I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3413 

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 

JUNE 21, 2019 

Mr. CRENSHAW 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 Re5 form Act of 2019’’. 


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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), the first sub7 section (e) (relating to the system for award man8 agement consultation), and the second subsection (e) 

9 (relating to the definition of interoperable commu10 nications) as subsections (e), (f), and (g), respec11 tively; and 

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

13 new subsection: 

14 ‘‘(d) ACQUISITION AND RELATED RESPONSIBIL15 ITIES.— 

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

17 1702(a) of title 41, United States Code, the Under 

18 Secretary for Management is the Chief Acquisition 

19 Officer of the Department. As Chief Acquisition Of20 ficer, the Under Secretary shall have the authorities 

21 and perform the functions specified in such section 

22 1702(b), and perform all other functions and re23 sponsibilities delegated by the Secretary or described 

24 in this subsection. 

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

26 addition to the authorities and functions specified in 


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

2 functions and responsibilities of the Under Secretary 

3 for Management related to acquisition (as such term 

4 is defined in section 711) include the following: 

5 ‘‘(A) Advising the Secretary regarding ac6 quisition management activities, taking into ac7 count risks of failure to achieve cost, schedule, 

8 or performance parameters, to ensure that the 

9 Department achieves its mission through the 

10 adoption of widely accepted program manage11 ment best practices (as such term is defined in 

12 section 711) and standards and, where appro13 priate, acquisition innovation best practices. 

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

15 oversight body, the Acquisition Review Board. 

16 ‘‘(C) Exercising the acquisition decision 

17 authority (as such term is defined in section 

18 711) to approve, pause, modify (including the 

19 rescission of approvals of program milestones), 

20 or cancel major acquisition programs (as such 

21 term is defined in section 711), unless the 

22 Under Secretary delegates such authority to a 

23 Component Acquisition Executive (as such term 

24 is defined in section 711) pursuant to para25 graph (3). 


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1 ‘‘(D) Establishing policies for acquisition 

2 that implement an approach that takes into ac3 count risks of failure to achieve cost, schedule, 

4 or performance parameters that all components 

5 of the Department shall comply with, including 

6 outlining relevant authorities for program man7 agers to effectively manage acquisition pro8 grams (as such term is defined in section 711). 

9 ‘‘(E) Ensuring that each major acquisition 

10 program has a Department-approved acquisi11 tion program baseline (as such term is defined 

12 in section 711), pursuant to the Department’s 

13 acquisition management policy. 

14 ‘‘(F) Assisting the heads of components 

15 and Component Acquisition Executives in ef16 forts to comply with Federal law, the Federal 

17 Acquisition Regulation, and Department acqui18 sition management directives. 

19 ‘‘(G) Ensuring that grants and financial 

20 assistance are provided only to individuals and 

21 organizations that are not suspended or 

22 debarred. 

23 ‘‘(H) Distributing guidance throughout the 

24 Department to ensure that contractors involved 

25 in acquisitions, particularly contractors that acVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:44 Jun 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3413.IH H3413

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1 cess the Department’s information systems and 

2 technologies, adhere to relevant Department 

3 policies related to physical and information se4 curity as identified by the Under Secretary for 

5 Management. 

6 ‘‘(I) Overseeing the Component Acquisition 

7 Executive organizational structure to ensure 

8 Component Acquisition Executives have suffi9 cient capabilities and comply with Department 

10 acquisition policies. 

11 ‘‘(3) DELEGATION OF CERTAIN ACQUISITION

12 DECISION AUTHORITY.— 

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

14 Secretary for Management may delegate acqui15 sition decision authority to the relevant Compo16 nent Acquisition Executive for an acquisition 

17 program that has a life cycle cost estimate of 

18 less than $300,000,000. 

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

20 Secretary for Management may delegate acqui21 sition decision authority in writing to the rel22 evant Component Acquisition Executive for a 

23 major acquisition program that has a life cycle 

24 cost estimate of at least $300,000 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 pos4 sesses working policies, processes, and pro5 cedures that are consistent with Depart6 ment-level acquisition policy. 

7 ‘‘(ii) The Component Acquisition Ex8 ecutive concerned has adequate, experi9 enced, and dedicated professional employ10 ees with program management training, as 

11 applicable, commensurate with the size of 

12 the acquisition programs and related ac13 tivities delegated to such Component Ac14 quisition Executive by the Under Secretary 

15 for Management. 

16 ‘‘(iii) Each major acquisition program 

17 concerned has written documentation 

18 showing that it has a Department-ap19 proved acquisition program baseline and it 

20 is meeting agreed-upon cost, schedule, and 

21 performance thresholds. 

22 ‘‘(C) LEVEL 1 ACQUISITIONS.—The Under 

23 Secretary for Management may delegate acqui24 sition decision authority in writing to the rel25 evant Component Acquisition Executive for a 


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1 Level 1 major acquisition program that has a 

2 life cycle cost estimate of more than 

3 $1,000,000,000 if all of the following require4 ments are met: 

5 ‘‘(i) The Undersecretary for Manage6 ment conducts a risk assessment of the 

7 planned acquisition and determines that it 

8 is appropriate to delegate authority for 

9 such major acquisition program. 

10 ‘‘(ii) The component concerned pos11 sesses working policies, processes, and pro12 cedures that are consistent with Depart13 ment-level acquisition policy. 

14 ‘‘(iii) The Component Acquisition Ex15 ecutive concerned has adequate, experi16 enced, and dedicated professional employ17 ees with program management training, as 

18 applicable, commensurate with the size of 

19 the acquisition programs and related ac20 tivities delegated to such Component Ac21 quisition Executive by the Under Secretary 

22 for Management. 

23 ‘‘(iv) Each Level 1 major acquisition 

24 program concerned has written documenta25 tion showing that it has a Department-apVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:44 Jun 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3413.IH H3413

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1 proved acquisition program baseline and it 

2 is meeting agreed-upon cost, schedule, and 

3 performance thresholds. 

4 ‘‘(v) The Under Secretary for Man5 agement provides written notification to 

6 the appropriate congressional committees 

7 of the decision to delegate the authority to 

8 the relevant Component Acquisition Execu9 tive. 

10 ‘‘(4) RELATIONSHIP TO UNDER SECRETARY

11 FOR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this sub13 section shall diminish the authority granted to 

14 the Under Secretary for Science and Tech15 nology under this Act. The Under Secretary for 

16 Management and the Under Secretary for 

17 Science and Technology shall cooperate in mat18 ters related to the coordination of acquisitions 

19 across the Department so that investments of 

20 the Directorate of Science and Technology are 

21 able to support current and future requirements 

22 of the components of the Department. 

23 ‘‘(B) OPERATIONAL TESTING AND EVALUA24 TION.—The Under Secretary for Science and 

25 Technology shall— 


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1 ‘‘(i) ensure, in coordination with rel2 evant component heads, that major acqui3 sition programs— 

4 ‘‘(I) complete operational testing 

5 and evaluation of technologies and 

6 systems to be acquired or developed 

7 by major acquisition programs to as8 sess operational effectiveness, suit9 ability, and cybersecurity; 

10 ‘‘(II) use independent verification 

11 and validation of operational test and 

12 evaluation implementation and re13 sults, as appropriate; and 

14 ‘‘(III) document whether such 

15 programs meet all performance re16 quirements included in their acquisi17 tion program baselines; 

18 ‘‘(ii) ensure that such operational 

19 testing and evaluation includes all system 

20 components and incorporates operators 

21 into the testing to ensure that systems per22 form as intended in the appropriate oper23 ational setting; and 

24 ‘‘(iii) determine if testing conducted 

25 by other Federal departments and agencies 


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1 and private entities is relevant and suffi2 cient in determining whether systems per3 form as intended in the operational set4 ting.’’. 

5 SEC. 3. ACQUISITION AUTHORITIES FOR CHIEF FINANCIAL 

6 OFFICER OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HOME7 LAND SECURITY. 

8 Paragraph (2) of section 702(b) of the Homeland Se9 curity Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 342(b)) is amended by— 

10 (1) redesignating subparagraph (I) as subpara11 graph (J); and 

12 (2) inserting after subparagraph (H) the fol13 lowing new subparagraph: 

14 ‘‘(I) Oversee the costs of acquisition pro15 grams (as such term is defined in section 711) 

16 and related activities to ensure that actual and 

17 planned costs are in accordance with budget es18 timates and are affordable, or can be ade19 quately funded, over the life cycle of such pro20 grams and activities.’’. 

21 SEC. 4. ACQUISITION AUTHORITIES FOR CHIEF INFORMA22 TION OFFICER OF THE DEPARTMENT OF 

23 HOMELAND SECURITY. 

24 Section 703 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 

25 (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.—In addition 

6 to the responsibilities specified in section 11315 of title 

7 40, United States Code, the acquisition responsibilities of 

8 the Chief Information Officer, in consultation with the 

9 Under Secretary for Management, shall include the fol10 lowing: 

11 ‘‘(1) Overseeing the management of the Home12 land Security Enterprise Architecture and ensuring 

13 that, before each acquisition decision event (as such 

14 term is defined in section 711), approved informa15 tion technology acquisitions comply with any depart16 mental information technology management require17 ments, security protocols, and the Homeland Secu18 rity Enterprise Architecture, and in any case in 

19 which information technology acquisitions do not 

20 comply with the Department’s management direc21 tives, making recommendations to the Department’s 

22 Acquisition Review Board regarding such noncompli23 ance. 

24 ‘‘(2) Providing recommendations to the Acquisi25 tion Review Board regarding information technology 


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1 programs, and developing information technology ac2 quisition 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 new section: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 711. ACQUISITION AUTHORITIES FOR PROGRAM AC10 COUNTABILITY 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; 

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

18 all Department major acquisition programs; and 

19 ‘‘(3) provide review and analysis of Department 

20 acquisition programs, as appropriate. 

21 ‘‘(b) RESPONSIBILITIES OF EXECUTIVE DIREC22 TOR.—The Program Accountability and Risk Management 

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

24 requirements specified in subsection (a). The Executive 

25 Director shall report directly to the Under Secretary for 


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1 Management, and shall carry out the following responsibil2 ities: 

3 ‘‘(1) Monitor regularly the performance of De4 partment major acquisition programs between acqui5 sition decision events to identify problems with cost, 

6 performance, or schedule that components may need 

7 to 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 Department’s Ac21 quisition Review 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) Assist the Chief Procurement Officer of 

4 the Department, as appropriate, in developing strat5 egies and specific plans for hiring, training, and pro6 fessional development to address any deficiency with7 in the Department’s acquisition workforce. 

8 ‘‘(7) Develop standardized certification stand9 ards in consultation with the Component Acquisition 

10 Executives for all acquisition program managers. 

11 ‘‘(8) Assess the results of major acquisition pro12 grams’ post-implementation reviews and identify op13 portunities to improve performance throughout the 

14 acquisition process. 

15 ‘‘(9) Provide technical support and assistance 

16 to Department acquisition programs and acquisition 

17 personnel and coordinate with the Chief Procure18 ment Officer regarding workforce training and devel19 opment activities. 

20 ‘‘(10) Assist, as appropriate, with the prepara21 tion of the Future Years Homeland Security Pro22 gram, and make such information available to the 

23 congressional homeland security committees. 

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

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


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1 Federal Acquisition Regulation, and Department acquisi2 tion management directives established by the Under Sec3 retary for Management. For each major acquisition pro4 gram, each head of a component shall— 

5 ‘‘(1) define baseline requirements and document 

6 changes to such requirements, as appropriate; 

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

8 with supporting documentation that is consistent 

9 with cost estimating best practices as identified by 

10 the Comptroller General of the United States; 

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

12 independent cost estimates or assessments, as appro13 priate, and reconcile any differences; 

14 ‘‘(4) complete a cost-benefit analysis with sup15 porting documentation; 

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

17 consistent with scheduling best practices as identi18 fied by the Comptroller General of the United 

19 States, including, in appropriate cases, an integrated 

20 master schedule; and 

21 ‘‘(6) ensure that all acquisition program infor22 mation provided by the component is complete, accu23 rate, timely, and valid. 

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


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

2 the meaning given such term in section 131 of title 

3 41, United States Code. 

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

5 term ‘acquisition decision authority’ means the au6 thority, held by the Secretary acting through the 

7 Deputy Secretary or Under Secretary for Manage8 ment to— 

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

10 the Federal Acquisition Regulation, and De11 partment acquisition management directives; 

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

13 modifying, or canceling) an acquisition program 

14 through the life cycle of such program; 

15 ‘‘(C) ensure that acquisition program man16 agers have the resources necessary to success17 fully execute an approved acquisition program; 

18 ‘‘(D) ensure good acquisition program 

19 management of cost, schedule, risk, and system 

20 performance of the acquisition program at 

21 issue, including assessing acquisition program 

22 baseline breaches and directing any corrective 

23 action for such breaches; and 

24 ‘‘(E) ensure that acquisition program man25 agers, on an ongoing basis, monitor cost, schedVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:44 Jun 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3413.IH H3413

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1 ule, and performance against established base2 lines and use tools to assess risks to an acquisi3 tion program at all phases of the life cycle of 

4 such program to avoid and mitigate acquisition 

5 program baseline breaches. 

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

7 ‘acquisition decision event’, with respect to an acqui8 sition program, means a predetermined point within 

9 each of the acquisition phases at which the acquisi10 tion decision authority determines whether such ac11 quisition program shall proceed to the next acquisi12 tion phase. 

13 ‘‘(4) ACQUISITION PROGRAM.—The term ‘acqui14 sition program’ means the process by which the De15 partment acquires, with any appropriated amounts 

16 or fee funding, by contract for purchase or lease, 

17 property or services (including construction) that 

18 support the missions and goals of the Department. 

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

20 term ‘acquisition program baseline’, with respect to 

21 an acquisition program, means a summary of the 

22 cost, schedule, and performance parameters, ex23 pressed in standard, measurable, quantitative terms, 

24 which must be met in order to accomplish the goals 

25 of such program. 


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1 ‘‘(6) BEST PRACTICES.—The term ‘best prac2 tices’, with respect to acquisition, means a knowl3 edge-based approach to capability development that 

4 includes the following: 

5 ‘‘(A) Identifying and validating needs. 

6 ‘‘(B) Assessing alternatives to select the 

7 most appropriate solution. 

8 ‘‘(C) Clearly establishing well-defined re9 quirements. 

10 ‘‘(D) Developing realistic cost assessments 

11 and schedules. 

12 ‘‘(E) Securing stable funding that matches 

13 resources to requirements. 

14 ‘‘(F) Demonstrating technology, design, 

15 and manufacturing maturity. 

16 ‘‘(G) Using milestones and exit criteria or 

17 specific accomplishments that demonstrate 

18 progress. 

19 ‘‘(H) Adopting and executing standardized 

20 processes with known success across programs. 

21 ‘‘(I) Establishing an adequate workforce 

22 that is qualified and sufficient to perform nec23 essary functions. 


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1 ‘‘(J) Integrating the capabilities described 

2 in subparagraphs (A) through (I) into the De3 partment’s mission and business operations. 

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

5 to a major acquisition program, means a failure to 

6 meet any cost, schedule, or performance threshold 

7 specified in the most recently approved acquisition 

8 program baseline. 

9 ‘‘(8) CONGRESSIONAL HOMELAND SECURITY

10 COMMITTEES.—The term ‘congressional homeland 

11 security committees’ means— 

12 ‘‘(A) the Committee on Homeland Security 

13 of the House of Representatives and the Com14 mittee on Homeland Security and Govern15 mental Affairs of the Senate; and 

16 ‘‘(B) the Committee on Appropriations of 

17 the House of Representatives and the Com18 mittee on Appropriations of the Senate. 

19 ‘‘(9) COMPONENT ACQUISITION EXECUTIVE.— 

20 The term ‘Component Acquisition Executive’ means 

21 the senior acquisition official within a component 

22 who is designated in writing by the Under Secretary 

23 for Management, in consultation with the component 

24 head, with authority and responsibility for leading a 

25 process and staff to provide acquisition and program 


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1 management oversight, policy, and guidance to en2 sure that statutory, regulatory, and higher level pol3 icy requirements are fulfilled, including compliance 

4 with Federal law, the Federal Acquisition Regula5 tion, and Department acquisition management direc6 tives established by the Under Secretary for Man7 agement. 

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

9 term ‘major acquisition program’ means a Depart10 ment acquisition program that is estimated by the 

11 Secretary to require an eventual total expenditure of 

12 at least $300,000,000 (based on fiscal year 2019 

13 constant dollars) over its life cycle cost or a program 

14 identified by the Chief Acquisition Officer as a pro15 gram of special interest.’’. 

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

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

18 amended by inserting after the item relating to section 

19 710 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 711. Acquisition authorities for Program Accountability and Risk Management.’’. 

Æ 


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