IIB 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2131 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
JUNE 22, 2017 
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs 
AN ACT 
To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to direct 
the Chief Human Capital Officer of the Department 
of Homeland Security to improve consistency regarding 
discipline and adverse actions in the Department’s work-
force, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fixing Internal Re-
sponse to Misconduct Act’’ or the ‘‘DHS FIRM Act’’. 
SEC. 2. DHS POLICY ON DISCIPLINE AND ADVERSE AC-
TIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 704 of the Homeland Se-
curity Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 344) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (b)— 
(A) in paragraph (9), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 
the end; 
(B) in paragraph (10), by striking the pe-
riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(11) implement a Department-wide policy re-
lated to discipline and adverse actions described in 
subsection (e).’’; 
(2) by redesignating subsection (e) as sub-
section (f); and 
(3) by inserting after subsection (d) the fol-
lowing new subsection: 
‘‘(e) POLICY
ON DISCIPLINE
AND ADVERSE AC-
TIONS.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days 
after the date of the enactment of this subsection, 
the Chief Human Capital Officer, in accordance with 
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any established Department-wide policy that deals 
with discipline and adverse actions, shall provide— 
‘‘(A) guidance to the senior human re-
sources official overseeing discipline and adverse 
actions for headquarters personnel and non- 
component entities, as identified by the Chief 
Human Capital Officer, and relevant component 
heads regarding informing the public about how 
to report employee misconduct; 
‘‘(B) guidance on how Department employ-
ees should report employee misconduct; 
‘‘(C) guidance on the type, quantity, and 
frequency of data regarding discipline and ad-
verse actions to be submitted to the Chief 
Human Capital Officer by the senior human re-
sources official overseeing discipline and adverse 
actions for headquarters personnel and non- 
component entities, as identified by the Chief 
Human Capital Officer and component heads 
for the purposes of paragraph (3)(C); 
‘‘(D) guidance on how to implement any 
such Department-wide policy in a manner that 
promotes greater uniformity and transparency 
in the administration of such policy across the 
Department; and 
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‘‘(E) guidance and appropriate training on 
prohibited personnel practices, employee rights, 
and procedures and processes related to such. 
‘‘(2) TABLE OF OFFENSES AND PENALTIES.— 
‘‘(A) PRE-EXISTING TABLES.—If a table of 
offenses and penalties exists for a component of 
the Department as of the date of the enactment 
of this subsection, the Chief Human Capital Of-
ficer shall review and, if appropriate, approve 
such table and any changes to such table made 
after such date of enactment. In cases in which 
such tables do not comply with Department pol-
icy, the Chief Human Capital Officer shall in-
struct component heads on corrective measures 
to be taken in order to achieve such compliance. 
‘‘(B) NEW
COMPONENT
TABLES.—If a 
table of offenses and penalties does not exist for 
a component of the Department as of the date 
of enactment of this subsection, a component 
head may, in coordination with the Chief 
Human Capital Officer, develop a table of of-
fenses and penalties to be used by such compo-
nent. The Chief Human Capital Officer shall 
review and, if appropriate, approve such table 
and any changes to such table made after such 
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date of enactment. In cases in which such ta-
bles or changes do not comply with Department 
policy, the Chief Human Capital Officer shall 
instruct the component head on corrective 
measures to be taken in order to achieve such 
compliance. 
‘‘(3) COMPONENT RESPONSIBILITIES.—Compo-
nent heads shall comply with Department-wide pol-
icy (including guidance relating to such) regarding 
discipline and adverse actions for the Department’s 
workforce, including— 
‘‘(A) providing any current table of of-
fenses and penalties or future changes to a 
component’s table to the Chief Human Capital 
Officer for review in accordance with paragraph 
(2)(A); 
‘‘(B) providing any new table of offenses 
and penalties or future changes to a compo-
nent’s table to the Chief Human Capital Officer 
for review in accordance with paragraph (2)(B); 
and 
‘‘(C) providing to the Chief Human Capital 
Officer any data regarding discipline and ad-
verse actions in accordance with paragraph 
(1)(C). 
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‘‘(4) OVERSIGHT.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 180 
days after the date of the enactment of this 
subsection, the Chief Human Capital Officer 
shall implement a process to oversee component 
compliance with any established Department- 
wide policy regarding discipline and adverse ac-
tions referred to in paragraph (1), including— 
‘‘(i) the degree to which components 
are complying with such policy; and 
‘‘(ii) at a minimum, each fiscal year, 
a review of component adjudication of mis-
conduct data to— 
‘‘(I) ensure consistent adherence 
to such policy and any Department- 
wide table of offenses and penalties or 
any component-specific table of of-
fenses and penalties approved by the 
Chief Human Capital Officer pursu-
ant to paragraph (2); and 
‘‘(II) 
determine 
whether 
em-
ployee training regarding such mis-
conduct policy or adjustment in such 
misconduct policy is appropriate. 
‘‘(B) WORKING GROUPS.— 
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‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Chief Human 
Capital Officer may establish working 
groups, as necessary, to address employee 
misconduct within the Department. If the 
Chief Human Capital Officer establishes 
such a working group, the Chief Human 
Capital Officer shall specify a timeframe 
for the completion of such group’s work. 
‘‘(ii) FUNCTION.—A working group 
established pursuant to clause (i) shall 
seek to identify any trends in misconduct 
referred to in such subparagraph, review 
component processes for addressing mis-
conduct, and, where appropriate, develop 
possible alternate strategies to address 
such misconduct. 
‘‘(iii) PARTICIPATION.—If a working 
group is established pursuant to clause (i), 
the relevant component head shall partici-
pate in such working group and shall con-
sider implementing, as appropriate, any 
recommendations issued by such working 
group. 
‘‘(iv) 
FOLLOW-UP
REVIEWS.—The 
Chief Human Capital Officer shall conduct 
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annual, or on a more frequent basis as de-
termined by the Chief Human Capital Offi-
cer, follow-up reviews of components re-
garding implementation of working group 
recommendations. In consultation with the 
Chief Human Capital Officer, the Sec-
retary may request the Inspector General 
of the Department to investigate any con-
cerns identified through the oversight proc-
ess under this subsection that components 
have not addressed.’’. 
(b) REVIEW.—Not later than 60 days after the devel-
opment of the oversight process required under subsection 
(e) of section 704 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 
(6 U.S.C. 344) (as added by subsection (a) of this sec-
tion), the Chief Human Capital Officer of the Department 
of Homeland Security shall provide to the Committee on 
Homeland Security of the House of Representatives and 
the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
Affairs of the Senate information on such oversight proc-
ess, including component compliance with any policy re-
garding discipline and adverse actions, data collection ef-
forts, and information on the development of any working 
groups under such subsection (e). 
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(c) PROHIBITION ON NEW FUNDING.—No additional 
funds are authorized to carry out the requirements of this 
Act and the amendments made by this Act. Such require-
ments shall be carried out using amounts otherwise au-
thorized. 
Passed the House of Representatives June 21, 2017. 
Attest: 
KAREN L. HAAS, 
Clerk. 
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