II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 887 

To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to require a multiyear acquisition strategy for the Department of Homeland Security, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 6 (legislative day, APRIL 4), 2017 

Mr. DAINES (for himself and Mrs. MCCASKILL) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

A BILL 

To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to require 

a multiyear acquisition strategy for the Department of 

Homeland Security, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘DHS Multiyear Acqui5 sition Strategy Act of 2017’’. 

6 SEC. 2. MULTIYEAR ACQUISITION STRATEGY. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle D of title VIII of the 

8 Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 391 et seq.) 

9 is amended by adding at the end the following: 


lotter on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 887 IS

1 ‘‘SEC. 836. MULTIYEAR ACQUISITION STRATEGY. 

2 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

3 ‘‘(1) ACQUISITION.—The term ‘acquisition’ has 

4 the meaning given the term in section 131 of title 

5 41, United States Code. 

6 ‘‘(2) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON7 GRESS.—The term ‘appropriate committees of Con8 gress’ has the meaning given the term in section 

9 226(a). 

10 ‘‘(3) BEST PRACTICES.—The term ‘best prac11 tices’, with respect to acquisition, means— 

12 ‘‘(A) a knowledge-based approach to capa13 bility development that includes identifying and 

14 validating needs; 

15 ‘‘(B) assessing alternatives to select the 

16 most appropriate solution; 

17 ‘‘(C) clearly establishing well-defined re18 quirements; 

19 ‘‘(D) developing realistic cost assessments 

20 and schedules; 

21 ‘‘(E) securing stable funding that matches 

22 resources to requirements; 

23 ‘‘(F) demonstrating technology, design, 

24 and manufacturing maturity; 


lotter on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 887 IS

1 ‘‘(G) using milestones and exit criteria or 

2 specific accomplishments that demonstrate 

3 progress; 

4 ‘‘(H) adopting and executing standardized 

5 processes with known success across programs; 

6 ‘‘(I) establishing an adequate workforce 

7 that is qualified and sufficient to perform nec8 essary functions; and 

9 ‘‘(J) integrating the capabilities described 

10 in subparagraphs (A) through (I) into the mis11 sion and business operations of the Depart12 ment. 

13 ‘‘(4) COMPONENT ACQUISITION EXECUTIVE.— 

14 The term ‘Component Acquisition Executive’ means 

15 the senior acquisition official within a component 

16 who is designated in writing by the Under Secretary 

17 for Management, in consultation with the component 

18 head, with authority and responsibility for leading a 

19 process and staff to provide acquisition and program 

20 management oversight, policy, and guidance to en21 sure that statutory, regulatory, and higher level pol22 icy requirements are fulfilled, including compliance 

23 with Federal law, the Federal Acquisition Regula24 tion, and Department acquisition management direcVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:31 Apr 17, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S887.IS S887

lotter on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 887 IS

1 tives established by the Under Secretary for Man2 agement. 

3 ‘‘(5) MAJOR ACQUISITION PROGRAM.—The term 

4 ‘major acquisition program’ means an acquisition 

5 program of the Department that is estimated by the 

6 Secretary to require an eventual total expenditure of 

7 not less than $300,000,000 (based on fiscal year 

8 2017 constant dollars) over the life cycle cost of the 

9 program. 

10 ‘‘(b) MULTIYEAR ACQUISITION STRATEGY RE11 QUIRED.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

13 the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary 

14 shall submit to the appropriate committees of Con15 gress and the Comptroller General of the United 

16 States a multiyear acquisition strategy to— 

17 ‘‘(A) guide the overall direction of the ac18 quisitions of the Department while allowing 

19 flexibility to deal with ever-changing threats 

20 and risks; and 

21 ‘‘(B) help industry better understand, 

22 plan, and align resources to meet the future ac23 quisition needs of the Department. 

24 ‘‘(2) UPDATES.—The strategy required under 

25 paragraph (1) shall be updated and included in each 


lotter on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 887 IS

1 Future Years Homeland Security Program required 

2 under section 874. 

