[Senate Report 118-161]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                      Calendar No. 348
118th Congress     }                                       {    Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session        }                                       {   118-161
_______________________________________________________________________

                                     



   HELPING ELIMINATE LIMITATIONS FOR PROMPT RESPONSE AND RECOVERY ACT

                               __________

                              R E P O R T

                                 of the

                   COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND

                          GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

                          UNITED STATES SENATE

                              to accompany

                                S. 3648

              TO AMEND THE POST-KATRINA MANAGEMENT REFORM
                 ACT OF 2006 TO REPEAL CERTAIN OBSOLETE
                  REQUIREMENTS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES









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                 March 14, 2024.--Ordered to be printed   
                 
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                 U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 
                 
49-010                     WASHINGTON : 2024 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
        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
KYRSTEN SINEMA, Arizona              JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma
JACKY ROSEN, Nevada                  MITT ROMNEY, Utah
JON OSSOFF, Georgia                  RICK SCOTT, Florida
RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut      JOSH HAWLEY, Missouri
LAPHONZA R. BUTLER, California       ROGER MARSHALL, Kansas

                   David M. Weinberg, Staff Director
                  Michelle M. Benecke, Senior Counsel
   Tiffany Ann Shujath, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Detailee
           William E. Henderson III, Minority Staff Director
              Christina N. Salazar, Minority Chief Counsel
                  Andrew J. Hopkins, Minority Counsel
                     Laura W. Kilbride, Chief Clerk


















                                                      Calendar No. 348
118th Congress     }                                       {    Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session        }                                       {   118-161

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



 
   HELPING ELIMINATE LIMITATIONS FOR PROMPT RESPONSE AND RECOVERY ACT

                                _______
                                

                 March 14, 2024.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

 Mr. Peters, from the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
                    Affairs, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 3648]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (S. 3648) to amend the 
Post-Katrina Management Reform Act of 2006 to repeal certain 
obsolete requirements, and for other purposes, having 
considered the same, reports favorably thereon with an 
amendment, in the nature of a substitute, and recommends that 
the bill, as amended, do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                    Page
  I. Purpose and Summary.............................................. 1
 II. Background and Need for the Legislation.......................... 2
III. Legislative History.............................................. 2
 IV. Section-by-Section Analysis of the Bill, as Reported............. 3
  V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact.................................. 3
 VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................ 3
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............ 4

                         I. Purpose and Summary

    S. 3648, the Helping Eliminate Limitations for Prompt 
(HELP) Response and Recovery Act, repeals section 695 of the 
Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006 (PKEMRA) 
to conform certain Department of Homeland Security (DHS) 
procurement procedures to government-wide requirements. Section 
695 of PKEMRA placed a limitation on the length of certain non-
competitive DHS emergency response and recovery contracts. 
Subsequently, a provision in the Duncan Hunter National Defense 
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009 resulted in government-
wide changes to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to 
limit the length of non-competitive contracts based on urgent 
and compelling needs, making section 695 more restrictive than 
the government-wide rules.

              II. Background and Need for the Legislation

    Section 695 of PKEMRA required DHS to issue regulations to 
limit the length of non-competitive contracts awarded based on 
urgent and compelling needs to facilitate disaster response and 
recovery efforts to no longer than 150 days.\1\ Subsequently, 
however, section 862 of the Duncan Hunter National Defense 
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009 (NDAA) placed a 
government-wide limitation of one year on the length of non-
competitive contracts awarded based on urgent and compelling 
needs.\2\ This change made the DHS-specific requirement more 
restrictive than the government-wide limitation, constraining 
DHS's ability to better meet the needs of disaster survivors. 
Repealing section 695 will allow DHS to follow the same rules 
for disaster contracting as other federal agencies implemented 
in the Federal Acquisition Regulation based on the 2009 NDAA.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\Pub. L. No. 109-295 (2006).
    \2\Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act of 2009, Pub. 
L. 110-417 (2008).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    This Committee recognized in 2012 that section 695 was 
rendered obsolete with the issuance of these FAR changes, when 
the Committee included repeal of this section in its 
reauthorization bill for DHS.\3\ However, the DHS 
reauthorization bill did not become law.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \3\Department of Homeland Security Reauthorization Act of 2012, S. 
1546, 112th Cong. Sec. 112 (2012).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                        III. Legislative History

    Senator Gary Peters (D-MI) introduced S. 3648, the HELP 
Response and Recovery Act, on January 24, 2024, with original 
cosponsor Senator John Kennedy (R-LA). The bill was referred to 
the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
    The Committee considered S. 3648 at a business meeting on 
January 31, 2024. During the business meeting, Senator Peters 
offered a substitute amendment to the bill, as well as a 
modification to the substitute amendment. The Peters substitute 
amendment, as modified, removed the sense of Congress provision 
and added a 5-year reporting requirement after enactment of the 
legislation. The Committee adopted the modification to the 
Peters substitute amendment, and the Peters substitute 
amendment as modified, by unanimous consent, with Senators 
Peters, Carper, Hassan, Rosen, Ossoff, Paul, Lankford, Romney, 
Scott, and Marshall present. The bill, as amended by the Peters 
substitute amendment as modified, was ordered reported 
favorably by roll call vote of 10 yeas to 0 nays, with Senators 
Peters, Carper, Hassan, Rosen, Ossoff, Paul, Lankford, Romney, 
Scott, and Marshall voting in the affirmative. Senators Sinema, 
Blumenthal, Butler, Johnson, and Hawley voted yea by proxy, for 
the record only. Consistent with Committee Rule 3(G), the 
Committee reports the bill with a technical amendment by mutual 
agreement of the Chairman and Ranking Member.

        IV. Section-by-Section Analysis of the Bill, as Reported


Section 1. Short title

    This section establishes the short title of the bill as the 
``Helping Eliminate Limitations for Prompt Response and 
Recovery Act'' or the ``HELP Response and Recovery Act.''

Section 2. Repeal of obsolete DHS contracting requirements

    This section repeals section 695 of the Post-Katrina 
Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006 (6 U.S.C. 794).

Section 3. Reports

    This section requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to 
submit a report to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security 
and Governmental Affairs and the House Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure, that reviews how the repeal 
of section 695 has prevented waste, fraud, and abuse and 
promoted taxpayer savings, and includes certain data on non-
competitive contracts for urgent and compelling circumstances 
placed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The report 
must be submitted no later than 540 days after the date of 
enactment, and annually thereafter for five years.

                   V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact

    Pursuant to the requirements of paragraph 11(b) of rule 
XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee has 
considered the regulatory impact of this bill and determined 
that the bill will have no regulatory impact within the meaning 
of the rules. The Committee agrees with the Congressional 
Budget Office's (CBO) statement that the bill contains no 
intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the 
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would impose no costs 
on state, local, or tribal governments.

             VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate

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    S. 3648 would extend the length of time that the Department 
of Homeland Security (DHS) may enter into noncompetitive 
contracts following disasters and other emergencies. Under the 
Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006, DHS is 
generally prohibited from entering into those types of 
contracts for a duration greater than 150 days. S. 3648 would 
repeal that limitation and allow DHS to enter into such 
contracts for up to one year (the general limit on 
noncompetitive contracts). The bill also would require DHS to 
report to the Congress, within 540 days of enactment and 
annually thereafter for five years, on the details of 
noncompetitive contracts entered into by the department, and on 
the extent to which the repeal of the limitation results in any 
savings to the government or prevents waste, fraud, or abuse.
    CBO expects that implementing S. 3648 would affect 
administrative and contracting costs for DHS. Based on the cost 
of similar reporting requirements, CBO estimates that the 
required reports would cost less than $500,000 over the 2024-
2029 period; any spending would be subject to the availability 
of appropriated funds.
    CBO also estimates that implementing S. 3648 would reduce 
some administrative and contracting costs for DHS; those 
reductions would total less than $500,000 over the 2024-2029 
period. Under current law, DHS can extend the duration of the 
affected contracts beyond 150 days if the department certifies 
that exceptional circumstances justify doing so; that process 
typically takes several days. By allowing contracts to exceed 
the current limit, CBO expects that the bill would eliminate 
the need for agency employees to perform that certification. In 
addition, based on conversations with DHS officials and 
private-sector experts in the disaster response industry, CBO 
expects that, on net, the legislation could reduce the cost of 
some contracts because contractors might be willing to bid 
prices that are marginally lower when the period of a contract 
is longer. Those savings would be offset to the extent that 
contractors charge higher amounts to cover their fixed costs in 
cases where the duration of work is shorter than originally 
contracted for. Any savings would depend on reductions in 
future appropriations by the estimated amount.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Jon Sperl. The 
estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Director 
of Budget Analysis.

                                         Phillip L. Swagel,
                             Director, Congressional Budget Office.

       VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

    In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law 
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in brackets, new matter is 
printed in italic, and existing law in which no change is 
proposed is shown in roman):

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2007

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


TITLE VI--NATIONAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


Subtitle F--Prevention of Fraud, Waste, and Abuse

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *



[SEC. 695. LIMITATION ON LENGTH OF CERTAIN NONCOMPETITIVE CONTRACTS.

    [(a) Regulations.--The Secretary shall promulgate 
regulations applicable to contracts described in subsection (c) 
to restrict the contract period of any such contract entered 
into using procedures other than competitive procedures 
pursuant to the exception provided in paragraph (2) of section 
303(c) of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act 
of 1949 (41 U.S.C. 253(c)) to the minimum contract period 
necessary--
          [(1) to meet the urgent and compelling requirements 
        of the work to be performed under the contract; and
          [(2) to enter into another contract for the required 
        goods or services through the use of competitive 
        procedures.
    [(b) Specific Contract Period.--The regulations promulgated 
under subsection (a) shall require the contract period to not 
to exceed 150 days, unless the Secretary determines that 
exceptional circumstances apply.
    [(c) Covered Contracts.--This section applies to any 
contract in an amount greater than the simplified acquisition 
threshold (as defined by section 4 of the Office of Federal 
Procurement Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 403)) entered into by the 
Department to facilitate response to or recovery from a natural 
disaster, act of terrorism, or other man-made disaster.]

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


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