115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 906 

AN ACT 

To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to provide 

for congressional notification regarding major acquisition 

program breaches, 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, 
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Reducing DHS Acqui3 sition Cost Growth Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION FOR MAJOR AC5 QUISITION PROGRAMS. 

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

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

8 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 836. CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION AND OTHER RE10 QUIREMENTS FOR MAJOR ACQUISITION PRO11 GRAM BREACH. 

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

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

14 the meaning given the term in section 131 of title 

15 41, United States Code. 

16 ‘‘(2) ACQUISITION PROGRAM.—The term ‘acqui17 sition program’ means the process by which the De18 partment acquires, with any appropriated amounts, 

19 by contract for purchase or lease, property or serv20 ices (including construction) that support the mis21 sions and goals of the Department. 

22 ‘‘(3) ACQUISITION PROGRAM BASELINE.—The 

23 term ‘acquisition program baseline’, with respect to 

24 an acquisition program, means a summary of the 

25 cost, schedule, and performance parameters, ex26 pressed in standard, measurable, quantitative terms, 
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1 which shall be met in order to accomplish the goals 

2 of the program. 

3 ‘‘(4) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON4 GRESS.—The term ‘appropriate committees of Con5 gress’ means— 

6 ‘‘(A) the Committee on Homeland Security 

7 and the Committee on Appropriations of the 

8 House of Representatives and the Committee 

9 on Homeland Security and Governmental Af10 fairs and the Committee on Appropriations of 

11 the Senate; and 

12 ‘‘(B) in the case of notice or a report relat13 ing to the Coast Guard or the Transportation 

14 Security Administration, the committees de15 scribed in subparagraph (A) and the Committee 

16 on Transportation and Infrastructure of the 

17 House of Representatives and the Committee 

18 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 

19 the Senate. 

20 ‘‘(5) BEST PRACTICES.—The term ‘best prac21 tices’, with respect to acquisition, means a knowl22 edge-based approach to capability development that 

23 includes— 

24 ‘‘(A) identifying and validating needs; 
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1 ‘‘(B) assessing alternatives to select the 

2 most appropriate solution; 

3 ‘‘(C) clearly establishing well-defined re4 quirements; 

5 ‘‘(D) developing realistic cost assessments 

6 and schedules; 

7 ‘‘(E) securing stable funding that matches 

8 resources to requirements; 

9 ‘‘(F) demonstrating technology, design, 

10 and manufacturing maturity; 

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

12 specific accomplishments that demonstrate 

13 progress; 

14 ‘‘(H) adopting and executing standardized 

15 processes with known success across programs; 

16 ‘‘(I) establishing an adequate workforce 

17 that is qualified and sufficient to perform nec18 essary functions; and 

19 ‘‘(J) integrating the capabilities described 

20 in subparagraphs (A) through (I) into the mis21 sion and business operations of the Depart22 ment. 

23 ‘‘(6) BREACH.—The term ‘breach’, with respect 

24 to a major acquisition program, means a failure to 

25 meet any cost, schedule, or performance threshold 
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1 specified in the most recently approved acquisition 

2 program baseline. 

3 ‘‘(7) COMPONENT ACQUISITION EXECUTIVE.— 

4 The term ‘Component Acquisition Executive’ means 

5 the senior acquisition official within a component 

6 who is designated in writing by the Under Secretary 

7 for Management, in consultation with the component 

8 head, with authority and responsibility for leading a 

9 process and staff to provide acquisition and program 

10 management oversight, policy, and guidance to en11 sure that statutory, regulatory, and higher level pol12 icy requirements are fulfilled, including compliance 

13 with Federal law, the Federal Acquisition Regula14 tion, and Department acquisition management direc15 tives established by the Under Secretary for Man16 agement. 

17 ‘‘(8) MAJOR ACQUISITION PROGRAM.—The term 

18 ‘major acquisition program’ means an acquisition 

19 program of the Department that is estimated by the 

20 Secretary to require an eventual total expenditure of 

21 at least $300,000,000 (based on fiscal year 2017 

22 constant dollars) over the life cycle cost of the pro23 gram. 

24 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS WITHIN DEPARTMENT IN

25 EVENT OF BREACH.— 
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1 ‘‘(1) NOTIFICATIONS.— 

2 ‘‘(A) NOTIFICATION OF BREACH.—If a 

3 breach occurs in a major acquisition program, 

4 the program manager for the program shall no5 tify the Component Acquisition Executive for 

6 the program, the head of the component con7 cerned, the Executive Director of the Program 

8 Accountability and Risk Management division, 

9 the Under Secretary for Management, and the 

10 Deputy Secretary not later than 30 calendar 

11 days after the date on which the breach is iden12 tified. 

13 ‘‘(B) NOTIFICATION TO SECRETARY.—If a 

14 breach occurs in a major acquisition program 

15 and the breach results in a cost overrun greater 

16 than 15 percent, a schedule delay greater than 

17 180 days, or a failure to meet any of the per18 formance thresholds from the cost, schedule, or 

19 performance parameters specified in the most 

20 recently approved acquisition program baseline 

21 for the program, the Component Acquisition 

22 Executive for the program shall notify the Sec23 retary and the Inspector General of the Depart24 ment not later than 5 business days after the 

25 date on which the Component Acquisition Exec-
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1 utive for the program, the head of the compo2 nent concerned, the Executive Director of the 

3 Program Accountability and Risk Management 

4 Division, the Under Secretary for Management, 

5 and the Deputy Secretary are notified of the 

6 breach under subparagraph (A). 

7 ‘‘(2) REMEDIATION PLAN AND ROOT CAUSE

8 ANALYSIS.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If a breach occurs in 

10 a major acquisition program, the program man11 ager for the program shall submit in writing to 

12 the head of the component concerned, the Exec13 utive Director of the Program Accountability 

14 and Risk Management division, and the Under 

15 Secretary for Management, at a date estab16 lished by the Under Secretary for Management, 

17 a remediation plan and root cause analysis re18 lating to the breach and program. 

19 ‘‘(B) REMEDIATION PLAN.—The remedi20 ation plan required under subparagraph (A) 

21 shall— 

22 ‘‘(i) explain the circumstances of the 

23 breach at issue; 

24 ‘‘(ii) provide prior cost estimating in25 formation; 
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1 ‘‘(iii) include a root cause analysis 

2 that determines the underlying cause or 

3 causes of shortcomings in cost, schedule, 

4 or performance of the major acquisition 

5 program with respect to which the breach 

6 has occurred, including the role, if any, 

7 of— 

8 ‘‘(I) unrealistic performance ex9 pectations; 

10 ‘‘(II) unrealistic baseline esti11 mates for cost or schedule or changes 

12 in program requirements; 

13 ‘‘(III) immature technologies or 

14 excessive manufacturing or integra15 tion risk; 

16 ‘‘(IV) unanticipated design, engi17 neering, manufacturing, or technology 

18 integration issues arising during pro19 gram performance; 

20 ‘‘(V) changes to the scope of the 

21 program; 

22 ‘‘(VI) inadequate program fund23 ing or changes in planned out-year 

24 funding from one 5-year funding plan 

25 to the next 5-year funding plan as 
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1 outlined in the Future Years Home2 land Security Program required under 

3 section 874; 

4 ‘‘(VII) legislative, legal, or regu5 latory changes; or 

6 ‘‘(VIII) inadequate program 

7 management personnel, including lack 

8 of sufficient number of staff, training, 

9 credentials, certifications, or use of 

10 best practices; 

11 ‘‘(iv) propose corrective action to ad12 dress cost growth, schedule delays, or per13 formance issues; 

14 ‘‘(v) explain the rationale for why a 

15 proposed corrective action is recommended; 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(vi) in coordination with the Compo18 nent Acquisition Executive for the pro19 gram, discuss all options considered, in20 cluding— 

21 ‘‘(I) the estimated impact on 

22 cost, schedule, or performance of the 

23 program if no changes are made to 

24 current requirements; 
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1 ‘‘(II) the estimated cost of the 

2 program if requirements are modified; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(III) the extent to which fund5 ing from other programs will need to 

6 be reduced to cover the cost growth of 

7 the program. 

8 ‘‘(3) REVIEW OF CORRECTIVE ACTIONS.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary 

10 for Management— 

11 ‘‘(i) shall review each remediation 

12 plan required under paragraph (2); and 

13 ‘‘(ii) not later than 30 days after sub14 mission of a remediation plan under para15 graph (2), may approve the plan or provide 

16 an alternative proposed corrective action. 

17 ‘‘(B) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—Not 

18 later than 30 days after the date on which the 

19 Under Secretary for Management completes a 

20 review of a remediation plan under subpara21 graph (A), the Under Secretary for Manage22 ment shall submit to the appropriate commit23 tees of Congress— 

24 ‘‘(i) a copy of the remediation plan; 

25 and 
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1 ‘‘(ii) a statement describing the cor2 rective action or actions that have occurred 

3 pursuant to paragraph (2)(B)(iv) for the 

4 major acquisition program at issue, with a 

5 justification for each action. 

6 ‘‘(c) REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO CONGRESSIONAL

7 NOTIFICATION IF BREACH OCCURS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) NOTIFICATION TO CONGRESS.—If a notifi9 cation to the Secretary is made under subsection 

10 (b)(1)(B) relating to a breach in a major acquisition 

11 program, the Under Secretary for Management shall 

12 notify the appropriate committees of Congress of the 

13 breach in the next quarterly Comprehensive Acquisi14 tion Status Report, as required in the matter under 

15 the heading ‘OFFICE OF THE UNDER SECRETARY

16 FOR MANAGEMENT’ in title I of division F of the 

17 Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2016 (Public 

18 Law 114–113; 129 Stat. 2493), after receipt by the 

19 Under Secretary for Management of notification 

20 under that subsection. 

21 ‘‘(2) SIGNIFICANT VARIANCES IN COSTS OR

22 SCHEDULE.—If a likely cost overrun is greater than 

23 20 percent or a likely delay is greater than 12 

24 months from the costs and schedule specified in the 

25 acquisition program baseline for a major acquisition 
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1 program, the Under Secretary for Management shall 

2 include in the notification required in paragraph (1) 

3 a written certification, with supporting explanation, 

4 that— 

5 ‘‘(A) the program is essential to the ac6 complishment of the mission of the Depart7 ment; 

8 ‘‘(B) there are no alternatives to the capa9 bility or asset provided by the program that will 

10 provide equal or greater capability in a more 

11 cost-effective and timely manner; 

12 ‘‘(C) the new acquisition schedule and esti13 mates for total acquisition cost are reasonable; 

14 and 

15 ‘‘(D) the management structure for the 

16 program is adequate to manage and control 

17 cost, schedule, and performance.’’. 

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

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

20 (Public Law 107–296; 116 Stat. 2135) is amended by in21 serting after the item relating to section 835 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 836. Congressional notification and other requirements for major acquisition program breach.’’. 

22 SEC. 3. REPORT ON BID PROTESTS. 

23 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 
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1 (1) the term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con2 gress’’ has the meaning given the term in section 

3 836(a) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, as 

4 added by section 2(a); and 

5 (2) the term ‘‘Department’’ means the Depart6 ment of Homeland Security. 

7 (b) STUDY AND REPORT.—Not later than 1 year 

8 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Inspector Gen9 eral of the Department shall conduct a study, in consulta10 tion with the Government Accountability Office when nec11 essary, and submit to the appropriate committees of Con12 gress a report on the prevalence and impact of bid protests 

13 on the acquisition process of the Department, in particular 

14 bid protests filed with the Government Accountability Of15 fice and the United States Court of Federal Claims. 

16 (c) CONTENTS.—The report required under sub17 section (b) shall include— 

18 (1) with respect to contracts with the Depart19 ment— 

20 (A) trends in the number of bid protests 

21 filed with Federal agencies, the Government Ac22 countability Office, and Federal courts and the 

23 rate of those bid protests compared to contract 

24 obligations and the number of contracts; 
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1 (B) an analysis of bid protests filed by in2 cumbent contractors, including the rate at 

3 which those contractors are awarded bridge 

4 contracts or contract extensions over the period 

5 during which the bid protest remains unre6 solved; 

7 (C) a comparison of the number of bid 

8 protests and the outcome of bid protests for— 

9 (i) awards of contracts compared to 

10 awards of task or delivery orders; 

11 (ii) contracts or orders primarily for 

12 products compared to contracts or orders 

13 primarily for services; 

14 (iii) protests filed pre-award to chal15 lenge the solicitation compared to those 

16 filed post-award; 

17 (iv) contracts or awards with single 

18 protestors compared to multiple protestors; 

19 and 

20 (v) contracts with single awards com21 pared to multiple award contracts; 

22 (D) a description of trends in the number 

23 of bid protests filed as a percentage of con24 tracts and as a percentage of task or delivery 
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1 orders by the value of the contract or order 

2 with respect to— 

3 (i) contracts valued at more than 

4 $300,000,000; 

5 (ii) contracts valued at not less than 

6 $50,000,000 and not more than 

7 $300,000,000; 

8 (iii) contracts valued at not less than 

9 $10,000,000 and not more than 

10 $50,000,000; and 

11 (iv) contracts valued at less than 

12 $10,000,000; 

13 (E) an assessment of the cost and schedule 

14 impact of successful and unsuccessful bid pro15 tests, as well as delineation of litigation costs, 

16 filed on major acquisitions with more than 

17 $100,000,000 in annual expenditures or 

18 $300,000,000 in lifecycle costs; 

19 (F) an analysis of how often bid protestors 

20 are awarded the contract that was the subject 

21 of the bid protest; 

22 (G) a summary of the results of bid pro23 tests in which the Department took unilateral 

24 corrective action, including the average time for 

25 remedial action to be completed; 
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1 (H) the time it takes the Department to 

2 implement corrective actions after a ruling or 

3 decision with respect to a bid protest, and the 

4 percentage of those corrective actions that are 

5 subsequently protested, including the outcome 

6 of any subsequent bid protest; 

7 (I) an analysis of those contracts with re8 spect to which a company files a bid protest 

9 and later files a subsequent bid protest; and 

10 (J) an assessment of the overall time spent 

11 on preventing and responding to bid protests as 

12 it relates to the procurement process; and 

13 (2) any recommendations by the Inspector Gen14 eral of the Department relating to the study con15 ducted under this section. 

Passed the Senate November 9, 2017. 

Attest: 

Secretary. 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 906 

AN ACT 

To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to 

other purposes. major acquisition program breaches, and for provide for congressional notification regarding