irwin Rec & Close Memorandum Expert
Report Memorandum (Nov. 4, 2016) (notes from document review on file
with the Subcommittee).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In addition, a 2017 ICE Office of Detention Oversight
(``ODO'') review of ICDC found that ICDC staff inconsistently
reviewed detainees' medical intake forms and often left
sections of those forms blank.\132\ The review also found a
lack of documentation showing that medical staff had completed
required staff training.\133\ Finally, ODO found syringes and
needles in examination rooms that were ``neither secured nor
inventoried.''\134\ Overall, the inspection examined 15 ICE
detention standards and found 26 deficiencies in 10 standards,
which included nine ``medical care'' deficiencies, a number of
which were repeat deficiencies.\135\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\132\U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and
Customs Enforcement, Office of Professional Responsibility, Inspections
and Detention Oversight Division, Compliance Inspection for the Irwin
County Detention Center Ocilla, Georgia (Mar. 2017) (https://
www.ice.gov/doclib/foia/odo-complianceinspections/
2017IrwinCountyGA.pdf).
\133\Id.
\134\Id.
\135\Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In March 2020, five months prior to the public allegations
against ICDC surfaced, another ODO inspection found that
medical files at ICDC were stored improperly, on the floor and
across desks, and examination tables in facility medical units
were ``torn beyond repair, making cleaning and decontamination
impossible.''\136\ The ODO review found that ICDC was only in
compliance with five of 18 ICE detention standards they
examined overall and documented 36 deficiencies, including
three regarding ``medical care.''\137\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\136\U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and
Customs Enforcement, Office of Professional Responsibility, Inspections
and Detention Oversight Division, Compliance Inspection for the Irwin
County Detention Center Ocilla, Georgia (Mar. 2020)(https://
www.ice.gov/doclib/foia/odo-complianceinspections/irwinCoDetCntr--
OcillaGA--Mar3-5--2020.pdf).
\137\Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. ICE Did Not Conduct Thorough Oversight of Off-Site Medical Providers
and Procedures
Past DHS reviews have documented consistent, ongoing, and
unresolved deficiencies in ICE's medical record keeping
procedures, prescription medication distribution practices, and
overall quality of medical care at various ICE detention
facilities, including ICDC. In addition, through multiple
interviews with senior IHSC officials and a review of ICE
documents, the Subcommittee identified key gaps in ICE
oversight of physicians providing medical care to ICE detainees
at facilities outside of its detention centers.
Highlights of the Subcommittee's investigation on ICE
oversight of off-site medical providers include:
LICE was not aware of, and did not review key
information regarding Dr. Amin's professional history prior to
the agency's agreement to allow Dr. Amin to treat ICDC
detainees in 2014. ICE authorized Dr. Amin to treat ICE
detainees based solely on the fact that he had an active
medical license, admitting privileges at ICH, and was not
otherwise prohibited from treating ICE detainees.
LICE did not have access to the National
Practitioner Data Bank (``NPDB'')--a confidential federal
clearinghouse of healthcare provider information--and was
unable to conduct a search for Dr. Amin in the database before
he began treating ICDC detainees. Had ICE been able to conduct
this search, it would have found multiple past medical
malpractice claims against Dr. Amin, and the fact that a major
U.S. insurance company dropped him as a covered physician in
2005 due to ``excessive malpractice cases'' and an ``extensive
malpractice history.''\138\ ICE was not aware of the medical
malpractice suits filed against Dr. Amin until after the
September 2020 public allegations against him.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\138\Staff conducted an in camera review at the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services of National Practitioner Data Bank
information on Dr. Amin. (Dec. 9, 2021) (Notes on file with the
Subcommittee).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
LICE was unaware that DOJ and the State of Georgia
had filed a 2013 lawsuit against Dr. Amin and other physicians
at ICH until after the September 2020 allegations. The lawsuit
included five counts, including allegations that Dr. Amin and
his codefendants had engaged in Medicaid fraud, violated the
Federal Anti-Kickback Statute and Georgia Medicaid policies,
and maintained ``standing orders'' to conduct unnecessary
gynecological procedures.
LDr. Amin began treating ICDC detainee patients in
2014, the year after DOJ filed its lawsuit against him. In
2015, Dr. Amin, other physicians, and the hospital entered into
a settlement agreement with DOJ and the State of Georgia and
agreed to pay $520,000 to resolve the allegations regarding
Medicaid fraud.
LICE did not have a process to automatically flag
the disproportionately high number of medical procedures Dr.
Amin or any given doctor performs compared to his or her peers.
While ICE informed the Subcommittee that the disparity in the
number of Dr. Amin's procedures alone would not be
disqualifying, additional scrutiny of Dr. Amin's practices may
have prevented unnecessary procedures from occurring.\139\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\139\U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Health Service Corps,
Briefing with Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (Sept.
29, 2021). ICE later stated to the Subcommittee that based on the
comparative analysis, ICE noted a possible overutilization of the D&C
and laparoscopic procedures, but that it would need an expert OB-GYN
review of the medical records because its analysis was based solely on
medical claims data. Email from U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement Staff to the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on
Investigations (Nov. 11, 2022).
Since the initial September 2020 public allegations against
Dr. Amin and ICE, IHSC has initiated limited vetting procedures
of off-site medical providers. IHSC officials also noted,
however, that even these new procedures likely would not have
disqualified Dr. Amin from treating ICE detainees. An IHSC
official told Subcommittee staff that the agency would not have
deemed the information on Dr. Amin in the NPDB as disqualifying
based on the fact that he maintains a current, active medical
license with the state of Georgia, and the state had never
restricted his license or otherwise intervened at any point in
his medical service. As a result, the IHSC official said IHSC
``would not have had any issues'' with allowing Dr. Amin to
treat ICE patients.\140\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\140\U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Health Service Corps,
Briefing with Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (Sept.
29, 2021).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Following the public allegations against Dr. Amin in
September 2020, ICE conducted a limited review of medical
records, claims, and referrals for his patients. ICE did not,
however, obtain complete files from ICDC or ICH and ultimately
suspended its investigation pending completion of a DHS OIG
investigation into the allegations of inappropriate off-site
gynecological care at ICDC.\141\ In multiple conversations with
Subcommittee staff, IHSC officials were only able to speculate
about the reasons why Dr. Amin performed so many more
procedures than other physicians providing OB-GYN care to ICE
detainees. Dr. Amin stopped treating ICE detainees in September
2020.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\141\The DHS OIG started its review in October 2020. However, this
review did not evaluate off-site medical care of ICDC detainees. This
review ``sought to determine whether ICDC provided detainees adequate
[on-site] medical care and adhered to COVID-19 protections. This
inspection did not review the gynecological procedure approval process
for detainees at ICDC, which has been referred to our Office of
Investigations.'' The review of gynecological treatment is currently
underway. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Office of Inspector
General, Medical Processes and Communication Protocols Need Improvement
at Irwin County Detention Center (OIG-22-14) (Jan. 3, 2022) (https://
www.oig.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/assets/2022-01/OIG-22-14-
Jan22.pdf).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Subcommittee's Investigation
During the Subcommittee's 18-month long investigation, the
Subcommittee interviewed more than 70 witnesses and reviewed
more than 541,000 pages of records, including records from DHS,
ICE, ICDC, LaSalle, and ICH.
The Subcommittee evaluated litigation materials, reports,
declarations, expert medical assessments, and documents
provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs Financial
Services Center (``VAFSC''), and conducted an in camera review
of documents from HHS and the Departments of Treasury.
The Subcommittee secured briefings from attorneys,
advocates, physicians, and other entities including: the U.S.
Marshals Service, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
(``CMS''), HHS OIG, DHS OIG, the Nakamoto Group, and the
Georgia Composite Medical Board.
Additionally, the Subcommittee interviewed nearly 50 former
ICDC detainees, 40 of which were interviewed during the
Subcommittee's August 2021 staff visit to ICDC. Subcommittee
staff also interviewed seven former ICDC employees, four
current ICDC or LaSalle employees, two ICH executives, three
ICH nurses, six current ICE officials, and one former ICE
official.
The Subcommittee's Findings of Fact and Recommendations
Findings of Fact:
L(1) Female detainees at ICDC appear to have been
subjected to excessive, invasive, and often unnecessary
gynecological procedures.
L(2) The Subcommittee did not substantiate the allegation
that ICDC detainees underwent ``high rates'' of unauthorized
hysterectomies. Dr. Amin performed two hysterectomies on ICDC
detainees between 2017 and 2019. According to ICE, patient
records indicated that both procedures were medically
necessary.
L(3) Between 2017 and 2020 Dr. Amin performed a
significantly higher volume of invasive procedures on ICE
detainees compared to other OB-GYN physicians serving ICE
detainees. Dr. Amin ranked first among all physicians treating
ICE detainees across the country during this period in terms of
the number of D&C procedures, laparoscopies to excise lesions,
and limited pelvic exams he performed, as well as the number of
Depo-Provera injections he administered. In fact, of the 401
combined total number of these procedures performed on all ICE
detainees by OB-GYN specialists across the nation, Dr. Amin
performed 362 of these procedures--or 90 percent of them. In
ten categories of OB-GYN procedures the Subcommittee reviewed,
Dr. Amin was among the top five providers for eight of the ten
procedures. For the specific OB-GYN procedures the Subcommittee
examined, Dr. Amin performed nearly one-third of the total
procedures performed on ICE detainees at all ICE detention
facilities between 2017 and 2020. This was despite the fact
that ICDC housed about 4 percent of the female detainee
population.
L(4) For the specific OB-GYN procedures the Subcommittee
examined, Dr. Amin received around half of all payments from
ICE for these procedures. From 2017 to 2020, physicians
performed 1,201 of these ten types of OB-GYN procedures on ICE
detainees, costing ICE over $120,400. Dr. Amin performed 392 of
the 1,201 procedures and received approximately $60,000 for
these procedures.
L(5) Dr. Amin had a history of medical malpractice suits
filed against him. Due to this history, a major U.S. insurance
company dropped its contract with him nearly one decade before
ICE began using his services at ICDC.
L(6) ICE was not aware of publicly available information
regarding medical malpractice suits and a DOJ and State of
Georgia Medicaid fraud complaint against Dr. Amin before he
began treating ICE detainees.
L(7) Prior to October 2019, ICE did not employ a thorough
vetting process for physicians treating detainees at facilities
outside detention centers. ICE has since established a process
to review board certifications, records of adverse actions, and
a list of individuals and entities excluded from federal
healthcare programs, but ICE never completed this process for
Dr. Amin.
L(8) ICE officials stated that its new vetting procedures
would not necessarily have disqualified Dr. Amin from treating
detainees. Due to the fact that the state of Georgia had never
restricted Dr. Amin's license or otherwise intervened at any
point in his medical service, and the information in the NPDB
were unsubstantiated allegations that had been settled, ICE
would not necessarily have disqualified Dr. Amin from treating
ICE detainees.
L(9) ICE lacked a medical utilization review process to
identify potential trends in off-site medical treatment. Until
recently, ICE did not maintain a system to detect trends in
medical procedures by off-site physicians that might indicate
medical waste, fraud, or abuse. ICE states it intends to change
its procedures to standardize the medical request approval
process and has begun to employ a web-based application for
medical utilization review and management, beginning with a
retrospective review of ICE medical claims.
L(10) ICE performed an investigation of medical treatments
provided to ICDC detainees following the public allegations
against Dr. Amin, but did not obtain complete medical records
for ICDC detainees. During its investigation, ICE did not
obtain complete medical records for ICDC detainees and
ultimately did not conduct a more thorough review due to the
pending DHS OIG investigation involving off-site gynecological
procedures.
