I 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6871 

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, 2022 

Mr. LATURNER (for himself, Mr. TORRES of New York, and Mr. KATKO) 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’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. ACQUISITION AUTHORITIES FOR THE UNDER SEC2 RETARY OF 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— 

6 (1) in subsection (a)— 

7 (A) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘and ac8 quisition management’’ after ‘‘Procurement’’; 

9 and 

10 (B) in paragraph (6), by inserting ‘‘(in11 cluding firearms and other sensitive assets)’’ 

12 after ‘‘equipment’’; 

13 (2) by redesignating subsections (d), the first 

14 subsection (e) (relating to the system for award 

15 management consultation), and the second sub16 section (e) (relating to the definition of interoperable 

17 communications) as subsections (e), (f), and (g), re18 spectively; and 

19 (3) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol20 lowing new subsection: 

21 ‘‘(d) ACQUISITION AND RELATED RESPONSIBIL22 ITIES.— 

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

24 1702(a) of title 41, United States Code, the Under 

25 Secretary for Management is the Chief Acquisition 

26 Officer of the Department. As Chief Acquisition OfVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:50 Apr 07, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6871.IH H6871

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1 ficer, the Under Secretary shall have the authorities 

2 and perform the functions specified in section 

3 1702(b) of such title, and perform all other func4 tions and responsibilities delegated by the Secretary 

5 or described in this subsection. 

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

7 addition to the authorities and functions specified in 

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

9 functions and responsibilities of the Under Secretary 

10 for Management related to acquisition (as such term 

11 is defined in section 131 of such title) include the 

12 following: 

13 ‘‘(A) Advising the Secretary regarding ac14 quisition management activities, considering 

15 risks of failure to achieve cost, schedule, or per16 formance parameters, to ensure that the De17 partment achieves its mission through the adop18 tion of widely accepted program management 

19 best practices (as such term is defined in sec20 tion 714) and standards and, where appro21 priate, acquisition innovation best practices. 

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

23 oversight body, the Acquisition Review Board. 


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1 ‘‘(C) Synchronizing interagency coordina2 tion relating to acquisition programs and acqui3 sition management efforts of the Department. 

4 ‘‘(D) Exercising the acquisition decision 

5 authority (as such term is defined in section 

6 714) to approve, pause, modify (including the 

7 rescission of approvals of program milestones), 

8 or cancel major acquisition programs (as such 

9 term is defined in section 714), unless the 

10 Under Secretary delegates such authority to a 

11 Component Acquisition Executive (as such term 

12 is defined in section 714) pursuant to para13 graph (3). 

14 ‘‘(E) Providing additional scrutiny and 

15 oversight for an acquisition that is not a major 

16 acquisition if— 

17 ‘‘(i) the acquisition is for a program 

18 that is important to the strategic and per19 formance plans of the Department; 

20 ‘‘(ii) the acquisition is for a program 

21 with significant program or policy implica22 tions; and 

23 ‘‘(iii) the Secretary determines that 

24 such scrutiny and oversight for the acquisi25 tion is proper and necessary. 


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1 ‘‘(F) Establishing policies for managing 

2 acquisitions across the Department that pro3 mote best practices (as such term is defined in 

4 section 714). 

5 ‘‘(G) Establishing policies for acquisition 

6 that implement an approach that considers 

7 risks of failure to achieve cost, schedule, or per8 formance parameters that all components of the 

9 Department shall comply with, including out10 lining relevant authorities for program man11 agers to effectively manage acquisition pro12 grams (as such term is defined in section 714). 

13 ‘‘(H) Ensuring that each major acquisition 

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

16 in section 714), pursuant to the Department’s 

17 acquisition management policy that is traceable 

18 to the life-cycle cost estimate of the program, 

19 integrated master schedule, and operational re20 quirements. 

21 ‘‘(I) Assisting the heads of components 

22 and Component Acquisition Executives in ef23 forts to comply with Federal law, the Federal 

24 Acquisition Regulation, and Department acqui25 sition management directives. 


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1 ‘‘(J) Ensuring that grants and financial 

2 assistance are provided only to individuals and 

3 organizations that are not suspended or 

4 debarred. 

5 ‘‘(K) Distributing guidance throughout the 

6 Department to ensure that contractors involved 

7 in acquisitions, particularly contractors that ac8 cess the Department’s information systems and 

9 technologies, adhere to relevant Department 

10 policies related to physical and information se11 curity as identified by the Under Secretary. 

