Madam/Mr. Speaker, today I rise in support of legislation I introduced, the SAFETY Reform Act of 2007, which will help ensure that safe and effective anti-terrorism technologies are being deployed by the Department of Homeland Security to bolster our security throughout the country.

The Support for Anti-terrorism by Fostering Effective Technologies Act of 2002, or SAFETY Act, was designed to provide incentives for the development and deployment of anti-terrorism technologies.  The SAFETY Act was intended to address the liability concerns of businesses and to pave the way for innovative development of key anti-terrorism technologies.  Unfortunately a lack of personnel within the Office of SAFETY Act Implementation, an excessively burdensome application process, and a lack of communication between the Department’s procurement and management divisions made for difficult implementation of the SAFETY Act. This legislation, which I introduced along with Chairman Thompson, Subcommittee Ranking Member Rogers, and many other Members of the Homeland Security Committee, should fix many of those shortcomings. 

Last year, the Homeland Security Committee held a Subcommittee hearing highlighting some of the problems that arose from the SAFETY Act’s implementation.  We heard from a variety of industry leaders and experts that the application process was overly burdensome and that it took far too long for the Department of Homeland Security to properly evaluate and approve many of the applications that businesses submitted.  While I am pleased to see that many companies with new and innovative technologies have already applied for the SAFETY program, the program can be effective only when the applications are properly approved.

My legislation takes three important steps to improve the effectiveness of the application process.  First, this bill will help facilitate communication between the Department of Homeland Security’s procurement sector and the Department’s Office of SAFETY Act Implementation, which is the entity tasked with reviewing the applications.  This approach will allow officials at DHS to thoroughly review applications while also maintaining quick turnaround times.

Second, this bill would require that the Secretary employ a sufficient number of analysts in the Office of SAFETY Act Implementation who can deal with the ever growing number of applications.  Appropriate staffing will help ensure that the applications are being processed in a timely manner, thereby allowing us to deploy the newest and best technologies as quickly as possible.

Finally, this legislation will help raise awareness of SAFETY Act risk management provisions among procurement officers across Federal, State, and local levels, and throughout the private sector.

Contributions made by private enterprises are an extremely important component of our nation’s security, and our governmental policies should continue to encourage innovation, not stifle it. By passing the SAFETY Reform Act, I’m optimistic that we will be able to effectively streamline the application process and encourage participation in this program across all levels of government and the private sector.  I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting the SAFETY Reform Act of 2007.