WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-OH), Ranking Member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, announced that thirteen of his key priorities have been included in the Senate FY 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
“I’m pleased to announce that several of my initiatives to further protect our homeland have been included in the FY 2023 defense bill currently under consideration,” 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 included in the Senate 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 that would report on the adequacy of continuity of operations (COOP) and continuity of government (COG) plans for each risk identified;
- 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);
- Offices of Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction and Health Security Act (S. 4465): to enhance the federal government’s ability to detect, recognize, and evaluate threats from weapons of mass destruction;
- Pray Safe Act (S. 2123): to establish a federal clearinghouse through which faith-based organizations and houses of worship could access information on safety and security best practices, available federal grant programs, and training opportunities;
- 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;
- CISA Technical Corrections and Improvements Act of 2021 (S. 2540): to make technical 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 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 create a Department of Defense (DoD) pilot program to establish artificial intelligence (AI) data libraries relevant to the development of AI intelligence software and technology, ensuring private companies have access to accurate data so they can better meet DoD needs;
- Access to Congressionally Mandated Reports Act (S. 2838): to require federal agencies to submit to the Government Publishing Office (GPO) all congressionally-mandated reports, after each agency first redacts information that would not be publicly disclosable under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
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