II 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1893 

To require the Transportation Security Administration to implement best 

practices and improve transparency with regard to technology acquisition 

programs, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 20, 2013 

Ms. AYOTTE introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To require the Transportation Security Administration to 

implement best practices and improve transparency with 

regard to technology acquisition programs, 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 ‘‘Transportation Secu5 rity Acquisition Reform Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) The Transportation Security Administration 

2 (referred to in this Act as ‘‘TSA’’) does not consist3 ently implement Department of Homeland Security 

4 policies and Government best practices for acquisi5 tion and procurement. 

6 (2) TSA has not developed a multiyear tech7 nology investment plan. As a result, TSA has under8 utilized innovation opportunities within the private 

9 sector, including from small businesses. 

10 (3) Due in part to the deficiencies referred to 

11 in paragraphs (1) and (2), TSA has faced challenges 

12 in meeting key performance requirements for several 

13 major acquisitions and procurements, resulting in 

14 reduced security effectiveness and wasted expendi15 tures. 

16 SEC. 3. TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADMINISTRATION AC17 QUISITION REFORM. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title XVI of the Homeland Secu19 rity Act of 2002 (116 Stat. 2312 et seq.) is amended to 

20 read as follows: 

21 ‘‘TITLE XVI—TRANSPORTATION 

22 SECURITY 

23 ‘‘Subtitle A—General Provisions 

24 ‘‘SEC. 1601. DEFINITIONS. 

25 ‘‘In this title: 


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1 ‘‘(1) ADMINISTRATION.—The term ‘Administra2 tion’ means the Transportation Security Administra3 tion. 

4 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘Adminis5 trator’ means the Administrator of the Transpor6 tation Security Administration. 

7 ‘‘(3) PLAN.—The term ‘Plan’ means the 

8 multiyear technology investment plan developed by 

9 the Administrator under section 1611. 

10 ‘‘(4) SECURITY-RELATED TECHNOLOGY.—The 

11 term ‘security-related technology’ means any tech12 nology that assists the Administration in the preven13 tion of, or defense against, threats to United States 

14 transportation systems, including threats to people, 

15 property, and information. 

16 ‘‘Subtitle B—Transportation Secu17 rity Administration Acquisition 

18 Improvements 

19 ‘‘SEC. 1611. MULTIYEAR TECHNOLOGY INVESTMENT PLAN. 

20 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator— 

21 ‘‘(1) not later than 180 days after the date of 

22 the enactment of this subtitle, shall develop and sub23 mit to Congress a strategic multiyear technology in24 vestment plan, which may include a classified adden25 dum to report sensitive transportation security risks, 


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1 technology vulnerabilities, or other sensitive security 

2 information; and 

3 ‘‘(2) to the extent possible, shall publish the 

4 Plan in an unclassified format within the public do5 main. 

6 ‘‘(b) CONSULTATION.—The Administrator shall de7 velop the Plan in consultation with— 

8 ‘‘(1) the Under Secretary for Management; 

9 ‘‘(2) the Chief Information Officer; and 

10 ‘‘(3) the Under Secretary for Science and Tech11 nology. 

12 ‘‘(c) APPROVAL.—The Administrator may not publish 

13 the Plan under subsection (a)(2) until it has been ap14 proved by the Secretary. 

15 ‘‘(d) CONTENTS OF PLAN.—The Plan shall include— 

16 ‘‘(1) an analysis of transportation security risks 

17 and the associated technology gaps, including con18 sideration of the most recent Quadrennial Homeland 

19 Security Review under section 707; 

20 ‘‘(2) a set of transportation security-related 

21 technology acquisition needs that— 

22 ‘‘(A) is prioritized based on risk and gaps 

23 identified under paragraph (1); and 


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1 ‘‘(B) includes planned technology programs 

2 and projects with defined objectives, goals, and 

3 measures; 

4 ‘‘(3) an analysis of current trends in domestic 

5 and international passenger travel; 

6 ‘‘(4) an identification of currently deployed se7 curity-related technologies that are at or near the 

8 end of their lifecycle; 

