I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1252 

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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 28, 2017 

Mr. HIGGINS of Louisiana (for himself and Mr. MCCAUL) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security 

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’’. 


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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 subsection (d) as subsection 

7 (e); and 

8 (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol9 lowing new subsection: 

10 ‘‘(d) ACQUISITION AND RELATED RESPONSIBIL11 ITIES.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 

13 1702(b) of title 41, United States Code, the Under 

14 Secretary for Management is the Chief Acquisition 

15 Officer of the Department. As Chief Acquisition Of16 ficer, the Under Secretary shall have the authorities 

17 and perform the functions specified in section 

18 1702(b) of such title, and perform all other func19 tions and responsibilities delegated by the Secretary 

20 or described in this subsection. 

21 ‘‘(2) FUNCTIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES.—In 

22 addition to the authorities and functions specified in 

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

24 functions and responsibilities of the Under Secretary 

25 for Management related to acquisition (as such term 

26 is defined in section 710) include the following: 


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1 ‘‘(A) Advising the Secretary regarding ac2 quisition management activities, taking into ac3 count risks of failure to achieve cost, schedule, 

4 or performance parameters, to ensure that the 

5 Department achieves its mission through the 

6 adoption of widely accepted program manage7 ment best practices (as such term is defined in 

8 section 710) and standards. 

9 ‘‘(B) Leading the Department’s acquisition 

10 oversight body, the Acquisition Review Board, 

11 and exercising the acquisition decision authority 

12 (as such term is defined in section 710) to ap13 prove, pause, modify (including the rescission of 

14 approvals of program milestones), or cancel 

15 major acquisition programs (as such term is de16 fined in section 710), unless the Under Sec17 retary delegates such authority to a Component 

18 Acquisition Executive (as such term is defined 

19 in section 710) pursuant to paragraph (3). 

20 ‘‘(C) Establishing policies for acquisition 

21 that implement an approach that takes into ac22 count risks of failure to achieve cost, schedule, 

23 or performance parameters that all components 

24 of the Department shall comply with, including 

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1 agers to effectively manage acquisition pro2 grams. 

3 ‘‘(D) Ensuring that each major acquisition 

4 program has a Department-approved acquisi5 tion program baseline (as such term is defined 

6 in section 710), pursuant to the Department’s 

7 acquisition management policy. 

8 ‘‘(E) Ensuring that the heads of compo9 nents and Component Acquisition Executives 

10 comply with Federal law, the Federal Acquisi11 tion Regulation, and Department acquisition 

12 management directives. 

13 ‘‘(F) Ensuring that grants and financial 

14 assistance are provided only to individuals and 

15 organizations that are not suspended or 

16 debarred. 

17 ‘‘(G) Distributing guidance throughout the 

18 Department to ensure that contractors involved 

19 in acquisitions, particularly contractors that ac20 cess the Department’s information systems and 

21 technologies, adhere to relevant Department 

22 policies related to physical and information se23 curity as identified by the Under Secretary for 

24 Management. 


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1 ‘‘(H) Overseeing the Component Acquisi2 tion Executive organizational structure to en3 sure Component Acquisition Executives have 

4 sufficient capabilities and comply with Depart5 ment acquisition policies. 

6 ‘‘(3) DELEGATION OF ACQUISITION DECISION

7 AUTHORITY.— 

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

9 Secretary for Management may delegate acqui10 sition decision authority in writing to the rel11 evant Component Acquisition Executive for an 

12 acquisition program that has a life cycle cost 

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

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

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

18 major acquisition program that has a life cycle 

19 cost estimate of at least $300,000,000 but not 

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

21 requirements are met: 

22 ‘‘(i) The component concerned pos23 sesses working policies, processes, and pro24 cedures that are consistent with Depart25 ment-level acquisition policy. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) The Component Acquisition Ex2 ecutive concerned has adequate, experi3 enced, and dedicated professional employ4 ees with program management training, as 

5 applicable, commensurate with the size of 

6 the acquisition programs and related ac7 tivities delegated to such Component Ac8 quisition Executive by the Under Secretary 

9 for Management. 

10 ‘‘(iii) Each major acquisition program 

11 concerned has written documentation 

12 showing that it has a Department-ap13 proved acquisition program baseline and it 

14 is meeting agreed-upon cost, schedule, and 

15 performance thresholds. 