3 ‘‘(3) FORM.—The Secretary shall— 

4 ‘‘(A) submit the strategy required under 

5 paragraph (1) in unclassified form, but may in6 clude a classified annex for any sensitive or 

7 classified information if necessary; and 

8 ‘‘(B) publish the strategy required under 

9 paragraph (1) in an unclassified format that is 

10 publicly available. 

11 ‘‘(c) CONSULTATION.—In developing the strategy re12 quired under subsection (b), the Secretary shall, as the 

13 Secretary determines appropriate, consult with head14 quarters, components, employees in the field, and individ15 uals from industry and the academic community. 

16 ‘‘(d) CONTENTS OF STRATEGY.—The strategy re17 quired under subsection (b) shall include the following: 

18 ‘‘(1) PRIORITIZED LIST.—A systematic and in19 tegrated prioritized list developed by the Under Sec20 retary for Management in coordination with all of 

21 the Component Acquisition Executives of major ac22 quisition programs that Department and component 

23 acquisition investments seek to address, including 

24 the expected security and economic benefit of the 

25 program or system that is the subject of acquisition 


lotter on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 887 IS

1 and an analysis of how the security and economic 

2 benefit derived from the program or system will be 

3 measured. 

4 ‘‘(2) INVENTORY.—A plan to develop a reliable 

5 Department-wide inventory of investments and real 

6 property assets to help the Department— 

7 ‘‘(A) plan, budget, schedule, and acquire 

8 upgrades of the systems and equipment of the 

9 Department; and 

10 ‘‘(B) plan for the acquisition and manage11 ment of future systems and equipment. 

12 ‘‘(3) FUNDING GAPS.—A plan to address fund13 ing gaps between funding requirements for major ac14 quisition programs and known available resources, 

15 including, to the maximum extent practicable, ways 

16 of leveraging best practices to identify and eliminate 

17 overpayment for items to— 

18 ‘‘(A) prevent wasteful purchasing; 

19 ‘‘(B) achieve the greatest level of efficiency 

20 and cost savings by rationalizing purchases; 

21 ‘‘(C) align pricing for similar items; and 

22 ‘‘(D) utilize purchase timing and econo23 mies of scale. 


lotter on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 887 IS

1 ‘‘(4) IDENTIFICATION OF CAPABILITIES.—An 

2 identification of test, evaluation, modeling, and sim3 ulation capabilities that will be required to— 

4 ‘‘(A) support the acquisition of tech5 nologies to meet the needs of the strategy; 

6 ‘‘(B) leverage to the greatest extent pos7 sible emerging technological trends and re8 search and development trends within the pub9 lic and private sectors; and 

10 ‘‘(C) identify ways to ensure that appro11 priate technology is acquired and integrated 

12 into the operating doctrine of the Department 

13 to improve mission performance. 

14 ‘‘(5) FOCUS ON FLEXIBLE SOLUTIONS.—An as15 sessment of ways the Department can improve the 

16 ability of the Department to test and acquire innova17 tive solutions to allow needed incentives and protec18 tions for appropriate risk-taking in order to meet the 

19 acquisition needs of the Department with resiliency, 

20 agility, and responsiveness to assure homeland secu21 rity and facilitate trade. 

22 ‘‘(6) FOCUS ON INCENTIVES TO SAVE TAX23 PAYER DOLLARS.—An assessment of ways the De24 partment can develop incentives for program manVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:31 Apr 17, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S887.IS S887

lotter on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
8 

•S 887 IS

1 agers and senior acquisition officials of the Depart2 ment to— 

3 ‘‘(A) prevent cost overruns; 

4 ‘‘(B) avoid schedule delays; and 

5 ‘‘(C) achieve cost savings in major acquisi6 tion programs. 

7 ‘‘(7) FOCUS ON ADDRESSING DELAYS AND BID

8 PROTESTS.—An assessment of ways the Department 

9 can improve the acquisition process to minimize cost 

10 overruns in— 

11 ‘‘(A) requirements development; 

12 ‘‘(B) procurement announcements; 

13 ‘‘(C) requests for proposals; 

14 ‘‘(D) evaluations of proposals; 

15 ‘‘(E) protests of decisions and awards; and 

16 ‘‘(F) the use of best practices. 

