Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards Program Authorization and Accountability Act of 2014

Floor Speech

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Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4007, the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards Program Authorization and Accountability Act of 2014.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4007 authorizes the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards Program within the Department of Homeland Security. At the outset, I would acknowledge that, during consideration in committee, a somewhat inclusive approach was taken, and, as a result, a number of amendments offered by Democratic Members were accepted.

It is regrettable that, now that H.R. 4007 is before us today, this same opportunity is not being afforded to my colleagues in the House. The decision of the Republican leadership to bring this measure up under suspension of the rules limits debate on the measure and effectively prevents any Member from offering an amendment to make further improvements to the bill.

Despite my reservations about process, I am generally supportive of H.R. 4007, as it would give DHS and chemical facility owners and operators some measure of confidence about the program's future. Since coauthoring legislation in the 109th Congress to grant DHS authority to regulate the chemical sector for security, I have consistently supported efforts at enacting a comprehensive freestanding authorization bill.

As those who have followed the CFATS program know, jurisdictional challenges have consistently complicated authorization efforts. As a result, renewal of the program has been at the mercy of the appropriations process since 2006.

H.R. 4007 is the Committee on Homeland Security's latest effort at achieving the goal of enacting CFATS legislation. The most significant prior effort was back in the 111th Congress, when the House approved H.R. 2868, legislation that I introduced with then-Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman, after a year and a half of intense negotiations.

That bill eliminated the regulatory exemptions on water and wastewater facilities that have been a major concern of every Secretary of Homeland Security, especially Secretary Michael Chertoff in the Bush administration.

The bill under consideration today bears little resemblance to H.R. 2868, but, I suppose, reflects the political realities of the 113th Congress. I am disappointed that it does not directly tackle the water and wastewater exemptions that put communities and neighborhoods that are near these facilities at risk, though I note that the bill requires a security assessment of those exemptions, so that the next time Congress looks at reauthorizing CFATS, the debate will be better informed.

I am pleased that, in response to the deadly April 2013 explosion at a plant in West, Texas, H.R. 4007 gives DHS now authority to compel action by facilities that, to date, have not participated in the program that DHS views as potentially high-risk facilities.

I am also pleased that H.R. 4007 includes language authored by Representative Yvette Clarke to ensure the Department takes a commonsense approach to vetting transportation workers who service chemical facility shipping needs.

That said, there are a couple of areas that should be addressed before this measure reaches the President's desk. Specifically, H.R. 4007 should provide adequate whistleblower protections for those risking their jobs to report violations of law or security vulnerabilities, ensure workers have a meaningful role in developing the security plans for their facilities, and promote greater adoption of best practices and inherently safer and securer technologies among high-risk facilities.

The bill before us today is a good start, but there is more work to be done.

With that, Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

In closing, while I am supportive of advancing this legislation to the Senate in the hopes of moving the process forward to provide a multiyear authorization for the CFATS program, there is more work to be done.

Should H.R. 4007 be approved today, I will work with my colleagues in the other body to work towards ensuring that the legislation provides adequate whistleblower protections for those risking their jobs to report violations of law or security vulnerabilities, ensures workers have a meaningful role in developing the security plans for their facilities, and promotes greater adoption of best practices and inherently safer and securer technologies among high-risk facilities.

The bill before us today is a good start, but there is more work to be done.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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