I 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5574 

To prohibit the use of funds appropriated or otherwise available to Department of Homeland Security frontline operational components for the 

procurement of certain items that do not meet specified criteria, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 18, 2018 

Mr. TAYLOR (for himself, Mr. CORREA, Mr. GAETZ, Ms. TENNEY, Mr. MAST, 

Mr. BERGMAN, Ms. SHEA-PORTER, and Mr. MOOLENAAR) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security 

A BILL 

To prohibit the use of funds appropriated or otherwise available to Department of Homeland Security frontline operational components for the procurement of certain items 

that do not meet specified criteria, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Homeland Procure5 ment Reform Act’’ or the ‘‘HOPR Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. REQUIREMENTS TO BUY CERTAIN ITEMS RELATED 

2 TO NATIONAL SECURITY INTERESTS AC3 CORDING TO CERTAIN CRITERIA; EXCEP4 TIONS. 

5 (a) REQUIREMENT.—In order to ensure that certain 

6 components of the Department of Homeland Security pro7 cure certain critical equipment of the quality and innova8 tion necessary to carry out effectively their security, en9 forcement, and investigative missions, except as provided 

10 in subsections (d) through (g), the Secretary of Homeland 

11 Security shall ensure that funds appropriated or otherwise 

12 available to the Department of Homeland Security front13 line operational components described in subsection (b) 

14 are used for the procurement of an item described in sub15 section (c) only if the item meets the following criteria: 

16 (1) In the case of any unit or agency insignia 

17 included with the item, including any patch, badge, 

18 emblem, or other insignia, that is not produced, ap19 plied, or assembled in the United States, the sup20 plier of the item must agree to— 

21 (A) store the item in a locked area; 

22 (B) report any pilferage or theft of the in23 signia occurring at any stage before delivery of 

24 the item to the Government; and 

25 (C) destroy any defective or unusable item 

26 with which the insignia is included in a manner 


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1 established by the Secretary, and maintain 

2 records of such destruction that include the de3 struction date, a description of the item de4 stroyed, the quantity of the item destroyed, and 

5 the method of destruction. 

6 (2) In the case of a uniform produced or assem7 bled outside the United States, the uniform includes 

8 passive radio frequency identification (RFID), or 

9 any other such technologies that may be used for 

10 tracking and control of the uniform. 

11 (3) Each contractor and first-tier subcontractor 

12 for the item, including the end-item manufacturer— 

13 (A) is an entity registered with the System 

14 for Award Management administered by the 

15 General Services Administration; and 

16 (B) is in compliance with ISO 9001:2015 

17 of the International Organization for Standard18 ization. 

19 (b) COVERED COMPONENTS.—A frontline operational 

20 component referred to in subsection (a) is any of the fol21 lowing: 

22 (1) U.S. Customs and Border Protection. 

23 (2) U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforce24 ment. 


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1 (3) The Transportation Security Administra2 tion. 

3 (4) The Coast Guard. 

4 (5) The Secret Service. 

5 (c) COVERED ITEMS.—An item referred to in sub6 section (a) is any of the following: 

7 (1) Body armor components intended to provide 

8 ballistic protection for an individual, consisting of 

9 one or more of the following: 

10 (A) Soft ballistic panels. 

11 (B) Hard ballistic plates. 

12 (C) Concealed armor carriers worn under 

13 the uniform. 

14 (D) External armor carriers worn over the 

15 uniform. 

16 (2) Helmets that provide ballistic protection 

17 and other head protection and components. 

18 (3) Protective eyewear. 

19 (4) Rain gear, cold weather gear, other environ20 mental and flame-resistant clothing. 

21 (5) Footwear. 

22 (6) Uniforms. 

23 (7) Bags and packs. 

24 (8) Holsters and tactical pouches. 

25 (9) Patches, insignia, and embellishments. 


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1 (10) Respiratory protective masks. 

2 (11) Chemical, biological, radiological, and nu3 clear protective gear. 

4 (12) Hearing protection equipment. 

5 (13) Any other critical safety item as deter6 mined appropriate by the Secretary of Homeland Se7 curity. 

8 (d) MAXIMUM UNIFORM ALLOWANCE FOR CERTAIN

9 PERSONNEL.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para11 graph (2)— 

12 (A) the maximum uniform allowance set 

13 forth in section 591.103 of title 5, Code of Fed14 eral Regulations, shall not apply to an agent of 

15 any frontline operational components described 

16 in subsection (b); and 

17 (B) notwithstanding section of 504 of the 

18 Department of Homeland Security Appropria19 tions Act, 2004 (6 U.S.C. 453a), the maximum 

20 uniform allowance for an agent of such a com21 ponent shall be $1,200. 

22 (2) FIRST YEAR OF EMPLOYMENT.—For the 

23 first year of employment of an individual as an 

24 agent of any frontline operational component de25 scribed in subsection (b), the Secretary may estabVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:20 Apr 24, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5574.IH H5574

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1 lish a maximum uniform allowance that is not more 

2 than $800 greater than the amount set forth in 

3 paragraph (1)(B). 

4 (e) AVAILABILITY EXCEPTION.—Subsection (a) does 

5 not apply to the extent that the Secretary of Homeland 

6 Security determines that satisfactory quality and suffi7 cient quantity of any item described in subsection (c) can8 not be procured as and when needed at United States 

9 market prices. 

10 (f) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN PROCUREMENTS.— 

11 Subsection (a) does not apply to the following: 

12 (1) Any procurements by a vessel in foreign 

13 waters. 

14 (2) Any procurement in response to a situation 

15 covered by a presidential disaster declaration. 

16 (g) GEOGRAPHIC COVERAGE.—In this section, the 

17 term ‘‘United States’’ includes the territories and posses18 sions of the United States. 

19 (h) NOTIFICATION REQUIRED WITHIN 7 DAYS

20 AFTER CONTRACT AWARD IF CERTAIN EXCEPTIONS AP21 PLIED.—Not later than 7 days after the date of the award 

22 of contract for the procurement of an item described in 

23 subsection (c) for which an exception set forth in sub24 section (e) or (f) is applied, the Secretary of Homeland 

25 Security shall publish notification of such application the 


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1 internet site maintained by the General Services Adminis2 tration known as FedBizOps.gov (or any successor site). 

3 (i) TRAINING DURING FISCAL YEAR 2019.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland 

5 Security shall ensure that each member of the acqui6 sition workforce of the Department of Homeland Se7 curity who participates personally and substantially 

8 in the acquisition of items described in subsection 

9 (c) on a regular basis receives training in fiscal year 

10 2019 on the requirements of this section and the 

11 regulations implementing this section. 

12 (2) INCLUSION OF INFORMATION IN NEW

13 TRAINING PROGRAMS.—The Secretary shall ensure 

14 that any training program for such acquisition work15 force developed or implemented after the date of the 

16 enactment of this Act includes comprehensive infor17 mation on the requirements of this section. 

18 (j) CONSISTENCY WITH INTERNATIONAL AGREE19 MENTS.—This section shall be applied in a manner con20 sistent with United States obligations under international 

21 agreements. 

22 (k) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section applies with re23 spect to contracts entered into by the Department of 


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1 Homeland Security or any of its component agencies on 

2 or after October 1, 2018. 

Æ 


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