IIB 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1252 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 21, 2017 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and 

Governmental Affairs 

AN ACT 

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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘DHS Acquisition Au3 thorities Act of 2017’’. 

4 SEC. 2. ACQUISITION AUTHORITIES FOR UNDER SEC5 RETARY FOR MANAGEMENT OF THE DEPART6 MENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY. 

7 Section 701 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 

8 (6 U.S.C. 341) is amended by— 

9 (1) redesignating subsections (d) and (e) as 

10 subsections (e) and (f); and 

11 (2) inserting after subsection (c) the following 

12 new subsection: 

13 ‘‘(d) ACQUISITION AND RELATED RESPONSIBIL14 ITIES.— 

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

16 1702(b) of title 41, United States Code, the Under 

17 Secretary for Management is the Chief Acquisition 

18 Officer of the Department. As Chief Acquisition Of19 ficer, the Under Secretary shall have the authorities 

20 and perform the functions specified in section 

21 1702(b) of such title, and perform all other func22 tions and responsibilities delegated by the Secretary 

23 or described in this subsection. 

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

25 addition to the authorities and functions specified in 

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


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1 functions and responsibilities of the Under Secretary 

2 for Management related to acquisition (as such term 

3 is defined in section 710) include the following: 

4 ‘‘(A) Advising the Secretary regarding ac5 quisition management activities, taking into ac6 count risks of failure to achieve cost, schedule, 

7 or performance parameters, to ensure that the 

8 Department achieves its mission through the 

9 adoption of widely accepted program manage10 ment best practices (as such term is defined in 

11 section 710) and standards and, where appro12 priate, acquisition innovation best practices. 

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

14 oversight body, the Acquisition Review Board, 

15 and exercising the acquisition decision authority 

16 (as such term is defined in section 710) to ap17 prove, pause, modify (including the rescission of 

18 approvals of program milestones), or cancel 

19 major acquisition programs (as such term is de20 fined in section 710), unless the Under Sec21 retary delegates such authority to a Component 

22 Acquisition Executive (as such term is defined 

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

24 ‘‘(C) Establishing policies for acquisition 

25 that implement an approach that takes into acVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:02 Mar 21, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1252.RFS H1252

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1 count risks of failure to achieve cost, schedule, 

2 or performance parameters that all components 

3 of the Department shall comply with, including 

4 outlining relevant authorities for program man5 agers to effectively manage acquisition pro6 grams. 

7 ‘‘(D) Ensuring that each major acquisition 

8 program has a Department-approved acquisi9 tion program baseline (as such term is defined 

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

11 acquisition management policy. 

12 ‘‘(E) Ensuring that the heads of compo13 nents and Component Acquisition Executives 

14 comply with Federal law, the Federal Acquisi15 tion Regulation, and Department acquisition 

16 management directives. 

17 ‘‘(F) Ensuring that grants and financial 

18 assistance are provided only to individuals and 

19 organizations that are not suspended or 

20 debarred. 

21 ‘‘(G) Distributing guidance throughout the 

22 Department to ensure that contractors involved 

23 in acquisitions, particularly contractors that ac24 cess the Department’s information systems and 

25 technologies, adhere to relevant Department 


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1 policies related to physical and information se2 curity as identified by the Under Secretary for 

3 Management. 

4 ‘‘(H) Overseeing the Component Acquisi5 tion Executive organizational structure to en6 sure Component Acquisition Executives have 

7 sufficient capabilities and comply with Depart8 ment acquisition policies. 

9 ‘‘(3) DELEGATION OF ACQUISITION DECISION

10 AUTHORITY.— 

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

12 Secretary for Management may delegate acqui13 sition decision authority in writing to the rel14 evant Component Acquisition Executive for an 

15 acquisition program that has a life cycle cost 

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

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

18 Secretary for Management may delegate acqui19 sition decision authority in writing to the rel20 evant Component Acquisition Executive for a 

21 major acquisition program that has a life cycle 

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

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

24 requirements are met: 


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1 ‘‘(i) The component concerned pos2 sesses working policies, processes, and pro3 cedures that are consistent with Depart4 ment-level acquisition policy. 