L(11) ICE personnel failed to conduct site visits at ICDC
between January 2018 and October 2020. The Field Medical
Coordinator assigned to ICDC did not visit ICDC between January
2018 and October 2020--the period of greatest activity for Dr.
Amin in terms of office visit claims and procedures.
L(12) ICE is not required to monitor the use of language
translation services by off-site medical providers or ensure
these providers obtain informed consent for off-site medical
procedures. Instead, ICE has relied on off-site providers to
fulfill their professional obligations to ensure detainees
understand and consent to the medical care they receive.
L(13) ICE conducts limited oversight of hospitals
providing off-site care to detainees. To date, ICE has also
performed no reviews of hospitals treating detainees to review
the appropriateness of the medical care they provide, although
ICE told the Subcommittee that it intends to conduct these
reviews in the future.
L(14) ICE approved Dr. Amin's performance of OB-GYN
procedures on a case-by-case basis and never identified any of
Dr. Amin's treatments as potentially excessive or unnecessary.
L(15) ICE's contract with LaSalle did not require the
company or ICDC to conduct oversight of off-site medical care
for detainees. ICDC and LaSalle played no role in vetting off-
site medical providers treating detainees, or ensuring that
these providers obtained informed consent or used appropriate
language translation services. No ICDC or LaSalle employee the
Subcommittee interviewed recalled a review of treatment by Dr.
Amin--prior to the public allegations in September 2020 or
since--that found signs of waste, fraud, or abuse.
Recommendations:
L(1) ICE should expedite efforts to improve the vetting of
off-site medical providers for detainees and should consider
expanding criteria for excluding providers. ICE officials noted
to the Subcommittee that even new vetting procedures ICE
instituted in 2019 might not have excluded Dr. Amin--despite
his previous malpractice settlements, the fact that a major
insurance company severed its contract with him based on his
history of malpractice cases, and his False Claims Act
settlement with DOJ in 2015.
L(2) ICE should expedite efforts to identify trends in
off-site medical procedures for detainees for potential waste,
fraud, or abuse and should conduct regular audits of
physicians, hospitals, or other facilities providing off-site
care. To provide context for its review efforts, ICE should
also expand the range of information it collects from detention
centers to include historic demographic population information
and descriptions of on-site medical capabilities.
L(3) ICE should institute policies and procedures to
ensure off-site providers obtain informed consent in connection
with their treatment of detainees. ICE currently expects that
off-site medical providers will honor their professional
obligations to ensure detainees understand and consent to
medical procedures, but ICE has taken no responsibility for
them doing so.
L(4) ICE should ensure it reviews all detainee complaints
regarding medical treatment independently of site visits from
Field Medical Coordinators. ICE officials should have the
ability to receive and review all detainee medical complaints
electronically and contemporaneously, regardless of whether
staffing challenges prevent annual visits to detention
facilities.
L(5) Federal immigration policy should support and allow
for the swifter adjudication of immigration cases without
undermining the procedural due process rights of immigrants.
4. Sexual Abuse of Female Inmates in Federal Prisons, December 13, 2022
(Report Prepared by the Majority and Minority Staff of the
Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations and released in
conjunction with the Subcommittee's hearing on December 13,
2022.)
In April 2022, the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations
(``PSI'' or ``the Subcommittee'') launched a bipartisan
investigation into sexual abuse of female prisoners in custody
of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (``BOP'').
The Subcommittee reviewed non-public BOP and whistleblower
documents, and it conducted more than two dozen interviews with
senior BOP leaders, whistleblowers, and survivors of sexual
abuse. The Subcommittee found:
LBOP employees sexually abused female prisoners in
at least two-thirds (19 of 29 facilities) of federal prisons
that have held women over the past decade.\142\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\142\There are currently 27 female facilities where BOP holds
women. Since 2012, there have been two BOP facilities that were used to
hold women but no longer do: FCC Coleman and MCC New York. Thus, since
2012, there were 29 BOP facilities in total that have held women. See
Exhibit 1; Bureau of Prisons, Our Locations (https://www.bop.gov/
locations/list.jsp); Email from Congressional Research Service to PSI
(Dec. 9, 2022) (on file with PSI) (confirming 29 total facilities
between 2012 and 2022 held female prisoners). The Subcommittee reviewed
public criminal convictions and data produced by BOP concerning
substantiated sexual abuse cases of prisoners by BOP employees. See
Exhibit 1; Staff-on-Inmate Cases by Facility (2012-2021), Production
from DOJ to PSI (Nov. 4, 2022) (PSI-BOPOIA-Prod4-0001-0049). The
Subcommittee found sexual abuse of female prisoners by BOP employees in
19 of 29 federal facilities that held women since 2012. Because BOP did
not disclose the gender of the victim of abuse in the data that it
produced to the Subcommittee, the Subcommittee did not include BOP OIA
substantiated sexual abuse cases in the remaining 10 of 29 facilities
holding both men and women where there was no public criminal
conviction. For this reason, there were abuse cases in at least 19 of
29 facilities, or, two-thirds.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
LBOP has failed to successfully implement the
Prison Rape Elimination Act (``PREA''). It failed to prevent,
detect, and stop recurring sexual abuse in at least four
federal prisons, including abuse by senior prison officials. At
FCI Dublin, for example, the former Warden and Chaplain both
sexually abused female prisoners.
LBOP management failures enabled continued sexual
abuse of female prisoners by BOP's own employees.
LBOP Office of Internal Affairs' (``BOP OIA'' or
``OIA'') investigative practices are seriously flawed. There is
currently a backlog of 8,000 internal affairs cases, including
at least hundreds of sexual abuse cases.\143\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\143\Office of Internal Affairs, BOP, Report for Fiscal Year 2020
(https://www.bop.gov/foia/docs/FY--2020--Annual--OIA--Report.pdf); Beth
Reese, Chief of the Office of Internal Affairs, BOP, Interview with PSI
(Oct. 28, 2022); Lawsuit settled in which 15 women alleged sexual abuse
at Florida prison, Tampa Bay Times (May 5, 2022) (https://
www.tampabay.com/news/florida/2021/05/05/lawsuitsettled-in-which-15-
women-alleged-sexual-abuse-at-florida-prison/).
In 2003, Congress passed PREA ``to eradicate prisoner rape
in all types of correctional facilities in this country'' by
requiring federal prisons to adopt certain policies and
practices designed to mitigate the risk of sexual abuse, track
allegations of sexual abuse, and protect potential
victims.\144\ Yet according to the Subcommittee's review of
court filings and non-public BOP data dating back to 2012, BOP
employees have sexually abused women in their custody in at
least 19 of 29--or two-thirds--of facilities where BOP
incarcerates women.\145\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\144\Bureau of Justice Assistance, Prison Rape Elimination Act
(PREA): Overview (https://bja.ojp.gov/program/prison-rape-elimination-
act-prea/overview).
\145\See footnote 1. ``BOP employees'' in this report includes
bargaining staff, mid-level managers, and supervisors.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In at least four BOP facilities, multiple women endured
ongoing sexual abuse for months or years.\146\ Beginning in
June 2021, the Department of Justice (``DOJ'') indicted five
BOP employees at California's Federal Correctional Institution
(``FCI'') Dublin--including the Warden and the Chaplain--for
repeated sexual abuse of at least eight female prisoners under
their supervision.\147\ The horrific abuse at FCI Dublin was
not unique among BOP's prisons. BOP failed to detect and
prevent repeated sexual abuse in at least three other
facilities before FCI Dublin.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\146\See, e.g., U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of New
York: Correctional Officer At Metropolitan Correctional Center
Sentenced To 40 Months In Prison For Engaging In Abusive Sexual Contact
With Inmates (Dec. 8, 2020) (https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/
correctional-officer-metropolitan-correctional-centersentenced-40-
months-prison); Office of Public Affairs, Department of Justice: Jury
Convicts Former Federal Prison Warden for Sexual Abuse of Three Female
Inmates (Dec. 8, 2022) (https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/jury-
convictsformer-federal-prison-warden-sexual-abuse-three-female-
inmates); U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of New York: Former
Federal Bureau of Prisons Lieutenant Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison
for Sexual Abuse and Violation of Civil Rights Convictions (July 31,
2019) (https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/pr/former-federal-
bureauprisons-lieutenant-sentenced-25-years-prison-sexual-abuse-and);
Affidavit of Keith Vann, Production from DOJ to PSI (Oct. 18, 2022)
(PSI-BOPOIA-Prod2-0135-0144).
\147\Lisa Fernandez, 5th officer at Dublin prison charged in
widening sex abuse scandal, KTVU FOX 2 (Mar. 24, 2022) (https://
www.ktvu.com/news/5th-guard-at-dublin-prison-charged-in-widening-sex-
abuse-scandal). United States v. Highhouse, No. 22-cr-000016-HSG (N.D.
Cal. 2022); United States. v. Klinger, No. 4:22-CR-00031-JSW (N.D.
Cal., June 25, 2021); United States. v. Bellhouse, No. 4:21-MJ-71905-
MRGD (N.D. Cal., Nov. 30, 2021); United States. Chavez, No. 4:22-CR-
00104-JSW (N.D. Cal., Mar. 10, 2022); United States v. Garcia, No.
4:21-CR-429 (N.D. Cal. 2022).
LStarting in approximately 2012, at least two
officers repeatedly sexually abused at least eight female
prisoners at the Metropolitan Correctional Center (``MCC'') New
York over the course of several years.\148\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\148\Benjamin Weiser, U.S. Pays $4.2 Million to Victims of Jail
Guard's Long-Running Sex Abuse, New York Times (July 18, 2022) (https:/
/www.nytimes.com/2022/07/18/nyregion/mcc-officer-sex-abuse-victims-
payout.html);Herrera v. United States, 20-cv-10206 (PKC) (S.D.N.Y. Mar.
27, 2022); U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of New York: Former
Federal Correctional Officer Sentenced to Seven Years for Sexually
Abusing an Inmate (May 4, 2022) (https://oig.justice.gov/press/2016/
2016-05-04.pdf).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
LStarting in approximately 2016, at least two male
lieutenants and one officer sexually abused at least nine
female prisoners at the Metropolitan Detention Center (``MDC'')
Brooklyn in New York.\149\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\149\Joseph Goldstein, Brooklyn Prison Supervisors Charged With
Sexually Assaulting Inmates, New York Times (May 25, 2017) https://
www.nytimes.com/2017/05/25/nyregion/prison-supervisors-sex-abuse-
prevention-rapecharges.html); United States v. Eugenio Perez, 1:17-cr-
00280-KAM (E.D.N.Y. 2018); United States v. Martinez, 1:17-cr-00281-ERK
(E.D.N.Y. 2019); United States v. Armando Moronta, 17-CR-281 (E.D.N.Y.
2017).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
LStarting in approximately 2012 through 2020,
there were at least six male BOP employees who sexually abused
at least ten female prisoners at the Federal Correctional
Complex (``FCC'') Coleman in Florida.\150\ The Subcommittee
obtained copies of non-public sworn, compelled statements from
officers at FCC Coleman, wherein the officers admitted to
sexual abuse of female detainees in graphic detail.\151\ DOJ's
Office of the Inspector General (``OIG'') declined to
investigate these FCC Coleman officers for sexual abuse and
they were never prosecuted.\152\
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\150\See Answer at T 26-29, Beaubrun v. United States, 5:19-CV-
0615-TJC (M.D. Fl. 2020) [hereinafter Beaubrun Answer].
\151\2019 Affidavit of Christopher Palomares, Production from DOJ
to PSI (Oct. 18, 2022) (PSI-BOPOIA-Prod2-0101-0111) [hereinafter 2019
Palomares Aff.]; 2018 Affidavit of Christopher Palomares, Production
from DOJ to PSI (Oct. 18, 2022) (PSI-BOPOIA-Prod2-0112-0123)
[hereinafter 2018 Palomares Aff.]; Affidavit of Daniel Kuilan,
Production from DOJ to PSI (Oct. 18, 2022) (PSI-BOPOIA-Prod2-0188-0196)
[hereinafter Kuilan Aff.]; Affidavit of Keith Vann, Production from DOJ
to PSI (Oct. 18, 2022) (PSI-BOPOIA-Prod2-0135-0144) [hereinafter Vann
Aff.]; Affidavit of Tracy Laudenslager, Production from DOJ to PSI
(Oct. 18, 2022) (PSI-BOPOIA-Prod2-0093-0100) [hereinafter Laudenslager
Aff.]; Affidavit of Timothy Phillips, Production from DOJ to PSI (Oct.
18, 2022) (PSI-BOPOIA-Prod2-0124-0134) [hereinafter Phillips Aff.];
Affidavit of Scott Campbell Production from DOJ to PSI (Oct. 18, 2022)
(PSI-BOPOIA-Prod2-0086-0092) [hereinafter Campbell Aff.].
\152\OIG Briefing to PSI (Nov. 9, 2022); Beth Reese, Chief of the
Office of Internal Affairs, BOP, Interview with PSI (Oct. 28, 2022).
The Subcommittee found that the mechanisms that BOP employs
to identify and prevent sexual abuse of female prisoners by BOP
employees are ineffective. Audits intended to assess sexual
abuse in prisons (known as ``PREA audits'') found that FCC
Coleman and FCI Dublin were compliant with every PREA standard
during the time when senior BOP officials admitted to the
Subcommittee that there was a ``culture of abuse.''\153\
Further, BOP failed to systematically analyze PREA data,
missing a key opportunity to identify problematic facilities or
employees.\154\
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\153\2017 FCI Dublin PREA Audit, Production from DOJ to PSI (Oct.
4, 2022); 2022 FCI Dublin PREA Audit, Production from DOJ to PSI (Oct.
4, 2022) (PSI-BOPOIA-Prod1-0262-0381); 2018 FCC Coleman PREA Audit,
Production from DOJ to PSI (Oct. 4, 2022) (PSI-BOPOIA-Prod1-0635-0726);
2021 FCC Coleman PREA Audit, Production from DOJ to PSI (Oct. 4, 2022)
(PSI-BOPOIA-Prod1-0125-0261); Beth Reese, Chief of the Office of
Internal Affairs, BOP, Interview with PSI (Oct. 28, 2022); Alix
McLearen, PhD, Acting Director of Reentry Services, BOP, Interview with
PSI (Nov. 4, 2022).
\154\Beth Reese, Chief of the Office of Internal Affairs, BOP,
Interview with PSI (Oct. 28, 2022).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
BOP OIA, the component of BOP responsible for investigating
staff misconduct, has failed to timely investigate and resolve
allegations of employee misconduct concerning both sexual abuse
of female prisoners and other matters. The Subcommittee's
investigation uncovered that as of November 2022, BOP OIA had a
backlog of approximately 8,000 cases.\155\ Some cases have been
pending for more than five years.\156\ BOP OIA's failures
impeded BOP's ability to hold wrongdoers accountable.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\155\See Beth Reese, Chief of the Office of Internal Affairs, BOP,
Interview with PSI (Oct. 28, 2022).
\156\Beth Reese, Chief of the Office of Internal Affairs, BOP,
Interview with PSI (Oct. 28, 2022).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Subcommittee's Key Findings
1. Over the past decade, female inmates in at least two-
thirds (19 of 29) of federal prisons that held women were
sexually abused by male BOP employees, including senior prison
officials. Multiple BOP employees sexually abused multiple
female prisoners at MCC New York, MDC Brooklyn, FCC Coleman,
and FCI Dublin.\157\ Between 2012 and 2020, BOP has opened
5,415 internal affairs cases alleging sexual abuse of male or
female prisoners by BOP employees.\158\ There were at least 134
instances across 19 female facilities where BOP employees were
either prosecuted for sexual abuse of female prisoners or where
BOP OIA substantiated allegations that BOP employees sexually
abused female prisoners.\159\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\157\See Exhibit 1.
\158\Staff-on-Inmate Cases by Facility (2012-2021), Production from
DOJ to PSI (Nov. 4, 2022) (PSI-BOPOIAProd4-0001-0049).
\159\See footnote 1; Exhibit 1.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. BOP failed to detect, prevent, and respond to sexual
abuse of female prisoners in its custody. BOP failed to
systematically analyze PREA complaint data and relied on flawed
PREA audits that missed sexual abuse of female prisoners by
male BOP employees at FCC Coleman and FCI Dublin.\160\ At FCC
Coleman, BOP transferred all female prisoners out of the prison
two days before the auditor's on-site inspection at a time when
multiple women were being abused.\161\ At FCI Dublin, the
former PREA compliance officer, responsible for training
supervisors on the PREA requirements and coordinating the PREA
audit, was convicted of sexually abusing female prisoners on
December 8, 2022.\162\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\160\See Beth Reese, Chief of the Office of Internal Affairs, BOP,
Interview with PSI (Oct. 28, 2022); Alix McLearen, PhD, Acting Director
of Reentry Services, BOP, Interview with PSI (Nov. 4, 2022); Melissa
Rios, Western Regional Director, BOP, Interview with PSI (Nov. 10,
2022); Wiley Jenkins, Former Warden at FCI Dublin, BOP, Interview with
PSI (Nov. 16, 2022); 2017 FCI Dublin PREA Audit, Production from DOJ to
PSI (Oct. 4, 2022) (on file with PSI); 2022 FCI Dublin PREA Audit,
Production from DOJ to PSI (Oct. 4, 2022) (PSI-BOPOIA-Prod1-0262-0381);
2018 FCC Coleman PREA Audit, Production from DOJ to PSI (Oct. 4, 2022)
(PSI-BOPOIA-Prod1-0635-0726); 2021 FCC Coleman PREA Audit, Production
from DOJ to PSI (Oct. 4, 2022) (PSI-BOPOIA-Prod1-0125-0261).
\161\See FCC Coleman PREA Audit, Production from DOJ to PSI (Oct.
4, 2022) (PSI-BOPOIA-Prod1-0125-0261) at PSI-BOPOIA-Prod1-000136.
\162\Office of Public Affairs, Department of Justice: Jury Convicts
Former Federal Prison Warden for Sexual Abuse of Three Female Inmates
(Dec. 8, 2022) (https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/jury-convicts-former-
federal-prisonwarden-sexual-abuse-three-female-inmates); 2017 FCI
Dublin PREA Audit, Production from DOJ to PSI (Oct. 4, 2022) (on file
with PSI).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. BOP failed to hold employees accountable for misconduct.
BOP has a backlog of approximately 8,000 internal affairs cases
alleging employee misconduct, some of which have been pending
for more than five years.\163\ OIA's failure to clear pending
cases impedes BOP's ability to hold employees accountable.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\163\See Beth Reese, Chief of the Office of Internal Affairs, BOP,
Interview with PSI (Oct. 28, 2022).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. BOP failed to take agency-wide action to address sexual
abuse of female inmates by male BOP employees. In interviews
with the Subcommittee, BOP could not identify any agency-wide
actions it had undertaken in response to sexual abuse of
numerous female inmates by multiple BOP employees at MCC New
York, MDC Brooklyn, and FCC Coleman. It was only after the
abuse at FCI Dublin came to light that BOP began to institute
agency-wide changes.\164\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\164\See Beth Reese, Chief of the Office of Internal Affairs, BOP,
Interview with PSI (Oct. 28, 2022); Alix McLearen, PhD, Acting Director
of Reentry Services, BOP, Interview with PSI (Nov. 4, 2022); Melissa
Rios, Western Regional Director, BOP, Interview with PSI (Nov. 10,
2022); Wiley Jenkins, Former Warden at FCI Dublin, BOP, Interview with
PSI (Nov. 16, 2022).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
V. GAO REPORTS
During the 117th Congress, the Government Accountability
Office (GAO) issued 29 reports at the request of the
Subcommittee. Reports are listed here by title, GAO number, and
release date.
Chemical Security: Overlapping Programs Could Better
Collaborate to Share Information and Identify Potential
Security Gaps. GAO-21-12. January 21, 2021.
Southwest Border: DHS and DOJ Have Implemented Expedited
Credible Fear Screening Pilot Programs, But Should Ensure
Timely Data Entry. GAO-21-144. January 25, 2021.
Man-Made Chemicals and Potential Health Risks: EPA Has
Completed Some Regulatory-Related Actions for PFAS. GAO-21-37.
January 27, 2021.
Bureau of Prisons: Opportunities Exist to Better Analyze
Staffing Data and Improve Employee Wellness Programs. GAO-21-
123. February 24, 2021.
U.S. Assistance to Mexico: State and USAID Should
Strengthen Risk Management for Programs Under the Merida
Initiative. GAO-21-335. March 1, 2021.
Electricity Grid: Opportunities Exist for DOE to Better
Support Utilities in Improving Resilience to Hurricanes. GAO-
21-274. March 5, 2021.
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency: Actions
Needed to Ensure Organizational Changes Result in More
Effective Cybersecurity for Our Nation. GAO-21-236. March 10,
2021.
Decennial Census: Bureau Should Assess Significant Data
Collection Challenges as It Undertakes Planning for 2030. GAO-
21-365. March 22, 2021.
Disaster Recovery: HUD Should Take Additional Action to
Assess Community Development Block Grant Fraud Risks. GAO-21-
177. May 5, 2021.
ORAL Presentation on DHS's Countering Weapons of Mass
Destruction (CWMD) Office. May 18, 2021.
Puerto Rico Recovery: FEMA Made Progress in Approving
Projects, But Should Identify and Assess Risks to the Recovery.
GAO-21-264. May 19, 2021.
La Recuperacion De Puerto Rico: FEMA Progreso en la
Aprobacion de Proyectos, Per Deberia Identificary Evaular Los
Riesgos Para La Recuperacion. GAO-21-442. May 19, 2021.
Biodefense: DHS Exploring New Methods to Replace Biowatch
and Could Benefit from Additional Guidance. GAO-21-292. May 20,
2021.
DHS Office of Inspector General: Actions Needed to Address
Long-Standing Management Weaknesses. GAO-21-316. June 3, 2021.
Homeland Security: DHS Needs to Fully Implement Key
Practices in Acquiring Biometric Identity Management System.
GAO-21-386. June 8, 2021.
Capital Fund Proposal: Upfront Funding Could Benefit Some
Projects, But Other Potential Effects Not Clearly Identified.
GAO-21-215. September 10, 2021.
Federal Real Property Asset Management: Additional
Direction in Government-Wide Guidance Could Enhance Natural
Disaster Resilience. GAO-21-596. September 14, 2021.
Critical Infrastructure Protection: CISA Should Improve
Priority Setting, Stakeholder Involvement, and Threat
Information Sharing. GAO-22-104279. March 1, 2022.
2020 Census: Bureau Released Apportionment and
Redistricting Data, But Needs to Finalize Plans for Future Data
Programs. GAO-22-105324. March 14, 2022.
Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction: DHS Could Improve
Its Acquisition of Key Technology and Coordination with
Partners. GAO-22-104498. April 19, 2022.
IRS Free File Program: IRS Should Develop Additional
Options for Taxpayers to File For Free. GAO-22-105236. April
28, 2022.
Management Report: IRS Should Test Videoconference Visits
with Paid Preparers. GAO-22-105978. July 14, 2022.
Persistent Chemicals: Technologies for PFAS Assessment,
Detection, and Treatment. GAO-22-105088. July 28, 2022.
Federal Real Property: GSA Could Further Support Agencies'
Post Pandemic Planning for Office Space. GAO-22-105105.