16 ‘‘(4) RELATIONSHIP TO UNDER SECRETARY

17 FOR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this sub19 section shall diminish the authority granted to 

20 the Under Secretary for Science and Tech21 nology under this Act. The Under Secretary for 

22 Management and the Under Secretary for 

23 Science and Technology shall cooperate in mat24 ters related to the coordination of acquisitions 

25 across the Department so that investments of 


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1 the Directorate of Science and Technology are 

2 able to support current and future requirements 

3 of the components of the Department. 

4 ‘‘(B) OPERATIONAL TESTING AND EVALUA5 TION.—The Under Secretary for Science and 

6 Technology shall— 

7 ‘‘(i) ensure, in coordination with rel8 evant component heads, that major acqui9 sition programs— 

10 ‘‘(I) complete operational testing 

11 and evaluation of technologies and 

12 systems; 

13 ‘‘(II) use independent verification 

14 and validation of operational test and 

15 evaluation implementation and re16 sults; and 

17 ‘‘(III) document whether such 

18 programs meet all performance re19 quirements included in their acquisi20 tion program baselines; 

21 ‘‘(ii) ensure that such operational 

22 testing and evaluation includes all system 

23 components and incorporates operators 

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1 form as intended in the appropriate oper2 ational setting; and 

3 ‘‘(iii) determine if testing conducted 

4 by other Federal agencies and private enti5 ties is relevant and sufficient in deter6 mining whether systems perform as in7 tended in the operational setting.’’. 

8 SEC. 3. ACQUISITION AUTHORITIES FOR CHIEF FINANCIAL 

9 OFFICER OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HOME10 LAND SECURITY. 

11 Paragraph (2) of section 702(b) of the Homeland Se12 curity Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 342(b)) is amended by add13 ing at the end the following new subparagraph: 

14 ‘‘(J) Oversee the costs of acquisition pro15 grams and related activities to ensure that ac16 tual and planned costs are in accordance with 

17 budget estimates and are affordable, or can be 

18 adequately funded, over the life cycle of such 

19 programs and activities.’’. 

20 SEC. 4. ACQUISITION AUTHORITIES FOR CHIEF INFORMA21 TION OFFICER OF THE DEPARTMENT OF 

22 HOMELAND SECURITY. 

23 Section 703 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 

24 (6 U.S.C. 343) is amended— 


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1 (1) by redesignating subsection (b) as sub2 section (c); and 

3 (2) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol4 lowing new subsection: 

5 ‘‘(b) ACQUISITION RESPONSIBILITIES.—Notwith6 standing section 11315 of title 40, United States Code, 

7 the acquisition responsibilities of the Chief Information 

8 Officer, in consultation with the Under Secretary for Man9 agement, shall include the following: 

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

11 Security Enterprise Architecture and ensure that, 

12 before each acquisition decision event (as such term 

13 is defined in section 710), approved information 

14 technology acquisitions comply with departmental in15 formation technology management processes, tech16 nical requirements, and the Homeland Security En17 terprise Architecture, and in any case in which infor18 mation technology acquisitions do not comply with 

19 the Department’s management directives, make rec20 ommendations to the Acquisition Review Board re21 garding such noncompliance. 

22 ‘‘(2) Be responsible for providing recommenda23 tions to the Acquisition Review Board regarding in24 formation technology programs, and be responsible 


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1 for developing information technology acquisition 

2 strategic guidance.’’. 

3 SEC. 5. ACQUISITION AUTHORITIES FOR PROGRAM AC4 COUNTABILITY AND RISK MANAGEMENT 

5 (PARM). 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title VII of the Homeland Secu7 rity Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 341 et seq.) is amended by 

8 adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘§ 710. Acquisition authorities for Program Account10 ability and Risk Management 

11 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE.—Within the Man12 agement Directorate, there shall be a Program Account13 ability and Risk Management office to— 

14 ‘‘(1) provide consistent accountability, stand15 ardization, and transparency of major acquisition 

16 programs of the Department; and 

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

18 all Department acquisition programs. 

19 ‘‘(b) RESPONSIBILITIES OF EXECUTIVE DIREC20 TOR.—The Program Accountability and Risk Management 

21 office shall be led by an Executive Director to oversee the 

22 requirement under subsection (a). The Executive Director 

23 shall report directly to the Under Secretary for Manage24 ment, and shall carry out the following responsibilities: 


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1 ‘‘(1) Monitor regularly the performance of De2 partment acquisition programs between acquisition 

3 decision events to identify problems with cost, per4 formance, or schedule that components may need to 

5 address to prevent cost overruns, performance 

6 issues, or schedule delays. 

7 ‘‘(2) Assist the Under Secretary for Manage8 ment in managing the Department’s acquisition pro9 grams and related activities. 

10 ‘‘(3) Conduct oversight of individual acquisition 

11 programs to implement Department acquisition pro12 gram policy, procedures, and guidance with a pri13 ority on ensuring the data the office collects and 

14 maintains from Department components is accurate 

15 and reliable. 

16 ‘‘(4) Serve as the focal point and coordinator 

17 for the acquisition life cycle review process and as 

18 the executive secretariat for the Acquisition Review 

19 Board. 

20 ‘‘(5) Advise the persons having acquisition deci21 sion authority in making acquisition decisions con22 sistent with all applicable laws and in establishing 

23 clear lines of authority, accountability, and responsi24 bility for acquisition decisionmaking within the De25 partment. 


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1 ‘‘(6) Engage in the strategic planning and per2 formance evaluation process required under section 

3 306 of title 5, United States Code, and sections 

4 1105(a)(28), 1115, 1116, and 9703 of title 31, 

5 United States Code, by supporting the Chief Pro6 curement Officer in developing strategies and spe7 cific plans for hiring, training, and professional de8 velopment in order to rectify any deficiency within 

9 the Department’s acquisition workforce. 

10 ‘‘(7) Develop standardized certification stand11 ards in consultation with the Component Acquisition 

12 Executives for all acquisition program managers. 

13 ‘‘(8) In the event that an acquisition program 

14 manager’s certification or actions need review for 

15 purposes of promotion or removal, provide input, in 

16 consultation with the relevant Component Acquisi17 tion Executive, into the relevant acquisition program 

18 manager’s performance evaluation, and report posi19 tive or negative experiences to the relevant certifying 

20 authority. 

21 ‘‘(9) Provide technical support and assistance 

22 to Department acquisitions and acquisition per23 sonnel in conjunction with the Chief Procurement 

24 Officer. 


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1 ‘‘(10) Prepare the Department’s Comprehensive 

2 Acquisition Status Report, as required by title I of 

3 division D of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 

4 2016 (Public Law 114–113), and make such report 

5 available to the congressional homeland security 

6 committees. 

7 ‘‘(c) RESPONSIBILITIES OF COMPONENTS.—Each 

8 head of a component shall comply with Federal law, the 

9 Federal Acquisition Regulation, and Department acquisi10 tion management directives established by the Under Sec11 retary for Management. For each major acquisition pro12 gram, each head of a component shall— 

13 ‘‘(1) define baseline requirements and document 

14 changes to such requirements, as appropriate; 

15 ‘‘(2) establish a complete life cycle cost estimate 

16 with supporting documentation, including an acquisi17 tion program baseline; 

18 ‘‘(3) verify each life cycle cost estimate against 

19 independent cost estimates, and reconcile any dif20 ferences; 

21 ‘‘(4) complete a cost-benefit analysis with sup22 porting documentation; 

23 ‘‘(5) develop and maintain a schedule that is 

24 consistent with scheduling best practices as identi25 fied by the Comptroller General of the United 


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1 States, including, in appropriate cases, an integrated 

2 master schedule; and 

3 ‘‘(6) ensure that all acquisition program infor4 mation provided by the component is complete, accu5 rate, timely, and valid. 

6 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

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

8 the meaning given such term in section 131 of title 

9 41, United States Code. 

