II 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2915 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
NOVEMBER 17, 2021 
Received 
AN ACT 
To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 regarding 
the procurement of certain items related to national secu-
rity interests for Department of Homeland Security 
frontline operational components, 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 ‘‘Homeland Procure-
ment Reform Act’’ or the ‘‘HOPR Act’’. 
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) Footwear provided as part of a uni-
form. 
‘‘(B) Uniforms. 
‘‘(C) Holsters and tactical pouches. 
‘‘(D) Patches, insignia, and embellish-
ments. 
‘‘(E) Chemical, biological, radiological, and 
nuclear protective gear. 
‘‘(F) Body armor components intended to 
provide ballistic protection for an individual, 
consisting of 1 or more of the following: 
‘‘(i) Soft ballistic panels. 
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‘‘(ii) Hard ballistic plates. 
‘‘(iii) Concealed armor carriers worn 
under a uniform. 
‘‘(iv) External armor carriers worn 
over a uniform. 
‘‘(G) Any other item of clothing or protec-
tive equipment as determined appropriate by 
the Secretary. 
‘‘(2) FRONTLINE OPERATIONAL COMPONENT.— 
The term ‘frontline operational component’ means 
any of the following organizations of the Depart-
ment: 
‘‘(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 Coast Guard. 
‘‘(F) The Federal Protective Service. 
‘‘(G) The Federal Emergency Management 
Agency. 
‘‘(H) The Federal Law Enforcement 
Training Centers. 
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‘‘(I) The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure 
Security Agency. 
‘‘(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 
manufactured or supplied in the United States 
by entities that qualify as small business con-
cerns, as such term is described under section 
3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632). 
‘‘(B) Each contractor with respect to the 
procurement of such a covered item, including 
the end-item manufacturer 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-
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tion for Standardization (or successor 
standard) or a standard determined appro-
priate by the Secretary to ensure the qual-
ity of products and adherence to applicable 
statutory and regulatory requirements. 
‘‘(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; 
‘‘(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 
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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.) or a major disaster declared by 
the President under section 401 of the Robert 
T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency As-
sistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170), the Secretary 
may waive a requirement in subparagraph (A), 
(B) or (C) of paragraph (1) if the Secretary de-
termines there is an insufficient supply of a 
covered item that meets the requirement. 
‘‘(B) NOTICE.—Not later than 60 days 
after the date on which 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-
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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 or major disaster 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. 
‘‘(d) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 
of enactment of this section and annually thereafter, the 
Secretary shall provide to the Committee on Homeland Se-
curity, the Committee on Oversight and Reform, and the 
Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representa-
tives, and the Committee on Homeland Security and Gov-
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ernmental Affairs and the Committee on Appropriations 
of the Senate a briefing on instances in which vendors 
have failed to meet deadlines for delivery of covered items 
and corrective actions taken by the Department in re-
sponse 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 the date 
that is 180 days after the date of enactment of this sec-
tion.’’. 
(b) STUDY.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec-
retary of Homeland Security shall submit to the 
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Home-
land Security of the House of Representatives a 
study of the adequacy of uniform allowances pro-
vided to employees of frontline operational compo-
nents (as defined 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-
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ment of Homeland Security who receive uni-
form allowances that seeks to ascertain what, if 
any, improvements could be made to the cur-
rent uniform allowances and what, if any, im-
pacts current allowances have had on employee 
morale and retention; 
(B) assess the adequacy of the most recent 
increase made to the uniform allowance for first 
year employees; and 
(C) consider increasing by 50 percent, at 
minimum, the annual allowance for all other 
employees. 
(c) ADDITIONAL REPORT.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec-
retary of Homeland Security shall provide a report 
with recommendations on how the Department of 
Homeland Security could procure additional items 
from domestic sources and bolster the domestic sup-
ply chain for items related to national security to— 
(A) the Committee on Homeland Security 
and Governmental Affairs and the Committee 
on Appropriations of the Senate; and 
(B) the Committee on Homeland Security, 
the Committee on Oversight and Reform, and 
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the Committee on Appropriations of the House 
of Representatives. 
(2) CONTENTS.—The report required under 
paragraph (1) shall include the following: 
(A) A review of the compliance of the De-
partment of Homeland Security with the re-
quirements under section 604 of title VI of divi-
sion A of the American Recovery and Reinvest-
ment Act of 2009 (6 U.S.C. 453b) to buy cer-
tain items related to national security interests 
from sources in the United States. 
(B) An assessment of the capacity of the 
Department of Homeland Security to procure 
the following items from domestic sources: 
(i) Personal protective equipment and 
other items necessary to respond to a pan-
demic such as that caused by COVID–19. 
(ii) Helmets that provide ballistic pro-
tection and other head protection and com-
ponents. 
(iii) Rain gear, cold weather gear, and 
other environmental and flame resistant 
clothing. 
(d) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 
in section 1(b) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 
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(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.’’. 
Passed the House of Representatives November 16, 
2021. 
Attest: 
CHERYL L. JOHNSON, 
Clerk. 
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