II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1998 

To obtain an unqualified audit opinion, and improve financial accountability 

and management at the Department of Homeland Security. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 15, 2011 

Mr. BROWN of Massachusetts (for himself, Mr. CARPER, and Mr. JOHNSON

of Wisconsin) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

A BILL 

To obtain an unqualified audit opinion, and improve financial 

accountability and management at the Department of 

Homeland Security. 

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 ‘‘Department of Home5 land Security Improved Financial Accountability Act of 

6 2011’’. 

7 SEC. 2. IMPROVING FINANCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY AND 

8 MANAGEMENT. 

9 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 


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1 (1) the term ‘‘Department’’ means the Depart2 ment of Homeland Security; 

3 (2) the terms ‘‘qualified opinion’’ and ‘‘unquali4 fied opinion’’ mean a qualified opinion and an un5 qualified opinion, respectively, within the meanings 

6 given those terms under generally accepted govern7 ment auditing standards; and 

8 (3) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 

9 of Homeland Security. 

10 (b) REACHING AN UNQUALIFIED AUDIT OPINION.— 

11 In order to ensure compliance with the Department of 

12 Homeland Security Financial Accountability Act (Public 

13 Law 108–330; 118 Stat. 1275) and the amendments made 

14 by that Act, the Secretary shall— 

15 (1) take the necessary steps to ensure that the 

16 balance sheet of the Department and associated 

17 statement of custodial activity for the fiscal years 

18 ending September 30, 2012 and September 30, 2013 

19 are ready in a timely manner and in preparation for 

20 an audit as part of preparing the performance and 

21 accountability reports required under section 3516(f) 

22 of title 31, United States Code, including submitting 

23 the reports not later than November 15, 2012 and 

24 November 15, 2013, respectively, in order to obtain 

25 a qualified or unqualified opinion; 


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1 (2) take the necessary steps to ensure that the 

2 full set of consolidated financial statements of the 

3 Department for the fiscal years ending September 

4 30, 2014 and September 30, 2015 are ready in a 

5 timely manner and in preparation for an audit as 

6 part of preparing the performance and account7 ability reports required under section 3516(f) of title 

8 31, United States Code, including submitting the re9 ports not later than November 15, 2014 and Novem10 ber 15, 2015, respectively, in order to obtain a quali11 fied or unqualified opinion; and 

12 (3) take the necessary steps to ensure that the 

13 full set of consolidated financial statements of the 

14 Department for the fiscal year ending September 30, 

15 2016, and each fiscal year thereafter, are ready in 

16 a timely manner and in preparation for an audit as 

17 part of preparing the performance and account18 ability reports required under section 3516(f) of title 

19 31, United States Code, including submitting the re20 ports not later than November 15, 2016, and each 

21 year thereafter, in order to obtain an unqualified 

22 opinion. 

23 (c) REPORT TO CONGRESS ON PROGRESS OF MEET24 ING AUDIT REQUIREMENTS.—Not later than 270 days 

25 after the date of enactment of this Act, and annually 


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1 thereafter until an unqualified opinion is submitted under 

2 paragraph (2) or (3) of subsection (b), and in order to 

3 ensure progress in implementing the Department of 

4 Homeland Security Financial Accountability Act (Public 

5 Law 108–330; 118 Stat. 1275) and the amendments made 

6 by that Act, the Chief Financial Officer of the Department 

7 shall submit to Congress a report on the plans to obtain 

8 an unqualified opinion, which shall discuss plans and re9 sources needed to meet the deadlines under subsection (b). 

10 (d) REPORT TO CONGRESS ON PLANS TO MOD11 ERNIZE FINANCIAL SYSTEMS.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 270 days 

13 after the date of enactment of this Act, and in order 

14 to improve financial management at the Depart15 ment, the Chief Financial Officer of the Department 

16 shall submit to Congress and the Comptroller Gen17 eral of the United States a report on the plans of 

18 the Department and resources needed to modernize 

19 the financial systems of the Department. 

20 (2) CONTENTS.—The report submitted under 

21 paragraph (1) shall discuss— 

22 (A) the challenges of and opportunities for 

23 using existing financial systems of the Depart24 ment, including an assessment of the feasibility 

25 and cost of using an existing financial system; 


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1 (B) the challenges and opportunities of im2 plementing a new financial system and associ3 ated financial controls; and 

4 (C) the lessons learned from the prior at5 tempts of the Department to develop a financial 

6 system that will be considered in implementing 

7 a new financial system. 

8 (3) REVIEW.—Not later than 180 days after 

9 the date on which the Chief Financial Officer of the 

10 Department submits the report under paragraph 

11 (1), the Comptroller General of the United States 

12 shall review the report and submit to Congress a re13 port that provides— 

14 (A) an assessment of the status of the fi15 nancial system modernization by the Depart16 ment; 

17 (B) an evaluation of the report; 

18 (C) an assessment of the plans to mod19 ernize, and developments at the Department re20 lating to, the financial system of the Depart21 ment; and 

22 (D) any recommendations for improving 

23 the plans for a new financial system at the De24 partment. 

Æ 


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