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

11 term ‘acquisition decision authority’ means the au12 thority, held by the Secretary acting through the 

13 Deputy Secretary or Under Secretary for Manage14 ment to— 

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

16 the Federal Acquisition Regulation, and De17 partment acquisition management directives; 

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

19 modifying, or canceling) an acquisition program 

20 through the life cycle of such program; 

21 ‘‘(C) ensure that acquisition program man22 agers have the resources necessary to success23 fully execute an approved acquisition program; 

24 ‘‘(D) ensure good acquisition program 

25 management of cost, schedule, risk, and system 


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1 performance of the acquisition program at 

2 issue, including assessing acquisition program 

3 baseline breaches and directing any corrective 

4 action for such breaches; and 

5 ‘‘(E) ensure that acquisition program man6 agers, on an ongoing basis, monitor cost, sched7 ule, and performance against established base8 lines and use tools to assess risks to an acquisi9 tion program at all phases of the life cycle of 

10 such program to avoid and mitigate acquisition 

11 program baseline breaches. 

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

13 ‘acquisition decision event’, with respect to an acqui14 sition program, means a predetermined point within 

15 each of the acquisition phases at which the acquisi16 tion decision authority determines whether such ac17 quisition program shall proceed to the next acquisi18 tion phase. 

19 ‘‘(4) ACQUISITION PROGRAM.—The term ‘acqui20 sition program’ means the process by which the De21 partment acquires, with any appropriated amounts, 

22 by contract for purchase or lease, property or serv23 ices (including construction) that support the mis24 sions and goals of the Department. 


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

2 term ‘acquisition program baseline’, with respect to 

3 an acquisition program, means a summary of the 

4 cost, schedule, and performance parameters, ex5 pressed in standard, measurable, quantitative terms, 

6 which must be met in order to accomplish the goals 

7 of such program. 

8 ‘‘(6) BEST PRACTICES.—The term ‘best prac9 tices’, with respect to acquisition, means a knowl10 edge-based approach to capability development that 

11 includes— 

12 ‘‘(A) identifying and validating needs; 

13 ‘‘(B) assessing alternatives to select the 

14 most appropriate solution; 

15 ‘‘(C) clearly establishing well-defined re16 quirements; 

17 ‘‘(D) developing realistic cost assessments 

18 and schedules; 

19 ‘‘(E) securing stable funding that matches 

20 resources to requirements; 

21 ‘‘(F) demonstrating technology, design, 

22 and manufacturing maturity; 

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

24 specific accomplishments that demonstrate 

25 progress; 


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1 ‘‘(H) adopting and executing standardized 

2 processes with known success across programs; 

3 ‘‘(I) establishing an adequate workforce 

4 that is qualified and sufficient to perform nec5 essary functions; and 

6 ‘‘(J) integrating the capabilities described 

7 in subparagraphs (A) through (I) into the De8 partment’s mission and business operations. 

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

10 to a major acquisition program, means a failure to 

11 meet any cost, schedule, or performance threshold 

12 specified in the most recently approved acquisition 

13 program baseline. 

14 ‘‘(8) CONGRESSIONAL HOMELAND SECURITY

15 COMMITTEES.—The term ‘congressional homeland 

16 security committees’ means— 

17 ‘‘(A) the Committee on Homeland Security 

18 of the House of Representatives and the Com19 mittee on Homeland Security and Govern20 mental Affairs of the Senate; and 

21 ‘‘(B) the Committee on Appropriations of 

22 the House of Representatives and of the Sen23 ate. 

24 ‘‘(9) COMPONENT ACQUISITION EXECUTIVE.— 

25 The term ‘Component Acquisition Executive’ means 


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1 the senior acquisition official within a component 

2 who is designated in writing by the Under Secretary 

3 for Management, in consultation with the component 

4 head, with authority and responsibility for leading a 

5 process and staff to provide acquisition and program 

6 management oversight, policy, and guidance to en7 sure that statutory, regulatory, and higher level pol8 icy requirements are fulfilled, including compliance 

9 with Federal law, the Federal Acquisition Regula10 tion, and Department acquisition management direc11 tives established by the Under Secretary for Man12 agement. 

13 ‘‘(10) MAJOR ACQUISITION PROGRAM.—The 

14 term ‘major acquisition program’ means a Depart15 ment acquisition program that is estimated by the 

16 Secretary to require an eventual total expenditure of 

17 at least $300,000,000 (based on fiscal year 2017 

18 constant dollars) over its life cycle cost.’’. 

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

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

21 amended by inserting after the item relating to section 

22 709 the following new item: 

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

Æ 


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