5 ‘‘(ii) The Component Acquisition Ex6 ecutive concerned has adequate, experi7 enced, and dedicated professional employ8 ees with program management training, as 

9 applicable, commensurate with the size of 

10 the acquisition programs and related ac11 tivities delegated to such Component Ac12 quisition Executive by the Under Secretary 

13 for Management. 

14 ‘‘(iii) Each major acquisition program 

15 concerned has written documentation 

16 showing that it has a Department-ap17 proved acquisition program baseline and it 

18 is meeting agreed-upon cost, schedule, and 

19 performance thresholds. 

20 ‘‘(4) RELATIONSHIP TO UNDER SECRETARY

21 FOR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this sub23 section shall diminish the authority granted to 

24 the Under Secretary for Science and Tech25 nology under this Act. The Under Secretary for 


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1 Management and the Under Secretary for 

2 Science and Technology shall cooperate in mat3 ters related to the coordination of acquisitions 

4 across the Department so that investments of 

5 the Directorate of Science and Technology are 

6 able to support current and future requirements 

7 of the components of the Department. 

8 ‘‘(B) OPERATIONAL TESTING AND EVALUA9 TION.—The Under Secretary for Science and 

10 Technology shall— 

11 ‘‘(i) ensure, in coordination with rel12 evant component heads, that major acqui13 sition programs— 

14 ‘‘(I) complete operational testing 

15 and evaluation of technologies and 

16 systems; 

17 ‘‘(II) use independent verification 

18 and validation of operational test and 

19 evaluation implementation and re20 sults; and 

21 ‘‘(III) document whether such 

22 programs meet all performance re23 quirements included in their acquisi24 tion program baselines; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) ensure that such operational 

2 testing and evaluation includes all system 

3 components and incorporates operators 

4 into the testing to ensure that systems per5 form as intended in the appropriate oper6 ational setting; and 

7 ‘‘(iii) determine if testing conducted 

8 by other Federal agencies and private enti9 ties is relevant and sufficient in deter10 mining whether systems perform as in11 tended in the operational setting.’’. 

12 SEC. 3. ACQUISITION AUTHORITIES FOR CHIEF FINANCIAL 

13 OFFICER OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HOME14 LAND SECURITY. 

15 Paragraph (2) of section 702(b) of the Homeland Se16 curity Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 342(b)) is amended by add17 ing at the end the following new subparagraph: 

18 ‘‘(J) Oversee the costs of acquisition pro19 grams and related activities to ensure that ac20 tual and planned costs are in accordance with 

21 budget estimates and are affordable, or can be 

22 adequately funded, over the life cycle of such 

23 programs and activities.’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. ACQUISITION AUTHORITIES FOR CHIEF INFORMA2 TION OFFICER OF THE DEPARTMENT OF 

3 HOMELAND SECURITY. 

4 Section 703 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 

5 (6 U.S.C. 343) is amended— 

6 (1) by redesignating subsection (b) as sub7 section (c); and 

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

10 ‘‘(b) ACQUISITION RESPONSIBILITIES.—Notwith11 standing section 11315 of title 40, United States Code, 

12 the acquisition responsibilities of the Chief Information 

13 Officer, in consultation with the Under Secretary for Man14 agement, shall include the following: 

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

16 Security Enterprise Architecture and ensure that, 

17 before each acquisition decision event (as such term 

18 is defined in section 710), approved information 

19 technology acquisitions comply with departmental in20 formation technology management processes, tech21 nical requirements, and the Homeland Security En22 terprise Architecture, and in any case in which infor23 mation technology acquisitions do not comply with 

24 the Department’s management directives, make rec25 ommendations to the Acquisition Review Board re26 garding such noncompliance. 


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1 ‘‘(2) Be responsible for providing recommenda2 tions to the Acquisition Review Board regarding in3 formation technology programs, and be responsible 

4 for developing information technology acquisition 

5 strategic guidance.’’. 

6 SEC. 5. ACQUISITION AUTHORITIES FOR PROGRAM AC7 COUNTABILITY AND RISK MANAGEMENT 

8 (PARM). 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title VII of the Homeland Secu10 rity Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 341 et seq.) is amended by 

11 adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘SEC. 710. ACQUISITION AUTHORITIES FOR PROGRAM AC13 COUNTABILITY AND RISK MANAGEMENT. 

