Homeland Procurement Reform (HOPR) Act

On February 4, 2022, the House passed H.R. 4521, the American COMPETES Act. It was an almost strictly party-line vote, with just one Democrat, Stephanie N. Murphy (Florida, 7th) voting Nay and one Republican, Adam Kinzinger (Illinois, 16th) voting Yea.

Sec. 50101 of the House-passed bill is the Homeland Procurement Reform (HOPR) Act, which expands on the current domestic sourcing preference for DHS (the "Kissel Amendment")

On March 28, 2022, the Senate passed its version of COMPETES.

All Democrats voted Yea. Most Republicans opposed, but 19 crossed over to vote Yea: Capito (R-WV), Cassidy (R-LA), Collins (R-ME), Cornyn (R-TX), Crapo (R-ID), Daines (R-MT), Grassley (R-IA), McConnell (R-KY), Moran (R-KS), Murkowski (R-AK), Portman (R-OH), Risch (R-ID), Romney (R-UT), Rounds (R-SD), Sasse (R-NE), Sullivan (R-AK), Tillis (R-NC), Wicker (R-MS), Young (R-IN).

The Senate did not include HOPR. The bill(s) are now in a House-Senate conferrence to resolve differences, including the inclusion, or not, of HOPR.

There are several covered articles of interest to the U.S. textile, apparel, and footwear industries, including much of the footwear, uniforms, and several kinds of protective-wear. In addition to the enumerated list, the Secretary of Homeland Security may add other items of clothing or protective equipment. HOPR covers footwear, which is not covered by Kissel.

HOPR covers nine agencies within DHS, while Kissel applies to TSA and Coast Guard, not the other seven -- CBP, ICE, Secret Service, Federal Protective Service, FEMA, Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

HOPR requires that, to the maximum extent possible, at least one-third of the funds for the procurement of uniforms and protective equipment covered by the HOPR Act be used to purchase goods manufactured by entities that qualify as a U.S. small business. Note, that American small businesses employ nearly fifty percent of the private sector workforce, but they received less than twenty-six percent of Federal government contracts in fiscal year 2019.

However, HOPR does not mandate domestic sourcing. It reforms the way DHS procures uniform and protective equipment to support the needs of mission-critical agencies in the Department.

HOPR incentivizes the procurement of higher-quality uniforms and equipment issued to the men and women charged with protecting the homeland.

HOPR requires vendors be registered in SAM.gov and in compliance with ISO 9001:2015, which specifies requirements for a quality management system when an organization:

a) needs to demonstrate its ability to consistently provide products and services that meet customer and applicable statutory and regulatory requirements, and

b) aims to enhance customer satisfaction through the effective application of the system, including processes for improvement of the system and the assurance of conformity to customer and applicable statutory and regulatory requirements.

HOPR Strengthen supply chain security by mandating locked storage, reports of stolen goods, and the destruction of defective or unusable items for any item bearing official DHS insignia not manufactured in the U.S.

HOPR provides for a waiver in the case of national emergency.

HOPR ensures uniforms and protective equipment are purchased at fair and reasonable prices, consistent with existing regulations.

HOPR directs the Secretary to provide an annual briefing on instances in which vendors have failed to meet deadlines for delivery of covered items and corrective actions taken.

HOPR directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to conduct a study of the adequacy of uniform allowances provided to Department frontline personnel to determine what improvements can be made to current uniform allowances, including increasing allowances.

HOPR requires the Secretary to report recommendations for establishing a stable demand for protective equipment to support investments made in reshoring domestic manufacturing for critical supplies.