WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-OH), Ranking Member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, announced that the Senate has passed 16 of his key priorities included in the FY 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
“I’m pleased that the Senate has passed the FY 2023 defense bill which included several of my initiatives to further protect our homeland,” said Portman. “At a time when our country faces significant security threats from around the world, these provisions will help to ensure our local, state, and federal government has every resource needed to detect and deter risks, whether they be from cyberattacks, terrorism and violent extremism, or weapons of mass destruction. In addition, the legislation included will ensure that government products funded by American taxpayers are made in the United States, ensuring good-paying jobs for American citizens. Finally, I fought to include provisions that ensure that faith-based organizations and houses of worship as well as citizens in Ohio and across our country are prepared when disaster strikes – whether it be natural, chemical, or other emergent threats – and that our government is capable of providing short-term mental health and trauma support resources for survivors and first responders. These measures are vital to protecting the well-being and safety of Ohio and our nation.”
NOTE: Portman initiatives in the FY 2023 NDAA include:
- Global Catastrophic Risk Mitigation Act (S. 4488): to ensure the United States government is better prepared for high-consequence events, regardless of their low probability, by establishing an interagency committee for risk assessment and preparation.
- DHS Trade and Economic Security Council Act (S. 4243): to strengthen U.S. supply chains and domestic production capacity in ways that benefit homeland security by assigning DHS’s existing Trade and Economic Security Council the role of identifying economic risks to the homeland, setting priorities for securing the country against identified risks, coordinating activity across DHS to meet those priorities, and proposing statutory and regulatory changes where necessary to meet those priorities;
- Transnational Criminal Investigative Unit Stipend Act (S. 4326): to authorize the payment of stipends to existing Transnational Criminal Investigative Unit foreign law enforcement officers who are vetted and trained here in the United States, requiring TCIU members to undergo continuous vetting and for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to submit a report to Congress on their vetting procedures;
- Technological Hazards Preparedness and Training Act (S. 4166): to expand the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) preparedness programming capacity to help more communities address technological hazards, including from radiological, chemical, and other emergent threats, and enhancing our national preparedness against such hazards by expanding the scope of the FEMA Technological Hazards Division (THD);
- Invent Here, Make Here for Homeland Security Act (S. 4902): to ensure products invented as a result of funding provided by the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate (DHS S&T) are manufactured in the United States;
- Inspector General Independence and Empowerment Act (H.R. 2662 with a substitute amendment by Portman and Peters): to provide Inspectors General with additional protections and thus strengthen independent oversight of the federal government’s effectiveness;
- CISA Technical Corrections and Improvements Act of 2021 (S. 2540): to make technical corrections and improvements to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s (CISA) authorizing statute;
- Post-Disaster Mental Health Response Act (S. 3677): to expand eligibility for FEMA’s Crisis Counseling Assistance and Training Program (CCP) to provide short-term mental health and trauma support resources for survivors and first responders;
- Intragovernmental Cybersecurity and Counterintelligence Information Sharing Act (S. 4000): to ensure sharing of cybersecurity and counterintelligence information between the executive branch and operational staff in the Senate and the House of Representatives;
- Improving Government for America’s Taxpayers Act (S. 4128): to require the Government Accountability Office (GAO), as part of its annual reporting to Congress, to submit a report listing unimplemented matters for congressional consideration and identify actions Congress can take to help agencies implement the GAO’s open recommendations;
- Advancing American AI Innovation Act (S. 3175): to strengthen rules for the federal government’s use of AI to ensure such systems are safe and robust, and to improve the procurement of high-quality AI systems.
- Access to Congressionally Mandated Reports Act (S. 2838): to establish a public website for all unclassified reports produced by executive branch agencies for Congress.
- Nonprofit Security Grant Program Improvement Act (NSGP) (H.R. 6825 with Peters/Portman amendment): to make reforms to the NSGP including outreach to eligible nonprofits that are underrepresented in NSGP and independent research to measure program effectiveness.
- DHS Joint Task Force Reauthorization Act (S. 4656): to reauthorize and amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to create stronger accountability mechanisms for Joint Task Forces.
- Preventing Disaster Re-Victimization Act (S. 1946): to prevent the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) from taking back assistance it has provided to victims of disaster due to an error made by the agency.
- FedRAMP Authorization Act (S.3600): to authorize the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) to ensure federal agencies can quickly and securely adopt cloud-based technologies that improve government operations and efficiency.
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