12 ‘‘(L) Overseeing the Component Acquisi13 tion Executive organizational structure to en14 sure Component Acquisition Executives have 

15 sufficient capabilities and comply with Depart16 ment acquisition policies. 

17 ‘‘(M) Developing and managing a profes18 sional acquisition workforce to ensure the goods 

19 and services acquired by the Department meet 

20 the needs of the mission and are at the best 

21 value for the expenditure of public resources. 

22 ‘‘(3) DELEGATION OF CERTAIN ACQUISITION

23 DECISION AUTHORITY.—The Under Secretary for 

24 Management may delegate acquisition decision au25 thority, in writing, to the relevant Component AcquiVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:50 Apr 07, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6871.IH H6871

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1 sition Executive for a major capital asset, service, or 

2 hybrid acquisition program that has a life-cycle cost 

3 estimate of at least $300,000,000 but not more than 

4 $1,000,000,000, based on fiscal year 2022 constant 

5 dollars, if— 

6 ‘‘(A) the component concerned possesses 

7 working policies, processes, and procedures that 

8 are consistent with Department acquisition pol9 icy; 

10 ‘‘(B) the Component Acquisition Executive 

11 concerned has adequate, experienced, and dedi12 cated professional employees with program 

13 management training; and 

14 ‘‘(C) each major acquisition program has a 

15 Department-approved acquisition program base16 line, and it is meeting agreed-upon cost, sched17 ule, and performance thresholds.’’. 

18 SEC. 3. OFFICE OF TEST AND EVALUATION OF THE DE19 PARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title III of the Homeland Secu21 rity Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) is amended by 

22 adding at the end the following new section: 

23 ‘‘SEC. 323. OFFICE OF TEST AND EVALUATION. 

24 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE.—There is estab25 lished in the Directorate of Science and Technology of the 


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1 Department an Office of Test and Evaluation (in this sec2 tion referred to as the ‘Office’). The Office shall— 

3 ‘‘(1) serve as the principal advisory office for 

4 test and evaluation support across the Department; 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(2) serve as the test and evaluation liaison 

7 with— 

8 ‘‘(A) Federal agencies and foreign, State, 

9 local, Tribal, and territorial governments; 

10 ‘‘(B) the private sector; 

11 ‘‘(C) institutions of higher education; and 

12 ‘‘(D) other relevant entities. 

13 ‘‘(b) DIRECTOR.—The Office shall be led by a Direc14 tor. The Director shall oversee the duties specified in sub15 section (a) and carry out the following responsibilities: 

16 ‘‘(1) Serve as a member of the Department’s 

17 Acquisition Review Board. 

18 ‘‘(2) Establish and update, as necessary, test 

19 and evaluation policies, procedures, and guidance for 

20 the Department. 

21 ‘‘(3) Ensure, in coordination with the Chief Ac22 quisition Officer, the Joint Requirements Council, 

23 the Under Secretary for Science and Technology, 

24 and relevant component heads, that acquisition pro25 grams (as such term is defined in section 714)— 


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1 ‘‘(A) complete reviews of operational re2 quirements to ensure such requirements— 

3 ‘‘(i) are informed by threats, including 

4 physical and cybersecurity threats; 

5 ‘‘(ii) are operationally relevant; and 

6 ‘‘(iii) are measurable, testable, and 

7 achievable within the constraints of cost 

8 and schedule; 

9 ‘‘(B) complete independent testing and 

10 evaluation of a system or service throughout de11 velopment of such system or service; 

12 ‘‘(C) complete operational testing and eval13 uation that includes all system components and 

14 incorporates operators into such testing and 

15 evaluation to ensure that a system or service 

16 satisfies the mission requirements in the oper17 ational environment of such system or service 

18 as intended in the acquisition program baseline; 

19 ‘‘(D) use independent verification and vali20 dation of test and evaluation implementation 

21 and results, as appropriate; and 

22 ‘‘(E) document whether such programs 

23 meet all operational requirements. 


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1 ‘‘(4) Provide oversight of test and evaluation 

2 activities for major acquisition programs throughout 

3 the acquisition life cycle by— 

4 ‘‘(A) approving program test and evalua5 tion master plans, plans for individual test and 

6 evaluation events, and other related documenta7 tion, determined appropriate by the Director; 

8 ‘‘(B) approving which independent test and 

9 evaluation agent or third-party tester is selected 

10 for each program; and 

11 ‘‘(C) providing an independent assessment 

12 to the acquisition decision authority (as such 

13 term is defined in section 714) that assesses a 

14 program’s progress in meeting operational re15 quirements and operational effectiveness, suit16 ability, and resilience to inform production and 

17 deployment decisions. 