9 ‘‘(5) an identification of test, evaluation, mod10 eling, and simulation capabilities that will be re11 quired to support the acquisition of the security-re12 lated technologies to meet those needs; 

13 ‘‘(6) an identification of opportunities for pub14 lic-private partnerships, small and disadvantaged 

15 company participation, intragovernment collabora16 tion, university centers of excellence, and national 

17 laboratory technology transfer; 

18 ‘‘(7) an identification of the Administration’s 

19 acquisition workforce needs that will be required for 

20 the management of planned security-related tech21 nology acquisitions, including consideration of 

22 leveraging acquisition expertise of other Federal 

23 agencies; 

24 ‘‘(8) an identification of the security resources, 

25 including information security resources, that will be 


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1 required to protect security-related technology from 

2 physical or cyber theft, diversion, sabotage, or at3 tack; and 

4 ‘‘(9) an identification of initiatives to streamline 

5 the Administration’s acquisition process and provide 

6 greater predictability and clarity to small, medium, 

7 and large businesses, including the timeline for test8 ing and evaluation. 

9 ‘‘(e) LEVERAGING THE PRIVATE SECTOR.—To the 

10 extent possible, and in a manner that is consistent with 

11 fair and equitable practices, the Plan shall— 

12 ‘‘(1) leverage emerging technology trends and 

13 research and development investment trends within 

14 the public and private sectors; 

15 ‘‘(2) incorporate feedback and input received 

16 from the private sector through requests for infor17 mation, industry days, and other innovative means 

18 consistent with the Federal Acquisition Regulation; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(3) leverage market research conducted by the 

21 Under Secretary for Science and Technology to iden22 tify technologies that exist or are in development 

23 that, with or without adaptation, could be utilized to 

24 meet mission needs. 


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1 ‘‘(f) DISCLOSURE.—The Administrator shall include 

2 with the Plan a list of any nongovernment persons that 

3 contributed to the writing of the Plan. 

4 ‘‘(g) UPDATE AND REPORT.—Once every 2 years 

5 after the initial strategic Plan is submitted to Congress, 

6 the Administrator shall submit to Congress— 

7 ‘‘(1) an update of the Plan; and 

8 ‘‘(2) a report on the extent to which each secu9 rity-related technology acquired by the Administra10 tion since the last issuance or update of the Plan is 

11 consistent with the planned technology programs 

12 and projects identified under subsection (d)(2) for 

13 that technology. 

14 ‘‘SEC. 1612. ACQUISITION JUSTIFICATION AND REPORTS. 

15 ‘‘(a) ACQUISITION JUSTIFICATION.—Before the Ad16 ministration implements any security-related technology 

17 acquisition, the Administrator, in accordance with the De18 partment’s policies and directives, shall determine whether 

19 the acquisition is justified by conducting a comprehensive 

20 analysis that includes— 

21 ‘‘(1) an identification of the type and level of 

22 risk to transportation security that would be ad23 dressed by such technology acquisition; 


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1 ‘‘(2) an assessment of how the proposed acqui2 sition aligns to the multiyear technology investment 

3 plan developed under section 1611; 

4 ‘‘(3) a comparison of the total expected lifecycle 

5 cost against the total expected quantitative and 

6 qualitative benefits to transportation security; 

7 ‘‘(4) an analysis of alternative security solutions 

8 to determine if the proposed technology acquisition 

9 is the most effective and cost-efficient solution based 

10 on cost-benefit considerations; 

11 ‘‘(5) an evaluation of the privacy and civil lib12 erties implications of the proposed acquisition that 

13 includes, to the extent practicable, consultation with 

14 organizations that advocate for the protection of pri15 vacy and civil liberties, and a determination that the 

16 proposed acquisition is consistent with fair informa17 tion practice principles issued by the Privacy Officer 

18 of the Department; and 

19 ‘‘(6) confirmation that there are no significant 

20 risks to human health and safety posed by the pro21 posed acquisition. 

22 ‘‘(b) REPORTS AND CERTIFICATION TO CONGRESS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than the end of 

24 the 30-day period preceding the award by the Ad25 ministration of a contract for any security-related 


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1 technology acquisition exceeding $30,000,000, the 

2 Administrator shall submit, to the Committee on 

3 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Sen4 ate and the Committee on Homeland Security of the 

5 House of Representatives— 

6 ‘‘(A) the results of the comprehensive ac7 quisition analysis required under this section; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(B) a certification by the Administrator 

10 that the security benefits justify the contract 

11 cost. 

12 ‘‘(2) EXTENSION DUE TO IMMINENT TERRORIST

13 THREAT.—If there is a known or suspected immi14 nent threat to transportation security, the Adminis15 trator— 

16 ‘‘(A) may reduce the 30-day period under 

17 paragraph (1) to 5 days in order to rapidly re18 spond; and 

19 ‘‘(B) shall provide immediate notice of 

20 such imminent threat to the Committee on 

21 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 

22 Senate and the Committee on Homeland Secu23 rity of the House of Representatives. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 1613. ACQUISITION BASELINE ESTABLISHMENT AND 

2 REPORTS. 

3 ‘‘(a) BASELINE REQUIREMENTS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Before the Administration 

5 implements any security-related technology acquisi6 tion, the appropriate acquisition official of the De7 partment shall establish and document a set of for8 mal baseline requirements. 

9 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—The baseline requirements 

10 under paragraph (1) shall— 

11 ‘‘(A) include the estimated costs (including 

12 lifecycle costs), schedule, and performance mile13 stones for the planned duration of the acquisi14 tion; and 

15 ‘‘(B) identify the acquisition risks and a 

16 plan for mitigating these risks. 

17 ‘‘(3) FEASIBILITY.—In establishing the per18 formance milestones under paragraph (2)(A), the 

19 appropriate acquisition official of the Department, to 

20 the extent possible and in consultation with the 

21 Under Secretary for Science and Technology, shall 

22 ensure that achieving these milestones is techno23 logically feasible. 

24 ‘‘(4) TEST AND EVALUATION PLAN.—The Ad25 ministrator, in consultation with the Under SecVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:19 Dec 27, 2013 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1893.IS S1893

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1 retary for Science and Technology, shall develop a 

2 test and evaluation plan that describes— 

3 ‘‘(A) the activities that will be required to 

4 assess acquired technologies against the per5 formance milestones established under para6 graph (2)(A); 

7 ‘‘(B) the necessary and cost-effective com8 bination of laboratory testing, field testing, 

9 modeling, simulation, and supporting analysis 

10 to ensure that such technologies meet the Ad11 ministration’s mission needs; and 

12 ‘‘(C) an efficient schedule to ensure that 

13 test and evaluation activities are completed 

14 without undue delay. 

15 ‘‘(5) VERIFICATION AND VALIDATION.—The ap16 propriate acquisition official of the Department— 

17 ‘‘(A) subject to subparagraph (B), shall 

18 utilize independent reviewers to verify and vali19 date the performance milestones and cost esti20 mates developed under paragraph (2) for a se21 curity-related technology that pursuant to sec22 tion 1611(d)(2) has been identified as a high 

23 priority need in the most recent multiyear tech24 nology investment plan; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) shall ensure that the utilization of 

2 independent reviewers does not unduly delay 

3 the schedule of any acquisition. 

4 ‘‘(6) STREAMLINING ACCESS FOR INTERESTED

5 VENDORS.—The Administrator shall establish a 

6 streamlined process for an interested vendor of a se7 curity-related technology to request and receive ap8 propriate access to the baseline requirements and 

9 test and evaluation plans that are necessary for the 

10 vendor to participate in the acquisitions process for 

11 such technology. 

12 ‘‘(b) REVIEW OF BASELINE REQUIREMENTS AND

13 DEVIATION; REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) REVIEW.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The appropriate ac16 quisition official of the Department shall review 

17 and assess each implemented acquisition to de18 termine if the acquisition is meeting the base19 line requirements established under subsection 

20 (a). 

21 ‘‘(B) TEST AND EVALUATION ASSESS22 MENT.—The review shall include an assessment 

23 of whether— 

24 ‘‘(i) the planned testing and evalua25 tion activities have been completed; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the results of such testing and 

2 evaluation demonstrate that the perform3 ance milestones are technologically feasible. 

4 ‘‘(2) REPORT.—Not later than 30 days after 

5 making a finding described in clause (i), (ii), or (iii) 

6 of subparagraph (A), the Administrator shall submit 

7 a report to the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

8 and Transportation of the Senate and the Com9 mittee on Homeland Security of the House of Rep10 resentatives that includes— 

11 ‘‘(A) the results of any assessment that 

12 finds that— 

13 ‘‘(i) the actual or planned costs exceed 

14 the baseline costs by more than 10 per15 cent; 

16 ‘‘(ii) the actual or planned schedule 

17 for delivery has been delayed by more than 

18 180 days; or 

19 ‘‘(iii) there is a failure to meet any 

20 performance milestone that directly im21 pacts security effectiveness; 

22 ‘‘(B) the cause for such excessive costs, 

23 delay, or failure; and 

24 ‘‘(C) a plan for corrective action. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 1614. INVENTORY UTILIZATION. 

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Before the procurement of addi3 tional quantities of equipment to fulfill a mission need, 

4 the Administrator, to the extent practicable, shall utilize 

5 any existing units in the Administration’s inventory to 

6 meet that need. 

7 ‘‘(b) TRACKING OF INVENTORY.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall es9 tablish a process for tracking— 

10 ‘‘(A) the location of security-related equip11 ment in such inventory; 

12 ‘‘(B) the utilization status of security-re13 lated technology in such inventory; and 

14 ‘‘(C) the quantity of security-related equip15 ment in such inventory. 

16 ‘‘(2) INTERNAL CONTROLS.—The Administrator 

17 shall implement internal controls to ensure accurate 

18 data on security-related technology utilization. 

19 ‘‘(c) LOGISTICS MANAGEMENT.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall es21 tablish logistics principles for managing inventory in 

22 an effective and efficient manner. 

23 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION ON JUST-IN-TIME LOGIS24 TICS.—The Administrator may not use just-in-time 

25 logistics if doing so would— 


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1 ‘‘(A) inhibit necessary planning for large2 scale delivery of equipment to airports or other 

3 facilities; or 

4 ‘‘(B) unduly diminish surge capacity for 

5 response to a terrorist threat. 

6 ‘‘SEC. 1615. SMALL BUSINESS CONTRACTING GOALS. 

7 ‘‘Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment 

8 of this subtitle, and annually thereafter, the Administrator 

9 shall submit a report to the Committee on Commerce, 

10 Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Com11 mittee on Homeland Security of the House of Representa12 tives that includes— 

13 ‘‘(1) a restatement of the Administration’s pub14 lished goals for contracting with small businesses, 

15 including small and disadvantaged businesses; 

16 ‘‘(2) the Administration’s performance record 

17 with respect to meeting the goals referred to in 

18 paragraph (1) during the preceding fiscal year; 

19 ‘‘(3) if the goals referred to in paragraph (1) 

20 were not met or the Administration’s performance 

21 was below the published goals of the Department— 

22 ‘‘(A) an itemized list of challenges, includ23 ing deviations from the Administration’s sub24 contracting plans, that contributed to the level 


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1 of performance during the preceding fiscal year; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(B) the extent to which contract bundling 

4 was a contributing factor to such level of per5 formance; 

6 ‘‘(4) an action plan, with benchmarks, for ad7 dressing each of the challenges identified in para8 graph (3)(A), which— 

9 ‘‘(A) was prepared after consultation with 

10 the Secretary of Defense and the heads of Fed11 eral departments and agencies that achieved 

12 their published goals for prime contracting with 

13 small and minority owned businesses, including 

14 small and disadvantaged businesses, in prior 

15 fiscal years; and 

16 ‘‘(B) identifies policies and procedures that 

17 could be incorporated by the Administration in 

18 furtherance of achieving the Administration’s 

19 published goal for such contracting; and 

20 ‘‘(5) a status report on the implementation of 

21 the action plan that was developed in the preceding 

22 fiscal year in accordance with paragraph (4). 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 1616. CONSISTENCY WITH THE FEDERAL ACQUISI2 TION REGULATION AND DEPARTMENTAL 

3 POLICIES AND DIRECTIVES. 

4 ‘‘The Administrator shall execute the responsibilities 

5 set forth in this subtitle in a manner consistent with, and 

6 not duplicative of, the Federal Acquisition Regulation and 

7 the Department’s policies and directives.’’. 

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

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

10 amended by striking the items relating to title XVI and 

11 inserting the following: 

‘‘TITLE XVI—TRANSPORTATION SECURITY 

‘‘Subtitle A—General Provisions 

‘‘Sec. 1601. Definitions. 

‘‘Subtitle B—Transportation Security Administration Acquisition 

Improvements 

‘‘Sec. 1611. Multiyear technology investment plan. 

‘‘Sec. 1612. Acquisition justification and reports. 

‘‘Sec. 1613. Acquisition baseline establishment and reports. 

‘‘Sec. 1614. Inventory utilization. 

‘‘Sec. 1615. Small business contracting goals. 

‘‘Sec. 1616. Consistency with the Federal acquisition regulation and departmental policies and directives.’’. 

12 (c) PRIOR AMENDMENTS NOT AFFECTED.—Nothing 

13 in this section may be construed to affect any amendment 

14 made by title XVI of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 

15 as in effect before the date of the enactment of this Act. 

16 SEC. 4. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE REPORTS. 

17 (a) IMPLEMENTATION OF PREVIOUS RECOMMENDA18 TIONS.—Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:19 Dec 27, 2013 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1893.IS S1893

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1 ment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United 

2 States shall submit a report to Congress that contains an 

3 assessment of the Transportation Security Administra4 tion’s implementation of recommendations regarding the 

5 acquisition of technology that were made by the Govern6 ment Accountability Office before the date of the enact7 ment of this Act. 

8 (b) IMPLEMENTATION OF SUBTITLE B OF TITLE

9 XVI.—Not later than 1 year after the date of the enact10 ment of this Act and 3 years thereafter, the Comptroller 

11 General of the United States shall submit a report to Con12 gress that contains an evaluation of the Transportation 

13 Security Administration’s progress in implementing sub14 title B of title XVI of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 

15 (116 Stat. 2312), including any efficiencies, cost savings, 

16 or delays that have resulted from such implementation. 

17 SEC. 5. REPORT ON FEASIBILITY OF INVENTORY TRACK18 ING. 

19 Not later than 90 days after the date of the enact20 ment of this Act, the Administrator of the Transportation 

21 Security Administration shall submit a report to Congress 

22 on the feasibility of tracking transportation security-re23 lated technology of the Administration through automated 

24 information and data capture technologies. 


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1 SEC. 6. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE REVIEW 

2 OF TSA’S TEST AND EVALUATION PROCESS. 

3 Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 

4 of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 

5 shall submit a report to Congress that includes— 

6 (1) an evaluation of the Transportation Secu7 rity Administration’s testing and evaluation activi8 ties related to security-related technologies; 

9 (2) information on the extent to which— 

10 (A) the execution of such testing and eval11 uation activities is aligned, temporally and oth12 erwise, with the Administration’s acquisition 

13 needs, planned procurements, and acquisitions 

14 for technology programs and projects; and 

15 (B) security-related technologies that have 

16 been tested, evaluated, and certified for use by 

17 the Administration are not procured by the Ad18 ministration, including the reasons for such 

19 failure to procure; and 

20 (3) recommendations— 

21 (A) to improve the efficiency and efficacy 

22 of such testing and evaluation activities; and 

23 (B) to better align such testing and evalua24 tion with the acquisitions process. 


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1 SEC. 7. NO ADDITIONAL AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA2 TIONS. 

3 This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall 

4 be carried out using amounts otherwise available for such 

5 purpose. No additional funds are authorized to be appro6 priated to carry out this Act or such amendments. 

Æ 


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