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Managing America: Authorizations

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Week Ending May 11, 2006

H.R.1684 To authorize appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security for fiscal year 2008, and for other purposes.

The bill authorizes programs and studies to be carried out by the Department of Homeland Security in the areas of workforce and training, bio-defense, cyber-security, research and development, border control and customs, information sharing between various law enforcement and federal sources, curtailing maritime alien smuggling, critical infrastructure, metropolitan medical response to disasters and protection of the agricultural sector as recommended by the DHS Inspector General. Congress seeks oversight in many of the areas and aims to improve oversight and improve policy decisions through the creation of a Directorate of Policy that will serve as the principal policy advisor to the Secretary of DHS and will provide overall direction and supervision of policy development and such department activities.

DIRECTORATE OF POLICY

The Directorate of Policy will include several department entities and will direct DHS policy with emphasis on ensuring the needs of children, schools and other child-centered facilities regarding preparedness, response and recovery programs for terrorist attacks, major disasters and other emergencies. A report is due to Congress in one year on improvements. Chief Operating Officers would be given direct line authority over all their personnel activities.

COMPREHENSIVE HOMELAND SECURITY REVIEW

The Department of Homeland Security, since its creation, has regularly failed to provide congress with over 100 reports on DHS activities. Among the reports sought is a comprehensive review of the status of US security since 9-11. This bill requires a yearly comprehensive review that will include a strategy, define personnel and organizational structure necessary of the successful execution of the full range of DHS missions, identify a budget plan to support the full range of missions, department capabilities  for air, sea and land protection and the nature and appropriateness of DHA operational capabilities and resources. The review will focus on reducing and managing risk and preparation for, responding to and recovering from disaster.

The bill also requires a department-wide review in 90 days of DHS security clearance and suitability procedures for employees and contractors (including state and local agencies involved) who would receive classified material. Consolidating the clearance responsibilities at DHS HQ would be the required first step. The clearance standards in place must meet or exceed Federal standards for security clearance investigations. To accomplish the improvements DHS must establish a Chief Security Officer responsible for personnel security, facility access, security awareness and related training.

CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE

An evaluation is ordered of the feasibility and practicality of creating further incentives for private sector stakeholders to share protected infrastructure information with DHS . The incentives might be tax breaks, grants and non-monetary incentives.

Tier I and II sites may be selected to participate in the Buffer Zone Protection Program to check employees against terrorist watch lists and immigration databases.

The use of Citizen Corps funding is emphasized for local Citizen Corp Councils to provide education and training for populations located around critical infrastructure for responding to terror attacks and disasters

A report is due regarding the status of protecting the agricultural sector and the Nation’s levees.

OVERSIGHT IMPROVEMENTS

Congress looks to the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the US and concurs with the recommendations to implement a committee in the House and Senate that would be the single, principal point of oversight and review for DHS.

The bill directs and funds DHS Inspector General to review each Secure Border Initiative contract over greater than $20 million for cost compliance, performance objectives, milestones, cost overruns, delays, lack of DHS financial oversight, and inclusion of small, minority and women-owned businesses. Reviews are due DHS within 60 days and Congress 30 days later. The OIG office is funded at $108.5 million for 2008. An Authorization Liaison Officer would be provided to produce timely financial information to Congress.

PRIVATE CONTRACTORS

Before a contract is awarded DHS must consider the contractor’s past performance based on information provided by the contractor. Foreign ownership of a contracting firm looking to do business with DHS must be revealed and updated if the company is purchased by a foreign contractor mid-contract. 50% or more of stock ownership constitutes ownership and would include a foreign government, corporation or individual.

One offering to procure a contract must reveal all individuals who played a substantial role in creating the solicitation to ensure that the offer did not have an undue advantage over competition. Offerers must reveal any default on tax payment or any tax delinquency. DHS may not reject a solicitation solely on the tax liability certification.

A report is due on small businesses, those with a gross income below $10 million yearly, and businesses hiring service disabled vets that do business with DHS. An action plan is ordered that would show utilization of small and minority and other such businesses. A Mentor-Protégé Program is established to motivate and encourage large business prime contractors to provide developmental assistance to small businesses, those owned by veterans and service-disabled veterans and others. The program would be reviewed by the Inspector General.

MADE IN AMERICA

Uniforms, protective gear, badges and insignias, ID cards must be made in America unless the Secretary determines that satisfactory quality and sufficient quantity can not be procured as and when needed at US market prices and does not pose a risk to national security and materials, patterns, etcetera will not be misappropriated. A final amendment to the bill removed this provision (RC 315)

BIOPREPAREDNESS IMPROVEMENTS

A Chief Medical Officer is to be appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. The CMO will head the Office of Health Affairs at DHS with the primary responsibility for medical and health issues related to general roles, responsibilities and operations of DHS, terrorist attacks, major disasters and other emergencies.

A study on national bio-defense training is ordered to determine the staffing, training requirements to construct and staff bio-defense laboratories. Following that would be the establishment of a National Bio-surveillance Integration Center to rapidly identify, characterize and localize a bio-event related to human health, animals, plans, food and the environment. A goal is to detect a bio-event as early as possible, consolidate the data from all available surveillance systems and analyze and characterize bio-events. Categorized as a public health agency the Center would have the information gathering authority of the Public Health Service.

The Center will provide integrated information coordinated with the National Operations Center, local and state governments and department heads as well as the private sector. A risk assessment process is ordered that will support the integration of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear agents and other high risk agents and determine how to best mitigate those risks through research acquisition and deployment of countermeasures including detection systems. A yearly report is due Congress.

A National Bio and Agro-Defense facility is ordered that will be an integrated human, foreign-animal, and zoonotic disease research, development, testing and evaluation facility to support the Department’s mission to defend against agro-terrorism. The facility will have state-of –the-art bio-containment labs that can conduct research at the higher safety levels of 3 and 4. The facility will sit on 30 acres near an airport with 500,000 sq ft and will be capable of housing a minimum of 80 large animals.

CYBERSECURITY IMPROVEMENTS

The bill establishes an Office of Cybersecurity and Communications that will provide preparation, situational awareness, response, reconstitution and mitigation necessary for cybersecurity and to protect communications under attack or disaster circumstances. US cybersecurity would be studied and assessed. Cybersecurity research and development will aim to ensure prevention, protection, detection and response and recovery from a large scale, high impact terrorist attacks.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IMPROVEMENTS

Within 120 of enactment Congress expects a report on a strategy to enhance education programs and morale, minimize turnover, strengthen recruitment and secure institutional knowledge. Within the effort will be the Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency to research and develop high-risk, high-payoff projects. The bill also provides for Centers of Excellence that assure involvement by minority serving institutions. The national Research Council is charged with studying and assessing the DHS University Programs.

BORDER PATROL

DHS is ordered to establish a plan for pay, recruitment, relocation and retention of federal law enforcement officers. Incentives for foreign language expertise, regular raises yearly after two years of service, higher pay in higher cost deployments, easy transfer after two years. Quarterly goals for recruitment are ordered as is a quarterly report to Congress. Within seven days of enactment DHS must submit to Congress a comprehensive strategy for biometric entry and exit data systems (US-VISIT) that will explain how law enforcement can identify individuals who overstay their visas, describe biometric pilot projects, and the schedule for deploying future biometric exit capabilities for air land and sea ports of entry. The exit plan is to be implemented by December 31, 2008. The Shadow Wolves Program is authorized.

The process of hiring new border agents is to be improved and the overall cost of hiring and training an agent must not exceed $150,000 unless Congress agrees to spend more.

The Secretary has 180 days from enactment to report to Congress on personnel, infrastructure and technology required to reduce border crossing wait times for pedestrian, commercial and non-commercial vehicles at land ports of entry while still allowing for security checks.

The Secretary has 180 days to report to Congress on policies and procedures of the Border patrol pertaining to the use of lethal and non-lethal force and the pursuit of fleeing vehicles and on any lethal or other force used against the Agents.

BIOMETRIC IDENTIFICATION

A pilot program is authorized for the mobile biometric identification in the maritime environment of aliens unlawfully present in the US.

The bill would return personnel matters to the original civil service standards of qualifications and competition for a position. Under the auspices of having to hire quickly to respond to pressing events and to have no breaches on security due to a personnel action DHS tended to waive personnel matters such as collective bargaining.

GRANT RESTRICTIONS AND GRANTS

Grants may not be made to a university or college that has a policy or practice that prohibits or effectively prevents the Commandant of the Coast Guard from gaining access to campuses or students 17 or older for recruiting in a manner at least equal to access provided to any other employer.

Grant recipients must now report quarterly on their spending amounts and uses. The information will be made public with an eye for protecting sensitive information.

Grants are authorized to prevent terrorist and others from fraudulently obtaining state-issued documents and ID and to develop a more secure state-issued document of official federal purposes. Machine readable technology, encryption is required as is ability to test authenticity of the document. Grants are also available to prisons and jails.

MARITIME ALIEN SMUGGLING

Assisting or otherwise encouraging the smuggling of aliens on US vessels is a high crime bringing 30 years or $500,000 fine or both determined by the consequence of the threat, but the matter can be mitigated if the vessel owner immediately contact authorities about the alien or does not bring the alien into US territories. The vessel will be seized. The bill goes to great length explaining such things as a boat built to avoid radar, camouflage, reduction of fuel or water tank capacity to provide space within which to hide aliens as elements to be considered when determining guilt.

Two amendments would require FEMA to continue offices in Florida for the next three years and to study foreign rail security for possible strategies here.

Sponsor:  Rep. Bennie G, Thompson (D-MS-2^nd)

Vote: A motion to recommit the bill  May 9, 2007 (RC317) . The House passed the bill  296 to 126 May 9, 2007 (RC 318)

Cost to the taxpayers: $39,863,000,000

Earmark Certification:  

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MORE INFORMATION

OTHER BILL DETAILS

AMENDMENTS

CONSOLIDATION OF DHS DEPARTMENT HEADQUARTERS

HOMELAND SECURITY PROCUREMENT TRAINING

APPOINTMENT OF ANNUITANTS

FEDERAL PROTECTIVE SERVICE

INTERNATIONAL ANTI-TERROR COOPERATION.

INFORMATION SHARING

MISCELLANEOUS

CONSOLIDATION OF DHS DEPARTMENT HEADQUARTERS

Congress expresses its sense that DHS offices are dispersed around the National Capital region and that the dispersal could impair the department’s ability. The GAO regards the current situation as high risk. The only site considered suitable for a consolidated DHS would be the west campus of  St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Washington, D.C.

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HOMELAND SECURITY PROCUREMENT AND OTHER TRAINING

The Chief Procurement Officer and a Council on Procurement training shall provide procurement training to acquisition employees and establish an appropriate centralized mechanism to control the allocation of resources for conducting required training courses and other training course requirements.

Training for rural and tribal governments is ordered after evaluating the needs of rural areas, develop and provide training programs

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APPOINTMENT OF ANNUITANTS

Annuitants are employees under the government retirement system.

Up to 250 Annuitants would be appointed to Procurement  for the purpose of supporting the DHS acquisition capabilities and enhancing contract management. The appointments would be made outside the competitive service requirements and the Secretary’s authority to make the appointments expires in five years.

The Federal Law Enforcement Training Center is reauthorized to appoint, exempt from competitive procedures, a cadre of annuitants up to 500 appointments.

The appointment of annuitants to the Office for Information Analysis is ordered up to 100 employees.

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FEDERAL PROTECTIVE SERVICE

DHS may not conduct a reduction in force or furlough of the FPS until a report on shortfalls in that Service is provided and Congress has conducted hearing on the matter.

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INTERNATIONAL ANTITERROR COOPERATION.

The Secretary is authorized to coordinate research and joint research through seminars, conferences, workshops, training, scientist exchanges and information sharing. Partners may include Israel, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, Singapore and other allies.

A new student exchange and visitors program would track foreign students by requiring universities to ensure that each student or visitor is an active participant in the approved program warranting the visa, is not unobserved for any period exceeding 30 days, is transferring to a different institution,. Is hospitalized or otherwise incapacitated for a long period. The student must be observed at least once every 60 days.

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INFORMATION SHARING

A new program first seen in the Senate version of this bill is the State and Local Fusion Centers program that aims to provide information exchanges from the Federal government to state, local and tribal governments and communities. The program comes with requirements for training and hiring, security clearances and training in protecting privacy and civil liberty rights of US citizens.

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MISCELLANEOUS

No person may knowingly use in connection for an advertisement, commercial activity. Media production, impersonation and other reasons the word ‘Department of Homeland Security’, ‘DHS’ the Departments seal of title. A civil action would follow.

A Metropolitan Medical Response System will support local jurisdictions in enhancing and maintaining all-hazard response capabilities to manage mass casualties by enhancing response agencies and personnel.

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AMENDMENTS

Amendment offered by Rep. Bennie  Thompson (D-MS).

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## All Rights Reserved. © 2007 TheWeekInCongress.com.(TM)

No reproduction, language translation or distribution without written permission from TheWeekInCongress.com.(TM)