113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2719 

AN ACT 

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, 
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Transportation Secu3 rity Acquisition Reform Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress finds the following: 

6 (1) The Transportation Security Administration 

7 (in this Act referred to as ‘‘TSA’’) does not consist8 ently implement Department of Homeland Security 

9 policies and Government best practices for acquisi10 tion and procurement. 

11 (2) TSA has not developed a multiyear tech12 nology investment plan. As a result, TSA has under13 utilized innovation opportunities within the private 

14 sector, including from small businesses. 

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

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

17 in meeting key performance requirements for several 

18 major acquisitions and procurements, resulting in 

19 reduced security effectiveness and wasted expendi20 tures. 

21 SEC. 3. TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADMINISTRATION AC22 QUISITION REFORM. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title XVI of the Homeland Secu24 rity Act of 2002 (116 Stat. 2312) is amended to read as 

25 follows: 
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1 ‘‘TITLE XVI—TRANSPORTATION 

2 SECURITY 

3 ‘‘Subtitle A—General Provisions 

4 ‘‘SEC. 1601. DEFINITIONS. 

5 ‘‘In this title: 

6 ‘‘(1) ADMINISTRATION.—The term ‘Administra7 tion’ means the Transportation Security Administra8 tion. 

9 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘Adminis10 trator’ means the Administrator of the Transpor11 tation Security Administration. 

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

13 term ‘security-related technology’ means any tech14 nology that assists the Administration in the preven15 tion of, or defense against, threats to United States 

16 transportation systems, including threats to people, 

17 property, and information. 

18 ‘‘Subtitle B—Transportation Secu19 rity Administration Acquisition 

20 Improvements 

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

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

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

24 enactment of the Transportation Security Acquisi25 tion Reform Act, shall develop and transmit to Con-
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1 gress a strategic multiyear technology investment 

2 plan, which may include a classified addendum to re3 port sensitive transportation security risks, tech4 nology vulnerabilities, or other sensitive security in5 formation; and 

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

7 plan in an unclassified format within the public do8 main. 

9 ‘‘(b) CONSULTATION.—The Administrator shall de10 velop the multiyear technology investment plan in con11 sultation with the Under Secretary for Management, the 

12 Chief Information Officer, and the Under Secretary for 

13 Science and Technology. 

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

15 the multiyear technology investment plan before it is pub16 lished under subsection (a)(2). 

17 ‘‘(d) CONTENTS OF PLAN.—The multiyear tech18 nology investment plan shall include the following: 

19 ‘‘(1) An analysis of transportation security 

20 risks and the associated technology gaps, including 

21 consideration of the most recent Quadrennial Home22 land Security Review under section 707. 

23 ‘‘(2) A set of transportation security-related 

24 technology acquisition needs that— 
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1 ‘‘(A) is prioritized based on risk and gaps 

2 identified under paragraph (1); and 

3 ‘‘(B) includes planned technology programs 

4 and projects with defined objectives, goals, and 

5 measures. 

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

7 and international passenger travel. 

8 ‘‘(4) An identification of currently deployed se9 curity-related technologies that are at or near the 

10 end of their lifecycle. 

11 ‘‘(5) An identification of test, evaluation, mod12 eling, and simulation capabilities that will be re13 quired to support the acquisition of the security-re14 lated technologies to meet those needs. 

15 ‘‘(6) An identification of opportunities for pub16 lic-private partnerships, small and disadvantaged 

17 company participation, intragovernment collabora18 tion, university centers of excellence, and national 

19 laboratory technology transfer. 

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

21 acquisition workforce needs that will be required for 

22 the management of planned security-related tech23 nology acquisitions, including consideration of 

24 leveraging acquisition expertise of other Federal 

25 agencies. 
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1 ‘‘(8) An identification of the security resources, 

2 including information security resources, that will be 

3 required to protect security-related technology from 

4 physical or cyber theft, diversion, sabotage, or at5 tack. 

