Washington, D.C. – Today Representative Dina Titus of Nevada’s First Congressional District, a member of the Committee on Homeland Security, celebrated the House passage of her bipartisan bill to diversify the workforce of the Department of Homeland Security. 

The Homeland Security Acquisition Professional Career Program Act, H.R. 367, establishes in law an acquisition professional career program to develop individuals to fill job vacancies within the Department of Homeland Security. Under the bill, candidates for these positions would be recruited from institutions of higher education, especially historically Black colleges and universities and Hispanic-serving institutions. The legislation also encourages the Department of Homeland Security to recruit veterans for these positions.

Each year, the Department of Homeland Security spends billions of dollars to acquire goods and services to support its many missions. For example, the Transportation Security Administration buys passenger and baggage screening equipment to secure the nation’s airports and the U.S. Coast Guard purchases ships and planes to conduct search and rescue missions.

However, a 2015 Government Accountability Office report found that 21 of the 22 DHS programs it reviewed faced staffing shortfalls in acquisition program offices. The Government Accountability Office currently includes the Department of Homeland Security’s acquisition workforce shortages in its most recent “High Risk Report.”

“The Department of Homeland Security’s staff, like all our government agencies, should reflect the diversity of this country,” said Congresswoman Titus (NV-1). “Due in large part to the American Rescue Plan, the United States is well on its way to crushing the virus that has plagued us for over a year. As a result, domestic travel is increasing. Accordingly, we must ensure that airports, like McCarran International in Las Vegas, have the equipment and trained personnel they need to safely and efficiently welcome travelers. 

“We can and should fill these frontline jobs, ranging from TSA agents to cybersecurity analysts, with veterans and graduates of HBCUs and Hispanic-serving institutions. That is exactly what my legislation seeks to do. I will work with Senators from both parties to put this bipartisan bill on President Biden’s desk.”