18 ‘‘(5) Determine if testing of a system or service 

19 conducted by other Federal agencies, entities, or in20 stitutions of higher education are relevant and suffi21 cient in determining whether such system or service 

22 performs as intended. 

23 ‘‘(c) ANNUAL REPORT.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year 

25 after the date of the enactment of this section and 


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1 annually thereafter, the Director of the Office shall 

2 submit to the Secretary, the Under Secretary for 

3 Management, component heads, and the Committee 

4 on Homeland Security of the House of Representa5 tives and the Committee on Homeland Security and 

6 Governmental Affairs a report relating to the test 

7 and evaluation activities of the major acquisition 

8 programs of the Department for the previous fiscal 

9 year. 

10 ‘‘(2) ELEMENTS.—Each report required under 

11 paragraph (1) shall include the following: 

12 ‘‘(A) An assessment of— 

13 ‘‘(i) test and evaluation activities con14 ducted for each major acquisition program 

15 with respect to demonstrating operational 

16 requirements and operational effectiveness, 

17 suitability, and resilience for each such 

18 program; 

19 ‘‘(ii) any waivers of, or deviations 

20 from, approved program test and evalua21 tion master plans referred to in subsection 

22 (b)(3)(A); 

23 ‘‘(iii) any concerns raised by the inde24 pendent test and evaluation agent or third25 party tester selected and approved under 


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1 subsection (b)(3)(B) relating to such waiv2 ers or deviations; and 

3 ‘‘(iv) any actions that have been taken 

4 or are planned to be taken to address such 

5 concerns. 

6 ‘‘(B) Recommendations with respect to re7 sources, facilities, and levels of funding made 

8 available for test and evaluation activities re9 ferred to in subparagraph (A). 

10 ‘‘(3) FORM.—Each report required under para11 graph (1) shall be submitted in unclassified form but 

12 may include a classified annex. 

13 ‘‘(d) RELATIONSHIP TO UNDER SECRETARY FOR

14 SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary for 

16 Management and the Under Secretary for Science 

17 and Technology shall coordinate in matters related 

18 to Department-wide acquisitions so that investments 

19 of the Directorate of Science and Technology are 

20 able to support current and future requirements of 

21 the components of the Department. 

22 ‘‘(2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

23 this subsection may be construed as affecting or di24 minishing the authority of the Under Secretary for 

25 Science and Technology.’’. 


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

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

3 amended by inserting after the item relating to section 

4 322 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 323. Office of Test and Evaluation.’’. 

5 SEC. 4. 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 714) 

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. 5. 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 714), 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 so 

20 comply, making recommendations to the Depart21 ment’s Acquisition Review Board regarding such 

22 noncompliance. 

23 ‘‘(2) Providing recommendations to the Acquisi24 tion Review Board regarding information technology 


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1 programs and developing information technology ac2 quisition strategic guidance.’’. 

3 SEC. 6. ACQUISITION AUTHORITIES FOR UNDER SEC4 RETARY OF STRATEGY, POLICY, AND PLANS 

5 OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECU6 RITY. 

7 Subsection (c) of section 709 of the Homeland Secu8 rity Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 349) is amended by— 

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

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

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

12 new paragraph: 

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

14 is defined in section 714) support the DHS Quad15 rennial Homeland Security Review Report, the DHS 

16 Strategic Plan, the DHS Strategic Priorities, and 

17 other appropriate successor documents;’’. 

18 SEC. 7. ACQUISITION AUTHORITIES FOR PROGRAM AC19 COUNTABILITY AND RISK MANAGEMENT 

20 (PARM) OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND 

21 SECURITY. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title VII of the Homeland Secu23 rity Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 341 et seq.) is amended by 

24 adding at the end the following new section: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 714. PROGRAM ACCOUNTABILITY AND RISK MANAGE2 MENT OFFICE. 

3 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE.—There is estab4 lished in the Management Directorate of the Department 

5 a Program Accountability and Risk Management office. 

6 Such office shall— 

7 ‘‘(1) provide consistent accountability, stand8 ardization, and transparency of major acquisition 

9 programs of the Department; 

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

11 all Department major acquisition programs; and 

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

13 acquisition programs, as appropriate. 

14 ‘‘(b) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.—The Program Ac15 countability and Risk Management office shall be led by 

16 an Executive Director. The Executive Director shall over17 see the duties specified in subsection (a), report directly 

18 to the Under Secretary for Management, and carry out 

19 the following responsibilities: 

20 ‘‘(1) Regularly monitor 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, acquisition workforce, and related activities 

4 of the Department. 

5 ‘‘(3) Conduct oversight of individual acquisition 

6 programs to implement Department acquisition pro7 gram policy, procedures, and guidance, with a pri8 ority on ensuring the data the office collects and 

9 maintains from Department components is accurate 

10 and reliable. 

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

12 for the acquisition life-cycle review process and as 

13 the executive secretariat for the Department’s Ac14 quisition Review Board. 

15 ‘‘(5) Advise the persons having acquisition deci16 sion authority to— 

17 ‘‘(A) make acquisition decisions consistent 

18 with all applicable laws; and 

19 ‘‘(B) establish clear lines of authority, ac20 countability, and responsibility for acquisition 

21 decision-making within the Department. 

22 ‘‘(6) Develop standardized certification stand23 ards, in consultation with the Component Acquisi24 tion Executives, for all acquisition program man25 agers. 


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1 ‘‘(7) Assess the results of major acquisition pro2 grams’ post-implementation reviews, and identify op3 portunities to improve performance throughout the 

4 acquisition process. 

5 ‘‘(8) Provide technical support and assistance 

6 to Department acquisition programs and acquisition 

7 personnel, and coordinate with the Chief Procure8 ment Officer regarding workforce training and devel9 opment activities. 

10 ‘‘(9) Assist, as appropriate, with the prepara11 tion of the Future Years Homeland Security Pro12 gram, and make such information available to the 

13 congressional homeland security committees. 

14 ‘‘(10) In coordination with the Component Ac15 quisition Executives, maintain the Master Acquisi16 tion Oversight List, updated quarterly, that shall 

17 serve as an inventory of all major acquisition pro18 grams and non-major acquisition programs within 

19 the Department, including for each such program— 

20 ‘‘(A) the component sponsoring the acqui21 sition; 

22 ‘‘(B) the name of the acquisition; 

23 ‘‘(C) the acquisition level as determined by 

24 the anticipated life-cycle cost of the program 


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1 and other criteria pursuant to the Department2 level acquisition policy; 

3 ‘‘(D) the acquisition decision authority for 

4 the acquisition; and 

5 ‘‘(E) the current acquisition phase. 

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

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

8 Federal Acquisition Regulation, and Department acquisi9 tion management directives established by the Under Sec10 retary for Management. For each major acquisition pro11 gram, each head of a component shall— 

12 ‘‘(1) establish an organizational structure for 

13 conducting acquisitions within the component, to be 

14 managed by a Component Acquisition Executive; 

15 ‘‘(2) obtain the resources necessary to operate 

16 such an organizational structure that are aligned 

17 with the number, type, size, and complexity of the 

18 acquisition programs of the component; and 

19 ‘‘(3) oversee sustainment of capabilities de20 ployed by major acquisition programs and non-major 

21 acquisition programs after all planned deployments 

22 are completed until such capabilities are retired or 

23 replaced. 


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1 ‘‘(d) RESPONSIBILITIES OF COMPONENT ACQUISI2 TION EXECUTIVES.—Each Component Acquisition Execu3 tive shall— 

4 ‘‘(1) establish and implement policies and guid5 ance for managing and conducting oversight for 

6 major acquisition programs and non-major acquisi7 tion programs within the component at issue that 

8 comply with Federal law, the Federal Acquisition 

9 Regulation, and Department acquisition manage10 ment directives established by the Under Secretary 

11 for Management; 

12 ‘‘(2) for each major acquisition program— 

13 ‘‘(A) define baseline requirements and doc14 ument changes to such requirements, as appro15 priate; 

16 ‘‘(B) establish a complete life cycle cost es17 timate with supporting documentation that is 

18 consistent with cost estimating best practices as 

19 identified by the Comptroller General of the 

20 United States; 

21 ‘‘(C) verify each life cycle cost estimate 

22 against independent cost estimates or assess23 ments, as appropriate, and reconcile any dif24 ferences; 


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1 ‘‘(D) complete a cost-benefit analysis with 

2 supporting documentation; and 

3 ‘‘(E) develop and maintain a schedule that 

4 is consistent with scheduling best practices as 

5 identified by the Comptroller General of the 

6 United States, including, in appropriate cases, 

7 an integrated master schedule; 

8 ‘‘(3) ensure that all acquisition program docu9 mentation provided by the component demonstrates 

10 the knowledge required for successful program exe11 cution prior to final approval and is complete, accu12 rate, timely, and valid; 

13 ‘‘(4) in such cases where it is appropriate, exer14 cise the acquisition decision authority to approve, 

15 pause, modify (including the rescission of approvals 

16 of program milestones), or cancel major acquisition 

17 programs or non-major acquisition programs when 

18 delegated by the Under Secretary for Management 

19 pursuant to section 701(d)(3); and 

20 ‘‘(5) review, oversee, and direct activities be21 tween acquisition decision events for major acquisi22 tion programs within the component for which the 

23 Under Secretary for Management is the acquisition 

24 decision authority. 

