House unanimously advances bill to curb wasteful spending by DHS agencies

The U.S. House of Representatives voted unanimously last week to advance U.S. Rep. John Rutherford’s (R-FL) Reducing Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Acquisition Cost Growth Act (H.R. 1294), which aims to prevent wasteful spending by various agencies within DHS.

The act is one of nine bills sponsored by the Homeland Security Committee that recently advanced the House. It is the first bill that Rutherford has introduced as a member of the House.

Rutherford’s bill specifically mentions the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the U.S. Coast Guard, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as agencies whose spending and acquisition processes would be scrutinized.

“The passing of H.R.1294 is great news for preventing wasteful spending at the Department of Homeland Security,” Rutherford said. “Department of Homeland Security’s acquisition programs represent hundreds of billions of dollars in spending, but they repeatedly face cost overruns and schedule delays.”

Rutherford said the bill would help provide the necessary tools for FEMA, the U.S. Coast Guard, and Customs and Border Protection to do their jobs in keeping Americans safe. He added that the bill would ensure Congress could provide greater oversight of major acquisition programs and could implement solutions to quickly address any setbacks.

In addition to Rutherford’s bill, the Department of Homeland Security Acquisition Innovation Act, which seeks to improve how DHS acquires new products, was recently voted out of committee. The bill is sponsored by U.S. Rep. Lou Correa (D-CA) and now awaits a vote in the House.