{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.carper.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=6169297b-e877-483f-8a72-ba0699496919", "Congress Passes Legislation to Reform Border Patrol Overtime System, Enhance DHS Cyber Personnel Authorities", "2014-12-10", "2014", "2014-12", "Democrat", "House", "DE", "Thomas Carper", "C000174", "www.carper.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON \u2013 Today, the House of Representatives approved a measure (S.1691) that would save taxpayers almost $80 million a year while enhancing the Department of Homeland Security\u2019s (DHS) ability to secure our borders and respond to the growing threat posed by cyber attacks. Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Tom Carper (D-Del.) released the following statements highlighting the legislation\u2019s passage.\r\nThe\u00a0Border Patrol Agent Pay Reform Act of 2013\u00a0would dramatically simplify the current pay system for Border Patrol agents and addresses concerns raised by the Office of Special Counsel about the misuse of Administratively Uncontrollable Overtime by the agency. The bill was originally introduced by Sen. Tester and is cosponsored by Sens. McCain, Heitkamp, Cornyn, Ayotte, and Flake.\r\n\u201cThis legislation, originally introduced by Sens. Tester and McCain, takes some commonsense steps to make some badly needed reforms to the overtime system at the Border Patrol, which is currently too complicated, too difficult to manage, and enables waste and abuse,\u201d said Chairman Carper. \u201cThis legislation will save millions of taxpayer dollars and curb misuse of the system \u2013 all while increasing the ability of the Border Patrol\u2019s ability to secure our borders. In fact, one estimate I have seen shows that this bill would add the equivalent of 1,500 agents to the border. That\u2019s what I like to call a win-win. I thank my colleagues, Sens. Tester and McCain, for their hard work on this issue and I applaud the House for passing this bipartisan piece of legislation.\u201d\r\nIncluded in this measure was language from Senator Carper\u2019s DHS Cybersecurity Workforce Recruitment and Retention Act, which would help the Department of Homeland Security recruit and retain cyber professionals which are in high demand across the government and private sector. Hiring and retaining cybersecurity professionals is challenging for DHS due to competition for talent from both the private sector and other government agencies, including the Department of Defense (DOD) and the National Security Agency (NSA).\u00a0Under existing law, DOD and NSA have special personnel authorities that have enabled them to build and maintain a strong cybersecurity workforce\r\nThe approved legislation will help address critical challenges that the Department faces in hiring and retaining cybersecurity professionals by providing the Secretary of Homeland Security hiring and compensation authorities for cybersecurity experts like those of the Secretary of Defense. The new tools will allow DHS to hire at the same speed and with comparable salaries to DOD. The bill would also require DHS to report annually on the progress of the program and to ensure adequate transparency and oversight of the recruitment and retention program.\r\n\u201cKeeping our nation safe and secure in the 21st century relies on our ability to attract and retain an innovative and dedicated workforce,\u201d said Chairman Carper. \u201cIt is critical that the Department of Homeland Security has the authority to build a cyber workforce that can respond to the evolving cyber threats facing our nation today. This legislation will give the Secretary of Homeland Security personnel authorities that will improve its ability to compete with the private sector and other agencies to hire and retain the people it needs to combat the cyber threats our country faces. I thank my colleagues in the Senate and the House of Representatives for supporting this bipartisan bill that will help the Department better secure our nation from the evolving cyber threat.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.carper.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=6169297b-e877-483f-8a72-ba0699496919"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.405556919053197, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}