WASHINGTON, D.C. — This week, House Committee on Homeland Security Chairman Mark E. Green, MD (R-TN) released the following statement after the Committee advanced, by bipartisan votes, thirteen pieces of legislation that are critical to our homeland security––from supporting U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to ensuring Department of Homeland Security (DHS) personnel can accomplish their intelligence mission and countering the malign influence of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP): 
 
“I am proud of this Committee’s work to advance over a dozen pieces of legislation that would support DHS’ crucial missions. As part of the Committee’s continued efforts to block the Chinese Communist Party from creating or exploiting supply-chain dependencies, the Committee advanced legislation to prohibit DHS from procuring batteries from six companies owned and operated in the People’s Republic of China, as well as expanding this prohibition to tie banned entities to lists maintained by the Departments of Homeland Security, Defense, and Commerce like ‘Chinese military companies.’ The Department of Defense has rightfully taken steps to end the use of these batteries and it is past time for DHS to follow suit.
 
“We also passed commonsense legislation to conduct important oversight of DHS’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis to protect Americans’ civil liberties and privacy, as well as review the cost, effectiveness, and efficiency of DHS’s Homeland Security Information Network. Further, we passed legislation to increase coordination and communication on terrorism, border security, and other threats by way of DHS’s Intelligence Rotational Assignment Program––leading to a more complete picture of threats and greater homeland security.
 
“The Committee approved measures to increase airline safety by mandating meaningful planning and reporting from TSA on how to make better use of federal air marshals and law enforcement officers who are flying armed, and to protect the biometric data of the American people while still ensuring DHS has enough resources to protect our skies. 
 
“The Committee also acted to improve land ports of entry and enhance efforts to detect and interdict poisonous opioids like fentanyl that continue to flow into our country and tragically take the lives of Americans every day. I encourage the House to pass these bills swiftly to secure the homeland.”
 
Legislation reported out of the Committee includes:  

• H.R. 4574, the “Cooperation on Combatting Human Smuggling and Trafficking Act,” introduced by Rep. Lou Correa
  • This legislation would require the DHS Secretary, in coordination with the appropriate federal partners, to enhance border security by expanding bilateral partnerships with law enforcement entities in Mexico, Central America, and South American countries to identify and combat human smuggling and trafficking operations and provide advanced training for certain investigators and prosecutors from our foreign partners, such as Mexico, to prosecute human smugglers and traffickers who target children and families, and who pose a border security threat to the United States.
• H.R. 6229, the “DHS Special Events Program and Support Act,” introduced by Rep. Dina Titus
  • This bill reviews the need to provide oversight to the SEAR program by requiring DHS to conduct assessments, provide reports about its effectiveness, and carry out research and development for mission readiness.
• H.R. 8150, the “Reducing Excessive Vetting Authorities to Maintain our Ports (REVAMP) Act,” an Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute to be offered by Rep. Tony Gonzales
  • This legislation would direct CBP, in consultation with GSA, to establish procedures that allow CBP to carry out maintenance and repair projects that cost up to $300,000 – adjusted annually for inflation – at federally owned land ports of entry, and require an annual report to Congress which summarizes the maintenance projects and their associated costs. 
  • Watch Rep. Gonzales talk about his bill here.
• H.R. 8631, the “Decoupling from Foreign Adversarial Battery Dependence Act,” an Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute to be offered by Rep. Carlos Gimenez
  • This legislation resembles Section 154 of the Fiscal Year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act, legislation enacted into law, which prohibited the Department of Defense from procuring batteries from six major companies owned and operated in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), including Contemporary Amperex Technology Company, Ltd. (CATL) and Gotion High Tech.
  • Watch Rep. Gimenez talk about his bill here.
• H.R. 8645, the “Improved Screening for Veterans and Passengers with Disabilities Act,” introduced by Rep. Shri Thanedar
  • This bill requires the TSA to improve airport security screening of veterans and passengers with disabilities by increasing training and, subject to fee availability, providing TSA PreCheck for severely disabled veterans. The bill allows individuals with disability or medical condition to be eligible for expedited security screening. 
• H.R. 8655, the “Federal Air Marshal Enhancing Airport Security Act of 2024,” introduced by Rep. Carlos Gimenez
  • This bill requires the TSA Federal Air Marshals (FAMS) Director to develop a plan and brief the House Homeland Security Committee and Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs and Commerce, Science, and Transportation. The plan must address roles for FAMS beyond the inflight security at certain airports (likely the airports that are closest to the field office). The plan requires TSA to address the law enforcement capabilities of FAMS at airports.
  • Watch Rep. Gimenez talk about his bill here.
• H.R. 8654, the “Streamlining Law Enforcement Information Sharing Act,” introduced by Rep. Mike Ezell
  • This bill requires GAO to conduct a review of the cost, effectiveness, and efficacy of the Homeland Security Information Network, to determine if the platform is relevant for SLTT law enforcement and other partners in securing the U.S. homeland.
  • Watch Rep. Ezell talk about his bill here.
• H.R. 8658, the “Emerging Digital Identity Ecosystem Report Act of 2024,” introduced by Rep. Clay Higgins.
  • This bill requires the TSA Administrator to submit a report about the current state of digital identity ecosystems and homeland security value of digital identity systems in the transportation sector to the House Homeland Security Committee and the Senate Committees on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. 
  • Watch Rep. Higgins talk about his bill here.
• H.R. 8663, the “DETECT Fentanyl and Xylazine Act of 2024,” introduced by Rep. Nick LaLota
  • This legislation will provide S&T with the authority to do research, development, testing, evaluation, and cost benefit analysis to improve the safety, effectiveness, and efficiency of drug detection equipment and reference libraries used by Federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial law enforcement agencies.
  • Watch Rep. LaLota talk about his bill here.
• H.R. 8664, the “DHS Intelligence and Analysis Oversight and Transparency Act,” introduced by Rep. Laurel Lee
  • This bill would amend the Homeland Security Act to direct the Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis (I&A) of DHS to conduct an annual audit of the information systems and bulk data of I&A and submit a report to Congress that outlines the findings of every annual audit. 
  • Watch Rep. Lee talk about her bill here.
• H.R. 8671, the “DHS Intelligence Rotational Assignment Program and Law Enforcement Support Act,” introduced by Rep. August Pfluger
  • As previously executed in the House, this legislation would codify DHS’s Intelligence Rotational Assignment Program to enhance needed intra-agency participation in the program. DHS analysts within a department intelligence component like CBP, HSI, and so forth are eligible to participate—in an effort to further increase coordination and communication on border security, terrorism, and other threats to homeland security, which, in turn, can lead to a more complete picture of threats and greater homeland security.
  • Watch Rep. Pfluger talk about his bill here.
• H.R. 8675, the “Repair of the National Law Enforcement Telecommunications System Act of 2024,” introduced by Rep. Andrew Garbarino
  • This bill requires TSA, through the Federal Air Marshal Service (FAMS), to conduct a study on the digital data collection process for law enforcement officers who are flying armed on commercial flights.
  • Watch Rep. Garbarino talk about his bill here.
• H.R. 8662, the “TSA Commuting Fairness Act,” introduced by Rep. Tim Kennedy
  • The bill requires the TSA Administrator to conduct a feasibility report to the House Homeland Security Committee and the Senate Committees for Commerce, Science, and Transportation and Homeland Security and Government Affairs concerning treating travel time on the airport grounds as on-duty time for TSA employees.