I 
110TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4290 
To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to provide for additional 
availability of testing facilities and equipment and to extend the authority 
of the Secretary of Homeland Security to carry out certain research 
and development projects. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 5, 2007 
Mr. MCCAUL of Texas introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Homeland Security 
A BILL 
To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to provide 
for additional availability of testing facilities and equip-
ment and to extend the authority of the Secretary of 
Homeland Security to carry out certain research and 
development projects. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Homeland Security 
Technology Advancement Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY OF 
HOMELAND SECURITY TO CARRY OUT CER-
TAIN 
RESEARCH 
AND 
DEVELOPMENT 
PROJECTS. 
Section 831(a) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 
(6 U.S.C. 391(a)) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘5-year’’ and inserting ‘‘10- 
year’’; and 
(2) by striking ‘‘the Secretary may carry out a 
pilot program under which’’. 
SEC. 3. AVAILABILITY OF TESTING FACILITIES AND EQUIP-
MENT. 
(a) AMENDMENT.—Title III of the Homeland Secu-
rity Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) is amended by 
adding at the end the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 316. AVAILABILITY OF TESTING FACILITIES AND 
EQUIPMENT. 
‘‘(a) AUTHORITY.—The Under Secretary for Science 
and Technology or his designee may make available to any 
person or entity, for an appropriate fee, the services of 
any Department of Homeland Security owned and oper-
ated center, or other testing facility for the testing of ma-
terials, equipment, models, computer software, and other 
items designed to advance the homeland security mission. 
‘‘(b) INTERFERENCE WITH FEDERAL PROGRAMS.— 
The Under Secretary for Science and Technology shall en-
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sure that the testing of materiel and other items not 
owned by the Government shall not cause government per-
sonnel or other government resources to be diverted from 
scheduled tests of Government materiel or otherwise inter-
fere with Government mission requirements. 
‘‘(c) CONFIDENTIALITY OF TEST RESULTS.—The re-
sults of tests performed with services made available under 
subsection (a) and any associated data provided by the 
person or entity for the conduct of such tests are trade 
secrets or commercial or financial information that is priv-
ileged or confidential within the meaning of section 
552b(4) of title 5, United States Code, and may not be 
disclosed outside the Federal Government without the con-
sent of the person or entity for whom the tests are per-
formed. 
‘‘(d) FEES.—The fees for exercising the authorities 
under subsection (a) may not exceed the amount necessary 
to recoup the direct and indirect costs involved, such as 
direct costs of utilities, contractor support, and salaries 
of personnel that are incurred by the United States to pro-
vide for the testing. 
‘‘(e) USE OF FEES.—The fees for exercising the au-
thorities under subsection (a) shall be credited to the ap-
propriations or other funds of the Directorate of Science 
and Technology. 
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‘‘(f) OPERATIONAL PLAN.—Not later than 3 months 
after the date of enactment of this section, the Under Sec-
retary for Science and Technology shall submit to Con-
gress a report detailing a plan for operating a program 
under the authority provided to the Under Secretary in 
subsection (a). The plan shall contain— 
‘‘(1) a list of the facilities and equipment that 
could be made available to outside users; 
‘‘(2) a five-year budget plan, including costs for 
facility construction, staff training, contract and 
legal fees, equipment maintenance and operation, 
and any incidental costs associated with the pro-
gram; 
‘‘(3) a five-year estimate of the number of users 
and fees to be collected; 
‘‘(4) a list of criteria for selecting the private 
sector users from the pool of applicants, including 
any special requirements for foreign applicants; and 
‘‘(5) an assessment of the impact this program 
will have on the ability of a center or testing facility 
to meet its obligations under previously existing 
Federal programs. 
‘‘(g) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Under Secretary 
for Science and Technology shall submit to Congress an-
nually a report containing a list of the centers and testing 
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facilities that have collected fees under this section, the 
amount of fees collected, a brief description of each part-
nership formed under this section, and the purpose for 
which the testing was conducted. 
‘‘(h) GAO REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the 
date of enactment of this section, the Comptroller General 
shall provide to Congress an assessment of the implemen-
tation of the program under this section.’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 
the Homeland Security Act of 2002 is amended by insert-
ing after the item relating to section 315 the following 
new item: 
‘‘Sec. 316. Availability of testing facilities and equipment.’’. 
Æ 
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