14 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE.—Within the Man15 agement Directorate, there shall be a Program Account16 ability and Risk Management office to— 

17 ‘‘(1) provide consistent accountability, stand18 ardization, and transparency of major acquisition 

19 programs of the Department; and 

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

21 all Department acquisition programs. 

22 ‘‘(b) RESPONSIBILITIES OF EXECUTIVE DIREC23 TOR.—The Program Accountability and Risk Management 

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

25 requirement under subsection (a). The Executive Director 


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1 shall report directly to the Under Secretary for Manage2 ment, and shall carry out the following responsibilities: 

3 ‘‘(1) Monitor regularly the performance of De4 partment acquisition programs between acquisition 

5 decision events to identify problems with cost, per6 formance, or schedule that components may need to 

7 address to prevent cost overruns, performance 

8 issues, or schedule delays. 

9 ‘‘(2) Assist the Under Secretary for Manage10 ment in managing the Department’s acquisition pro11 grams and related activities. 

12 ‘‘(3) Conduct oversight of individual acquisition 

13 programs to implement Department acquisition pro14 gram policy, procedures, and guidance with a pri15 ority on ensuring the data the office collects and 

16 maintains from Department components is accurate 

17 and reliable. 

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

19 for the acquisition life cycle review process and as 

20 the executive secretariat for the Acquisition Review 

21 Board. 

22 ‘‘(5) Advise the persons having acquisition deci23 sion authority in making acquisition decisions con24 sistent with all applicable laws and in establishing 

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1 bility for acquisition decisionmaking within the De2 partment. 

3 ‘‘(6) Engage in the strategic planning and per4 formance evaluation process required under section 

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

6 1105(a)(28), 1115, 1116, and 9703 of title 31, 

7 United States Code, by supporting the Chief Pro8 curement Officer in developing strategies and spe9 cific plans for hiring, training, and professional de10 velopment in order to rectify any deficiency within 

11 the Department’s acquisition workforce. 

12 ‘‘(7) Develop standardized certification stand13 ards in consultation with the Component Acquisition 

14 Executives for all acquisition program managers. 

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

16 manager’s certification or actions need review for 

17 purposes of promotion or removal, provide input, in 

18 consultation with the relevant Component Acquisi19 tion Executive, into the relevant acquisition program 

20 manager’s performance evaluation, and report posi21 tive or negative experiences to the relevant certifying 

22 authority. 

23 ‘‘(9) Provide technical support and assistance 

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1 sonnel in conjunction with the Chief Procurement 

2 Officer. 

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

4 Acquisition Status Report, as required by title I of 

5 division D of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 

6 2016 (Public Law 114–113), and make such report 

7 available to the congressional homeland security 

8 committees. 

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

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

11 Federal Acquisition Regulation, and Department acquisi12 tion management directives established by the Under Sec13 retary for Management. For each major acquisition pro14 gram, each head of a component shall— 

15 ‘‘(1) define baseline requirements and document 

16 changes to such requirements, as appropriate; 

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

18 with supporting documentation, including an acquisi19 tion program baseline; 

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

21 independent cost estimates, and reconcile any dif22 ferences; 

23 ‘‘(4) complete a cost-benefit analysis with sup24 porting documentation; 


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

2 consistent with scheduling best practices as identi3 fied by the Comptroller General of the United 

4 States, including, in appropriate cases, an integrated 

5 master schedule; and 

6 ‘‘(6) ensure that all acquisition program infor7 mation provided by the component is complete, accu8 rate, timely, and valid. 

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

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

11 the meaning given such term in section 131 of title 

12 41, United States Code. 

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

14 term ‘acquisition decision authority’ means the au15 thority, held by the Secretary acting through the 

16 Deputy Secretary or Under Secretary for Manage17 ment to— 

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

19 the Federal Acquisition Regulation, and De20 partment acquisition management directives; 

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

22 modifying, or canceling) an acquisition program 

23 through the life cycle of such program; 


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1 ‘‘(C) ensure that acquisition program man2 agers have the resources necessary to success3 fully execute an approved acquisition program; 

4 ‘‘(D) ensure good acquisition program 

5 management of cost, schedule, risk, and system 

6 performance of the acquisition program at 

7 issue, including assessing acquisition program 

8 baseline breaches and directing any corrective 

9 action for such breaches; and 

10 ‘‘(E) ensure that acquisition program man11 agers, on an ongoing basis, monitor cost, sched12 ule, and performance against established base13 lines and use tools to assess risks to an acquisi14 tion program at all phases of the life cycle of 

15 such program to avoid and mitigate acquisition 

16 program baseline breaches. 

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

18 ‘acquisition decision event’, with respect to an acqui19 sition program, means a predetermined point within 

20 each of the acquisition phases at which the acquisi21 tion decision authority determines whether such ac22 quisition program shall proceed to the next acquisi23 tion phase. 

24 ‘‘(4) ACQUISITION PROGRAM.—The term ‘acqui25 sition program’ means the process by which the DeVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:02 Mar 21, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1252.RFS H1252

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1 partment acquires, with any appropriated amounts, 

2 by contract for purchase or lease, property or serv3 ices (including construction) that support the mis4 sions and goals of the Department. 

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

6 term ‘acquisition program baseline’, with respect to 

7 an acquisition program, means a summary of the 

8 cost, schedule, and performance parameters, ex9 pressed in standard, measurable, quantitative terms, 

10 which must be met in order to accomplish the goals 

11 of such program. 

12 ‘‘(6) BEST PRACTICES.—The term ‘best prac13 tices’, with respect to acquisition, means a knowl14 edge-based approach to capability development that 

15 includes— 

16 ‘‘(A) identifying and validating needs; 

17 ‘‘(B) assessing alternatives to select the 

18 most appropriate solution; 

19 ‘‘(C) clearly establishing well-defined re20 quirements; 

21 ‘‘(D) developing realistic cost assessments 

22 and schedules; 

23 ‘‘(E) securing stable funding that matches 

24 resources to requirements; 


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1 ‘‘(F) demonstrating technology, design, 

2 and manufacturing maturity; 

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

4 specific accomplishments that demonstrate 

5 progress; 

6 ‘‘(H) adopting and executing standardized 

7 processes with known success across programs; 

8 ‘‘(I) establishing an adequate workforce 

9 that is qualified and sufficient to perform nec10 essary functions; and 

11 ‘‘(J) integrating the capabilities described 

12 in subparagraphs (A) through (I) into the De13 partment’s mission and business operations. 

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

15 to a major acquisition program, means a failure to 

16 meet any cost, schedule, or performance threshold 

17 specified in the most recently approved acquisition 

18 program baseline. 

19 ‘‘(8) CONGRESSIONAL HOMELAND SECURITY

20 COMMITTEES.—The term ‘congressional homeland 

21 security committees’ means— 

22 ‘‘(A) the Committee on Homeland Security 

23 of the House of Representatives and the Com24 mittee on Homeland Security and Govern25 mental Affairs of the Senate; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) the Committee on Appropriations of 

2 the House of Representatives and of the Sen3 ate. 

4 ‘‘(9) COMPONENT ACQUISITION EXECUTIVE.— 

5 The term ‘Component Acquisition Executive’ means 

6 the senior acquisition official within a component 

7 who is designated in writing by the Under Secretary 

8 for Management, in consultation with the component 

9 head, with authority and responsibility for leading a 

10 process and staff to provide acquisition and program 

11 management oversight, policy, and guidance to en12 sure that statutory, regulatory, and higher level pol13 icy requirements are fulfilled, including compliance 

14 with Federal law, the Federal Acquisition Regula15 tion, and Department acquisition management direc16 tives established by the Under Secretary for Man17 agement. 

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

19 term ‘major acquisition program’ means a Depart20 ment acquisition program that is estimated by the 

21 Secretary to require an eventual total expenditure of 

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

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

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

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


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1 amended by inserting after the item relating to section 

2 709 the following new item: 

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

Passed the House of Representatives March 20, 

2017. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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