IB 

Union Calendar No. 196 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2719 

[Report No. 113–275] 

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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 18, 2013 

Mr. HUDSON (for himself, Mr. MCCAUL, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, and 

Mr. RICHMOND) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Homeland Security 

NOVEMBER 21, 2013 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on July 18, 2013] 


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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. 


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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 Security 

5 Acquisition Reform Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) The Transportation Security Administration 

9 (in this Act referred to as ‘‘TSA’’) does not consist10 ently implement Department of Homeland Security 

11 policies and Government best practices for acquisition 

12 and procurement. 

13 (2) TSA has not developed a multiyear tech14 nology investment plan. As a result, TSA has under15 utilized innovation opportunities within the private 

16 sector, including from small businesses. 

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

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

19 meeting key performance requirements for several 

20 major acquisitions and procurements, resulting in re21 duced security effectiveness and wasted expenditures. 


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1 SEC. 3. TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADMINISTRATION AC2 QUISITION REFORM. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title XVI of the Homeland Secu4 rity Act of 2002 (116 Stat. 2312) is amended to read as 

5 follows: 

6 ‘‘TITLE XVI—TRANSPORTATION 

7 SECURITY 

8 ‘‘Subtitle A—General Provisions 

9 ‘‘SEC. 1601. DEFINITIONS. 

10 ‘‘In this title: 

11 ‘‘(1) ADMINISTRATION.—The term ‘Administra12 tion’ means the Transportation Security Administra13 tion. 

14 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘Adminis15 trator’ means the Administrator of the Transpor16 tation Security Administration. 

17 ‘‘(3) SECURITY-RELATED TECHNOLOGY.—The 

18 term ‘security-related technology’ means any tech19 nology that assists the Administration in the preven20 tion of, or defense against, threats to United States 

21 transportation systems, including threats to people, 

22 property, and information. 


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1 ‘‘Subtitle B—Transportation Secu2 rity Administration Acquisition 

3 Improvements 

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

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

6 ‘‘(1) not later than 180 days after the date of en7 actment of the Transportation Security Acquisition 

8 Reform Act, shall develop and transmit to Congress a 

9 strategic multiyear technology investment plan, which 

10 may include a classified addendum to report sensitive 

11 transportation security risks, technology 

12 vulnerabilities, or other sensitive security informa13 tion; and 

14 ‘‘(2) to the extent possible, shall publish such 

15 plan in an unclassified format within the public do16 main. 

17 ‘‘(b) CONSULTATION.—The Administrator shall de18 velop the multiyear technology investment plan in consulta19 tion with the Under Secretary for Management, the Chief 

20 Information Officer, and the Under Secretary for Science 

21 and Technology. 

22 ‘‘(c) APPROVAL.—The Secretary must have approved 

23 the multiyear technology investment plan before it is pub24 lished under subsection (a)(2). 


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1 ‘‘(d) CONTENTS OF PLAN.—The multiyear technology 

2 investment plan shall include the following: 

3 ‘‘(1) An analysis of transportation security risks 

4 and the associated technology gaps, including consid5 eration of the most recent Quadrennial Homeland Se6 curity Review under section 707. 

7 ‘‘(2) A set of transportation security-related tech8 nology acquisition needs that— 

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

10 identified under paragraph (1); and 

11 ‘‘(B) includes planned technology programs 

12 and projects with defined objectives, goals, and 

13 measures. 

14 ‘‘(3) An analysis of current trends in domestic 

15 and international passenger travel. 

16 ‘‘(4) An identification of currently deployed se17 curity-related technologies that are at or near the end 

18 of their lifecycle. 

19 ‘‘(5) An identification of test, evaluation, mod20 eling, and simulation capabilities that will be re21 quired to support the acquisition of the security-re22 lated technologies to meet those needs. 

23 ‘‘(6) An identification of opportunities for pub24 lic-private partnerships, small and disadvantaged 

25 company participation, intragovernment collaboraVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:39 Nov 21, 2013 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2719.RH H2719

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1 tion, university centers of excellence, and national 

2 laboratory technology transfer. 

3 ‘‘(7) An identification of the Administration’s 

4 acquisition workforce needs that will be required for 

5 the management of planned security-related tech6 nology acquisitions, including consideration of 

7 leveraging acquisition expertise of other Federal agen8 cies. 

9 ‘‘(8) An identification of the security resources, 

10 including information security resources, that will be 

11 required to protect security-related technology from 

12 physical or cyber theft, diversion, sabotage, or attack. 