6 ‘‘(9) An identification of initiatives to stream7 line the Administration’s acquisition process and 

8 provide greater predictability and clarity to small, 

9 medium, and large businesses, including the timeline 

10 for testing and evaluation. 

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

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

13 fair and equitable practices, the plan shall— 

14 ‘‘(1) leverage emerging technology trends and 

15 research and development investment trends within 

16 the public and private sectors; 

17 ‘‘(2) incorporate feedback and input received 

18 from the private sector through requests for infor19 mation, industry days, and other innovative means 

20 consistent with the Federal Acquisition Regulation; 

21 and 

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

23 Under Secretary for Science and Technology to iden24 tify technologies that exist or are in development 
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1 that, with or without adaptation, could be utilized to 

2 meet mission needs. 

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

4 with the plan required under this section a list of any non5 government persons that contributed to the writing of the 

6 plan. 

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

8 after the initial strategic plan is transmitted to Congress, 

9 the Administrator shall transmit to Congress an update 

10 of the plan and a report on the extent to which each secu11 rity-related technology acquired by the Administration 

12 since the last issuance or update of the plan is consistent 

13 with the planned technology programs and projects identi14 fied under subsection (d)(2) for that technology. 

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

16 ‘‘(a) ACQUISITION JUSTIFICATION.—Before the Ad17 ministration implements any security-related technology 

18 acquisition, the Administrator shall, in accordance with 

19 the Department’s policies and directives, conduct a com20 prehensive analysis to determine whether the acquisition 

21 is justified. The analysis shall include, but may not be lim22 ited to, the following: 

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

24 risk to transportation security that would be ad25 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 

5 lifecycle cost against the total expected quantitative 

6 and qualitative benefits to transportation security. 

7 ‘‘(4) An analysis of alternative security solu8 tions to determine if the proposed technology acqui9 sition is the most effective and cost-efficient solution 

10 based on cost-benefit considerations. 

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

13 a determination that the proposed acquisition is con14 sistent with fair information practice principles 

15 issued by the Privacy Officer of the Department. To 

16 the extent practicable, the evaluation shall include 

17 consultation with organizations that advocate for the 

18 protection of privacy and civil liberties. 

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 Homeland Security of the House of Representatives 

4 and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

5 Transportation of the Senate the results of the com6 prehensive acquisition analysis required under this 

7 section and a certification by the Administrator that 

8 the security benefits justify the contract cost. 

9 ‘‘(2) EXTENSION DUE TO IMMINENT TERRORIST

10 THREAT.—If there is a known or suspected immi11 nent threat to transportation security, the Adminis12 trator may reduce the 30-day period under para13 graph (1) to 5 days in order to rapidly respond. 

14 ‘‘(3) NOTICE TO CONGRESS.—The Adminis15 trator shall provide immediate notice of such immi16 nent threat to the Committee on Homeland Security 

17 of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

18 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 

19 Senate. 

20 ‘‘SEC. 1613. ACQUISITION BASELINE ESTABLISHMENT AND 

21 REPORTS. 

22 ‘‘(a) BASELINE REQUIREMENTS.— 

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

24 implements any security-related technology acquisi25 tion, the appropriate acquisition official of the De-
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1 partment shall establish and document a set of for2 mal baseline requirements. 

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

4 shall— 

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

6 lifecycle costs), schedule, and performance mile7 stones for the planned duration of the acquisi8 tion; and 

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

10 plan for mitigating these risks. 

11 ‘‘(3) FEASIBILITY.—In establishing the per12 formance milestones under paragraph (2), the ap13 propriate acquisition official of the Department 

14 shall, to the extent possible and in consultation with 

15 the Under Secretary for Science and Technology, en16 sure that achieving these milestones is techno17 logically feasible. 

18 ‘‘(4) TEST AND EVALUATION PLAN.—The Ad19 ministrator, in consultation with the Under Sec20 retary for Science and Technology, shall develop a 

21 test and evaluation plan that, at a minimum, de22 scribes— 

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

24 assess acquired technologies against the per-
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1 formance milestones established under para2 graph (2); 

3 ‘‘(B) the necessary and cost-effective com4 bination of laboratory testing, field testing, 

5 modeling, simulation, and supporting analysis 

6 to ensure that such technologies meet the Ad7 ministration’s mission needs; and 

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

9 test and evaluation activities are completed 

10 without undue delay. 

11 ‘‘(5) VERIFICATION AND VALIDATION.—The ap12 propriate acquisition official of the Department— 

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

14 utilize independent reviewers to verify and vali15 date the performance milestones and cost esti16 mates developed under paragraph (2) for a se17 curity-related technology that pursuant to sec18 tion 1611(d)(2) has been identified as a high 

19 priority need in the most recent multiyear tech20 nology investment plan; and 

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

22 independent reviewers does not unduly delay 

23 the schedule of any acquisition. 

24 ‘‘(6) STREAMLINING ACCESS FOR INTERESTED

25 VENDORS.—The Administrator shall establish a 
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1 streamlined process for an interested vendor of a se2 curity-related technology to request and receive ap3 propriate access to the baseline requirements and 

4 test and evaluation plans that are necessary for the 

5 vendor to participate in the acquisitions process for 

6 such technology. 

7 ‘‘(b) REVIEW OF BASELINE REQUIREMENTS AND

8 DEVIATION; REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) REVIEW.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The appropriate ac11 quisition official of the Department shall review 

12 and assess each implemented acquisition to de13 termine if the acquisition is meeting the base14 line requirements established under subsection 

15 (a). 

16 ‘‘(B) TEST AND EVALUATION ASSESS17 MENT.—The review shall include an assessment 

18 of whether the planned testing and evaluation 

19 activities have been completed and the results 

20 of such testing and evaluation demonstrate that 

21 the performance milestones are technologically 

22 feasible. 

23 ‘‘(2) REPORT.— 

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

25 shall report to the Committee on Homeland Se-
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1 curity of the House of Representatives and the 

2 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans3 portation of the Senate the results of any as4 sessment that finds that— 

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

6 the baseline costs by more than 10 per7 cent; 

8 ‘‘(ii) the actual or planned schedule 

9 for delivery has been delayed by more than 

10 180 days; or 

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

12 performance milestone that directly im13 pacts security effectiveness. 

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

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

16 and a plan for corrective action. 

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

18 under this section shall be provided to the Com19 mittee on Homeland Security of the House of 

20 Representatives and the Committee on Com21 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Sen22 ate no later than 30 days after identifying such 

23 excessive 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, 

4 the Administrator shall, to the extent practicable, utilize 

5 any existing units in the Administration’s inventory to 

6 meet that need. 

7 ‘‘(b) TRACKING OF INVENTORY.— 

8 ‘‘(1) LOCATION.—The Administrator shall es9 tablish a process for tracking the location of secu10 rity-related equipment in such inventory. 

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

12 ‘‘(A) establish a process for tracking the 

13 utilization status of security-related technology 

14 in such inventory; and 

15 ‘‘(B) implement internal controls to ensure 

16 accurate data on security-related technology 

17 utilization. 

18 ‘‘(3) QUANTITY.—The Administrator shall es19 tablish a process for tracking the quantity of secu20 rity-related 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 LOGIS2 TICS.—The Administrator may not use just-in-time 

3 logistics 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 

8 response 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, 

12 and annually thereafter, the Administrator shall submit 

13 to the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of 

14 Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

15 Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report that 

16 includes the following: 

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

19 including small and disadvantaged businesses, and 

20 the Administration’s performance record with re21 spect to meeting those goals during the preceding 

22 fiscal year. 

23 ‘‘(2) If such goals were not met, or the Admin24 istration’s performance was below the published 

25 goals of the Department, an itemized list of chal-
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1 lenges, including deviations from the Administra2 tion’s subcontracting plans and the extent to which 

3 contract bundling was a factor, that contributed to 

4 the level of performance during the preceding fiscal 

5 year. 

6 ‘‘(3) An action plan, with benchmarks, for ad7 dressing each of the challenges identified in para8 graph (2), prepared after consultation with the Sec9 retary of Defense and the heads of Federal depart10 ments and agencies that achieved their published 

11 goals for prime contracting with small and minority 

12 owned businesses, including small and disadvantaged 

13 businesses, in prior fiscal years, to identify policies 

14 and procedures that could be incorporated at the 

15 Administration in furtherance of achieving the Ad16 ministration’s published goal for such contracting. 

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

18 plan that was developed in the preceding fiscal year 

19 in accordance with paragraph (3). 

20 ‘‘SEC. 1616. CONSISTENCY WITH THE FEDERAL ACQUISI21 TION REGULATION AND DEPARTMENTAL 

22 POLICIES AND DIRECTIVES. 

23 ‘‘The Administrator shall execute responsibilities set 

24 forth in this subtitle in a manner consistent with, and not 
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1 duplicative of, the Federal Acquisition Regulation and the 

2 Department’s policies and directives.’’. 

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

4 in section 1(b) of such Act is amended by striking the 

5 items 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.’’. 

6 (c) PRIOR AMENDMENTS NOT AFFECTED.—This sec7 tion shall not be construed to affect any amendment made 

8 by title XVI of such Act as in effect before the date of 

9 enactment of this Act. 

10 SEC. 4. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE REPORTS. 

11 (a) IMPLEMENTATION OF PREVIOUS RECOMMENDA12 TIONS.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

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

14 shall assess and report to Congress on implementation by 

15 the Transportation Security Administration of rec16 ommendations regarding the acquisition of technology that 

17 were made by the Government Accountability Office before 

18 the date of enactment of this Act. 
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1 (b) IMPLEMENTATION OF SUBTITLE B OF TITLE

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

3 of this Act and 3 years thereafter, the Comptroller Gen4 eral of the United States shall evaluate and report to Con5 gress the Transportation Security Administration’s 

6 progress in implementing subtitle B of title XVI of the 

7 Homeland Security Act of 2002 (116 Stat. 2312), as 

8 amended by this Act (including provisions added to such 

9 subtitle after the date of enactment of this Act), including 

10 any efficiencies, cost savings, or delays that have resulted 

11 from such implementation. 

12 SEC. 5. REPORT ON FEASIBILITY OF INVENTORY TRACK13 ING. 

14 Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment 

15 of this Act, the Administrator of the Transportation Secu16 rity Administration shall report to Congress on the feasi17 bility of tracking transportation security-related tech18 nology of the Administration through automated informa19 tion and data capture technologies. 

20 SEC. 6. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE REVIEW 

21 OF TSA’S TEST AND EVALUATION PROCESS. 

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

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

24 shall evaluate and report to Congress on the Transpor25 tation Security Administration’s testing and evaluation ac-
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1 tivities related to security-related technologies. The report 

2 shall include— 

3 (1) information on the extent to which — 

4 (A) the execution of such testing and eval5 uation activities is aligned, temporally and oth6 erwise, with the Administration’s acquisition 

7 needs, planned procurements, and acquistions 

8 for technology programs and projects; and 

9 (B) the extent to which security-related 

10 technologies that have been tested, evaluated, 

11 and certified for use by the Administration are 

12 not procured by the Administration, including 

13 information about why that occurs; and 

14 (2) recommendations to— 

15 (A) improve the efficiency and efficacy of 

16 such testing and evaluation activities; and 

17 (B) better align such testing and evalua18 tion with the acquisitions process. 

19 SEC. 7. NO ADDITIONAL AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA20 TIONS. 

21 No additional funds are authorized to be appro22 priated to carry out this Act and the amendments made 

23 by this Act, and this Act and such amendments shall be 
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1 carried out using amounts otherwise available for such 

2 purpose. 

Passed the House of Representatives December 3, 

2013. 

Attest: 

Clerk. 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2719 

AN ACT 

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