Fixing Internal Response to Misconduct Act
Floor Speech
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about my bill, H.R. 2131, the Fixing Internal Response to Misconduct Act, or the Department of Homeland Security FIRM Act, for short.
Mr. Speaker, employee misconduct and unethical behavior at any Federal agency can disrupt the daily operations of our government; however, these activities can have greater national security implications at Federal agencies like the Department of Homeland Security due to its intrinsic mission. Incidents of employee misconduct within DHS do not only hinder the public's confidence in the Department, but also jeopardize the day-to-day working environment for Department of Homeland Security employees.
Since its inception, DHS has faced significant obstacles consolidating 22 preexisting component agencies, including instilling common, across-the-board policies. Time and again, the DHS Office of Inspector General has criticized the Department's lack of consistent policies.
Until recently, the Department was operating without an across-the- board overarching misconduct policy, and headquarters and a major component were operating without the assistance of a Table of Offenses and Penalties.
Issued in November 2016, the Department's discipline and adverse actions program directive put in place a Departmentwide policy to provide guidance in the adjudication and management of disciplinary matters.
My bill, H.R. 2131, will strengthen and support this policy by granting greater oversight to the Chief Human Capital Officer of the Department, allowing the CHCO to identify trends and causes of persistent employee misconduct and to establish working groups to address such misconduct.
H.R. 2131 promotes greater consistency in the use of discipline and adverse actions and improves collaboration between the CHCO components and human resources officials regarding the improvement of employee conduct at the Department of Homeland Security.
Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this bill to help ensure any misconduct and unethical behavior at DHS is properly dealt with.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source