13 ‘‘(9) An identification of initiatives to stream14 line the Administration’s acquisition process and pro15 vide greater predictability and clarity to small, me16 dium, and large businesses, including the timeline for 

17 testing and evaluation. 

18 ‘‘(e) LEVERAGING THE PRIVATE SECTOR.—To the ex19 tent possible, and in a manner that is consistent with fair 

20 and equitable practices, the plan shall— 

21 ‘‘(1) leverage emerging technology trends and re22 search and development investment trends within the 

23 public and private sectors; 

24 ‘‘(2) incorporate feedback and input received 

25 from the private sector through requests for informaVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:39 Nov 21, 2013 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2719.RH H2719

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1 tion, industry days, and other innovative means con2 sistent with the Federal Acquisition Regulation; and 

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

4 Under Secretary for Science and Technology to iden5 tify technologies that exist or are in development that, 

6 with or without adaptation, could be utilized to meet 

7 mission needs. 

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

9 with the plan required under this section a list of any non10 government persons that contributed to the writing of the 

11 plan. 

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

13 the initial strategic plan is transmitted to Congress, the Ad14 ministrator shall transmit to Congress an update of the 

15 plan and a report on the extent to which each security-re16 lated technology acquired by the Administration since the 

17 last issuance or update of the plan is consistent with the 

18 planned technology programs and projects identified under 

19 subsection (d)(2) for that technology. 

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

21 ‘‘(a) ACQUISITION JUSTIFICATION.—Before the Ad22 ministration implements any security-related technology 

23 acquisition, the Administrator shall, in accordance with the 

24 Department’s policies and directives, conduct a comprehen25 sive analysis to determine whether the acquisition is justiVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:39 Nov 21, 2013 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2719.RH H2719

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1 fied. The analysis shall include, but may not be limited to, 

2 the following: 

3 ‘‘(1) An identification of the type and level of 

4 risk to transportation security that would be ad5 dressed by such technology acquisition. 

6 ‘‘(2) An assessment of how the proposed acquisi7 tion aligns to the multiyear technology investment 

8 plan developed under section 1611. 

9 ‘‘(3) A comparison of the total expected lifecycle 

10 cost against the total expected quantitative and quali11 tative benefits to transportation security. 

12 ‘‘(4) An analysis of alternative security solutions 

13 to determine if the proposed technology acquisition is 

14 the most effective and cost-efficient solution based on 

15 cost-benefit considerations. 

16 ‘‘(5) An evaluation of the privacy and civil lib17 erties implications of the proposed acquisition, and a 

18 determination that the proposed acquisition is con19 sistent with fair information practice principles 

20 issued by the Privacy Officer of the Department. To 

21 the extent practicable, the evaluation shall include 

22 consultation with organizations that advocate for the 

23 protection of privacy and civil liberties. 


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1 ‘‘(6) Confirmation that there are no significant 

2 risks to human health and safety posed by the pro3 posed acquisition. 

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

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

6 30-day period preceding the award by the Adminis7 tration of a contract for any security-related tech8 nology acquisition exceeding $30,000,000, the Admin9 istrator shall submit to the Committee on Homeland 

10 Security of the House of Representatives and the 

11 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor12 tation of the Senate the results of the comprehensive 

13 acquisition analysis required under this section and 

14 a certification by the Administrator that the security 

15 benefits justify the contract cost. 

16 ‘‘(2) EXTENSION DUE TO IMMINENT TERRORIST

17 THREAT.—If there is a known or suspected imminent 

18 threat to transportation security, the Administrator 

19 may reduce the 30-day period under paragraph (1) to 

20 5 days in order to rapidly respond. 

21 ‘‘(3) NOTICE TO CONGRESS.—The Administrator 

22 shall provide immediate notice of such imminent 

23 threat to the Committee on Homeland Security of the 

24 House of Representatives and the Committee on Com25 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate. 


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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 formal 

8 baseline requirements. 

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

10 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 perform18 ance milestones under paragraph (2), the appropriate 

19 acquisition official of the Department shall, to the ex20 tent possible and in consultation with the Under Sec21 retary for Science and Technology, ensure that 

22 achieving these milestones is technologically feasible. 

23 ‘‘(4) TEST AND EVALUATION PLAN.—The Admin24 istrator, in consultation with the Under Secretary for 

25 Science and Technology, shall develop a test and eval26 uation plan that, at a minimum, describes— 


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

2 assess acquired technologies against the perform3 ance milestones established under paragraph (2); 

4 ‘‘(B) the necessary and cost-effective com5 bination of laboratory testing, field testing, mod6 eling, simulation, and supporting analysis to en7 sure that such technologies meet the Administra8 tion’s mission needs; and 

9 ‘‘(C) an efficient schedule to ensure that test 

10 and evaluation activities are completed without 

11 undue delay. 

12 ‘‘(5) VERIFICATION AND VALIDATION.—The ap13 propriate acquisition official of the Department— 

14 ‘‘(A) subject to subparagraph (B), shall uti15 lize independent reviewers to verify and validate 

16 the performance milestones and cost estimates de17 veloped under paragraph (2) for a security-re18 lated technology that pursuant to section 

19 1611(d)(2) has been identified as a high priority 

20 need in the most recent multiyear technology in21 vestment plan; and 

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

23 independent reviewers does not unduly delay the 

24 schedule of any acquisition. 


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1 ‘‘(6) STREAMLINING ACCESS FOR INTERESTED

2 VENDORS.—The Administrator shall establish a 

3 streamlined process for an interested vendor of a secu4 rity-related technology to request and receive appro5 priate access to the baseline requirements and test 

6 and evaluation plans that are necessary for the ven7 dor to participate in the acquisitions process for such 

8 technology. 

9 ‘‘(b) REVIEW OF BASELINE REQUIREMENTS AND DEVI10 ATION; REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) REVIEW.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The appropriate acqui13 sition official of the Department shall review and 

14 assess each implemented acquisition to determine 

15 if the acquisition is meeting the baseline require16 ments established under subsection (a). 

17 ‘‘(B) TEST AND EVALUATION ASSESS18 MENT.—The review shall include an assessment 

19 of whether the planned testing and evaluation 

20 activities have been completed and the results of 

21 such testing and evaluation demonstrate that the 

22 performance milestones are technologically fea23 sible. 

24 ‘‘(2) REPORT.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 

2 shall report to the Committee on Homeland Se3 curity of the House of Representatives and the 

4 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor5 tation of the Senate the results of any assessment 

6 that finds that— 

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

8 the baseline costs by more than 10 percent; 

9 ‘‘(ii) the actual or planned schedule for 

10 delivery has been delayed by more than 180 

11 days; or 

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

13 performance milestone that directly impacts 

14 security effectiveness. 

15 ‘‘(B) CAUSE.—The report shall include the 

16 cause for such excessive costs, delay, or failure, 

17 and a plan for corrective action. 

18 ‘‘(C) TIMELINESS.—The report required 

19 under this section shall be provided to the Com20 mittee on Homeland Security of the House of 

21 Representatives and the Committee on Com22 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 

23 no later than 30 days after identifying such ex24 cessive costs, delay, or failure. 


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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, the 

4 Administrator shall, to the extent practicable, utilize any 

5 existing units in the Administration’s inventory to meet 

6 that need. 

7 ‘‘(b) TRACKING OF INVENTORY.— 

8 ‘‘(1) LOCATION.—The Administrator shall estab9 lish a process for tracking the location of security-re10 lated equipment in such inventory. 

11 ‘‘(2) UTILIZATION.—The Administrator shall— 

12 ‘‘(A) establish a process for tracking the uti13 lization status of security-related technology in 

14 such inventory; and 

15 ‘‘(B) implement internal controls to ensure 

16 accurate data on security-related technology uti17 lization. 

18 ‘‘(3) QUANTITY.—The Administrator shall estab19 lish a process for tracking the quantity of security-re20 lated equipment in such inventory. 

21 ‘‘(c) LOGISTICS MANAGEMENT.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall es23 tablish logistics principles for managing inventory in 

24 an effective and efficient manner. 


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1 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION ON JUST-IN-TIME LOGISTICS.— 

2 The Administrator may not use just-in-time logistics 

3 if doing so would— 

4 ‘‘(A) inhibit necessary planning for large5 scale delivery of equipment to airports or other 

6 facilities; or 

7 ‘‘(B) unduly diminish surge capacity for re8 sponse to a terrorist threat. 

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

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

11 of the Transportation Security Acquisition Reform Act, and 

12 annually thereafter, the Administrator shall submit to the 

13 Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Rep14 resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

15 Transportation of the Senate a report that includes the fol16 lowing: 

17 ‘‘(1) A restatement of the Administration’s pub18 lished goals for contracting with small businesses, in19 cluding small and disadvantaged businesses, and the 

20 Administration’s performance record with respect to 

21 meeting those goals during the preceding fiscal year. 

22 ‘‘(2) If such goals were not met, or the Adminis23 tration’s performance was below the published goals of 

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1 tracting plans and the extent to which contract bun2 dling was a factor, that contributed to the level of per3 formance during the preceding fiscal year. 

4 ‘‘(3) An action plan, with benchmarks, for ad5 dressing each of the challenges identified in para6 graph (2), prepared after consultation with the Sec7 retary of Defense and the heads of Federal depart8 ments and agencies that achieved their published 

9 goals for prime contracting with small and minority 

10 owned businesses, including small and disadvantaged 

11 businesses, in prior fiscal years, to identify policies 

12 and procedures that could be incorporated at the Ad13 ministration in furtherance of achieving the Adminis14 tration’s published goal for such contracting. 

15 ‘‘(4) The status of implementing such action 

16 plan that was developed in the preceding fiscal year 

17 in accordance with paragraph (3). 

18 ‘‘SEC. 1616. CONSISTENCY WITH THE FEDERAL ACQUISI19 TION REGULATION AND DEPARTMENTAL 

20 POLICIES AND DIRECTIVES. 

21 ‘‘The Administrator shall execute responsibilities set 

22 forth in this subtitle in a manner consistent with, and not 

23 duplicative of, the Federal Acquisition Regulation and the 

24 Department’s policies and directives.’’. 


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1 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents in 

2 section 1(b) of such Act is amended by striking the items 

3 relating to title XVI and 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.’’. 

4 (c) PRIOR AMENDMENTS NOT AFFECTED.—This sec5 tion shall not be construed to affect any amendment made 

6 by title XVI of such Act as in effect before the date of enact7 ment of this Act. 

8 SEC. 4. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE REPORTS. 

9 (a) IMPLEMENTATION OF PREVIOUS RECOMMENDA10 TIONS.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

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

12 shall assess and report to Congress on implementation by 

13 the Transportation Security Administration of rec14 ommendations regarding the acquisition of technology that 

15 were made by the Government Accountability Office before 

16 the date of enactment of this Act. 

17 (b) IMPLEMENTATION OF SUBTITLE B OF TITLE

18 XVI.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

19 of this Act and 3 years thereafter, the Comptroller General 


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1 of the United States shall evaluate and report to Congress 

2 the Transportation Security Administration’s progress in 

3 implementing subtitle B of title XVI of the Homeland Secu4 rity Act of 2002 (116 Stat. 2312), as amended by this Act 

5 (including provisions added to such subtitle after the date 

6 of enactment of this Act), including any efficiencies, cost 

7 savings, or delays that have resulted from such implementa8 tion. 

9 SEC. 5. REPORT ON FEASIBILITY OF INVENTORY TRACKING. 

10 Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of 

11 this Act, the Administrator of the Transportation Security 

12 Administration shall report to Congress on the feasibility 

13 of tracking transportation security-related technology of the 

14 Administration through automated information and data 

15 capture technologies. 

16 SEC. 6. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE REVIEW OF 

17 TSA’S TEST AND EVALUATION PROCESS. 

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

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

20 shall evaluate and report to Congress on the Transportation 

21 Security Administration’s testing and evaluation activities 

22 related to security-related technologies. The report shall in23 clude— 

24 (1) information on the extent to which — 


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1 (A) the execution of such testing and eval2 uation activities is aligned, temporally and oth3 erwise, with the Administration’s acquisition 

4 needs, planned procurements, and acquistions for 

5 technology programs and projects; and 

6 (B) the extent to which security-related tech7 nologies that have been tested, evaluated, and 

8 certified for use by the Administration are not 

9 procured by the Administration, including infor10 mation about why that occurs; and 

11 (2) recommendations to— 

12 (A) improve the efficiency and efficacy of 

13 such testing and evaluation activities; and 

14 (B) better align such testing and evaluation 

15 with the acquisitions process. 

16 SEC. 7. NO ADDITIONAL AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA17 TIONS. 

18 No additional funds are authorized to be appropriated 

19 to carry out this Act and the amendments made by this 

20 Act, and this Act and such amendments shall be carried 

21 out using amounts otherwise available for such purpose. 


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Union Calendar No. 196 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2719 

[Report No. 113–275] 

A BILL 

To require the Transportation Security Administration programs, and for other purposes. transparency with regard to technology acquisi- tion to implement best practices and improve 

NOVEMBER 21, 2013 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS