HOPR Act

II Calendar No. 578 117TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 2915 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES NOVEMBER 17, 2021 Received DECEMBER 5, 2022 Read twice and placed on the calendar AN ACT To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 regarding the procurement of certain items related to national secu- rity interests for Department of Homeland Security frontline operational components, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:43 Dec 05, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2915.PCS H2915 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 HR 2915 PCS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Homeland Procure- 2 ment Reform Act’’ or the ‘‘HOPR Act’’. 3 SEC. 2. REQUIREMENTS TO BUY CERTAIN ITEMS RELATED 4 TO NATIONAL SECURITY INTERESTS AC- 5 CORDING TO CERTAIN CRITERIA. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle D of title VIII of the 7 Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 391 et seq.) 8 is amended by adding at the end the following: 9 ‘‘SEC. 836. REQUIREMENTS TO BUY CERTAIN ITEMS RE- 10 LATED TO NATIONAL SECURITY INTERESTS. 11 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 12 ‘‘(1) COVERED ITEM.—The term ‘covered item’ 13 means any of the following: 14 ‘‘(A) Footwear provided as part of a uni- 15 form. 16 ‘‘(B) Uniforms. 17 ‘‘(C) Holsters and tactical pouches. 18 ‘‘(D) Patches, insignia, and embellish- 19 ments. 20 ‘‘(E) Chemical, biological, radiological, and 21 nuclear protective gear. 22 ‘‘(F) Body armor components intended to 23 provide ballistic protection for an individual, 24 consisting of 1 or more of the following: 25 ‘‘(i) Soft ballistic panels. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:43 Dec 05, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2915.PCS H2915 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 HR 2915 PCS ‘‘(ii) Hard ballistic plates. 1 ‘‘(iii) Concealed armor carriers worn 2 under a uniform. 3 ‘‘(iv) External armor carriers worn 4 over a uniform. 5 ‘‘(G) Any other item of clothing or protec- 6 tive equipment as determined appropriate by 7 the Secretary. 8 ‘‘(2) FRONTLINE OPERATIONAL COMPONENT.— 9 The term ‘frontline operational component’ means 10 any of the following organizations of the Depart- 11 ment: 12 ‘‘(A) U.S. Customs and Border Protection. 13 ‘‘(B) U.S. Immigration and Customs En- 14 forcement. 15 ‘‘(C) The United States Secret Service. 16 ‘‘(D) The Transportation Security Admin- 17 istration. 18 ‘‘(E) The Coast Guard. 19 ‘‘(F) The Federal Protective Service. 20 ‘‘(G) The Federal Emergency Management 21 Agency. 22 ‘‘(H) The Federal Law Enforcement 23 Training Centers. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:43 Dec 05, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2915.PCS H2915 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 HR 2915 PCS ‘‘(I) The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure 1 Security Agency. 2 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS.— 3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall ensure 4 that any procurement of a covered item for a front- 5 line operational component meets the following cri- 6 teria: 7 ‘‘(A) To the maximum extent possible, not 8 less than one-third of funds obligated in a spe- 9 cific fiscal year for the procurement of such 10 covered items shall be covered items that are 11 manufactured or supplied in the United States 12 by entities that qualify as small business con- 13 cerns, as such term is described under section 14 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632). 15 ‘‘(B) Each contractor with respect to the 16 procurement of such a covered item, including 17 the end-item manufacturer of such a covered 18 item— 19 ‘‘(i) is an entity registered with the 20 System for Award Management (or suc- 21 cessor system) administered by the General 22 Services Administration; and 23 ‘‘(ii) is in compliance with ISO 24 9001:2015 of the International Organiza- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:43 Dec 05, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2915.PCS H2915 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 HR 2915 PCS tion for Standardization (or successor 1 standard) or a standard determined appro- 2 priate by the Secretary to ensure the qual- 3 ity of products and adherence to applicable 4 statutory and regulatory requirements. 5 ‘‘(C) Each supplier of such a covered item 6 with an insignia (such as any patch, badge, or 7 emblem) and each supplier of such an insignia, 8 if such covered item with such insignia or such 9 insignia, as the case may be, is not produced, 10 applied, or assembled in the United States, 11 shall— 12 ‘‘(i) store such covered item with such 13 insignia or such insignia in a locked area; 14 ‘‘(ii) report any pilferage or theft of 15 such covered item with such insignia or 16 such insignia occurring at any stage before 17 delivery of such covered item with such in- 18 signia or such insignia; and 19 ‘‘(iii) destroy any such defective or 20 unusable covered item with insignia or in- 21 signia in a manner established by the Sec- 22 retary, and maintain records, for three 23 years after the creation of such records, of 24 such destruction that include the date of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:43 Dec 05, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2915.PCS H2915 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 HR 2915 PCS such destruction, a description of the cov- 1 ered item with insignia or insignia de- 2 stroyed, the quantity of the covered item 3 with insignia or insignia destroyed, and the 4 method of destruction. 5 ‘‘(2) WAIVER.— 6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a na- 7 tional emergency declared by the President 8 under the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 9 1601 et seq.) or a major disaster declared by 10 the President under section 401 of the Robert 11 T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency As- 12 sistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170), the Secretary 13 may waive a requirement in subparagraph (A), 14 (B) or (C) of paragraph (1) if the Secretary de- 15 termines there is an insufficient supply of a 16 covered item that meets the requirement. 17 ‘‘(B) NOTICE.—Not later than 60 days 18 after the date on which the Secretary deter- 19 mines a waiver under subparagraph (A) is nec- 20 essary, the Secretary shall provide to the Com- 21 mittee on Homeland Security and Govern- 22 mental Affairs and the Committee on Appro- 23 priations of the Senate and the Committee on 24 Homeland Security, the Committee on Over- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:43 Dec 05, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2915.PCS H2915 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 HR 2915 PCS sight and Reform, and the Committee on Ap- 1 propriations of the House of Representatives 2 notice of such determination, which shall in- 3 clude— 4 ‘‘(i) identification of the national 5 emergency or major disaster declared by 6 the President; 7 ‘‘(ii) identification of the covered item 8 for which the Secretary intends to issue 9 the waiver; and 10 ‘‘(iii) a description of the demand for 11 the covered item and corresponding lack of 12 supply from contractors able to meet the 13 criteria described in subparagraph (B) or 14 (C) of paragraph (1). 15 ‘‘(c) PRICING.—The Secretary shall ensure that cov- 16 ered items are purchased at a fair and reasonable price, 17 consistent with the procedures and guidelines specified in 18 the Federal Acquisition Regulation. 19 ‘‘(d) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 20 of enactment of this section and annually thereafter, the 21 Secretary shall provide to the Committee on Homeland Se- 22 curity, the Committee on Oversight and Reform, and the 23 Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representa- 24 tives, and the Committee on Homeland Security and Gov- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:43 Dec 05, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2915.PCS H2915 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 HR 2915 PCS ernmental Affairs and the Committee on Appropriations 1 of the Senate a briefing on instances in which vendors 2 have failed to meet deadlines for delivery of covered items 3 and corrective actions taken by the Department in re- 4 sponse to such instances. 5 ‘‘(e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section applies with 6 respect to a contract entered into by the Department or 7 any frontline operational component on or after the date 8 that is 180 days after the date of enactment of this sec- 9 tion.’’. 10 (b) STUDY.— 11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months 12 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec- 13 retary of Homeland Security shall submit to the 14 Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 15 Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Home- 16 land Security of the House of Representatives a 17 study of the adequacy of uniform allowances pro- 18 vided to employees of frontline operational compo- 19 nents (as defined in section 836 of the Homeland 20 Security Act of 2002, as added by subsection (a)). 21 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The study conducted 22 under paragraph (1) shall— 23 (A) be informed by a Department-wide 24 survey of employees from across the Depart- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:43 Dec 05, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2915.PCS H2915 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 HR 2915 PCS ment of Homeland Security who receive uni- 1 form allowances that seeks to ascertain what, if 2 any, improvements could be made to the cur- 3 rent uniform allowances and what, if any, im- 4 pacts current allowances have had on employee 5 morale and retention; 6 (B) assess the adequacy of the most recent 7 increase made to the uniform allowance for first 8 year employees; and 9 (C) consider increasing by 50 percent, at 10 minimum, the annual allowance for all other 11 employees. 12 (c) ADDITIONAL REPORT.— 13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 14 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec- 15 retary of Homeland Security shall provide a report 16 with recommendations on how the Department of 17 Homeland Security could procure additional items 18 from domestic sources and bolster the domestic sup- 19 ply chain for items related to national security to— 20 (A) the Committee on Homeland Security 21 and Governmental Affairs and the Committee 22 on Appropriations of the Senate; and 23 (B) the Committee on Homeland Security, 24 the Committee on Oversight and Reform, and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:43 Dec 05, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2915.PCS H2915 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 10 HR 2915 PCS the Committee on Appropriations of the House 1 of Representatives. 2 (2) CONTENTS.—The report required under 3 paragraph (1) shall include the following: 4 (A) A review of the compliance of the De- 5 partment of Homeland Security with the re- 6 quirements under section 604 of title VI of divi- 7 sion A of the American Recovery and Reinvest- 8 ment Act of 2009 (6 U.S.C. 453b) to buy cer- 9 tain items related to national security interests 10 from sources in the United States. 11 (B) An assessment of the capacity of the 12 Department of Homeland Security to procure 13 the following items from domestic sources: 14 (i) Personal protective equipment and 15 other items necessary to respond to a pan- 16 demic such as that caused by COVID–19. 17 (ii) Helmets that provide ballistic pro- 18 tection and other head protection and com- 19 ponents. 20 (iii) Rain gear, cold weather gear, and 21 other environmental and flame resistant 22 clothing. 23 (d) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 24 in section 1(b) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:43 Dec 05, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2915.PCS H2915 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 11 HR 2915 PCS (Public Law 107–296; 116 Stat. 2135) is amended by in- 1 serting after the item relating to section 835 the following: 2 ‘‘Sec. 836. Requirements to buy certain items related to national security inter- ests.’’. Passed the House of Representatives November 16, 2021. Attest: CHERYL L. JOHNSON, Clerk. VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:43 Dec 05, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2915.PCS H2915 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB Calendar No. 578 117TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 2915 AN ACT To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 re- garding the procurement of certain items related to national security interests for Department of Homeland Security frontline operational compo- nents, and for other purposes. DECEMBER 5, 2022 Read twice and placed on the calendar VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:43 Dec 05, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6651 Sfmt 6651 E:\BILLS\H2915.PCS H2915 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB