IIB 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 3413 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 11, 2020 

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 Re3 form Act of 2019’’. 

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 subsection (d), the first sub10 section (e) (relating to the system for award man11 agement consultation), and the second subsection (e) 

12 (relating to the definition of interoperable commu13 nications) as subsections (e), (f), and (g), respec14 tively; and 

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

16 new subsection: 

17 ‘‘(d) ACQUISITION AND RELATED RESPONSIBIL18 ITIES.— 

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

20 1702(a) of title 41, United States Code, the Under 

21 Secretary for Management is the Chief Acquisition 

22 Officer of the Department. As Chief Acquisition Of23 ficer, the Under Secretary shall have the authorities 

24 and perform the functions specified in such section 

25 1702(b), and perform all other functions and reVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:29 Feb 11, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3413.RFS H3413

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1 sponsibilities delegated by the Secretary or described 

2 in this subsection. 

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

4 addition to the authorities and functions specified in 

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

6 functions and responsibilities of the Under Secretary 

7 for Management related to acquisition (as such term 

8 is defined in section 711) include the following: 

9 ‘‘(A) Advising the Secretary regarding ac10 quisition management activities, taking into ac11 count risks of failure to achieve cost, schedule, 

12 or performance parameters, to ensure that the 

13 Department achieves its mission through the 

14 adoption of widely accepted program manage15 ment best practices (as such term is defined in 

16 section 711) and standards and, where appro17 priate, acquisition innovation best practices. 

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

19 oversight body, the Acquisition Review Board. 

20 ‘‘(C) Exercising the acquisition decision 

21 authority (as such term is defined in section 

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

23 rescission of approvals of program milestones), 

24 or cancel major acquisition programs (as such 

25 term is defined in section 711), unless the 


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1 Under Secretary delegates such authority to a 

2 Component Acquisition Executive (as such term 

3 is defined in section 711) pursuant to para4 graph (3). 

5 ‘‘(D) Establishing policies for acquisition 

6 that implement an approach that takes into ac7 count risks of failure to achieve cost, schedule, 

8 or performance parameters that all components 

9 of the Department shall comply with, including 

10 outlining relevant authorities for program man11 agers to effectively manage acquisition pro12 grams (as such term is defined in section 711). 

13 ‘‘(E) Ensuring that each major acquisition 

14 program has a Department-approved acquisi15 tion program baseline (as such term is defined 

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

17 acquisition management policy. 

18 ‘‘(F) Assisting the heads of components 

19 and Component Acquisition Executives in ef20 forts to comply with Federal law, the Federal 

21 Acquisition Regulation, and Department acqui22 sition management directives. 

23 ‘‘(G) Ensuring that grants and financial 

24 assistance are provided only to individuals and 


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1 organizations that are not suspended or 

2 debarred. 

3 ‘‘(H) Distributing guidance throughout the 

4 Department to ensure that contractors involved 

5 in acquisitions, particularly contractors that ac6 cess the Department’s information systems and 

7 technologies, adhere to relevant Department 

8 policies related to physical and information se9 curity as identified by the Under Secretary for 

10 Management. 

11 ‘‘(I) Overseeing the Component Acquisition 

12 Executive organizational structure to ensure 

13 Component Acquisition Executives have suffi14 cient capabilities and comply with Department 

15 acquisition policies. 

16 ‘‘(3) DELEGATION OF CERTAIN ACQUISITION

17 DECISION AUTHORITY.— 

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

19 Secretary for Management may delegate acqui20 sition decision authority to the relevant Compo21 nent Acquisition Executive for an acquisition 

22 program that has a life cycle cost estimate of 

23 less than $300,000,000. 

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

25 Secretary for Management may delegate acquiVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:29 Feb 11, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3413.RFS H3413

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1 sition decision authority in writing to the rel2 evant Component Acquisition Executive for a 

3 major acquisition program that has a life cycle 

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

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

6 requirements are met: 

7 ‘‘(i) The component concerned pos8 sesses working policies, processes, and pro9 cedures that are consistent with Depart10 ment-level acquisition policy. 

11 ‘‘(ii) The Component Acquisition Ex12 ecutive concerned has adequate, experi13 enced, and dedicated professional employ14 ees with program management training, as 

15 applicable, commensurate with the size of 

16 the acquisition programs and related ac17 tivities delegated to such Component Ac18 quisition Executive by the Under Secretary 

19 for Management. 

20 ‘‘(iii) Each major acquisition program 

21 concerned has written documentation 

22 showing that it has a Department-ap23 proved acquisition program baseline and it 

24 is meeting agreed-upon cost, schedule, and 

25 performance thresholds. 


