Dhs Contract Reporting Act of 2021

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4363) to establish a daily public reporting requirement for covered contract awards of the Department of Homeland Security, and for other purposes, as amended.

The Clerk read the title of the bill.

The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 4363

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``DHS Contract Reporting Act of 2021''. SEC. 2. DAILY PUBLIC REPORT OF COVERED CONTRACT AWARDS.

(a) Daily Report.--

(1) In general.--The Secretary shall post, maintain, and update in accordance with paragraph (2), on a publicly available website of the Department, a daily report of all covered contract awards. Each reported covered contract award shall include information relating to--

(A) the contract number, modification number, or delivery order number;

(B) the contract type;

(C) the amount obligated for such award;

(D) the total contract value for such award, including all options;

(E) the description of the purpose for such award;

(F) the number of proposals or bids received;

(G) the name and address of the vendor, and whether such vendor is considered a small business;

(H) the period and each place of performance for such award;

(I) whether such award is multiyear;

(J) whether such award requires a small business subcontracting plan; and

(K) the contracting office and the point of contact for such office.

(2) Update.--Updates referred to in paragraph (1) shall occur not later than two business days after the date on which the covered contract is authorized or modified.

(3) Subscribing to alerts.--The website referred to in paragraph (1) shall provide the option to subscribe to an automatic notification of the publication of each report required under such paragraph.

(4) Effective date.--Paragraph (1) shall take effect on the date that is 180 days after the date of the enactment of this section.

(b) Undefinitized Contract Action or Definitized Amount.-- If a covered contract award reported pursuant to subsection (a) includes an undefinitized contract action, the Secretary shall--

(1) report the estimated total contract value for such award and the amount obligated upon award; and

(2) once such award is definitized, update the total contract value and amount obligated.

(c) Exemption.--Each report required under subsection (a) shall not include covered contract awards relating to classified products, programs, or services.

(d) Definitions.--In this section:

(1) Covered contract award.--The term ``covered contract award''--

(A) means a contract action of the Department with the total authorized dollar amount of $4,000,000 or greater, including unexercised options; and

(B) includes--

(i) contract awards governed by the Federal Acquisition Regulation;

(ii) modifications to a contract award that increase the total value, expand the scope of work, or extend the period of performance;

(iii) orders placed on a multiple award or multiple-agency contract that includes delivery or quantity terms that are indefinite;

(iv) other transaction authority agreements; and

(v) contract awards made with other than full and open competition.

(2) Definitized amount.--The term ``definitized amount'' means the final amount of a covered contract award after agreement between the Department and the contractor at issue.

(3) Department.--The term ``Department'' means the Department of Homeland Security.

(4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of Homeland Security.

(5) Small business.--The term ``small business'' means an entity that qualifies as a small business concern, as such term is described under section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632).

(6) Total contract value.--The term ``total contract value'' means the total amount of funds expected to be provided to the contractor at issue under the terms of the contract through the full period of performance.

(7) Undefinitized contract action.--The term ``undefinitized contract action'' means any contract action for which the contract terms, specifications, or price is not established prior to the start of the performance of a covered contract award.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4363, the DHS Contract Reporting Act of the 2021. I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, the Department of Homeland Security spends billions of dollars each year to acquire goods and services needed to carry out its missions.

It purchases everything from disaster relief supplies to passenger screening equipment to software designed to protect Federal Government networks from cyber threats.

The Department's Inspector General and the Government Accountability Office have consistently identified challenges with respect to DHS contract management efforts.

For instance, the DHS Inspector General has identified instances where FEMA awarded contracts to inexperienced vendors that were unable to deliver critical supplies in response to major disasters.

In June 2020, GAO determined that U.S. Customs and Border Protection had misspent funding that Congress specifically appropriated for migrant medical care and related supplies.

H.R. 4363 seeks to improve visibility in DHS' contract awards by requiring daily reporting of contract awards on the Department's public website. The reports are to include key information about the award, such as the purpose of the contract and where work is expected to be performed.

The reports are also to include information about the award recipient, such as the name of the company and whether it is considered a small business.

H.R. 4363 has bipartisan support and was reported out of committee by voice vote.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I have no more speakers, and I am prepared to close after the gentleman from Mississippi closes.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time, and I am prepared to close.

Mr. Speaker, DHS obligated the $20 billion on goods and services in fiscal year 2020, making it the fourth highest spending civilian agency in the Federal Government.

Congress has a responsibility to ensure that the Department's funds are well spent. Enactment of H.R. 4363 would provide greater transparency into the Department's contract awards and enable better oversight of DHS's spending.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 4363, and I yield back the balance of my time.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source