House Passes Three Bipartisan Homeland Security Bills
(WASHINGTON) – Today, Committee on Homeland Security Chairman Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS) announced that the U.S. House of Representatives passed three bipartisan homeland security measures. These bills would encourage made in America DHS uniforms, improve the Department of Homeland Security’s acquisition review process, and improve travel at our airports for non-English speakers, international travelers, and people with vision or hearing impairments.
“I am pleased to see the House come together to support these important bipartisan homeland security measures that would help ensure that officers, agents, and others serving on the frontlines for DHS have uniforms that are be made in the USA, make our nation’s airports more accessible and welcoming to foreign travelers and other non-English speakers, and strengthen accountability and uniformity within DHS’s acquisition review process,” said Chairman Thompson. “I look forward to working with my colleagues in the Senate to ensure each bill becomes law.”
The three bipartisan bills that passed the House were:
The Homeland Procurement Reform Act (H.R. 2915) was introduced by Congressman Lou Correa (D-CA) and passed by voice vote on November 16th. This bill would reform the way DHS procures uniforms and related gear. It seeks to ensure that higher-quality uniforms and gear are issued to Department frontline personnel by encouraging the procurement of domestically sourced items.
The TSA Reaching Across Nationalities, Societies, and Languages to Advance Traveler Education Act (“TRANSLATE Act”) (H.R. 5574) was introduced by Congresswoman Dina Titus (D-NV) and passed the House on November 18th. This bill requires the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to create and implement a plan to make signs, videos, audio messages, websites, press releases, social media postings, and other communications available in languages other than English used by the people who work and travel through our nation’s major airports.
The DHS Acquisition Review Board Act of 2021 (H.R. 5652) was introduced by Congressman Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ) and passed by voice vote on November 16. This bill would strengthen accountability and uniformity within the Department’s acquisition review process by codifying the Acquisition Review Board (ARB). Chaired by the Under Secretary for Management, the ARB is composed of senior Department officials with responsibilities related to acquisitions, such as the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Procurement Officer.
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Media contact: Adam Comis at (202) 225-9978
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