Homeland Security Acquisition Professional Career Program Act

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5822. The Department of Homeland Security has an important mission to protect the homeland and secure our borders. To accomplish this mission, DHS must enter into contracts for equipment and services. To protect taxpayer dollars and ensure that DHS is getting the most bang for its buck, the Department must utilize experienced acquisition professionals.

In the past decade, GAO has consistently identified issues that must be addressed to improve acquisition operations at DHS, including shortages in the number of trained acquisition professionals. This bill addresses this specific issue by developing trained acquisition professionals within DHS.

H.R. 5822 provides the on-the-job acquisition training, rotations throughout the Department, mentoring, and other opportunities to enhance acquisition knowledge, and experience for the participants. I applaud my colleague, Representative Titus, for her efforts to bring this bill forward.

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Mr. JOYCE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``yes'' vote on the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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