The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New
York (Mr. Garbarino) and the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Walkinshaw)
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New York.

                             General Leave

  Mr. GARBARINO. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their
remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 7574.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from New York?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. GARBARINO. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
  I rise in support of H.R. 7574, the ELO Realignment and Strategic
Engagement Reform Act of 2026.
  The Department of Homeland Security's Engagement, Liaison, and
Outreach, or ELO, Office operates as a separate office within the
Office of Intelligence and Analysis. Despite their similar functions,
ELO operates separately from I&A's Partner Engagement directorate,
which facilitates information flow and access for State, local, Tribal,
and territorial partners.
  The ELO Realignment and Strategic Engagement Reform Act will require
the DHS Secretary to develop a comprehensive plan to reorganize the ELO
office and realign it with the work of I&A's Partner Engagement
directorate to streamline operations and eliminate redundancies. This
plan must specifically address ways to improve coordination with law
enforcement agencies, centralize points of contact, and enhance
information sharing.
  Madam Speaker, I thank Representative Evans for his leadership. I
urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of
my time.
  Mr. WALKINSHAW. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
  Madam Speaker, engagement with State, local, Tribal, and territorial
law enforcement is essential to the Department of Homeland Security's
mission to secure the homeland. State and local law enforcement
partners must have clear points of contact within DHS to maximize
information sharing and collaboration on issues like emergency and
cybersecurity incident response.
  H.R. 7574 aims to ensure this by directing the Secretary of Homeland
Security to realign the functions and personnel within the Office of
Intelligence and Analysis' Engagement, Liaison, and Outreach office.
  Madam Speaker, while it is important for State and local officials to
have clear points of contact at DHS for information sharing and
collaboration, H.R. 7574's requirement to identify redundancies at the
Office of Intelligence and Analysis should not, I hope, be viewed as a
pretext to reduce I&A's workforce.

                              {time}  1700

  I&A is charged with delivering timely and actionable intelligence to
our law enforcement on the front lines and unnecessarily slashing their
capacity could unintentionally create security gaps and make our
communities more vulnerable to cyber terror attacks and other threats.
  While I understand that H.R. 7574 seeks to improve DHS relationships
with law enforcement agencies by establishing clear communication
protocols and centralizing points of contact for law enforcement
engagement, I urge DHS to consult with Congress on the implementation
of this bill and before any staffing changes or reductions are made. We
need to strengthen, not undermine I&A's ability to protect the
homeland.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GARBARINO. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to
the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Evans).
  Mr. EVANS of Colorado. Madam Speaker, I thank the chairman for
yielding me time. I also thank my bipartisan partner on this,
Representative Goldman, for his efforts on this bill.
  Madam Speaker, I rise today to urge my colleagues to support the
bipartisan bill, the ELO Realignment and Strategic Engagement Reform
Act.
  This bill consolidates the functions of two existing Department of
Homeland Security offices tasked with public safety coordination into
one centralized point of contact. DHS' Office of Intelligence and
Analysis, also known as I&A, is the only entity in the U.S.
intelligence community responsible for delivering intelligence directly
to State and local law enforcement agencies.