John Joyce

Mr. JOYCE of Pennsylvania

Mr. JOYCE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. King).

Mr. JOYCE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. JOYCE of Pennsylvania

Mr. JOYCE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1437, the Securing DHS Firearms Act of 2019. This bill makes some much-needed improvements to address the security of firearms at the Department of Homeland Security. A DHS Office of Inspector General report from October of 2017 found that the DHS and component personnel misplaced over 2,100 highly sensitive assets, including 228 firearms, and 1,889 badges between the fiscal years of 2014 and 2016. The statistics from the OIG report and the lack of accountability for DHS personnel that fail to safeguard sensitive assets is startling. DHS performs a critical national security mission. It is unacceptable that DHS has deficiencies in the training personnel receive on how to properly safeguard and track sensitive assets like firearms. H.R. 1437 follows the recommendations made by the OIG in its report and requires the under secretary of management at DHS to issue a directive to ensure the Department and its components adequately safeguard sensitive assets. H.R. 1437 also mandates DHS to revise its Personal Property Asset Management Program Manual to require recurrent training and appropriate procedures to secure assets in accordance with the DHS directive. The Securing DHS Firearms Act of 2019 puts into place important steps to ensure that DHS is appropriately safeguarding sensitive assets while conducting its critical mission. This much-needed bill is identical to legislation passed in the 115th Congress by a voice vote. Mr. Speaker, I commend Representative Correa for introducing this legislation, and I urge all Members to join me in supporting this bill. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. JOYCE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. JOYCE of Pennsylvania

Mr. JOYCE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1912, the DHS Acquisition Documentation Integrity Act of 2019. This legislation requires the Department of Homeland Security to better document its major acquisition programs that are essential to keeping America safe. While every Member of Congress will agree that protecting our Nation and its citizens is vitally important, we must also agree that protecting taxpayer dollars and ensuring accountability for the government agencies is also essential. The Government Accountability Office assists Congress in its efforts to ensure accountability by producing a report every 2 years that identifies areas in the Federal Government that are at high risk of waste, fraud, and abuse. Major acquisitions by DHS have consistently been identified by the GAO as high risk. This legislation requires DHS to improve management of its major purchases of systems to secure the border, provide screening for travelers, and protect our shores, and for our other vital missions. Too often, DHS has failed to document what these programs will cost, when they will be completed, and what they will deliver. It is unacceptable to spend billions of taxpayer dollars and not document this important information. To address these issues, DHS has updated its acquisition policy to follow corporate best practices. However, it must take additional steps to ensure its components adhere to these policies. H.R. 1912 provides important tools to ensure that these policies are being followed. It will improve visibility into DHS major acquisition programs and promote better management of DHS acquisitions of items that are expected to cost more than $300 million. Under the bill, the Undersecretary for Management must require the relevant component or office to maintain documentation that provides validated operational requirements, a complete lifecycle cost estimate, an independent verification of that cost estimate, a cost-benefit analysis of the program, and a complete schedule for the acquisition program. With this documentation, Congress and other government watchdogs will be able to conduct necessary oversight to ensure that taxpayer dollars are being spent efficiently and effectively. This bill passed the House of Representatives by voice vote in both the 114th and 115th Congresses. Mr. Speaker, I commend Representative Torres Small for reintroducing this language, and I urge my colleagues to support this bill. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. JOYCE of Pennsylvania

Mr. JOYCE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 1892, the Quadrennial Homeland Security Review Technical Corrections Act of 2019. In the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007, Congress required the Department of Homeland Security to conduct a security review every 4 years. As the threats to the United States change and evolve, it is more important than ever for DHS to produce a robust strategy to protect the American public. The Quadrennial Homeland Security Review, or QHSR, is intended to outline DHS' strategic outlook in its plan to successfully carry out its mission to protect our homeland. Thus far, DHS has produced two QHSRs since the requirement was established: one in 2010 and its most recent one in 2014. We are currently awaiting the release of the 2018 QHSR, which is quite a bit behind schedule. The Government Accountability Office has reviewed both reports and made recommendations on how DHS could improve its efforts for future quadrennial reviews. In its 2016 review of the most recent QHSR, the GAO made several recommendations to strengthen the QHSR process, which are the basis of this legislation. H.R. 1892 requires DHS to perform a risk assessment to shape the direction and the focus of QHSR. Second, the Department would be required to collect and maintain communications related to the QHSR to allow for better congressional oversight. Finally, DHS would be required to enhance its stakeholder engagement throughout the development of QHSR. The result of these changes would be a more robust strategy that provides a roadmap for DHS to address future threats as they emerge and allows Congress to better execute its oversight responsibilities. This language passed the House with wide support last Congress but, unfortunately, was not taken up by the Senate. I continue to believe that this is an important piece of legislation, and I thank the gentlewoman from New Jersey (Mrs. Watson Coleman) for reintroducing it. I urge all Members to join me in supporting this commonsense bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. JOYCE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. JOYCE of Pennsylvania

