SEC. 2. REQUIREMENTS TO BUY CERTAIN ITEMS RELATED 
TO 
NATIONAL 
SECURITY 
INTERESTS 
AC-
CORDING TO CERTAIN CRITERIA. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle D of title VIII of the 
Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 391 et seq.) 
is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 836. REQUIREMENTS TO BUY CERTAIN ITEMS RE-
LATED TO NATIONAL SECURITY INTERESTS. 
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) COVERED ITEM.—The term ‘covered item’ 
means any of the following: 
‘‘(A) Body armor components intended to 
provide ballistic protection for an individual, 
consisting of 1 or more of the following: 
‘‘(i) Soft ballistic panels. 
‘‘(ii) Hard ballistic plates. 
‘‘(iii) Concealed armor carriers worn 
under a uniform. 
‘‘(iv) External armor carriers worn 
over a uniform. 
‘‘(B) Helmets that provide ballistic protec-
tion and other head protection and components. 
‘‘(C) Protective eyewear. 
‘‘(D) Rain gear, cold weather gear, other 
environmental and flame-resistant clothing. 
‘‘(E) Footwear. 
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‘‘(F) Uniforms. 
‘‘(G) Bags and packs. 
‘‘(H) Holsters and tactical pouches. 
‘‘(I) Patches, insignia, and embellishments. 
‘‘(J) Respiratory protective masks. 
‘‘(K) Chemical, biological, radiological, and 
nuclear protective gear. 
‘‘(L) Hearing protection equipment. 
‘‘(M) Powered air purifying respirators 
and required filters. 
‘‘(N) Disposable and reusable surgical and 
isolation gowns. 
‘‘(O) Protective eyewear. 
‘‘(P) Gloves. 
‘‘(Q) Face shields. 
‘‘(R) Head and foot coverings. 
‘‘(S) Sanitizing and disinfecting wipes. 
‘‘(T) Privacy curtains. 
‘‘(U) Beds and bedding. 
‘‘(V) Testing swabs. 
‘‘(W) Gauze and bandages. 
‘‘(X) Tents and tarpaulins. 
‘‘(Y) Any other critical safety item as de-
termined appropriate by the Secretary. 
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‘‘(2) FRONTLINE OPERATIONAL COMPONENT.— 
The term ‘frontline operational component’ means 
any of the following components of the Department: 
‘‘(A) U.S. Customs and Border Protection. 
‘‘(B) U.S. Immigration and Customs En-
forcement. 
‘‘(C) The United States Secret Service. 
‘‘(D) The Transportation Security Admin-
istration. 
‘‘(E) The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure 
Security Agency. 
‘‘(F) The Federal Protective Service. 
‘‘(G) The Federal Emergency Management 
Agency. 
‘‘(H) The Federal Law Enforcement 
Training Centers. 
‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall ensure 
that any procurement of a covered item for a front-
line operational component meets the following cri-
teria: 
‘‘(A) To the maximum extent possible, not 
less than one-third of funds obligated in a spe-
cific fiscal year for the procurement of such 
covered items shall be covered items that are 
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manufactured in the United States by entities 
that qualify as small business concerns, as such 
term is described under section 3 of the Small 
Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632). 
‘‘(B) Each contractor and first-tier subcon-
tractor with respect to the procurement of such 
a covered item, including the end-item manufac-
turer of such a covered item— 
‘‘(i) is an entity registered with the 
System for Award Management (or suc-
cessor system) administered by the General 
Services Administration; and 
‘‘(ii) is in compliance with ISO 
9001:2015 of the International Organiza-
tion for Standardization (or successor 
standard). 
‘‘(C) Each supplier of such a covered item 
with an insignia (such as any patch, badge, or 
emblem) and each supplier of such an insignia, 
if such covered item with such insignia or such 
insignia, as the case may be, is not produced, 
applied, or assembled in the United States, 
shall— 
‘‘(i) store such covered item with such 
insignia or such insignia in a locked area; 
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‘‘(ii) report any pilferage or theft of 
such covered item with such insignia or 
such insignia occurring at any stage before 
delivery of such covered item with such in-
signia or such insignia; and 
‘‘(iii) destroy any such defective or 
unusable covered item with insignia or in-
signia in a manner established by the Sec-
retary, and maintain records, for three 
years after the creation of such records, of 
such destruction that include the date of 
such destruction, a description of the cov-
ered item with insignia or insignia de-
stroyed, the quantity of the covered item 
with insignia or insignia destroyed, and the 
method of destruction. 
‘‘(2) WAIVER.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a na-
tional emergency declared by the President 
under the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 
1601 et seq.), the Secretary may waive a re-
quirement in subparagraph (B) or (C) of para-
graph (1) if the Secretary determines there is 
an insufficient supply of a covered item that 
meets the requirement. 
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‘‘(B) NOTICE.—If the Secretary deter-
mines a waiver under subparagraph (A) is nec-
essary, the Secretary shall provide to the Com-
mittee on Homeland Security and Govern-
mental Affairs and the Committee on Appro-
priations of the Senate and the Committee on 
Homeland Security, the Committee on Over-
sight and Reform, and the Committee on Ap-
propriations of the House of Representatives 
notice of such determination, which shall in-
clude— 
‘‘(i) identification of the national 
emergency declared by the President; 
‘‘(ii) identification of the covered item 
for which the Secretary intends to issue 
the waiver; and 
‘‘(iii) a description of the demand for 
the covered item and corresponding lack of 
supply from contractors able to meet the 
criteria described in subparagraph (B) or 
(C) of paragraph (1). 
‘‘(c) PRICING.—The Secretary shall ensure that cov-
ered items are purchased at a fair and reasonable price, 
consistent with the procedures and guidelines specified in 
the Federal Acquisition Regulation. 
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‘‘(d) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the 
date of enactment of this section and annually thereafter, 
the Secretary shall provide to the Committee on Homeland 
Security, the Committee on Oversight and Reform, and 
the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Rep-
resentatives, and the Committee on Homeland Security 
and Governmental Affairs and the Committee on Appro-
priations of the Senate a report on instances in which ven-
dors have failed to meet deadlines for delivery of covered 
items and corrective actions taken by the Department in 
response to such instances. 
‘‘(e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section applies with 
respect to a contract entered into by the Department or 
any frontline operational component on or after October 
1, 2021.’’. 
(b) STUDY.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 
Homeland Security shall submit to the Committee 
on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of 
the Senate and the Committee on Homeland Secu-
rity of the House of Representatives a study of the 
adequacy of uniform allowances provided to employ-
ees of frontline operational components (as defined 
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in section 836 of the Homeland Security Act of 
2002, as added by subsection (a)). 
(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The study conducted 
under paragraph (1) shall— 
(A) be informed by a Department-wide 
survey of employees from across the Depart-
ment who receive uniform allowances that seeks 
to ascertain what, if any, improvements could 
be made to the current uniform allowances and 
what, if any, impacts current allowances have 
had on employee morale and retention; and 
(B) consider increasing by 25 percent, at 
minimum, the uniform allowance for first year 
employees and by 50 percent, at minimum, the 
annual allowance for all other employees. 
(c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 
in section 1(b) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 
(Public Law 107–296; 116 Stat. 2135) is amended by in-
serting after the item relating to section 835 the following: 
‘‘Sec. 836. Requirements to buy certain items related to national security inter-
ests.’’. 
Æ 
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