17 ‘‘(8) FOCUS ON IMPROVING OUTREACH.—An 

18 identification and assessment of ways to increase op19 portunities for communication and collaboration with 

20 industry, small and disadvantaged businesses, intra21 government entities, university centers of excellence, 

22 accredited certification and standards development 

23 organizations, and national laboratories to ensure 

24 that the Department understands the market for 

25 technologies, products, and innovation that is availVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:31 Apr 17, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S887.IS S887

lotter on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
9 

•S 887 IS

1 able to meet the mission needs of the Department 

2 and to inform the requirements-setting process of 

3 the Department before engaging in an acquisition, 

4 including— 

5 ‘‘(A) methods designed especially to engage 

6 small and disadvantaged businesses, a cost-ben7 efit analysis of the tradeoffs that small and dis8 advantaged businesses provide, information re9 lating to barriers to entry for small and dis10 advantaged businesses, and information relating 

11 to unique requirements for small and disadvan12 taged businesses; and 

13 ‘‘(B) within the Department Vendor Com14 munication Plan and Market Research Guide, 

15 instructions for interaction by acquisition pro16 gram managers with those entities to— 

17 ‘‘(i) prevent misinterpretation of ac18 quisition regulations; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) permit, within legal and ethical 

20 boundaries, interacting with those entities 

21 with transparency. 

22 ‘‘(9) COMPETITION.—A plan regarding competi23 tion under subsection (e). 


lotter on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
10 

•S 887 IS

1 ‘‘(10) ACQUISITION WORKFORCE.—A plan re2 garding the Department acquisition workforce under 

3 subsection (f). 

4 ‘‘(e) COMPETITION PLAN.—The strategy required 

5 under subsection (b) shall include a plan to address ac6 tions to ensure competition, or the option of competition, 

7 for major acquisition programs, which may include assess8 ments of the following measures in appropriate cases if 

9 the measures are cost effective: 

10 ‘‘(1) Competitive prototyping. 

11 ‘‘(2) Dual-sourcing. 

12 ‘‘(3) Unbundling of contracts. 

13 ‘‘(4) Funding of next generation prototype sys14 tems or subsystems. 

15 ‘‘(5) Use of modular, open architectures to en16 able competition for upgrades. 

17 ‘‘(6) Acquisition of complete technical data 

18 packages. 

19 ‘‘(7) Periodic competitions for subsystem up20 grades. 

21 ‘‘(8) Licensing of additional suppliers, including 

22 small businesses. 

23 ‘‘(9) Periodic system or program reviews to ad24 dress long-term competitive effects of program deci25 sions. 


lotter on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
11 

•S 887 IS

1 ‘‘(f) ACQUISITION WORKFORCE PLAN.— 

2 ‘‘(1) ACQUISITION WORKFORCE.—The strategy 

3 required under subsection (b) shall include a plan to 

4 address Department acquisition workforce account5 ability and talent management that— 

6 ‘‘(A) identifies the acquisition workforce 

7 needs of each component performing acquisition 

8 functions; and 

9 ‘‘(B) develops options for filling those 

10 needs with qualified individuals, including a 

11 cost-benefit analysis of contracting for acquisi12 tion assistance. 

13 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL MATTERS COVERED.—The 

14 acquisition workforce plan under this subsection 

15 shall address ways to— 

16 ‘‘(A) improve the recruitment, hiring, 

17 training, and retention of Department acquisi18 tion workforce personnel, including contracting 

19 officers’ representatives, in order to retain high20 ly qualified individuals who have experience in 

21 the acquisition life cycle, complex procurements, 

22 and management of large programs; 

23 ‘‘(B) empower program managers to have 

24 the authority to manage their programs in an 


lotter on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
12 

•S 887 IS

1 accountable and transparent manner as such 

2 managers work with the acquisition workforce; 

3 ‘‘(C) prevent duplication within Depart4 ment acquisition workforce training and certifi5 cation requirements through leveraging existing 

6 training within the Federal Government, aca7 demic community, or private industry; 

8 ‘‘(D) achieve integration and consistency 

9 with Government-wide training and accredita10 tion standards, acquisition training tools, and 

11 training facilities; 

12 ‘‘(E) designate the acquisition positions 

13 that will be necessary to support the acquisition 

14 requirements of the Department, including in 

15 the fields of— 

16 ‘‘(i) program management; 

17 ‘‘(ii) systems engineering; 

18 ‘‘(iii) procurement, including con19 tracting; 

20 ‘‘(iv) test and evaluation; 

21 ‘‘(v) life cycle logistics; 

22 ‘‘(vi) cost estimating and program fi23 nancial management; and 


lotter on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
13 

•S 887 IS

1 ‘‘(vii) additional disciplines appro2 priate to the mission needs of the Depart3 ment; 

4 ‘‘(F) strengthen the performance of con5 tracting officers’ representatives (as defined in 

6 subpart 1.602–2 and subpart 2.101 of the Fed7 eral Acquisition Regulation), including by— 

8 ‘‘(i) assessing the extent to which 

9 those representatives are certified and re10 ceive training that is appropriate; 

11 ‘‘(ii) assessing what training is most 

12 effective with respect to the type and com13 plexity of assignment; and 

14 ‘‘(iii) implementing actions to improve 

15 training based on those assessments; and 

16 ‘‘(G) identify ways to increase training for 

17 relevant investigators and auditors of the De18 partment to examine fraud in major acquisition 

19 programs, including identifying opportunities to 

20 leverage existing Federal Government and pri21 vate sector resources in coordination with the 

22 Inspector General of the Department.’’. 

23 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

24 in section 1(b) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 


lotter on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
14 

•S 887 IS

1 (Public Law 107–296; 116 Stat. 2135) is amended by in2 serting after the item relating to section 835 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 836. Multiyear acquisition strategy.’’. 

3 SEC. 3. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE REVIEW 

4 OF MULTIYEAR ACQUISITION STRATEGY. 

5 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

6 (1) the terms ‘‘acquisition’’, ‘‘best practices’’, 

7 and ‘‘major acquisition program’’ have the meanings 

8 given those terms in section 836 of the Homeland 

9 Security Act of 2002, as added by section 2 of this 

10 Act; and 

11 (2) the term ‘‘Department’’ means the Depart12 ment of Homeland Security. 

13 (b) REVIEW.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

14 on which the Secretary of Homeland Security submits the 

15 first multiyear acquisition strategy required under section 

16 836 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, as added by 

17 section 2 of this Act, after the date of enactment of this 

18 Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall 

19 conduct a review of the strategy and analyze the viability 

20 of the effectiveness of the strategy in— 

21 (1) complying with the requirements of such 

22 section 836; 

23 (2) establishing clear connections between De24 partment objectives and acquisition priorities; 


lotter on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
15 

•S 887 IS

1 (3) demonstrating that Department acquisition 

2 policy reflects program management best practices 

3 and standards; 

4 (4) ensuring competition or the option of com5 petition for major acquisition programs; 

6 (5) considering potential cost savings through 

7 using existing technologies when developing acquisi8 tion program requirements; 

9 (6) preventing duplication within Department 

10 acquisition workforce training requirements through 

11 leveraging already-existing training within the Fed12 eral Government, academic community, or private 

13 industry; and 

14 (7) providing incentives for acquisition program 

15 managers to reduce acquisition and procurement 

16 costs through the use of best practices and dis17 ciplined program management. 

18 (c) REPORT.—The Comptroller General of the United 

19 States shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Secu20 rity and Governmental Affairs and the Committee on Ap21 propriations of the Senate and the Committee on Home22 land Security and the Committee on Appropriations of the 

23 House of Representatives a report on the review conducted 


lotter on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
16 

•S 887 IS

1 under subsection (b), which shall be submitted in unclassi2 fied form but may include a classified annex. 

Æ 


lotter on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS