II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 902 

To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to provide for certain acquisition authorities for the Under Secretary of Management of the Department of Homeland Security, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 7, 2017 

Mrs. MCCASKILL (for herself and Mr. DAINES) 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 provide 

for certain acquisition authorities for the Under Secretary of Management of 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 Acquisition Au5 thorities Act of 2017’’. 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 902 IS

1 SEC. 2. ACQUISITION AUTHORITIES FOR UNDER SEC2 RETARY FOR MANAGEMENT OF THE DEPART3 MENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY. 

4 Section 701 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 

5 (6 U.S.C. 341) is amended by— 

6 (1) redesignating subsections (d) and (e) as 

7 subsections (e) and (f), respectively; and 

8 (2) inserting after subsection (c) the following: 

9 ‘‘(d) ACQUISITION AND RELATED RESPONSIBIL10 ITIES.— 

11 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection, the 

12 terms ‘acquisition’, ‘acquisition decision authority’, 

13 ‘acquisition program baseline’, ‘best practices’, 

14 ‘Component Acquisition Executive’, and ‘major ac15 quisition program’ shall have the meanings given 

16 those terms in section 710. 

17 ‘‘(2) CHIEF ACQUISITION OFFICER.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding sec19 tion 1702(b) of title 41, United States Code, 

20 the Under Secretary for Management is the 

21 Chief Acquisition Officer of the Department. 

22 ‘‘(B) AUTHORITIES.—The Under Secretary 

23 for Management shall— 

24 ‘‘(i) have the authorities and perform 

25 the functions specified in section 1702(b) 

26 of title 41, United States Code; and 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 902 IS

1 ‘‘(ii) perform all other functions and 

2 responsibilities delegated by the Secretary 

3 or described in this subsection. 

4 ‘‘(3) FUNCTIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES.—In 

5 addition to the authorities and functions specified in 

6 section 1702(b) of title 41, United States Code, the 

7 functions and responsibilities of the Under Secretary 

8 for Management related to acquisition shall include 

9 the following: 

10 ‘‘(A) Advising the Secretary regarding ac11 quisition management activities, taking into ac12 count risks of failure to achieve cost, schedule, 

13 or performance parameters, to ensure that the 

14 Department achieves the mission of the Depart15 ment through the adoption of widely accepted 

16 program management best practices and stand17 ards and, where appropriate, acquisition innova18 tion best practices. 

19 ‘‘(B) Leading an acquisition review board 

20 within the Department and exercising the ac21 quisition decision authority to approve, pause, 

22 modify (including the rescission of approvals of 

23 program milestones), or cancel major acquisi24 tion programs, unless the Under Secretary dele25 gates such authority to a Component AcquisiVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:58 Apr 18, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S902.IS S902

SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 902 IS

1 tion Executive in accordance with paragraph 

2 (4). 

3 ‘‘(C) Establishing policies for acquisition 

4 that implement an approach that takes into ac5 count risks of failure to achieve cost, schedule, 

6 or performance parameters that all components 

7 of the Department shall comply with, including 

8 outlining relevant authorities for program man9 agers to effectively manage acquisition pro10 grams. 

11 ‘‘(D) Ensuring that each major acquisition 

12 program has a Department-approved acquisi13 tion program baseline, pursuant to the acquisi14 tion management policy of the Department. 

15 ‘‘(E) Ensuring that the heads of compo16 nents and Component Acquisition Executives 

17 comply with Federal law, the Federal Acquisi18 tion Regulation, and Department acquisition 

19 management directives. 

20 ‘‘(F) Ensuring that grants and financial 

21 assistance are provided only to individuals and 

22 organizations that are not suspended or 

23 debarred. 

24 ‘‘(G) Distributing guidance throughout the 

25 Department to ensure that contractors involved 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 902 IS

1 in acquisitions, particularly contractors that ac2 cess the information systems and technologies 

3 of the Department, adhere to relevant Depart4 ment policies related to physical and informa5 tion security as identified by the Under Sec6 retary for Management. 

7 ‘‘(H) Overseeing the Component Acquisi8 tion Executive organizational structure to en9 sure Component Acquisition Executives have 

10 sufficient capabilities and comply with Depart11 ment acquisition policies. 

12 ‘‘(4) DELEGATION OF ACQUISITION DECISION

13 AUTHORITY.— 

14 ‘‘(A) LEVEL 3 ACQUISITIONS.—The Under 

15 Secretary for Management may delegate acqui16 sition decision authority in writing to the rel17 evant Component Acquisition Executive for an 

18 acquisition program that has a life cycle cost 

19 estimate of less than $300,000,000. 

20 ‘‘(B) LEVEL 2 ACQUISITIONS.—The Under 

21 Secretary for Management may delegate acqui22 sition decision authority in writing to the rel23 evant Component Acquisition Executive for a 

24 major acquisition program that has a life cycle 

25 cost estimate of not less than $300,000,000 nor 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 902 IS

1 more than $1,000,000,000 if all of the following 

2 requirements are met: 

3 ‘‘(i) The component concerned pos4 sesses working policies, processes, and pro5 cedures that are consistent with Depart6 ment-level acquisition policy. 

7 ‘‘(ii) The Component Acquisition Ex8 ecutive concerned has adequate, experi9 enced, and dedicated professional employ10 ees with program management training, as 

11 applicable, commensurate with the size of 

12 the acquisition programs and related ac13 tivities delegated to such Component Ac14 quisition Executive by the Under Secretary 

15 for Management. 

16 ‘‘(iii) Each major acquisition program 

17 concerned has written documentation 

18 showing that the major acquisition pro19 gram— 

20 ‘‘(I) has a Department-approved 

21 acquisition program baseline; and 

22 ‘‘(II) is meeting agreed-upon 

23 cost, schedule, and performance 

24 thresholds. 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 902 IS

1 ‘‘(5) RELATIONSHIP TO UNDER SECRETARY

2 FOR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY.— 

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.— 

4 ‘‘(i) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Noth5 ing in this subsection shall be construed to 

6 diminish the authority granted to the 

7 Under Secretary for Science and Tech8 nology under this Act. 

9 ‘‘(ii) COOPERATION.—The Under Sec10 retary for Management and the Under 

11 Secretary for Science and Technology shall 

12 cooperate in matters related to the coordi13 nation of acquisitions across the Depart14 ment so that investments of the Direc15 torate of Science and Technology are able 

16 to support current and future requirements 

17 of the components of the Department. 

18 ‘‘(B) OPERATIONAL TESTING AND EVALUA19 TION.—The Under Secretary for Science and 

20 Technology shall— 

21 ‘‘(i) ensure, in coordination with rel22 evant component heads, that major acqui23 sition programs— 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
8 

•S 902 IS

1 ‘‘(I) complete operational testing 

2 and evaluation of technologies and 

3 systems; 

4 ‘‘(II) use independent verification 

5 and validation of operational test and 

6 evaluation implementation and re7 sults; and 

8 ‘‘(III) document whether such 

9 programs meet all performance re10 quirements included in their acquisi11 tion program baselines; 

12 ‘‘(ii) ensure that the operational test13 ing and evaluation required under clause 

14 (i)(I) includes all system components and 

15 incorporates operators into the testing to 

16 ensure that systems perform as intended in 

17 the appropriate operational setting; and 

18 ‘‘(iii) determine if testing conducted 

19 by other Federal agencies and private enti20 ties is relevant and sufficient in deter21 mining whether systems perform as in22 tended in the operational setting.’’. 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
9 

•S 902 IS

1 SEC. 3. ACQUISITION AUTHORITIES FOR CHIEF FINANCIAL 

2 OFFICER OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HOME3 LAND SECURITY. 

4 Section 702(b)(2) of the Homeland Security Act of 

5 2002 (6 U.S.C. 342(b)) is amended by adding at the end 

6 the following: 

7 ‘‘(J) Oversee the costs of acquisition pro8 grams and related activities to ensure that ac9 tual and planned costs are in accordance with 

10 budget estimates and are affordable, or can be 

11 adequately funded, over the life cycle of such 

12 programs and activities.’’. 

13 SEC. 4. ACQUISITION AUTHORITIES FOR CHIEF INFORMA14 TION OFFICER OF THE DEPARTMENT OF 

15 HOMELAND SECURITY. 

16 Section 703 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 

17 (6 U.S.C. 343) is amended— 

18 (1) by redesignating subsection (b) as sub19 section (c); and 

20 (2) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘(b) ACQUISITION RESPONSIBILITIES.—Notwith23 standing section 11315 of title 40, United States Code, 

24 the acquisition responsibilities of the Chief Information 

25 Officer, in consultation with the Under Secretary for Man26 agement, shall include the following: 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
10 

•S 902 IS

1 ‘‘(1) Oversee the management of the Homeland 

2 Security Enterprise Architecture and ensure that, 

3 before each acquisition decision event (as defined in 

4 section 710), approved information technology acqui5 sitions comply with departmental information tech6 nology management processes, technical require7 ments, and the Homeland Security Enterprise Archi8 tecture, and in any case in which information tech9 nology acquisitions do not comply with the manage10 ment directives of the Department, make rec11 ommendations to an acquisition review board within 

12 the Department regarding such noncompliance. 

13 ‘‘(2) Be responsible for providing recommenda14 tions to an acquisition review board within the De15 partment regarding information technology pro16 grams, and be responsible for developing information 

17 technology acquisition strategic guidance.’’. 

18 SEC. 5. ACQUISITION AUTHORITIES FOR PROGRAM AC19 COUNTABILITY AND RISK MANAGEMENT 

20 (PARM). 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title VII of the Homeland Secu22 rity Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 341 et seq.) is amended by 

23 adding at the end the following: 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
11 

•S 902 IS

1 ‘‘SEC. 710. ACQUISITION AUTHORITIES FOR PROGRAM AC2 COUNTABILITY AND RISK MANAGEMENT. 

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

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

5 the meaning given the term in section 131 of title 

6 41, United States Code. 

7 ‘‘(2) ACQUISITION DECISION AUTHORITY.—The 

8 term ‘acquisition decision authority’ means the au9 thority, held by the Secretary acting through the 

10 Deputy Secretary or Under Secretary for Manage11 ment to— 

12 ‘‘(A) ensure compliance with Federal law, 

13 the Federal Acquisition Regulation, and De14 partment acquisition management directives; 

15 ‘‘(B) review (including approving, pausing, 

16 modifying, or canceling) an acquisition program 

17 through the life cycle of the program; 

18 ‘‘(C) ensure that acquisition program man19 agers have the resources necessary to success20 fully execute an approved acquisition program; 

21 ‘‘(D) ensure good acquisition program 

22 management of cost, schedule, risk, and system 

23 performance of the acquisition program at 

24 issue, including assessing acquisition program 

25 baseline breaches and directing any corrective 

26 action for such breaches; and 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
12 

•S 902 IS

1 ‘‘(E) ensure that acquisition program man2 agers, on an ongoing basis, monitor cost, sched3 ule, and performance against established base4 lines and use tools to assess risks to an acquisi5 tion program at all phases of the life cycle of 

6 such program to avoid and mitigate acquisition 

7 program baseline breaches. 

8 ‘‘(3) ACQUISITION DECISION EVENT.—The term 

9 ‘acquisition decision event’, with respect to an acqui10 sition program, means a predetermined point within 

11 each of the acquisition phases at which the acquisi12 tion decision authority determines whether the ac13 quisition program shall proceed to the next acquisi14 tion phase. 

15 ‘‘(4) ACQUISITION PROGRAM.—The term ‘acqui16 sition program’ means the process by which the De17 partment acquires, with any appropriated amounts, 

18 by contract for purchase or lease, property or serv19 ices (including construction) that support the mis20 sions and goals of the Department. 

21 ‘‘(5) ACQUISITION PROGRAM BASELINE.—The 

22 term ‘acquisition program baseline’, with respect to 

23 an acquisition program, means a summary of the 

24 cost, schedule, and performance parameters, ex25 pressed in standard, measurable, quantitative terms, 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
13 

•S 902 IS

1 which must be met in order to accomplish the goals 

2 of such program. 

3 ‘‘(6) BEST PRACTICES.—The term ‘best prac4 tices’, with respect to acquisition, means a knowl5 edge-based approach to capability development that 

6 includes— 

7 ‘‘(A) identifying and validating needs; 

8 ‘‘(B) assessing alternatives to select the 

9 most appropriate solution; 

10 ‘‘(C) clearly establishing well-defined re11 quirements; 

12 ‘‘(D) developing realistic cost assessments 

13 and schedules; 

14 ‘‘(E) securing stable funding that matches 

15 resources to requirements; 

16 ‘‘(F) demonstrating technology, design, 

17 and manufacturing maturity; 

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

19 specific accomplishments that demonstrate 

20 progress; 

21 ‘‘(H) adopting and executing standardized 

22 processes with known success across programs; 

23 ‘‘(I) establishing an adequate workforce 

24 that is qualified and sufficient to perform nec25 essary functions; and 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
14 

•S 902 IS

1 ‘‘(J) integrating the capabilities described 

2 in subparagraphs (A) through (I) into the mis3 sion and business operations of the Depart4 ment. 

5 ‘‘(7) BREACH.—The term ‘breach’, with respect 

6 to a major acquisition program, means a failure to 

7 meet any cost, schedule, or performance threshold 

8 specified in the most recently approved acquisition 

9 program baseline. 

10 ‘‘(8) COMPONENT ACQUISITION EXECUTIVE.— 

11 The term ‘Component Acquisition Executive’ means 

12 the senior acquisition official within a component 

13 who is designated in writing by the Under Secretary 

14 for Management, in consultation with the component 

15 head, with authority and responsibility for leading a 

16 process and staff to provide acquisition and program 

17 management oversight, policy, and guidance to en18 sure that statutory, regulatory, and higher level pol19 icy requirements are fulfilled, including compliance 

20 with Federal law, the Federal Acquisition Regula21 tion, and Department acquisition management direc22 tives established by the Under Secretary for Man23 agement. 

24 ‘‘(9) MAJOR ACQUISITION PROGRAM.—The term 

25 ‘major acquisition program’ means a Department 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
15 

•S 902 IS

1 acquisition program that is estimated by the Sec2 retary to require an eventual total expenditure of not 

3 less than $300,000,000 (based on fiscal year 2017 

4 constant dollars) over the life cycle cost of the acqui5 sition program. 

6 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE.—There shall be a 

7 Program Accountability and Risk Management Office 

8 within the Management Directorate of the Department 

9 to— 

10 ‘‘(1) provide consistent accountability, stand11 ardization, and transparency of major acquisition 

12 programs of the Department; and 

13 ‘‘(2) serve as the central oversight function for 

14 all Department acquisition programs. 

15 ‘‘(c) RESPONSIBILITIES OF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Program Account17 ability and Risk Management Office shall be led by 

18 an Executive Director to oversee the requirements 

19 under subsection (b). 

20 ‘‘(2) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Executive Direc21 tor shall report directly to the Under Secretary for 

22 Management and carry out the following responsibil23 ities: 

24 ‘‘(A) Monitor regularly the performance of 

25 Department acquisition programs between acVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:58 Apr 18, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S902.IS S902

SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
16 

•S 902 IS

1 quisition decision events to identify problems 

2 with cost, performance, or schedule that compo3 nents may need to address to prevent cost over4 runs, performance issues, or schedule delays. 

5 ‘‘(B) Assist the Under Secretary for Man6 agement in managing the acquisition programs 

7 and related activities of the Department. 

8 ‘‘(C) Conduct oversight of individual acqui9 sition programs to implement Department ac10 quisition program policy, procedures, and guid11 ance with a priority on ensuring the data the 

12 office collects and maintains from Department 

13 components is accurate and reliable. 

14 ‘‘(D) Serve as the focal point and coordi15 nator for the acquisition life cycle review proc16 ess and as the executive secretariat for an ac17 quisition review board within the Department. 

18 ‘‘(E) Advise the persons having acquisition 

19 decision authority in making acquisition deci20 sions consistent with all applicable laws and in 

21 establishing clear lines of authority, account22 ability, and responsibility for acquisition deci23 sion making within the Department. 

24 ‘‘(F) Engage in the strategic planning and 

25 performance evaluation process required under 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
17 

•S 902 IS

1 section 306 of title 5, United States Code, and 

2 sections 1105(a)(28), 1115, 1116, and 9703 of 

3 title 31, United States Code, by supporting the 

4 Chief Procurement Officer in developing strate5 gies and specific plans for hiring, training, and 

6 professional development in order to rectify any 

7 deficiency within the Department’s acquisition 

8 workforce. 

9 ‘‘(G) Develop standardized certification 

10 standards in consultation with the Component 

11 Acquisition Executives for all acquisition pro12 gram managers. 

13 ‘‘(H) In the event that an acquisition pro14 gram manager’s certification or actions need re15 view for purposes of promotion or removal, pro16 vide input, in consultation with the relevant 

17 Component Acquisition Executive, into the rel18 evant acquisition program manager’s perform19 ance evaluation, and report positive or negative 

20 experiences to the relevant certifying authority. 

21 ‘‘(I) Provide technical support and assist22 ance to Department acquisitions and acquisition 

23 personnel in conjunction with the Chief Pro24 curement Officer. 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
18 

•S 902 IS

1 ‘‘(J) Prepare the Comprehensive Acquisi2 tion Status Report of the Department, as re3 quired by division F of the Consolidated Appro4 priations Act, 2016 (Public Law 114–113), and 

5 make such report available to the appropriate 

6 committees of Congress (as defined in section 

7 226 of this Act). 

8 ‘‘(d) RESPONSIBILITIES OF COMPONENTS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each head of a component 

10 shall comply with Federal law, the Federal Acquisi11 tion Regulation, and acquisition management direc12 tives of the Department established by the Under 

13 Secretary for Management. 

14 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—For each major acquisi15 tion program, each head of a component shall— 

16 ‘‘(A) define baseline requirements and doc17 ument changes to such requirements, as appro18 priate; 

19 ‘‘(B) establish a complete life cycle cost es20 timate with supporting documentation, includ21 ing an acquisition program baseline; 

22 ‘‘(C) verify each life cycle cost estimate 

23 against independent cost estimates, and rec24 oncile any differences; 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
19 

•S 902 IS

1 ‘‘(D) complete a cost-benefit analysis with 

2 supporting documentation; 

3 ‘‘(E) develop and maintain a schedule that 

4 is consistent with scheduling best practices as 

5 identified by the Comptroller General of the 

6 United States, including, in appropriate cases, 

7 an integrated master schedule; and 

8 ‘‘(F) ensure that all acquisition program 

9 information provided by the component is com10 plete, accurate, timely, and valid.’’. 

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

12 in section 1(b) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 

13 U.S.C. 101 et seq.) is amended by inserting after the item 

14 relating to section 709 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 710. Acquisition authorities for Program Accountability and Risk Management.’’. 

Æ 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS