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Union Calendar No. 27 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1252 

[Report No. 115–47] 

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 

MARCH 20, 2017 

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 February 28, 2017] 


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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. 


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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 ‘‘DHS Acquisition Au5 thorities Act of 2017’’. 

6 SEC. 2. ACQUISITION AUTHORITIES FOR UNDER SEC7 RETARY FOR MANAGEMENT OF THE DEPART8 MENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY. 

9 Section 701 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 

10 U.S.C. 341) is amended by— 

11 (1) redesignating subsections (d) and (e) as sub12 sections (e) and (f); and 

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

14 new subsection: 

15 ‘‘(d) ACQUISITION AND RELATED RESPONSIBIL16 ITIES.— 

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

18 1702(b) of title 41, United States Code, the Under 

19 Secretary for Management is the Chief Acquisition 

20 Officer of the Department. As Chief Acquisition Offi21 cer, the Under Secretary shall have the authorities 

22 and perform the functions specified in section 1702(b) 

23 of such title, and perform all other functions and re24 sponsibilities delegated by the Secretary or described 

25 in this subsection. 


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

2 addition to the authorities and functions specified in 

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

4 functions and responsibilities of the Under Secretary 

5 for Management related to acquisition (as such term 

6 is defined in section 710) include the following: 

7 ‘‘(A) Advising the Secretary regarding ac8 quisition management activities, taking into ac9 count risks of failure to achieve cost, schedule, or 

10 performance parameters, to ensure that the De11 partment achieves its mission through the adop12 tion of widely accepted program management 

13 best practices (as such term is defined in section 

14 710) and standards and, where appropriate, ac15 quisition innovation best practices. 

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

17 oversight body, the Acquisition Review Board, 

18 and exercising the acquisition decision authority 

19 (as such term is defined in section 710) to ap20 prove, pause, modify (including the rescission of 

21 approvals of program milestones), or cancel 

22 major acquisition programs (as such term is de23 fined in section 710), unless the Under Secretary 

24 delegates such authority to a Component AcquiVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:15 Mar 20, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H1252.RH H1252

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1 sition Executive (as such term is defined in sec2 tion 710) pursuant to paragraph (3). 

3 ‘‘(C) Establishing policies for acquisition 

4 that implement an approach that takes into ac5 count risks of failure to achieve cost, schedule, or 

6 performance parameters that all components of 

7 the Department shall comply with, including 

8 outlining relevant authorities for program man9 agers to effectively manage acquisition programs. 

10 ‘‘(D) Ensuring that each major acquisition 

11 program has a Department-approved acquisition 

12 program baseline (as such term is defined in sec13 tion 710), pursuant to the Department’s acquisi14 tion management policy. 

15 ‘‘(E) Ensuring that the heads of components 

16 and Component Acquisition Executives comply 

17 with Federal law, the Federal Acquisition Regu18 lation, and Department acquisition management 

19 directives. 

20 ‘‘(F) Ensuring that grants and financial 

21 assistance are provided only to individuals and 

22 organizations that are not suspended or 

23 debarred. 

24 ‘‘(G) Distributing guidance throughout the 

25 Department to ensure that contractors involved 


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1 in acquisitions, particularly contractors that ac2 cess the Department’s information systems and 

3 technologies, adhere to relevant Department poli4 cies related to physical and information security 

5 as identified by the Under Secretary for Manage6 ment. 

7 ‘‘(H) Overseeing the Component Acquisition 

8 Executive organizational structure to ensure 

9 Component Acquisition Executives have suffi10 cient capabilities and comply with Department 

11 acquisition policies. 

12 ‘‘(3) DELEGATION OF ACQUISITION DECISION AU13 THORITY.— 

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

15 Secretary for Management may delegate acquisi16 tion decision authority in writing to the relevant 

17 Component Acquisition Executive for an acquisi18 tion program that has a life cycle cost estimate 

19 of less than $300,000,000. 

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

21 Secretary for Management may delegate acquisi22 tion decision authority in writing to the relevant 

23 Component Acquisition Executive for a major 

24 acquisition program that has a life cycle cost es25 timate of at least $300,000,000 but not more 


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1 than $1,000,000,000 if all of the following re2 quirements are met: 

3 ‘‘(i) The component concerned possesses 

4 working policies, processes, and procedures 

5 that are consistent with Department-level 

6 acquisition policy. 

7 ‘‘(ii) The Component Acquisition Exec8 utive concerned has adequate, experienced, 

9 and dedicated professional employees with 

10 program management training, as applica11 ble, commensurate with the size of the ac12 quisition programs and related activities 

13 delegated to such Component Acquisition 

14 Executive by the Under Secretary for Man15 agement. 

16 ‘‘(iii) Each major acquisition program 

17 concerned has written documentation show18 ing that it has a Department-approved ac19 quisition program baseline and it is meet20 ing agreed-upon cost, schedule, and per21 formance thresholds. 

22 ‘‘(4) RELATIONSHIP TO UNDER SECRETARY FOR

23 SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this sub25 section shall diminish the authority granted to 


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1 the Under Secretary for Science and Technology 

2 under this Act. The Under Secretary for Man3 agement and the Under Secretary for Science 

4 and Technology shall cooperate in matters re5 lated to the coordination of acquisitions across 

6 the Department so that investments of the Direc7 torate of Science and Technology are able to sup8 port current and future requirements of the com9 ponents of the Department. 

10 ‘‘(B) OPERATIONAL TESTING AND EVALUA11 TION.—The Under Secretary for Science and 

12 Technology shall— 

13 ‘‘(i) ensure, in coordination with rel14 evant component heads, that major acquisi15 tion programs— 

16 ‘‘(I) complete operational testing 

17 and evaluation of technologies and sys18 tems; 

19 ‘‘(II) use independent verification 

20 and validation of operational test and 

21 evaluation implementation and results; 

22 and 

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1 ments included in their acquisition 

2 program baselines; 

3 ‘‘(ii) ensure that such operational test4 ing and evaluation includes all system com5 ponents and incorporates operators into the 

6 testing to ensure that systems perform as 

7 intended in the appropriate operational set8 ting; and 

9 ‘‘(iii) determine if testing conducted by 

10 other Federal agencies and private entities 

11 is relevant and sufficient in determining 

12 whether systems perform as intended in the 

13 operational setting.’’. 

14 SEC. 3. ACQUISITION AUTHORITIES FOR CHIEF FINANCIAL 

15 OFFICER OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HOME16 LAND SECURITY. 

17 Paragraph (2) of section 702(b) of the Homeland Secu18 rity Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 342(b)) is amended by adding 

19 at the end the following new subparagraph: 

20 ‘‘(J) Oversee the costs of acquisition pro21 grams and related activities to ensure that ac22 tual and planned costs are in accordance with 

23 budget estimates and are affordable, or can be 

24 adequately funded, over the life cycle of such pro25 grams 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 (6 

5 U.S.C. 343) is amended— 

6 (1) by redesignating subsection (b) as subsection 

7 (c); and 

8 (2) by inserting after subsection (a) the following 

9 new subsection: 

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

12 acquisition responsibilities of the Chief Information Officer, 

13 in consultation with the Under Secretary for Management, 

14 shall include the following: 

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

16 Security Enterprise Architecture and ensure that, be17 fore each acquisition decision event (as such term is 

18 defined in section 710), approved information tech19 nology acquisitions comply with departmental infor20 mation technology management processes, technical 

21 requirements, and the Homeland Security Enterprise 

22 Architecture, and in any case in which information 

23 technology acquisitions do not comply with the De24 partment’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 for 

4 developing information technology acquisition stra5 tegic guidance.’’. 

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

8 (PARM). 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title VII of the Homeland Security 

10 Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 341 et seq.) is amended by adding 

11 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, standard18 ization, and transparency of major acquisition pro19 grams of the Department; and 

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

21 all Department acquisition programs. 

22 ‘‘(b) RESPONSIBILITIES OF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.— 

23 The Program Accountability and Risk Management office 

24 shall be led by an Executive Director to oversee the require25 ment under subsection (a). The Executive Director shall reVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:15 Mar 20, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H1252.RH H1252

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1 port directly to the Under Secretary for Management, and 

2 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 issues, 

8 or schedule delays. 

9 ‘‘(2) Assist the Under Secretary for Management 

10 in managing the Department’s acquisition programs 

11 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 for 

19 the acquisition life cycle review process and as the ex20 ecutive secretariat for the Acquisition Review Board. 

21 ‘‘(5) Advise the persons having acquisition deci22 sion authority in making acquisition decisions con23 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, United 

7 States Code, by supporting the Chief Procurement Of8 ficer in developing strategies and specific plans for 

9 hiring, training, and professional development in 

10 order to rectify any deficiency within the Depart11 ment’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 Acquisition 

19 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 to 

24 Department acquisitions and acquisition personnel in 

25 conjunction with the Chief Procurement 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 com6 mittees. 

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

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

9 Acquisition Regulation, and Department acquisition man10 agement directives established by the Under Secretary for 

11 Management. For each major acquisition program, each 

12 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 identified 

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1 cluding, in appropriate cases, an integrated master 

2 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 Dep13 uty Secretary or Under Secretary for Management 

14 to— 

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

16 the Federal Acquisition Regulation, and Depart17 ment 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 successfully 

23 execute an approved acquisition program; 

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1 formance of the acquisition program at issue, in2 cluding assessing acquisition program baseline 

3 breaches and directing any corrective action for 

4 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 ‘acquisi20 tion program’ means the process by which the Depart21 ment acquires, with any appropriated amounts, by 

22 contract for purchase or lease, property or services 

23 (including construction) that support the missions 

24 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, expressed 

5 in standard, measurable, quantitative terms, which 

6 must be met in order to accomplish the goals of such 

7 program. 

8 ‘‘(6) BEST PRACTICES.—The term ‘best prac9 tices’, with respect to acquisition, means a knowledge10 based approach to capability development that in11 cludes— 

12 ‘‘(A) identifying and validating needs; 

13 ‘‘(B) assessing alternatives to select the most 

14 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, and 

22 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 that 

4 is qualified and sufficient to perform necessary 

5 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 COM15 MITTEES.—The term ‘congressional homeland security 

16 committees’ means— 

17 ‘‘(A) the Committee on Homeland Security 

18 of the House of Representatives and the Com19 mittee on Homeland Security and Governmental 

20 Affairs of the Senate; and 

21 ‘‘(B) the Committee on Appropriations of 

22 the House of Representatives and of the Senate. 

23 ‘‘(9) COMPONENT ACQUISITION EXECUTIVE.—The 

24 term ‘Component Acquisition Executive’ means the 

25 senior acquisition official within a component who is 


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1 designated in writing by the Under Secretary for 

2 Management, in consultation with the component 

3 head, with authority and responsibility for leading a 

4 process and staff to provide acquisition and program 

5 management oversight, policy, and guidance to ensure 

6 that statutory, regulatory, and higher level policy re7 quirements are fulfilled, including compliance with 

8 Federal law, the Federal Acquisition Regulation, and 

9 Department acquisition management directives estab10 lished by the Under Secretary for Management. 

11 ‘‘(10) MAJOR ACQUISITION PROGRAM.—The term 

12 ‘major acquisition program’ means a Department ac13 quisition program that is estimated by the Secretary 

14 to require an eventual total expenditure of at least 

15 $300,000,000 (based on fiscal year 2017 constant dol16 lars) over its life cycle cost.’’. 

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

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

19 amended by inserting after the item relating to section 709 

20 the following new item: 

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


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Union Calendar No. 27 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1252 

[Report No. 115–47] 

A BILL 

To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to 

poses. ment of Homeland Security, and for other purUnder Secretary of Management of the Departprovide for certain acquisition authorities for the 

MARCH 20, 2017 

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


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