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

2 Secretary for Management may delegate acqui3 sition decision authority in writing to the rel4 evant Component Acquisition Executive for a 

5 Level 1 major acquisition program that has a 

6 life cycle cost estimate of more than 

7 $1,000,000,000 if all of the following require8 ments are met: 

9 ‘‘(i) The Undersecretary for Manage10 ment conducts a risk assessment of the 

11 planned acquisition and determines that it 

12 is appropriate to delegate authority for 

13 such major acquisition program. 

14 ‘‘(ii) The component concerned pos15 sesses working policies, processes, and pro16 cedures that are consistent with Depart17 ment-level acquisition policy. 

18 ‘‘(iii) The Component Acquisition Ex19 ecutive concerned has adequate, experi20 enced, and dedicated professional employ21 ees with program management training, as 

22 applicable, commensurate with the size of 

23 the acquisition programs and related ac24 tivities delegated to such Component AcVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:29 Feb 11, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3413.RFS H3413

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1 quisition Executive by the Under Secretary 

2 for Management. 

3 ‘‘(iv) Each Level 1 major acquisition 

4 program concerned has written documenta5 tion showing that it has a Department-ap6 proved acquisition program baseline and it 

7 is meeting agreed-upon cost, schedule, and 

8 performance thresholds. 

9 ‘‘(v) The Under Secretary for Man10 agement provides written notification to 

11 the appropriate congressional committees 

12 of the decision to delegate the authority to 

13 the relevant Component Acquisition Execu14 tive. 

15 ‘‘(4) RELATIONSHIP TO UNDER SECRETARY

16 FOR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this sub18 section shall diminish the authority granted to 

19 the Under Secretary for Science and Tech20 nology under this Act. The Under Secretary for 

21 Management and the Under Secretary for 

22 Science and Technology shall cooperate in mat23 ters related to the coordination of acquisitions 

24 across the Department so that investments of 

25 the Directorate of Science and Technology are 


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1 able to support current and future requirements 

2 of the components of the Department. 

3 ‘‘(B) OPERATIONAL TESTING AND EVALUA4 TION.—The Under Secretary for Science and 

5 Technology shall— 

6 ‘‘(i) ensure, in coordination with rel7 evant component heads, that major acqui8 sition programs— 

9 ‘‘(I) complete operational testing 

10 and evaluation of technologies and 

11 systems to be acquired or developed 

12 by major acquisition programs to as13 sess operational effectiveness, suit14 ability, and cybersecurity; 

15 ‘‘(II) use independent verification 

16 and validation of operational test and 

17 evaluation implementation and re18 sults, as appropriate; and 

19 ‘‘(III) document whether such 

20 programs meet all performance re21 quirements included in their acquisi22 tion program baselines; 

23 ‘‘(ii) ensure that such operational 

24 testing and evaluation includes all system 

25 components and incorporates operators 


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1 into the testing to ensure that systems per2 form as intended in the appropriate oper3 ational setting; and 

4 ‘‘(iii) determine if testing conducted 

5 by other Federal departments and agencies 

6 and private entities is relevant and suffi7 cient in determining whether systems per8 form as intended in the operational set9 ting.’’. 

10 SEC. 3. ACQUISITION AUTHORITIES FOR CHIEF FINANCIAL 

11 OFFICER OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HOME12 LAND SECURITY. 

13 Paragraph (2) of section 702(b) of the Homeland Se14 curity Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 342(b)) is amended by— 

15 (1) redesignating subparagraph (I) as subpara16 graph (J); and 

17 (2) inserting after subparagraph (H) the fol18 lowing new subparagraph: 

19 ‘‘(I) Oversee the costs of acquisition pro20 grams (as such term is defined in section 711) 

21 and related activities to ensure that actual and 

22 planned costs are in accordance with budget es23 timates and are affordable, or can be ade24 quately 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 

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.—In addition 

11 to the responsibilities specified in section 11315 of title 

12 40, United States Code, the acquisition responsibilities of 

13 the Chief Information Officer, in consultation with the 

14 Under Secretary for Management, shall include the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘(1) Overseeing the management of the Home17 land Security Enterprise Architecture and ensuring 

18 that, before each acquisition decision event (as such 

19 term is defined in section 711), approved informa20 tion technology acquisitions comply with any depart21 mental information technology management require22 ments, security protocols, and the Homeland Secu23 rity Enterprise Architecture, and in any case in 

24 which information technology acquisitions do not 

25 comply with the Department’s management direc26 tives, making recommendations to the Department’s 


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1 Acquisition Review Board regarding such noncompli2 ance. 

3 ‘‘(2) Providing recommendations to the Acquisi4 tion Review Board regarding information technology 

5 programs, and developing information technology ac6 quisition strategic guidance.’’. 

7 SEC. 5. ACQUISITION AUTHORITIES FOR UNDER SEC8 RETARY OF STRATEGY, POLICY, AND PLANS. 

9 Subsection (c) of section 709 of the Homeland Secu10 rity Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 349) is amended by— 

11 (1) redesignating paragraphs (4) through (7) as 

12 (5) through (8), respectively; and 

13 (2) inserting after paragraph (3) the following 

14 new paragraph: 

15 ‘‘(4) ensure acquisition programs (as such term 

16 is defined in section 711) support the DHS Quad17 rennial Homeland Security Review Report, the DHS 

18 Strategic Plan, the DHS Strategic Priorities, and 

19 other appropriate successor documents;’’. 

20 SEC. 6. ACQUISITION AUTHORITIES FOR PROGRAM AC21 COUNTABILITY AND RISK MANAGEMENT 

22 (PARM). 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title VII of the Homeland Secu24 rity Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 341 et seq.) is amended by 

25 adding at the end the following new section: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 711. ACQUISITION AUTHORITIES FOR PROGRAM AC2 COUNTABILITY AND RISK MANAGEMENT. 

3 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE.—Within the Man4 agement Directorate, there shall be a Program Account5 ability and Risk Management office to— 

6 ‘‘(1) provide consistent accountability, stand7 ardization, and transparency of major acquisition 

8 programs of the Department; 

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

10 all Department major acquisition programs; and 

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

12 acquisition programs, as appropriate. 

13 ‘‘(b) RESPONSIBILITIES OF EXECUTIVE DIREC14 TOR.—The Program Accountability and Risk Management 

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

16 requirements specified in subsection (a). The Executive 

17 Director shall report directly to the Under Secretary for 

18 Management, and shall carry out the following responsibil19 ities: 

20 ‘‘(1) Monitor regularly the performance of De21 partment major acquisition programs between acqui22 sition decision events to identify problems with cost, 

23 performance, or schedule that components may need 

24 to address to prevent cost overruns, performance 

25 issues, or schedule delays. 


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1 ‘‘(2) Assist the Under Secretary for Manage2 ment in managing the Department’s acquisition pro3 grams and related activities. 

4 ‘‘(3) Conduct oversight of individual acquisition 

5 programs to implement Department acquisition pro6 gram policy, procedures, and guidance with a pri7 ority on ensuring the data the office collects and 

8 maintains from Department components is accurate 

9 and reliable. 

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

11 for the acquisition life cycle review process and as 

12 the executive secretariat for the Department’s Ac13 quisition Review Board. 

14 ‘‘(5) Advise the persons having acquisition deci15 sion authority in making acquisition decisions con16 sistent with all applicable laws and in establishing 

17 clear lines of authority, accountability, and responsi18 bility for acquisition decisionmaking within the De19 partment. 

20 ‘‘(6) Assist the Chief Procurement Officer of 

21 the Department, as appropriate, in developing strat22 egies and specific plans for hiring, training, and pro23 fessional development to address any deficiency with24 in the Department’s acquisition workforce. 


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1 ‘‘(7) Develop standardized certification stand2 ards in consultation with the Component Acquisition 

3 Executives for all acquisition program managers. 

4 ‘‘(8) Assess the results of major acquisition pro5 grams’ post-implementation reviews and identify op6 portunities to improve performance throughout the 

7 acquisition process. 

8 ‘‘(9) Provide technical support and assistance 

9 to Department acquisition programs and acquisition 

10 personnel and coordinate with the Chief Procure11 ment Officer regarding workforce training and devel12 opment activities. 

13 ‘‘(10) Assist, as appropriate, with the prepara14 tion of the Future Years Homeland Security Pro15 gram, and make such information available to the 

16 congressional homeland security committees. 

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

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

19 Federal Acquisition Regulation, and Department acquisi20 tion management directives established by the Under Sec21 retary for Management. For each major acquisition pro22 gram, each head of a component shall— 

23 ‘‘(1) define baseline requirements and document 

24 changes to such requirements, as appropriate; 


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

2 with supporting documentation that is consistent 

3 with cost estimating best practices as identified by 

4 the Comptroller General of the United States; 

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

6 independent cost estimates or assessments, as appro7 priate, and reconcile any differences; 

8 ‘‘(4) complete a cost-benefit analysis with sup9 porting documentation; 

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

11 consistent with scheduling best practices as identi12 fied by the Comptroller General of the United 

13 States, including, in appropriate cases, an integrated 

14 master schedule; and 

15 ‘‘(6) ensure that all acquisition program infor16 mation provided by the component is complete, accu17 rate, timely, and valid. 

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

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

20 the meaning given such term in section 131 of title 

21 41, United States Code. 

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

23 term ‘acquisition decision authority’ means the au24 thority, held by the Secretary acting through the 


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1 Deputy Secretary or Under Secretary for Manage2 ment to— 

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

4 the Federal Acquisition Regulation, and De5 partment acquisition management directives; 

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

7 modifying, or canceling) an acquisition program 

8 through the life cycle of such program; 

9 ‘‘(C) ensure that acquisition program man10 agers have the resources necessary to success11 fully execute an approved acquisition program; 

12 ‘‘(D) ensure good acquisition program 

13 management of cost, schedule, risk, and system 

14 performance of the acquisition program at 

15 issue, including assessing acquisition program 

16 baseline breaches and directing any corrective 

17 action for such breaches; and 

18 ‘‘(E) ensure that acquisition program man19 agers, on an ongoing basis, monitor cost, sched20 ule, and performance against established base21 lines and use tools to assess risks to an acquisi22 tion program at all phases of the life cycle of 

23 such program to avoid and mitigate acquisition 

24 program baseline breaches. 


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

2 ‘acquisition decision event’, with respect to an acqui3 sition program, means a predetermined point within 

4 each of the acquisition phases at which the acquisi5 tion decision authority determines whether such ac6 quisition program shall proceed to the next acquisi7 tion phase. 

8 ‘‘(4) ACQUISITION PROGRAM.—The term ‘acqui9 sition program’ means the process by which the De10 partment acquires, with any appropriated amounts 

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

12 property or services (including construction) that 

13 support the missions and goals of the Department. 

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

15 term ‘acquisition program baseline’, with respect to 

16 an acquisition program, means a summary of the 

17 cost, schedule, and performance parameters, ex18 pressed in standard, measurable, quantitative terms, 

19 which must be met in order to accomplish the goals 

20 of such program. 

21 ‘‘(6) BEST PRACTICES.—The term ‘best prac22 tices’, with respect to acquisition, means a knowl23 edge-based approach to capability development that 

24 includes the following: 

25 ‘‘(A) Identifying and validating needs. 


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1 ‘‘(B) Assessing alternatives to select the 

2 most appropriate solution. 

3 ‘‘(C) Clearly establishing well-defined re4 quirements. 

5 ‘‘(D) Developing realistic cost assessments 

6 and schedules. 

7 ‘‘(E) Securing stable funding that matches 

8 resources to requirements. 

9 ‘‘(F) Demonstrating technology, design, 

10 and manufacturing maturity. 

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

12 specific accomplishments that demonstrate 

13 progress. 

14 ‘‘(H) Adopting and executing standardized 

15 processes with known success across programs. 

16 ‘‘(I) Establishing an adequate workforce 

17 that is qualified and sufficient to perform nec18 essary functions. 

19 ‘‘(J) Integrating the capabilities described 

20 in subparagraphs (A) through (I) into the De21 partment’s mission and business operations. 

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

23 to a major acquisition program, means a failure to 

24 meet any cost, schedule, or performance threshold 


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1 specified in the most recently approved acquisition 

2 program baseline. 

3 ‘‘(8) CONGRESSIONAL HOMELAND SECURITY

4 COMMITTEES.—The term ‘congressional homeland 

5 security committees’ means— 

6 ‘‘(A) the Committee on Homeland Security 

7 of the House of Representatives and the Com8 mittee on Homeland Security and Govern9 mental Affairs of the Senate; and 

10 ‘‘(B) the Committee on Appropriations of 

11 the House of Representatives and the Com12 mittee on Appropriations of the Senate. 

13 ‘‘(9) COMPONENT ACQUISITION EXECUTIVE.— 

14 The term ‘Component Acquisition Executive’ means 

15 the senior acquisition official within a component 

16 who is designated in writing by the Under Secretary 

17 for Management, in consultation with the component 

18 head, with authority and responsibility for leading a 

19 process and staff to provide acquisition and program 

20 management oversight, policy, and guidance to en21 sure that statutory, regulatory, and higher level pol22 icy requirements are fulfilled, including compliance 

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1 tives established by the Under Secretary for Man2 agement. 

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

4 term ‘major acquisition program’ means a Depart5 ment acquisition program that is estimated by the 

6 Secretary to require an eventual total expenditure of 

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

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

9 identified by the Chief Acquisition Officer as a pro10 gram of special interest.’’. 

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

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

13 amended by inserting after the item relating to section 

14 710 the following new item: 

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

Passed the House of Representatives February 10, 

2020. 

Attest: CHERYL L. JOHNSON, 

Clerk. 

By ROBERT F. REEVES, 

Deputy Clerk. 


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