[Senate Report 118-273]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 676
118th Congress } { Report
SENATE
2d Session } { 118-273
_______________________________________________________________________
BETTER ENABLING AND SECURING
TRUSTWORTHY (BEST) TECHNOLOGY FOR
THE HOMELAND ACT
__________
R E P O R T
of the
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND
GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
UNITED STATES SENATE
to accompany
S. 4024
TO AMEND THE HOMELAND SECURITY ACT OF 2002 TO
ENABLE SECURE AND TRUSTWORTHY TECHNOLOGY THROUGH
OTHER TRANSACTION CONTRACTING AUTHORITY
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
December 9, 2024.--Ordered to be printed
------
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
59-010 WASHINGTON : 2025
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
Alan S. Kahn, Chief Counsel
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
Kendal B. Tigner, Minority Professional Staff Member
Laura W. Kilbride, Chief Clerk
Calendar No. 676
118th Congress } { Report
SENATE
2d Session } { 118-273
=======================================================================
BETTER ENABLING AND SECURING TRUSTWORTHY
(BEST) TECHNOLOGY FOR THE HOMELAND ACT
_______
December 9, 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. 4024]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (S. 4024) to amend the
Homeland Security Act of 2002 to enable secure and trustworthy
technology through other transaction contracting authority,
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........................4
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............4
I. Purpose and Summary
S. 4024, the Better Enabling Secure and Trustworthy
Technology for the Homeland Act or BEST Technology for the
Homeland Act authorizes the Department of Homeland Security
(DHS) to extend its use of other transaction authority (OTA).
Other Transactions (OTs) are procurement instruments other than
contracts, grants, or cooperative agreements to access research
and development for technology advancement or to quickly
develop a prototype. DHS OTA expired on September 30, 2024.
This bill reinstates the authority for DHS through fiscal year
2027. It also requires DHS to notify Congress within 72 hours
after the use or extension of OTA for a transaction involving
artificial intelligence technology.
II. Background and Need for the Legislation
Under Section 831 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, DHS
was granted authority to enter into agreements to meet research
and development or prototype project requirements and mission
needs.\1\ OTA allows DHS to enter into flexible agreements with
businesses rather than traditional contracts, providing DHS
with the flexibility to work with the most innovative
businesses, including those that have not previously contracted
with the federal government, and promoting more collaboration
between the federal government and the private sector in
sharing financial and technical risks.\2\ The authority was
granted to the Secretary of Homeland Security for a period of 5
years and has since been repeatedly extended.\3\ The Secretary
of Homeland Security was authorized to exercise the same OTA as
that granted to the Secretary of Defense under 10 U.S.C.
Sec. 2371, as revised, but the authority lapsed at the end of
September 2024.\4\
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\1\Pub. L. 107-296
\2\Id.
\3\Id.
\4\Id.
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The use of these authorities has resulted in the adoption
of emerging technologies that address gaps in the security of
the homeland. For example, the DHS Science and Technology
Directorate (S&T) used OTA to work with a start-up to develop
artificial intelligence-based solutions to provide real-time
feedback about the screening process to Transportation Security
Administration officers.\5\ This was valuable during the COVID-
19 pandemic, for example, to help minimize exposure and contact
between officers and passengers.\6\ DHS S&T also used OTA to
work with a start-up to develop low-cost machine learning and
computer vision to assist agents with under-vehicle inspections
at border checkpoints.\7\ The BEST Technology for the Homeland
Act ensures that DHS will continue to have the authorities to
be able to quickly access technologies to address critical and
time-sensitive homeland security missions.
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\5\Id.
\6\DHS S&T Public Affairs, News Release: DHS S&T Awards Funding to
Design Video Analytics for TSA Checkpoints (Mar. 2, 2021).
\7\Synthetik Applied Technologies, Synthetik Awarded $1 Million
Grant from DHS to Develop AI for Vehicle Inspections (Jul. 16, 2019).
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III. Legislative History
Senator Gary Peters (D-MI) introduced S. 4024, the BEST
Technology for the Homeland Act, on March 21, 2024, with
Senator Steve Daines (R-MT) as the original co-sponsor. The
bill was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs.
