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Washington, D.C. – On Wednesday, the Committee on Homeland Security passed H.R. 9459, the “Producing Advanced Technologies for Homeland Security Act” or “PATHS Act,” by a unanimous vote. The bill was introduced by Congressman Michael Guest (R-Miss) and Congressman Glenn Ivey (D- Md). Under the legislation, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) would be granted authority to enter into other transaction agreements, or OTAs. These legally binding agreements allow the Department to engage with non-traditional contractors that would not normally do business with the Federal Government, from small business innovators to public universities, to meet the Department’s research and development or prototype project needs.
Congressman Guest stated, “From prototypes to help CBP detect threats and illicit goods hidden inside vehicles at the border, to research to adapt machine learning practices that can identify supply chain anomalies to prevent the importation of goods that rely on forced labor, to a project conducted by the University of Mississippi to develop sensors for unmanned maritime vehicles for DHS and United States Coast Guard use – the applicability and usefulness of this authority cannot be overstated. The authority expires on September 30th of this year, and I’m happy that we are taking steps to reauthorize it.”
Congressman Glenn Ivey stated: “I am pleased that the Homeland Security Committee has unanimously passed the bipartisan PATHS Act. This bill will enhance the Department of Homeland Security’s ability to develop cutting-edge solutions to strengthen our homeland security,” said Rep. Ivey “I want to thank Congressman Michael Guest for his partnership on this legislation and urge its swift passage in the House.”
This legislation would reauthorize DHS use of OTAs for three years, until 2027. This bill would require DHS to provide notification to Congress to explain all uses or extensions of the transaction authority involving artificial intelligence technology. To improve transparency, this legislation would decrease the threshold for what defines a ‘covered contract award’ under the DHS Contract Reporting Act from $4 million to $1 million. This would require DHS to report transactions valued at $1 million or more on its public website. This bill would continue to encourage private sector innovations and solutions to government bureaucracy.
Congressman Michael Guest represents Mississippi’s Third Congressional District. Currently serving his third term, Congressman Guest serves as the Chairman of the Committee on Ethics. He is also a member of the Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on Homeland Security.
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