September 7, 2022.
Deaths in Custody: Additional Action Needed to Help Ensure
Data Collected by DOJ are Utilized. GAO-22-106033. September
20, 2022.
Privacy: Dedicated Leadership Can Improve Programs and
Address Challenges. GAO-22-105065. September 22, 2022.
Persistent Chemicals: EPA Should Use New Data to Analyze
the Demographics of Communities with PFAS in Their Drinking
Water. GAO-22-105135. September 30, 2022.
Cybersecurity: Secret Service Has Made Progress Toward Zero
Trust Architecture, But Work Remains. GAO-23-105466. November
15, 2022.
Paid Tax Return Preparers: IRS Efforts to Oversee
Refundable Credits Help Protect Taxpayers but Additional
Actions and Authority are Needed. GAO-23-105217. November 30,
2022.
SUBCOMMITTEE ON EMERGING THREATS AND
SPENDING OVERSIGHT
Chairman: Maggie Hassan (D-NH)
Ranking Member: Rand Paul (R-KY)
I. AUTHORITY
The Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Spending Oversight
focuses on preventing waste, fraud, and abuse related to
federal spending; identifying and examining emerging national
and economic security threats; examining federal preparedness
to respond and address emerging threats including terrorism,
disruptive technologies, misinformation and disinformation,
climate change, and chemical, biological, radiological,
nuclear, and explosive attacks; improving coordination and
addressing conflicts between federal departments and agencies,
state, local, territorial, tribal governments, and private
sector entities for emerging threat preparedness and
prevention; conducting oversight of the protection of civil
rights and civil liberties by the Department of Homeland
Security; and modernizing federal information technology.
II. ACTIVITY
During the 117th Congress, the Subcommittee on Emerging
Threats and Spending Oversight held eight hearings and
introduced 22 pieces of legislation that were referred to the
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, 16 of
which were reported out of committee; as well as others that
pertain to the work of the committee.
A. Hearings
Preparing for Future Crises: Examining the National Response
Enterprise. March 24, 2021. S. Hrg. 117-39.
This hybrid hearing held in person and via video conference
examined the findings and recommendations of the Business
Executives for National Security (BENS) Commission on the
National Response Enterprise.
BENS is a national nonprofit, nonpartisan organization of
senior executives who volunteer their time to address business-
related challenges faced by public and private organizations
across the national security enterprise. BENS established the
Commission on the National Response Enterprise (Commission) in
July 2020, recruiting 33 Commissioners and 58 executives from
across all levels of government, business, and civil society,
to research and analyze the nation's capacity to respond to
crises. The Commission organized its analysis into five working
groups: Surge, Supplies, People, Infrastructure & Economy, and
Roles. After months of work, the Commission arrived at 11
recommendations to strengthen the nation's capacity to respond
to future crises and threats categorized into three findings.
These findings included facilitating communication and
coordination, delivering supplies and volunteer resources, and
leveraging technology. The Commission published its findings
and recommendations in its report: Commission on the National
Response Enterprise: A Call to Action.
Witnesses: General Joseph L. Votel, Ret., President and
Chief Executive Officer, Business Executives for National
Security.
Accompanied by: The Honorable W. Craig Fugate, Former
Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S.
Department of Homeland Security; Kristi M. Rogers, Managing
Partner, Principal to Principal LLC; Michael Capps, Ph.D.,
Chief Executive Officer, Diveplane Corporation.
Controlling Federal Legacy IT Costs and Crafting 21st Century IT
Management Solutions. April 27, 2021. S. Hrg. 117-38.
This hearing provided an opportunity for members of the
Subcommittee to examine costs associated with the federal
government's reliance on legacy information technology (IT)
systems. The hearing also explored barriers to IT
modernization, including the one-year budgeting and
appropriations cycle, limited authority of agency chief
information officers, and adoption of IT modernization plans.
The federal government has long had difficulties acquiring,
developing, and managing IT investments. As a result, the
government operates legacy IT systems that contribute to
security risks, unmet mission needs, staffing issues, and
increased costs. For oversight purposes, ``federal legacy IT''
describes the federal government's use of old technologies or
custom systems that require additional maintenance or
specialized knowledge to support agency missions, because the
technology is no longer supported by industry vendors.
The rising costs of maintaining legacy systems crowds out
investments for newer systems that would better serve the
American people. In fiscal year (FY) 2020, the federal
government spent roughly $90 billion on IT, and is on track to
spend at least that much in FY2021. Notably, $29 billion, or
roughly one-third of total IT spending, was dedicated to
maintaining legacy systems. Costs are linked to the need for
increased maintenance, specialized staff, and addressing
cybersecurity risks. However, they are also the result of not
meeting mission needs, which leads to inefficient operations
and wasteful spending. The cost of maintaining outdated systems
further hinders efforts to modernize and develop new or
replacement systems. If IT modernization is not a priority
among agency leadership who put together the annual budget,
then costs will continue to rise due to increased maintenance
on legacy systems.
Witnesses: Kevin Walsh, Director, Information Technology
and Cybersecurity, U.S. Government Accountability Office; Casey
Coleman, Senior Vice President for Digital Transformation at
Salesforce, and Former Chief Information Officer of the General
Services Administration; Renee Wynn, Chief Executive Officer,
RP Wynn Consulting, and Former Chief Information Officer of the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration; Max Everett,
Chief Executive Officer, Adnovem Consulting Group, and Former
Chief Information Officer of the U.S. Department of Energy.
Examining the Findings and Recommendations of GAO's 2021 Report on
Duplication, Overlap, Fragmentation and Opportunities to
Achieve Financial Benefits. May 12, 2021. S. Hrg. 117-36.
As it has done in the past, the Subcommittee held this
hearing for members to ask questions about the issues and
recommendations raised in the Government Accountability
Office's 2021 report titled, ``New Opportunities to Reduce
Fragmentation, Overlap, and Duplication and Achieve Billions in
Financial Benefits.'' In addition, this hearing provided an
opportunity to conduct oversight of agency progress
implementing recommendations made by GAO in the report.
Since 2010, GAO has annually compiled a report that
identifies areas of duplication, overlap, and fragmentation in
federal operations, as well as identifies opportunities to
achieve financial benefits through better management.
Colloquially referred to as the ``Annual Duplication Report,''
GAO calculates that the federal government has realized roughly
$429 billion in financial benefits between FY2010 and FY2020 as
a result of the progress made by agencies and Congress to
address actions identified in these reports.
Chair Hassan and Ranking Member Paul have partnered since
2019 to introduce legislation to address the recommendations
for congressional action identified in the report. These annual
pieces of legislation--Acting on the Annual Duplication Report
Acts of 2019 and 2020--provide commonsense solutions to the
issues raised by GAO and ensure that Congress is doing its part
to mitigate waste, fraud, and abuse of taxpayer dollars.
Witnesses: The Honorable Gene L. Dodaro, Comptroller
General, U.S. Government Accountability Office.
Accompanied by: Jessica Lucas-Judy, Director, Strategic
Issues, U.S. Government Accountability Office; Cathleen
Berrick, Managing Director, Defense Capabilities and
Management, U.S. Government Accountability Office; Vijay
D'Souza, Director, Information Technology and Cybersecurity,
U.S. Government Accountability Office; Mark Gaffigan, Managing
Director, Natural Resources and Environment, U.S. Government
Accountability Office; and Michele Mackin, Managing Director,
Contracting and National Security Acquisitions, U.S. Government
Accountability Office.
Addressing Emerging Cybersecurity Threats to State and Local
Government. June 17, 2021. S. Hrg. 117-62.
This hybrid hearing held in person and via video conference
examined the planning, needs, and resource constraints of state
and local entities to prepare for and respond to cyber threats,
and how federal authorities can best support state, local, and
tribal authorities, including non-monetary support or
assistance. The hearing also examined the interactions between
and among federal, state, and local entities with regard to
cybersecurity planning and response, and how to position state
and local entities to be able to meet their own cybersecurity
needs in the future.
Witnesses: Karen J. Huey, Assistant Director, Ohio
Department of Public Safety; Hon. B. Glen Whitley, County
Judge, Tarrant County, Texas; Hon. Stephen M. Schewel, Mayor,
City of Durham, North Carolina; Russell E. Holden,
Superintendent, Sunapee School District, New Hampshire; and
Daniel Lips, Vice President for National Security and
Government Oversight, Lincoln Network.
Existing Resources and Innovations Needed to Replace Legacy
IT and Save Taxpayer Dollars. September 28, 2021. S. Hrg. 117-
167.
This hearing provided an opportunity for members of the
Subcommittee to examine how the federal government can leverage
existing resources or policy innovations to replace costly
legacy information technology (IT) systems that fail to provide
21st century service to the American people. The hearing also
explored existing administrative authorities and options for
reducing the federal government's reliance on outdated and
obsolete IT systems and discussing legislative solutions that
can compel agency action where required, as a follow-up to the
Subcommittee's April 27, 2021 hearing titled, ``Controlling
Federal Legacy IT Costs and Crafting 21st Century IT Management
Solutions.''
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB), U.S. Digital
Service (USDS), and General Services Administration (GSA) each
contribute unique services and resources to the IT
modernization landscape. Combined, these services, tools, and
funding resources facilitate agency efforts to modernize their
IT systems while adhering to standards set by policymakers.
Moreover, these resources and services allow agencies to save
taxpayer dollars, because they not only provide critical
frameworks and foundations for agencies to build upon, but
leverage the strategic buying power of the federal government.
In addition, key takeaways from the Subcommittee hearing on
April 27, 2021 are informing draft legislation to address the
most pressing issues that continue to prevent agencies from
moving away from outdated and obsolete technology, including no
requirement to develop and maintain IT modernization plans and
a lack of flexible spending authorities to fund major IT
modernization projects over several years. This hearing allowed
Subcommittee members to ask questions about potential
provisions to mandate IT modernization planning and providing
more flexible funding options through the Technology
Modernization Fund or IT modernization working capital funds.
Witnesses: Clare Martorana, Federal Chief Information
Officer, Office of Management and Budget; Mina Hsiang,
Administrator of the U.S. Digital Service, Office of Management
and Budget; and V. Dave Zvenyach, Director of Technology
Transformation Services, U.S. General Services Administration.
Addressing the Evolving Threat of Illegal Drug Trafficking to Our
Communities. March 14, 2022. S. Hrg. 117-258. Field Hearing in
Manchester, NH.
This field hearing held in person in Manchester, New
Hampshire examined the threats from the flow of narcotics into
the United States and New Hampshire, efforts by DHS law
enforcement agencies to investigate and stem this flow, and DHS
coordination with other federal, state, and local law
enforcement partners, particularly in New Hampshire. The
hearing also examined the needs of federal, state, and local
law enforcement and how Congress can support law enforcement's
efforts to fight drug trafficking. Representatives Kuster and
Pappas also participated in the hearing.
Witnesses: Matthew Millhollin, Special Agent in Charge, New
England, Homeland Security Investigations, Immigration and
Customs Enforcement, U.S. Department of Homeland Security;
Michael P. Manning, Assistant Director Field Operations Border
Security, Boston Field Office, Customs and Border Protection,
U.S. Department of Homeland Security; Jon DeLena, Deputy
Special Agent in Charge, New England Field Division, Drug
Enforcement Administration, U.S. Department of Justice; Ellen
M. Arcieri, Commander, New Hampshire Attorney General's Drug
Task Force, New Hampshire Department of Justice; and Joseph M.
Ebert, Major, Investigative Services Bureau Commander, New
Hampshire State Police.
Examining the Findings and Recommendations of GAO's 2022 Report on
Duplication, Overlap, Fragmentation and Opportunities to
Achieve Financial Benefits. June 14, 2022. S. Hrg. 117-371.
