The House of Representatives today passed legislation containing a provision authored by Congressmen Chris Smith, Jim Saxton, and Frank LoBiondo that will improve security on military bases by authorizing stricter background checks and new skill standards for all contract employees. 

    The trio of New Jersey lawmakers developed the fix after reviewing several reports of undocumented workers being arrested at military bases throughout the country, including about 20 who were working at McGuire Air Force Base.

    “In doing our due diligence to investigate these problems, it became clear that the Department of Defense was not doing its part to adequately screen contractors, subcontractors, and employees who are working on critically important projects in secure locations,” said Smith, the prime sponsor of H.R. 3695: the Military Base Security Act. 

    Smith added, “Our response calls for a thorough review and subsequent strengthening of screening provisions for all contract employees, as well as a demonstration project that will require more detailed information from contractors bidding for these projects.”

    “Any entity working on DoD facilities must have adequate background checks of their employees,” said Saxton, who first attempted to improve base security in 2001 when he was chairman of the House Military Facilities and Installations Subcommittee. In 2003, Saxton introduced a second bill, H.R. 2463, that also helped pave the way to the provisions that passed the House today. “At Fort Dix and McGuire AFB, we have $300 million in ongoing construction projects to modernize the bases. That translates to a lot of workers coming on and off secure military bases. We need to make sure we know the identity of individuals having access to our bases.”

    Said Congressman LoBiondo, also a member of the Armed Services Committee, “I would like to thank the Trade Unions who brought this problem to our attention. “We must work to address the weak links in our national security, and this measure helps solve part of the problem by doing just that.” 

    Last summer, the lawmakers summoned top contracting officials from the Army, Air Force, and Navy to answer questions about the security lapses. They then worked with a coalition that included several representatives from the building trades to draft Smith’s bill, part of which was incorporated into the larger DoD Authorization bill, HR 4200, as Section 822. 

    In addition to ordering a DoD review of security guidelines, the language also authorizes a pilot program that would require contractors to submit information about the qualifications and competence of each employees, as well as a detailed staffing plan for each job. This provision would help reward contractors who hire qualified, well-trained labor to do these often-complex projects, and also prevent shoddy contractors who cut corners from landing contracts by submitting unrealistically low bids.

    “For many years, my colleagues and I have advocated that the military use a best-value contracting (BVC) system that awards contracts based on a bidder’s overall competence rather than simply the lowest bid. I am confident this pilot program, which we will work to ensure operates in our state, will help broaden the use of best-value contracting,” Smith said. 

    “The three of us have key military facilities in our districts, but this bill would also improve security at the hundreds of installations across the country,” Saxton said.

    “This is step in the right direction,” LoBiondo said. “I am pleased we were able to enact a workable solution to this very important issue. When it comes to our national security, we must work to address every problem as quickly as possible.”

    The lawmakers will now work to ensure similar language is included in the final version of the DoD bill, and will meet with Defense Department representatives to ensure the pilot program is carried out as they intended.