Mr. JOYCE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2066, the DHS Intelligence Rotational Assignment Program Act of 2019. I want to commend the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Gallagher) for introducing this legislation. The goal of H.R. 2066 is to establish a robust rotation program for intelligence analysts across the Department of Homeland Security. As a former intelligence officer, Representative Gallagher certainly understands the value of robust, interagency intelligence cooperation. This legislation addresses specific shortfalls within the Department of Homeland Security where the different component intelligence offices do not reliably coordinate and analysts from one agency are rarely detailed to another. This bill was originally introduced last Congress and received overwhelming bipartisan support. I urge my colleagues to support the bill. Mr. Speaker, establishing a rotation program for intelligence analysts from individual DHS component intelligence offices is essential for building a robust DHS intelligence enterprise. I applaud Congressman Gallagher for his work on this issue, and I want to thank Chairman Thompson and Ranking Member Mike Rogers for bringing this bill to the floor. Mr. Speaker, I urge support for the measure, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. JOYCE of Pennsylvania

Mr. JOYCE of Pennsylvania. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the Bellwood-Antis High School girls' basketball team who secured their second consecutive PIAA Class 2A state championship with a 66-57 victory over West Middlesex.

Mr. JOYCE of Pennsylvania

Mr. JOYCE of Pennsylvania. Madam Speaker,

Mr. JOYCE of Pennsylvania

Mr. JOYCE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, tonight I rise to address the dangerous proposal being put forth by Democrats in the ongoing negotiations to secure our border and fund the government. Talks on this issue are now stalled because Democrats are demanding a cap in the number of beds allocated to detain illegal criminals. But this new initiative blatantly contradicts what our leaders on the ground are asking us to do on this issue. Just this weekend, the National Sheriffs' Association and the Major County Sheriffs of America both stated: ``Any legislation that reduces ICE's detention capacity would hinder its ability to perform its national security and public safety missions. . . . In order to meet the cap being tentatively proposed by Congress, ICE would be compelled to release thousands of aliens from custody.'' The sheriffs went on to say that if the Democrats' plans were approved, then 9,000 illegal immigrants would have to be released by the end of the fiscal year. That is 9,000 criminals. We need to focus on securing our border, funding the wall, and making our country safer, not protecting criminals and sending them back onto the streets to endanger our citizens. We need to listen to these recommendations.

Mr. JOYCE of Pennsylvania

Mr. JOYCE of Pennsylvania. Madam Speaker, today, I join my colleagues in rising to support the dignity of human life, and no time is more appropriate to do so than when we approach the 46th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Not only was the Supreme Court's 1973 ruling a judicial overreach, it was an assault on a fundamental truth that is essential to our democracy, the truth that all people are created in the image and likeness of God and that all people have the right to life. Protecting that precious, God-given gift of life is not just something I talk about; it is part of my identity as a doctor. When I graduated from medical school, I pledged never to perform, assist, or facilitate an abortion. The people of Pennsylvania's 13th Congressional District have sent me to Washington to apply that pledge to my work in Congress as well.

Mr. JOYCE of Pennsylvania

Mr. JOYCE of Pennsylvania. Madam Speaker, it is with a great sense of honor that I stand before you to deliver my first address on the floor of the people's House. As legislators, one of our fundamental duties is to fully fund the government and to do it on time. But there are Federal employees, such as the brave corrections officers working at FCI Loretto, people whom, as their doctor, I have treated. These people continue to go without pay. These hardworking men and women do not deserve this shutdown. No American does. We are in this situation because Democrats refuse to compromise and fund the border wall, even though many of them have voted to do so in the past. Today, I offer a question to my colleagues across the aisle: What changed? Are you really willing to reverse a previous position and keep government closed just so you can resist the President's agenda? It is time to fund the wall and send the President an appropriations package that he will sign. I urge my Democratic friends to negotiate so we can get back to work for the American people.