I 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5255 
To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish a Department 
of Homeland Security Reserve Service, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 13, 2018 
Mr. CARSON of Indiana introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
the Committee on Homeland Security 
A BILL 
To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish 
a Department of Homeland Security Reserve Service, 
and for other purposes. 
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 ‘‘Department of Home-
land Security Reserve Service Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSE. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find-
ings: 
(1) Components within the Department of 
Homeland Security face personnel shortages related 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
22:01 Mar 20, 2018
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5255.IH
H5255
daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with BILLS
to hiring processes, retention of employees, and 
surges in need. 
(2) In response to the devastation caused by 
Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Irma, Hurricane Jose, 
and Hurricane Maria, the Federal Emergency Man-
agement Agency has deployed thousands of their 
temporary on-call reservists and specialized Cadre 
On-Call Response/Recovery (CORE) workforces. 
(3) In 2017, the Director of the United States 
Secret Service asked Congress to increase federally 
mandated caps on salary and overtime for the agen-
cy. At the time of the request, more than 1,000 
agents had worked numerous, uncompensated hours 
of overtime. The Director cited a protracted presi-
dential campaign, a large first family, ongoing per-
sonnel shortages, and increasing demands in inves-
tigative missions as having strained the organiza-
tion. 
(4) In 2015, the Committee on Oversight and 
Government Reform of the House of Representatives 
issued bipartisan report documenting the Secret 
Service as understaffed, overburdened, and ‘‘in cri-
sis’’. The agency has posted announcements to hire 
annuitants for the position of investigator to help 
mitigate shortages in their investigative mission. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
22:01 Mar 20, 2018
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5255.IH
H5255
daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with BILLS
(5) In 2016, Congress approved a request from 
the Transportation Security Administration to hire 
new officers and pay overtime to ease travel disrup-
tions and increase security. 
(6) The Transportation Security Administration 
2017 budget request calls for the first Federal Air 
Marshal class since 2011. 
(7) In 2017, Customs and Border Protection 
and Immigration and Customs Enforcement initi-
ated a hiring surge. The Carl Levin and Howard P. 
‘‘Buck’’ McKeon National Defense Authorization 
Act for Fiscal Year 2015 (Public Law 113–291), ex-
tended the temporary authority for agency heads 
(including the Secretary of Homeland Security) to 
grant dual compensation waivers for certain part- 
time, temporary reemployed annuitants through De-
cember 2019. Dual compensation waivers allow re-
employed annuitants to receive an unreduced salary 
while concurrently receiving their full pension ben-
efit. U.S. Customs and Border Protection is cur-
rently making use of this dual compensation waiver 
authority in efforts to rehire retired Customs and 
Border Protection officers as reemployed annuitants 
to support recruitment and training efforts. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
22:01 Mar 20, 2018
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5255.IH
H5255
daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with BILLS
(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that by establishing a reserve service comprised of 
skilled, ready-to-work former employees, components of 
the Department of Homeland Security can better mitigate 
personnel shortages and meet emergent demands without 
unnecessarily recruiting, hiring, and training new perma-
nent employees. 
(c) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to establish 
a reserve service to assist the Department of Homeland 
Security in maintaining a skilled, ready-to-work pool for 
performing non-continuous duties of investigation, patrol, 
response, security, protection, recovery, and inspection. 
The reserve service capitalizes on investments in human 
capital, providing for efficient and effective service to 
agency stakeholders. The reserve service is for temporary 
needs and shall not be used to supplant new hires. 
SEC. 3. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY RESERVE 
SERVICE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title VII of the Homeland Secu-
rity Act of 2002 is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new section: 
‘‘SEC. 708. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY RE-
SERVE SERVICE. 
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Homeland 
Security may establish a Homeland Security Reserve Serv-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
22:01 Mar 20, 2018
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5255.IH
H5255
daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with BILLS
ice (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Reserve Service’) in 
each covered component of the Department, which shall 
provide for the temporary employment of former employ-
ees of the covered component and the temporary reemploy-
ment of annuitants of the covered component to stand 
ready to mobilize during elevated demands for, or critical 
shortages of, personnel and in times of crisis. The Sec-
retary shall develop and implement an expedited process 
for hiring such employees and shall not use a competitive 
process. 
‘‘(b) COVERED COMPONENTS.—In this section, a cov-
ered component is any of the following: 
‘‘(1) U.S. Customs and Border Protection. 
‘‘(2) U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforce-
ment. 
‘‘(3) The Transportation Security Administra-
tion. 
‘‘(4) The United States Secret Service. 
‘‘(5) The Federal Protective Service of the Na-
tional Protection and Programs Directorate. 
‘‘(c) EMPLOYEES.— 
‘‘(1) SELECTION.—The Secretary shall offer 
employment or reemployment under the Reserve 
Service to individuals who— 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
22:01 Mar 20, 2018
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5255.IH
H5255
daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with BILLS