The Committee considered S. 4024 at a business meeting on
April 10, 2024. At the business meeting, Senator Peters offered
a substitute amendment to the bill and a modification to the
substitute amendment. The Peters substitute amendment removed
the word ``pilot'' from the title of section 2. The
modification to the substitute amendment limited the OTA
extension to three years and incorporated a notice requirement
when the OTA is used in a transaction for artificial
intelligence technology.
The Committee adopted the modification to the Peters
substitute amendment and the Peters substitute amendment, as
modified, by unanimous consent, with Senators Peters, Hassan,
Sinema, Rosen, Ossoff, Blumenthal, Butler, Paul, Lankford,
Romney, Scott, Hawley, and Marshall present. The bill, as
amended by the Peters substitute amendment as modified, was
ordered reported favorably by roll call vote of 11 yeas to 2
nays, with Senator Peters, Hassan, Sinema, Rosen, Ossoff,
Blumenthal, Lankford, Romney, Scott, Hawley, and Marshall
voting in the affirmative, and Senators Paul and Butler voting
in the negative. Senator Carper voted yea by proxy, for the
record only, and Senator Johnson voted nay by proxy, for the
record only.
IV. Section-by-Section Analysis of the Bill, as Reported
Section 1. Short title
This section provides that the Act may be cited as the
``Better Enabling Secure and Trustworthy Technology for the
Homeland Act'' or the ``BEST Technology for the Homeland Act.''
Sec. 2. Research and development acquisition program extension
This section amends Section 831 of the Homeland Security
Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. Sec. 391) to extend the DHS other
transaction authority through fiscal year 2027. It also adds a
provision at the end of Section 831 requiring DHS to notify the
Committees on Appropriations and Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committees on
Appropriations and Homeland Security of the House of
Representatives within 72 hours after the use or extension of
OTA for a transaction involving artificial intelligence
technology. DHS must also offer a briefing explaining the
reason for the use or extension.
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 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
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
S. 4024 would extend through 2027 the authority for the
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to waive the requirements
of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (the procedures that
guide federal procurement actions) for certain research and
development projects. DHS uses that authority, known as ``Other
Transaction Authority,'' to participate in research that
broadens its knowledge base, test emerging technologies, and
work with organizations that have not previously contracted
with the federal government. Under current law, that authority
expires on September 30, 2024. Lastly, the bill would require
DHS to notify the Congress within 72 hours of using the
authority to procure artificial intelligence technology.
The authority is a contracting tool that DHS uses for its
procurement of some research and development projects, but CBO
does not expect that it significantly affects DHS spending on
those activities. CBO estimates that implementing the bill's
notification requirement would cost less than $500,000 over the
2024-2029 period. Any related spending would be subject to the
availability of appropriated funds.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Jeremy Crimm.
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):
HOMELAND SECURITY ACT OF 2002
* * * * * * *
TITLE VIII--COORDINATION WITH NON-
FEDERAL ENTITIES; INSPECTOR GEN-
ERAL; UNITED STATES SECRET SERV-
ICE; COAST GUARD; GENERAL PROVISIONS
* * * * * * *
SUBTITLE D--ACQUISITIONS
* * * * * * *
SEC. 831. RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS.
* * * * * * *
(a) Authority.--Until [September 30, 2024] September 30,
2027, and subject to subsection (d), the Secretary may carry
out a pilot program under which the Secretary may exercise the
following authorities:
(1) * * *
(2) * * *
(3) Other transaction authority involving artificial
intelligence.--Not later than 72 hours after the use or
extension of the transaction authority authorized under
paragraph (1) involving artificial intelligence
technology, the Secretary shall notify the Committee on
Appropriations and the Committee on Homeland Security
and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the
Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on
Homeland Security of the House of Representatives and
offer a briefing explaining the reason for the use or
extension.
(b) * * *
(c) Additional Requirements.--
(1) In general.--The authority of the Secretary under
this section shall terminate [September 30, 2024]
September 30, 2027 unless before that date the
Secretary--
* * * * * * *
[all]