As it has done in the past, the Subcommittee held this
hearing for members to ask questions about the issues and
recommendations raised in the Government Accountability
Office's 2022 report titled, ``Additional Opportunities to
Reduce Fragmentation, Overlap, and Duplication and Achieve
Billions of Dollars in Financial Benefits.''
Since 2010, GAO has annually compiled a report that
identifies areas of duplication, overlap, and fragmentation in
federal operations, as well as identifies opportunities to
achieve financial benefits through better management.
Colloquially referred to as the ``Annual Duplication Report,''
GAO calculates that the federal government has realized roughly
$531 billion in financial benefits between FY2010 and FY2021 as
a result of the progress made by agencies and Congress to
address actions identified in these reports.
Chair Hassan and Ranking Member Paul have partnered since
2019 to introduce legislation to address the recommendations
for congressional action identified in the report. These annual
pieces of legislation--Acting on the Annual Duplication Report
Acts of 2019, 2020, and 2021--provide commonsense solutions to
the issues raised by GAO and ensure that Congress is doing its
part to mitigate waste, fraud, and abuse of taxpayer dollars.
In part, this hearing was used to discuss recommendations made
for congressional action.
Witnesses: The Honorable Eugene L. Dodaro, Comptroller
General, U.S. Government Accountability Office.
Accompanied by: Allison Bawden, Director, Natural Resources
and Environment, U.S. Government Accountability Office;
Cathleen Berrick, Managing Director, Defense Capabilities and
Management, U.S. Government Accountability Office; A. Nicole
Clowers, Managing Director, Congressional Relations, U.S.
Government Accountability Office; Elizabeth Curda, Director,
Education, Workforce, and Income Security, U.S. Government
Accountability Office; Dan Garcia Diaz, Managing Director,
Financial Markets and Community Investment, U.S. Government
Accountability Office; Charles Michael Johnson Jr., Managing
Director, Homeland Security and Justice, U.S. Government
Accountability Office; Jessica Lucas-Judy, Director, Strategic
Issues, U.S. Government Accountability Office; Marie Mak,
Director, Contracting and National Security Acquisitions, U.S.
Government Accountability Office; Nick Marinos, Managing
Director, Information Technology and Cybersecurity, U.S.
Government Accountability Office; and Candice Wright, Director,
Science, Technology Assessment, and Analytics, U.S. Government
Accountability Office.
Revisiting Gain of Function Research: What the Pandemic Taught Us and
Where Do We Go From Here. August 3, 2022. S. Hrg. 117-555.
On Wednesday, August 3, 2022, at 2:30 p.m., the Senate
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs'
Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Spending Oversight
convened a hearing titled Revisiting Gain of Function Research:
What the Pandemic Taught Us and Where Do We Go From Here. Gain-
of-function research involves the study and experimental
manipulation of genetics in a laboratory setting in order to
enhance the severity and transmissibility of existing viruses
that may affect humans, and domestic and international research
organizations have received federal funding for this research.
The COVID-19 pandemic revived debate about gain-of-function
research, and at the August 3 hearing Senators heard from a
panel of experts who discussed the potential dangers associated
with gain-of-function research, the role of the federal
government in supporting gain-of-function research, the
adequacy of government efforts to oversee and safeguard gain-
of-function research, and whether gain-of-function research may
have played a role in the emergence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
Witnesses: Richard H. Ebright, Ph.D., Laboratory Director,
Waksman Institute of Microbiology, Rutgers University; Steven
Quay, MD, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer, Attossa Therapeutics,
Inc.; and Kevin M. Esvelt, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Media
Arts and Sciences, MIT Media Lab.
B. Legislation
Since the Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Spending
Oversight hearings play an important role in bringing issues to
the attention of Congress and the public, its work frequently
contributes to the development of legislative initiatives.
During the 117th Congress, Chair Hassan introduced the
following legislative proposals:
1. S. 70--National Guard Cybersecurity Support Act--Sen.
Hassan led this bipartisan bill with Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) to
ensure that the National Guard can help state and local
governments and businesses improve their cybersecurity. The
bill makes clear that states are authorized to use the National
Guard to provide cyber support services to certain critical
infrastructure entities.
The bill became law as part of the National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 (P.L. 117-81).
2. S. 217--Patient Matching Improvement Act of 2021--Sen.
Hassan led this bipartisan bill with Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA)
to improve patient postal address matching across health
information technology platforms, especially in the wake of the
COVID-19 pandemic. Patient matching is a process that
identifies and links a patient's data within and across health
care organizations using their address. The bill would allow
health care organizations to access the U.S. Postal Service's
(USPS's) address-formatting tool--which is currently available
to online retailers--to standardize patient addresses in their
system. Research shows that using the USPS address formatting
standards could result in tens of thousands of additional
correct record linkages per day.
Specifically, this bill would require the Office of the
National Coordinator for Health Information Technology to
standardize the format of patient postal addresses by
collaborating with USPS to make its address-formatting tool
available to health care organizations. In particular, the bill
focuses on making the tools available to COVID-19 testing
laboratories to improve data collection related to the disease.
The bill was referred to the Senate Health, Education,
Labor, and Pensions Committee.
3. S. 517--Reporting Efficiently to Proper Officials in
Response to Terrorism Act of 2021--Sen. Hassan led this
bipartisan bill with Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) to require certain
executive branch agencies to provide a report to Congress
within one year of completing an investigation of a terrorism
incident.
This bill passed the Senate Committee on Homeland Security
and Governmental Affairs and passed the House of
Representatives as H.R. 1540 led by Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-CA-
31).
4. S. 535--Global War on Terrorism Memorial Location Act--
Sen. Hassan was the lead co-sponsor on this bipartisan bill
with Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA). This bill authorizes the
establishment of a National Global War on Terrorism Memorial in
an area on the National Mall.
The bill became law as part of the National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 (P.L. 117-81).
5. S. 664--Duplication Scoring Act of 2021--Sen. Hassan co-
led Sen. Rand Paul's (R-KY) bill that requires the Government
Accountability Office (GAO) to analyze legislation reported by
a congressional committee and report on whether the legislation
would create a risk of a new duplicative or overlapping
program, office, or initiative in an area that GAO previously
identified as an area of duplication, overlap, or
fragmentation.
The bill passed out of the Senate Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs Committee, and Reps. Carolyn Bourdeaux
(D-GA-7) and Michael Cloud (R-TX-27) introduced H.R. 4742 as
the House companion.
6. S. 671--Federal Agency Customer Experience Act of 2021--
Sen. Hassan led this bipartisan bill with Sen. James Lankford
(R-OK) to fast-track approval of federal agency customer
service surveys that meet certain criteria. The legislation is
intended to make it easier for agencies to solicit voluntary
customer feedback on federal services and transactions. The
data collected must be submitted to the Office of Management
and Budget and published on the agency website. In addition,
the bill calls for a Government Accountability Office report
assessing the quality of the data received.
The bill passed the Senate by unanimous consent, and passed
the House Oversight and Reform Committee as H.R. 4688, led by
Reps. Gerry Connelly (D-VA-11) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA-1).
7. S. 672--Coin Metal Modification Authorization and Cost
Savings Act--Sen. Hassan led this bipartisan bill with Sen.
Joni Ernst (R-IA) to authorize the U.S. Mint to change the
metal alloy content of circulating coins to save on production
costs. For example, the Mint currently spends nearly twice as
much as the penny is worth to produce it. Any alternative metal
content must meet certain criteria, including:
Reducing coin production costs incurred by
taxpayers,
Being seamless (coins must work interchangeably
in most coin acceptors that use electromagnetic signature
technology, and
Have as minimal an adverse impact on the public
and coin industry stakeholders.
Before making any modifications the Mint must notify
Congress and provide a justification for the changes.
The bill was referred to the Senate Banking, Housing, and
Urban Affairs Committee, and introduced as H.R. 1789 by Reps.
Mark Amodei (R-NV-7) and Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ-5).
8. S. 1161--Quantum Network Infrastructure and Workforce
Development Act of 2021--Sen. Hassan was the lead co-sponsor of
this bipartisan legislation with Sen. John Thune (R-SD), which
would focus federal research efforts and bolster interagency
coordination on the advancement of quantum networking and
communications technology. The legislation would also integrate
the principles of quantum mechanics into K-12 and higher
education curricula, and require a comprehensive approach for
quantum infrastructure workforce developments be established.
This bill became law as part of the Chips and Science Act
(P.L. 117-167, section 10661).
9. S. 1350--National Risk Management Act of 2021--Sen.
Hassan led this bipartisan bill with Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE) to
help ensure that the Department of Homeland Security is
identifying and addressing risks to critical infrastructure.
This bill originated from a recommendation of the Cyberspace
Solarium Commission to codify the Cybersecurity and
Infrastructure Security Agency's (CISA) National Risk
Management Cycle.
The bill passed the Senate Committee on Homeland Security
and Governmental Affairs and passed the Senate as part of S.
1260, the United States Innovation and Competition Act of 2021.
10. S. 1437--Recognizing the Role of Direct Support
Professionals Act--Sen. Hassan led this bipartisan bill with
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) to direct the Office of Management
and Budget to establish a separate category within the Standard
Occupational Classification system for direct support
professionals for data reporting purposes. Direct support
professionals are those who provide services to promote
independence in individuals experiencing a disability.
The bill was referred to the Senate Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs Committee, and introduced as H.R. 4779 by
Reps. Kathleen Rice (D-NY-4) and John Katko (R-NY-24).
11. S. 1794--IG Testimonial Subpoena Authority Act--Sen.
Hassan led this bipartisan bill with Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA)
to authorize use of testimonial subpoenas for the inspector
general community. While the inspector general community is
authorized to subpoena documents in the course of an
investigation, only a few inspectors general are able to
subpoena in-person attendance and testimony of witnesses. This
bill would make the subpoenas enforceable in U.S. district
court and inspectors general would be required to notify the
Justice Department seven days before issuing a subpoena. The
bill would also require the Council of Inspectors General on
Integrity and Efficiency to regulate the use of the authority
to prevent conflicts of interest and abuse.
The bill, as amended, passed out of the Senate Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs Committee as part of H.R.
2662, Inspector General Independence and Empowerment Act.
12. S. 1974--Strengthening America's Strategic National
Stockpile Act of 2021--Sen. Hassan led this bipartisan bill
with Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) to improve management of the
Strategic National Stockpile which is maintained by the federal
government to ensure access to medical supplies during public
health emergencies. This bill would improve maintenance of the
stockpile to ensure stockpile items are in good working order
and ready to use if and when a crisis hits; increase
manufacturing of critical supplies in America to diversify
sources of personal protective equipment and partner with
industry to replenish existing stocks; provide more federal
resources to states to expand or maintain their own strategic
stockpiles; and bring transparency to stockpile allocations by
requiring a report to Congress on all requests for stockpile
supplies during the pandemic and the response to each request.
This bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions and passed the House of
Representatives as H.R. 3635 led by Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI-
8) and Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC-8).
13. S. 2123--Pray Safe Act--Sen. Hassan co-led Sen. Rob
Portman's (R-OH) bill to direct the Department of Homeland
Security (DHS) to establish a Federal Clearinghouse on Safety
and Security Best Practices for Faith-Based Organizations and
Houses of Worship.
This bill passed the Senate.
14. S. 2135--Identifying and Eliminating Wasteful Programs
Act--Sen. Hassan led this bill with Sen. Mike Braun (R-IN) to
root out wasteful programs across the federal government by
creating a process for agencies to report wasteful programs to
the Office of Management and Budget and to Congress. The bill
requires federal agencies to identify unnecessary, defunct, or
duplicative program activities or program activities that could
be more effectively administered by another agency or could
operate more effectively if combined with another program. The
list of these programs are posted on the federal program
inventory and submitted to relevant congressional committees.
Agencies may then work with Congress to develop legislation to
eliminate or consolidate programs identified under the Act.
The bill passed the Senate by unanimous consent, and was
introduced as H.R. 6789 by Reps. Tom Rice (R-SC-7) and Tom
O'Halleran (D-AZ-1).
15. S. 2274--Federal Cybersecurity Workforce Expansion
Act--Sen. Hassan led this bipartisan bill with Sen. John Cornyn
(R-TX) to help strengthen cybersecurity in the federal
government by expanding the cyber workforce. This bill would
create a pilot apprenticeship program to provide cybersecurity
training at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security
Agency (CISA) and a separate program to specifically train
veterans at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
This bill passed the Senate Committee on Homeland Security
and Governmental Affairs and was referred to the House
Committees on Homeland Security, Education and Labor, Veterans'
Affairs, and Oversight and Reform as H.R. 5138 led by Reps.
Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA-6) and Anthony Gonzalez (R-OH-16).
16. S. 2585--State and Local Cybersecurity Improvement
Act--Sen. Hassan led this bipartisan bill with Sen. John Cornyn
(R-TX) to create a $1 billion federal grant program to improve
the cybersecurity of state, local, tribal, and territorial
entities. The grant program would be administered by the
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) with subject matter
expertise from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security
Agency (CISA). A state applying for grant funding must develop
a cybersecurity plan to receive an award, and 80 percent of
awarded funds must be passed through to local governments. This
bill has various reporting requirements.
This bill became law as part of the Infrastructure
Investment and Jobs Act (P.L. 117-58).
17. S. 2727--Prevent Government Shutdowns Act of 2021--Sen.
Hassan co-led Sen. James Lankford's (R-OK) bill, which provides
continuing appropriations to prevent a government shutdown if
any of the appropriations bills for a fiscal year have not been
enacted before the fiscal year begins and continuing
appropriations are not in effect. The bill also limits official
travel, congressional recesses or adjournments, and the
consideration of legislation that is unrelated to
appropriations after the beginning of a fiscal year if the
appropriations process has not been completed.
The bill was referred to the Senate Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs Committee.
18. S. 2733--U.S. Enrichment Corporation Fund Termination
and Transfer Act--Sen. Hassan led this bill with Sen. Ernst (R-
IA) to return funds sitting in an inactive account to the
Treasury. Specifically, this bill rescinds the authorization of
the U.S. Enrichment Corporation Fund and move the funds still
in its coffers to an alternative account. The U.S. Enrichment
Corporation (USEC) was a government corporation established in
1992 with the purpose of privatizing nuclear enrichment
operations. When USEC became a private, non-government entity
in 1998, it left behind a $1.5 billion balance in its operating
fund and no longer had statutory authority to use the funds.
The money has remained largely untouched in the account for
over two decades.
The bill was referred to the Senate Energy and Natural
Resources Committee and hearings were held on the bill.
19. S. 2782--Acting on the Annual Duplication Report Act of
2021--For the third year in a row, Sen. Hassan partnered with
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) to introduce a bipartisan bill to respond
to recommendations made in the Government Accountability
Office's annual report on duplication, fragmentation, and
overlap in federal operations. The 2021 bill built on previous
efforts, and included:
Military Housing Contractors (2021): Revises the
calculation for privatized housing renovation projects to
ensure that the payments align with national averages and are
consistent with the housing allowance reduction calculation.
Foreign Military Sales Account (2019): Asks DOD
to report on options for expanding the use of administrative
fees under the foreign military sales program.
Cohort Default Rates (2019): Prohibits higher
education institutions from placing students in forbearance as
a means of reducing the cohort default rate for the purposes of
their default management plans.
Strategic Petroleum Reserve (2019): Asks the
Department of Energy to review options for a long-range target
for the optimal size and configuration of the Strategic
Petroleum Reserve by examining several aspects of the Reserve
and its infrastructure. In addition, the report must include
any legislative changes needed to optimize the Reserve.
Fee Adequacy and Oversight of Ginnie Mae (2020):
(1) Requires HUD to evaluate the adequacy of Ginnie Mae's
guaranty fee, its reliance on contractors, and its compensation
structure; and (2) asks GAO to evaluate the merits of
alternative governance structures to provide greater oversight.
Coin Metal Modification (2019): Allows the Mint
to modify the metal composition of coins. This is the same text
as S. 672 and H.R. 1789, the Coin Metal Modification
Authorization and Cost Savings Act of 2021.
Scannable Code on Tax Returns (2019): Mandates
that the IRS require that all tax returns that are prepared
electronically, but printed and filed on paper, include a code
that when scanned converts the information on the return to an
electronic format to ensure compliance and avoid issuing
invalid refunds due to inaccuracies or human error.
Third-Party Tax Preparer Cybersecurity (2020):
Requires Treasury to set standards, consistent with security
standards proscribed by the National Institute for Standards
and Technology to secure return information and third-party
information technology systems. Further, the IRS Commissioner
is required to develop an organizational plan to coordinate all
aspects of and offices involved in IRS's efforts to protect
taxpayer return information while in the hands of third
parties.
The bill was referred to the Senate Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs Committee.
20. S. 2905--University Cybersecurity Consortia Improvement
Act of 2021--Sen. Hassan co-led this bill with Sen. Mike Rounds
(R-SD), to improve requirements relating to establishment of a
consortium of universities to advise the Secretary of Defense
on cybersecurity matters.
This bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Armed
Services.
21. S. 3148--Inspector General Reporting Modernization Act
of 2021--Sen. Hassan led this bipartisan bill with Sen. Chuck
Grassley (R-IA) to reform the semiannual reports to Congress
that each inspector office publishes twice per year.
Specifically, this bill streamlines the inspector general
semiannual reports to Congress to reduce the time and financial
resources it takes to produce the reports. In addition, these
updates ensure that agency leadership responds to inspector
general recommendations and reduce waste, fraud, and abuse of
taxpayer dollars within their agency.
The bill passed as part of the Inspector General
Independence and Empowerment Act, which was included in the
National Defense Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 2023 (P.L. 117-
263 sec. 5373).
22. S. 3150--A bill to require the United States Postal
Service to designate a single, unique ZIP code for Swanzey, New
Hampshire--Sen. Hassan co-led Sen. Jeanne Shaheen's (D-NH) bill
that bill directs the U.S. Postal Service to designate a
single, unique ZIP code applicable to the area encompassing
only Swanzey, New Hampshire, to improve accurate mail and
emergency service delivery to North Swanzey and Swanzey.
The bill was referred to the Senate Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs Committee.
23. S. 3703--Presidential Allowance Modernization Act of
2022--Sen. Hassan co-led Sen. Ernst's (R-IA) bill that replaces
provisions governing the compensation provided to a former
President. Each former President shall receive from the United
States (1) an annuity of $200,000 per year for the remainder of
his or her life, and (2) a monetary allowance of $200,000 per
year. Such allowance shall be reduced by the amount the former
President's earned income exceeds $400,000. These monetary
amounts are subject to a cost-of-living increase. The bill
increases and provides for cost-of-living adjustments to the
monetary allowance for surviving spouses of former Presidents.
Importantly, the bill does not apply to any former or current
Presidents.
The bill was referred to the Senate Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs Committee.
24. S. 3894--Advancing Cybersecurity Through Continuous
Diagnostics and Mitigation Act--Sen. Hassan co-led this bill
with Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), which would authorize and expand
the Department of Homeland Security's Continuous Diagnostics
and Mitigation Program. Additionally, it would require the
Department to develop a strategy and pilot program to promote
use of the program in state, tribal, territorial, and local
governments.
This bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs.
25. S. 3897--Legacy IT Reduction Act of 2022--Sen. Hassan
led this bipartisan bill with Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), which
directs agencies to identify and dispose of legacy IT to reduce
costs, increase cybersecurity, and improve customer and user
experience. Combined, meeting these goals will enable agencies
to meet their missions more efficiently and in a more cost-
effective way. The main elements of the bill include:
Requiring agencies to develop an inventory of
legacy IT systems;
Writing modernization plans to update or dispose
of their legacy IT systems;
Requiring the Office of Management and Budget to
issue guidance to assist agencies with identifying legacy IT
and modernizing it;
Codifying the Computers for Learning Program,
which allows agencies to transfer gently used computers and
software to educators and schools;
Requiring a GAO report to examine the
implementation of this bill alongside existing IT modernization
policies and programs to improve coordination and outcomes; and
Protection of sensitive security systems from
disclosures that could harm the government.
The bill, as amended, passed the Senate Homeland Security
and Governmental Affairs Committee.
26. S. 4326--Transnational Criminal Investigative Unit
Stipend Act--Sen. Hassan was the lead co-sponsor for this
bipartisan bill with Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH). This bill
authorizes the existing Homeland Security Investigations (HSI)
program for foreign law enforcement partner units that are
vetted, trained, and funded by HSI. These units work closely
with HSI agents stationed in foreign countries to conduct joint
investigations, operations, prosecutions. This bill would not
only codify and authorize the existing program, it would
specifically give U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
(ICE, which includes HSI) the authority to provide a
supplemental salary stipend (which may be in addition to
compensation from their primary employer) to members of the
unit. This authority will not only allow HSI to bring more law
enforcement partners into the program, the authority to provide
a supplemental stipend should also make foreign law enforcement
officers less susceptible to bribes and corruption. The bill
requires the continuous vetting of any personnel participating
in the program, and requires a report by ICE on procedures used
for vetting participants and whether any additional measures
should be implemented to ensure units may not be corrupted.
The bill became law as part of the National Defense
Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 2023 (P.L. 117-263).
27. S. 4460--END FENTANYL Act--Sen. Hassan was the lead co-
sponsor for this bipartisan bill with Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL),
which requires U.S. Customs and Border Protection's
Commissioner to review and update the Office of Field
Operation's policies, as necessary and at least once every 3
years in order to respond to illegal activity--such as the
trafficking of drugs and humans--along the border. The bill
also requires the CBP Commissioner to submit a report to the
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the
Senate and the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of
Representatives that summarizes the policy and manual changes
every 3 years. The legislation builds on a recommendation by
the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), and codifies
current guidelines.
This bill, as amended, passed the Senate by unanimous
consent.
28. S. 4592--Quantum Computing Cybersecurity Preparedness
Act--Sen. Hassan led this bipartisan bill with Sen. Rob Portman
(R-OH) to improve the federal government's preparedness for
post-quantum cryptography. This bill would require the Office
of Management and Budget (OMB) to prioritize the acquisition
and migration of federal agencies' information technology to
post-quantum cryptography. Additionally, it would instruct OMB
to create guidance for federal agencies to assess critical
systems one year after the National Institute of Standards and
Technology (NIST) issues planned post-quantum cryptography
standards. Finally, it would direct OMB to send an annual
report to Congress that includes a strategy on how to address
post-quantum cryptography risks, the funding that might be
necessary, and an analysis on whole-of-government coordination
and migration to post-quantum cryptography standards and
information technology.
This bill passed the Senate Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs Committee, and the House companion bill,
led by Reps. Ro Khanna (D-CA-17) and Nancy Mace (R-SC-1),
became law (P.L. 117-260).
29. S. 4654--Disaster Management Costs Modernization Act--
Sen. Hassan led this bipartisan bill with Sen. James Lankford
(R-OK) to allow recipients of federal disaster recovery dollars
to roll over funding dedicated to management costs from one
disaster to the next disaster. The flexibility provided by this
bill is intended to help state and local communities prepare
for future disasters.
This bill passed the Senate Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs Committee.
30. S. 4701--Small Business Cybersecurity Act--Sen. Hassan
led this legislation to establish a federal program to provide
direct grants to Small Business Development Centers in order to
create or continue cybersecurity programs for small businesses.
The funds can be used to help Small Business Development
Centers provide cybersecurity training for small business
employees and administer reviews of small business's
cybersecurity.
This bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Small
Business and Entrepreneurship.
31. S. 4765--Acting on the Annual Duplication Report Act of
2022--For the fourth year running, Sen. Hassan partnered with
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) to introduce a bipartisan bill to respond
to recommendations made in the Government Accountability
Office's annual report on duplication, fragmentation, and
overlap in federal operations. The 2022 bill included:
Chronic Health Conditions (2022): Directs the
Secretary of Health and Human Services to identify and direct
one federal entity to lead the development and implementation
of a federal strategy to coordinate these efforts, which could
help identify gaps and evaluate effectiveness that could
ultimately result in cost savings and better program delivery.
Cost-Effective Alternatives to Radiation
Technology (2022): Sets up a task force to develop a national
strategy for reducing the use of high-risk radioactive
materials through the use of safer alternatives. The strategy
would provide a uniform, government-wide approach to using
alternatives. Additionally, the bill allows the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission to amend its licensing regulations to
take into account whether a licensee (i.e., a company seeking
authorization to use radiation technology) has explored the use
of alternative technologies.
Disposal of Low-Level Nuclear Waste (2022):
Provides statutory clarification needed to allow a pilot
program move forward, which would allow the Hanover nuclear
site to dispose of low-level nuclear waste using an
alternative, but no less safe disposal method.
The bill was referred to the Senate Environment and Public
Works Committee.
32. S. 5159--Human Trafficking Prevention Act of 2022--Sen.
Hassan led this bipartisan legislation with Sen. James Risch
(R-ID) to help prevent human trafficking by requiring the
posting of the National Human Trafficking Hotline in the
restrooms of all U.S. planes, buses, and trains, as well as
airports, bus stations, and rail stations.
This bipartisan bill was led in the House of
Representatives by Reps. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY-8) and Darrell
Issa (R-CA-50), and became law.
33. S. Res. 282--A resolution recognizing July 1, 2021, as
the 100th anniversary of the Government Accountability Office
and commending the service of the Government Accountability
Office to Congress and the United States--Sen. Hassan led a
broadly bipartisan resolution to commemorate the 100th
anniversary of the Government Accountability Office.
The resolution passed the Senate by unanimous consent.
34. H.R. 3544--Computers for Veterans and Students Act, as
Amended by Hassan Substitute Amendment and Hassan Amendment 2--
Sen. Hassan shepherded this bill introduced by Reps. Spanberger
(D-VA-7) and Wittman (R-VA-1), which requires the General
Services Administration (GSA) to transfer certain surplus
computers and technology equipment to nonprofit computer
refurbishers for repair and eventual distribution to (1)
schools (including home schools), veterans, seniors, and other
specified populations in need. The Hassan Amendments addressed
security and cost concerns, as well as amended the title to
better reflect the contents of the bill.
The bill was signed into law as part of the omnibus
appropriations package, FY2023 (P.L. 117-328, Div. Z).
C. GAO REPORTS
During the 117th Congress, the Government Accountability
Office (GAO) issued 22 reports at the request of the
Subcommittee. Reports are listed here by title, GAO number, and
release date.
Defined Contribution Plans: Federal Guidance Could Help
Mitigate Cybersecurity Risks in 401(k) and Other Retirement
Plans. GAO-21-25. February 11, 2021.
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency: Actions
Needed to Ensure Organizational Changes Result in More
Effective Cybersecurity for Our Nation. GAO-21-236. March 10,
2021.
Information Technology: Agencies Need to Develop and
Implement Modernization Plans for Critical Legacy Systems. GAO-
21-524T. April 27, 2021.
Disaster Recovery: HUD Should Take Additional Action to
Assess Community Development Block Grant Fraud Risks. GAO-21-
177. May 5, 2021.
Government Efficiency and Effectiveness: Opportunities to
Reduce Fragmentation, Overlap, and Duplication and Achieve
Billions in Financial Benefits. GAO-21-544T. May 12, 2021.
Puerto Rico Recovery: FEMA Made Progress in Approving
Projects, But Should Identify and Assess Risks to the Recovery.
GAO-21-264. May 19, 2021.
La Recuperacion De Puerto Rico: FEMA Progreso en la
Aprobacion de Proyectos, Per Deberia Identificary Evaular Los
Riesgos Para La Recuperacion. GAO-21-442. May 19, 2021.
Retirement Savings: Federal Workers' Portfolios Should Be
Evaluated for Possible Financial Risks Related to Climate
Change. GAO-21-327. May 25, 2021.
U.S. Postal Service: Customer Complaints Process. GAO-21-
465. May 25, 2021.
Bureau of Prisons: BOP Could Further Enhance Its COVID-19
Response By Capturing and Incorporating Lessons Learned.
GAO-21-502. July 29, 2021.
COVID-19: Selected Agencies Overcame Technology Challenges
to Support Telework But Need to Fully Assess Security Controls.
GAO-21-583. September 30, 2021.
Critical Infrastructure Protection: Education Should Take
Additional Steps to Help Protect K-12 Schools From Cyber
Threats. GAO-22-105024. October 13, 2021.
DHS Privacy: Selected Component Agencies Generally Provided
Oversight of Contractors, But Further Actions are Needed to
Address. GAO-22-104144. December 16, 2021.
KC-46 Tanker: Air Force Needs to Mature Critical
Technologies in New Aerial Refueling System Design. GAO-22-
104530. January 27, 2022.
Bureau of Prisons: Enhanced Data Capabilities, Analysis,
Sharing, and Risk Assessments Needed for Disaster Preparedness.
GAO-22-104289. February 2, 2022.
COVID-19: Federal Telework Increased During the Pandemic,
But More Reliable Data Are Needed to Support Oversight.
GAO-22-104282. February 8, 2022.
Critical Infrastructure Protection: CISA Should Improve
Priority Setting, Stakeholder Involvement, and Threat
Information Sharing. GAO-22-104279. March 1, 2022.
Government Efficiency and Effectiveness: Additional
Opportunities to Reduce Fragmentation, Overlap, and Duplication
and Achieve Billions of Dollars in Financial Benefits. GAO-22-
106064. June 14, 2022.
Ransomware: Federal Agencies Provide Useful Assistance But
Need to Improve Coordination. GAO-22-104767. September 14,
2022.
Cybersecurity Workforce: Actions Needed to Improve
Cybercorps Scholarship for Service Program. GAO-22-105187.
September 29, 2022.
Critical Infrastructure Protection: Additional Federal
Coordination is Needed to Enhance K-12 Cybersecurity. GAO-23-
105480. October 20, 2022.
Online Exploitation of Children: Department of Justice
Leadership and Updated National Strategy Needed to Address
Challenges. GAO-23-105260. December 14, 2022.
SUBCOMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS
AND BORDER MANAGEMENT
CHAIRMAN: Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ)
RANKING MEMBER: James Lankford (R-OK)
I. AUTHORITY
The Subcommittee on Government Operations and Border
Management is charged with assessing the management of
operations of the nation's border; conducting oversight of
management and efficiency of government agencies and
operations; and reviewing federal rulemaking contracting and
procurement policies among other responsibilities.
II. ACTIVITY
During the 117th Congress, the Subcommittee on Government
Operations and Border Management held 6 hearings.
A. Hearings
The Non-Governmental Organization Perspective on the Southwest Border.
April 28, 2021. (S. Hrg. 117-37)
Since the beginning of 2021, an unprecedented surge of
migrants has been arriving at our Soutwest Border. The
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has reported 351,803
migrant encounters in just the first three months of 2021,
compared to 107,732 during the same period in 2020. The surge
has quickly overwhelmed DHS resources, creating challenges that
have been exacerbated by DHS facilities operating at limited
capacities due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is critical that
our nation take action to manage this surge so we can secure
our border, protect our communities, and ensure migrants are
treated fairly and humanely.
During this surge and similar events in 2014 and 2019, non-
governmental organizations (NGOs) have played a critical role
in managing these challenges. NGOs provide migrants with
medical screening, transportation, food, and temporary shelter,
among other services. This hearing will give Congress the
opportunity to hear directly from NGOs about the lessons they
have learned during this crisis, their policy suggestions on
improving border management, and how best to ensure the
collaboration and communication between DHS and NGOs that are
need to secure the border and manage this crisis.
Witnesses: Beth Strano, Asylum Seekers and Families
Coordinator, International Rescue Committee; Ruben Garcia,
Director, Annunciation House; and Joshua Jones, Senior Fellow,
Border Security, Texas Public Policy Foundation.
Improving Security, Trade, and Travel at Land Ports of Entry at the
Southwest Border. June 16, 2021. (S. Hrg. 117-35)
Our nation's land ports of entry (POEs) play a critical
role in the security of the Southwest border. According to the
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data, most of the key
border security challenges at the U.S. Mexico border, such as
smuggling and seizers of illegal drugs, happen at or near
POEs.\1\ Even with such challenges, our POEs also must continue
to facilitate robust economic activity in our border
communities and throughout the United States by efficiently
processing billions of dollars in annual cross-border trade, as
well as significant pedestrian and vehicle traffic between the
U.S. and Mexico every day.
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\1\CBP Enforcement Statistics Fiscal Year 2021, Https://
www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/cbp-enforcement-statistics, accessed May 3,
2021.
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This hearing investigated the technology and personnel
investments required at POEs to improve security, while also
enabling efficient processing of trade and travel flows through
the border.
Witnesses: The Honorable Kevin K. McAleenan, Former Acting
Secretary (2019), at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security;
Anthony Reardon, National President, National Treasury
Employees Union; Samuel Vale, President, Starr-Camargo Bridge
Company (testifying on behalf of the Border Trade Alliance);
Guillermo Valencia, President, Valencia International Inc.
(testifying on behalf of the Greater Nogales and Santa Cruz
County Port Authority).
Strategies for Improving Critical Energy Infrastructure.
October 27, 2021. (S. Hrg. 117-208)
While investments have increased over the last decade, U.S.
energy infrastructure still only received a C minus from the
American Society of Civil Engineers, as part of their 2021
Report Card for America's Infrastructure.\2\ Modernization of
America's aging energy infrastructure and the diversification
of our energy portfolio, including appropriate use of
renewables, is needed in order to efficiently provide all
Americans with reliable and resilient energy power in their
communities.
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\2\https://infrastructurereportcard.org/cat-item/energy/
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Our hearing examined the impact of weather events and other
challenges that impact price stability, highlight the need for
generation diversification, and demonstrate the importance of
resiliency of our energy infrastructure. The hearing also
reviewed ongoing Federal efforts to make permitting for energy
related projects more efficient, and how the Federal Permitting
Improvement Steering Council will help the United States meet
energy infrastructure needs, including providing Native
American tribes sufficient opportunities and consultation
related to energy projects.
Witnesses: Alex Herrgott, President and Chief Executive
Officer, The Permitting Institute; Bryce Yonker, Executive
Director & Chief Executive Officer, Grid Forward; N. Levi
Esquerra, Senior Vice President for Native American Advancement
& Tribal Engagement, University of Arizona; Lanny Nickell,
Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer Southwest
Power Pool; Robert Bryce, Author, Journalist, and Public
Speaker.
Federal Government Perspective: Improving Security, Trade, and Travel
Flows at the Southwest Border Ports of Entry.
November 17, 2021. (S. Hrg. 117-281).
Our nation's land ports of entry (POEs) play a critical
role in the security of the Southwest border. According to U.S.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data, most of the key
border security challenges at the U.S.-Mexico border, such as
smuggling and seizures of illegal drugs, happen at or near
POEs.\3\ Additionally, these POEs must also facilitate robust
economic activity in our border communities and throughout the
United States every day by efficiently processing billions of
dollars in annual cross-border trade and managing significant
pedestrian and vehicle traffic between the United States and
Mexico every day.
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\3\CBP Enforcement Statistics Fiscal Year 2021, https://
www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/cbp-enforcement-statistics, accessed May 3,
2021.
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Our hearing considered the infrastructure, technology and
personnel investments required at POEs to improve security
while also enabling efficient processing of trade and travel
flows through the border. It also aimed to learn more about
work being done to protect our nation at ports of entry through
investigations of transnational crime and threats.
Witnesses: Diane Sabatino, Deputy Executive Assistant
Commissioner, Office of Field Operations, U.S. Customs and
Border Protection; Joe Jeronimo, Deputy Assistant Director,
Transnational Organized Crime Division, Homeland Security
Investigations, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement;
Stuart Burns, Assistant Commissioner, Public Buildings Service,
Portfolio Management and Customer Engagement; General Services
Administration.
Chief Human Capital Officers at 20: What is Needed to Empower CHCOs to
Ensure HR Practices Support Agencies' Mission Success. March 2,
2022. (S. Hrg. 117-252).
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has listed
federal Human Capital on its high-risk list for more than 20
years with little progress. Congress established the role of
the Chief Human Capital Officer (CHCO) in the Homeland Security
Act of 2002 in an effort to improve federal human resources,
and the initial law itemized areas for which CHCOs would be
accountable. This hearing examined if CHCOs have the necessary
authorities to execute those mandates. This hearing also
considered how to better empower agencies and CHCOs to
accomplish their Human Capital functions while still upholding
all Merit System Principles. Finally, this hearing addressed
whether the CHCO Act needs to be modernized to ensure the
agencies are able to accomplish their missions.
Witnesses: The Honorable Michael Rigas, Former Acting
Director (2020-2021), Office of Personnel Management; Ms.
Angela Bailey, Former Chief Human Capital Officer (2016-2022),
U.S. Department of Homeland Security; Mr. Steve Lenkart,
Executive Director, National Federation of Federal Employees;
Ms. Terry Gerton, President & Chief Executive Officer, National
Academy of Public Administration.
Dangerous Heat: The Effects of Hot Vehicles on USPS Operations in
Arizona. July 15, 2022.
This field hearing examined the effects of hot vehicles on
United States Postal Service operations, and employee health
and retention. The witnesses discussed ways to address this
issue productively for immediate relief and long-term
improvement.
Witnesses: John Morgan, District Manager, District of
Arizona and New Mexico, United States Postal Service; Jeffrey
Clark, President, Arizona State Association of Letter Carriers;
James Salmon, Vice President, Branch 246, National Association
of Postal Supervisors.
III. LEGISLATION
Since the Subcommittee on Government Operations and Border
Management hearings play an important role in bringing issues
to the attention of Congress and the public, its work
frequently contributes to the development of legislative
initiatives. During the 117th Congress, Chair Sinema introduced
the following legislative proposals in her capacity as a
Senator:
1. S. 1330--Facilitating Federal Employee Reskilling Act--
This bill establishes certain standards for federal reskilling
programs. The bill defines federal reskilling program as a
program established by an executive agency, or the Office of
Personnel Management, to provide employees with technical
skills or expertise that would qualify them to serve in
different positions.
The bill requires such programs to use merit-based
principles with respect to employees' participation and
placement. Participating employees must also be given the
option to return to their original positions, particularly if
they are unsuccessful in their new positions. Additionally,
employees' new positions must be of at least the same class or
grade as their original positions; new positions must also
utilize employees' newly acquired skills or expertise.
2. S. 2541--Shadow Wolves Enhancement Act--This bill
authorizes U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to
reclassify officers assigned to the tactical patrol unit on
Tohono O'odham Nation land, commonly known as Shadow Wolves, as
ICE special agents upon completing certain required training.
Officers assigned to a comparable unit, regardless of location,
may also be reclassified as ICE special agents upon completing
the training and receiving the approval and consent of the
appropriate Indian tribe.
The Department of Homeland Security and the Government
Accountability Office shall separately study and report on the
best processes for expanding the Shadow Wolves program.
3. S. 2801--Setting Manageable Analysis Requirements in
Text Act of 2022--This bill requires agencies, when publishing
a proposed or final major rule, to include a framework for
assessing whether the rule achieves its regulatory objective.
An agency must assess a rule in the time frame included in the
framework. The assessment must compare the rule's anticipated
and actual benefits and costs.
The bill defines a major rule as a rule likely to cause (1)
an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more; (2) a
major increase in costs or prices; or (3) significant adverse
effects on competition, employment, investment, productivity,
innovation, health, safety, the environment, or the ability of
U.S.-based enterprises to compete with foreign-based
enterprises.
4. S. 3423--Chance to Compete Act of 2022-This bill
implements merit-based reforms to the civil service hiring
system that replace degree-based hiring with skills- and
competency-based hiring.
5. S. 3487--Honoring Civil Servants Killed in the Line of
Duty Act--This bill increases benefits to survivors of federal
employees who die in the line of duty.
Specifically, the bill increases the death benefit for
federal employees from $10,000 to $100,000 and increases the
funeral benefit from $800 to $8,800. Both amounts must be
adjusted annually for inflation.
6. S. 4528--Improving Digital Identity Act of 2022--This
bill establishes the Improving Digital Identity Task Force to
establish a government-wide effort to develop secure methods
for governmental agencies to protect the privacy and security
of individuals and support reliable, interoperable digital
identity verification in the public and private sectors.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shall award
grants to states, local, tribal, and territorial governments to
upgrade systems that provide drivers' licenses or other types
of identity credentials to support the development of highly
secure, interoperable systems that enable digital identity
verification.
The Government Accountability Office shall submit to
Congress a report on the estimated potential savings, due to
the increased adoption and widespread use of digital
identification, of (1) the federal government from averted
benefit fraud, and (2) the U.S. economy and consumers from
averted identity theft.
7. S. 4963--Combating Cartels on Social Media Act of
2022--This bill requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to
implement a strategy to combat the efforts of transnational
criminal organizations to recruit individuals in the United
States via social media platforms and other online services and
assess their use of such platforms and services for illicit
activities, and for other purposes.
IV. GAO REPORTS
During the 117th Congress, the Government Accountability
Office (GAO) issued 34 reports at the request of the
Subcommittee. Reports are listed here by title, GAO number, and
release date.
Chemical Security: Overlapping Programs Could Better
Collaborate to Share Information and Identify Potential
Security Gaps. GAO-21-12. January 21, 2021.
Southwest Border: Department of Homeland Security and
Department of Justice Have Implemented Expedited Credible Fear
Screening Pilot Programs, but Should Ensure Timely Data Entry.
GAO-21-144. January 25, 2021.
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency: Actions
Needed to Ensure Organizational Changes Result in More
Effective Cybersecurity For Our Nation. GAO-21-236. March 10,
2021.
COVID-19: The Department of Health and Human Services
Should Clarify Agency Roles For Emergency Return of U.S.
Citizens During a Pandemic. GAO-21-334. April 19, 2021.
Medicaid: Information on the Use of Electronic Asset
Verification to Determine Eligibility for Selected
Beneficiaries. GAO-21-473R. April 23, 2021.
Puerto Rico Recovery: The Federal Emergency Management
Agency Made Progress in Approving Projecs, but Should Identify
and Assess Risks to the Recovery. GAO-21-264. May 19, 2021.
Oil and Gas: The Department of the Interior Should
Strengthen Management of Key Data Systems Used to Oversee
Development on Federal Lands. GAO-21-209. May 27, 2021.
Domestic Medical Supply Manufacturing. July 19, 2021.
Paycheck Protection Program: Small Business Administration
Added Program Safeguards, but Additional Actions are Needed.
GAO-21-577. July 29, 2021.
Capital Fund Proposal: Upfront Funding Could Benefit Some
Projects, But Other Potential Effects Not Clearly Identified.
GAO-21-215. September 10, 2021.
Federal Rulemaking: Selected Agencies Should Fully Describe
Available Public Comment Data and Their Limitations. GAO-21-
103181. September 21, 2021.
Paycheck Protection Program: Program Changes Increased
Lending to the Smallest Businesses and in Underserved
Locations. GAO-21-601. September 21, 2021
Critical Infrastructure Protection: Education Should Take
Additional Steps to Help Protect K-12 Schools From Cyber
Threats. GAO-22-105024. October 13, 2021.
Federal Reserve Lending Programs: Credit Markets Served by
the Program have Stabilized, but Vulnerabilities Remain.
GAO-22-104640. October 19, 2021.
COVID-19 Pandemic: Observations on the Ongoing Recovery of
the Aviation Industry. GAO-22-104429. October 21, 2021.
COVID-19: Federal Agencies' Initial Reentry and Workplace
Safety Planning. GAO-22-104295. October 25, 2021.
Federal Hiring: The Office of Personnel Management Should
Collect and Share COVID-19 Lessons Learned to Inform Hiring
During Future Emergencies. GAO-22-104297. October 25, 2021.
COVID-19: Lessons Learned from the U.S. Department of the
Interior and the U.S. Department of the Treasury's
Administration of CARES Act Funds Could Improve Federal
Emergency Relief to Tribes. GAO-22-104349. October 29, 2021.
COVID-19: The U.S. Department of Stare Carried Out Historic
Repatriation Effort but Should Strengthen its Preparedness for
Future Crises. GAO-22-104354. November 2, 2021.
COVID-19: Federal Telework Increased During the Pandemic,
but More Reliable Data are Needed to Support Oversight. GAO-22-
104282. February 8, 2022.
Critical Infrastructure Protection: Cybersecurity and
Infrastructure Security Agency Should Improve Priority Setting,
Stakeholder Involvement, and Threat Information Sharing.
GAO-22-104279. March 1, 2022.
COVID-19: The Department of Stare Should Strengthen
Policies to Better Maintain Overseas Operations in Future
Crises. GAO-22-104519. March 16, 2022.
Indian Health Service: Relief Funding and Agency Response
to COVID-19 Pandemic. GAO-22-104360. March 31, 2022.
COVID-19: U.S. Food and Drug Administration Took Steps to
Help Make Test Available; Policy for Future Public Health
Emergencies Needed. GAO-22-104266. May 12, 2022.
COVID-19: Agencies Increased Use of Some Regulatory
Flexibilities and are Taking Steps to Assess Them.
GAO-22-105047. June 23, 2022.
Federal Personal Property: Better Internal Guidance and
More Action from the General Services Administration are Needed
to Help Agencies Maximize Use of Excess. GAO-22-104626.
June 28, 2022.
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Acquisition Management:
Action Needed to Ensure Success of New Oversight Framework.
GAO-2-105195. August 11, 2022.
Medicare Telehealth: Actions Needed to Strengthen Oversight
and Help Provided Educate Patients on Privacy and Security
Risks. GAO-22-104454. September 26, 2022.
Southwest Border: Challenges and Efforts Implementing New
Processes for Noncitizen Families. GAO-22-105456. September 28,
2022.
Critical Infrastructure Protection: Additional Federal
Coordination is Needed to Enhance K-12 Cybersecurity. GAO-23-
105480. October 20, 2022.
Wildland Fire: Barriers to Recruitment and Retention of
Federal Wildland Firefighters. GAO-23-105517. November 17,
2022.
COVID-19 Funds: Lessons Learned Could Improve Future
Distribution of Federal Emergency Relief to Tribal Recipients.
GAO-23-105473. December 15, 2022.
Oral Presentation on U.S. Park Police Staffing. December
16, 2022.
Federal Reserve Lending Programs: Risks Remain Low in
Related Credit Markets, and Main Street Loans Have Generally
Performed Well. GAO-23-105629. December 19, 2022.
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