25 ‘‘(e) 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, in addition to the authorities and functions 

7 specified in subsection (b) of section 1702 of title 

8 41, United States Code, held by the Secretary acting 

9 through the Under Secretary for Management to— 

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

11 the Federal Acquisition Regulation, and De12 partment acquisition management directives; 

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

14 modifying, or canceling) an acquisition program 

15 throughout the life cycle of such program; 

16 ‘‘(C) ensure that acquisition program man17 agers have the resources necessary to success18 fully execute an approved acquisition program; 

19 ‘‘(D) ensure appropriate acquisition pro20 gram management of cost, schedule, risk, and 

21 system or service performance of the acquisition 

22 program at issue, including assessing acquisi23 tion program baseline breaches and directing 

24 any corrective action for such breaches; 


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1 ‘‘(E) ensure that acquisition program man2 agers, on an ongoing basis, monitor cost, sched3 ule, and performance against established base4 lines and use tools to assess risks to an acquisi5 tion program at all phases of the life-cycle of 

6 such program; and 

7 ‘‘(F) establish policies and procedures for 

8 major acquisition programs of the Department. 

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

10 ‘acquisition decision event’, with respect to an acqui11 sition program, means a predetermined point within 

12 the acquisition life-cycle at which the acquisition de13 cision authority determines whether such acquisition 

14 program shall proceed to the next acquisition phase. 

15 ‘‘(4) ACQUISITION PROGRAM.—The term ‘acqui16 sition program’ means the conceptualization, initi17 ation, design, development, test, contracting, produc18 tion, deployment, logistics support, modification, or 

19 disposal of systems, supplies, or services (including 

20 construction) to satisfy the Department’s needs. 

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

22 term ‘acquisition program baseline’, with respect to 

23 an acquisition program, means the cost, schedule, 

24 and performance parameters, expressed in standard, 


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1 measurable, quantitative terms, which must be met 

2 to accomplish the goals of such program. 

3 ‘‘(6) BEST PRACTICES.—The term ‘best prac4 tices’, with respect to acquisition, means a knowl5 edge-based approach to capability development, pro6 curement, and support that includes the following: 

7 ‘‘(A) Identifying and validating needs. 

8 ‘‘(B) Assessing alternatives to select the 

9 most appropriate solution. 

10 ‘‘(C) Establishing well-defined require11 ments. 

12 ‘‘(D) Developing realistic cost assessments 

13 and schedules that account for the entire life14 cycle of an acquisition. 

15 ‘‘(E) Demonstrating technology, design, 

16 and manufacturing maturity before initiating 

17 production. 

18 ‘‘(F) Using milestones and exit criteria or 

19 specific accomplishments that demonstrate the 

20 attainment of knowledge to support progress 

21 throughout the acquisition phases. 

22 ‘‘(G) Regularly assessing and managing 

23 risks to achieve requirements and cost and 

24 schedule goals. 


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1 ‘‘(H) To the maximum extent possible, 

2 adopting and executing standardized processes. 

3 ‘‘(I) Establishing a workforce that is quali4 fied to perform necessary acquisition roles. 

5 ‘‘(J) Integrating into the Department’s 

6 mission and business operations the capabilities 

7 described in subparagraphs (A) through (I). 

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

9 to a major acquisition program, means a failure to 

10 meet any cost, schedule, or performance threshold 

11 specified in the most recently approved acquisition 

12 program baseline. 

13 ‘‘(8) CONGRESSIONAL HOMELAND SECURITY

14 COMMITTEES.—The term ‘congressional homeland 

15 security committees’ means— 

16 ‘‘(A) the Committee on Homeland Security 

17 of the House of Representatives and the Com18 mittee on Homeland Security and Govern19 mental Affairs of the Senate; and 

20 ‘‘(B) the Committee on Appropriations of 

21 the House of Representatives and the Com22 mittee on Appropriations of the Senate. 

23 ‘‘(9) COMPONENT ACQUISITION EXECUTIVE.— 

24 The term ‘Component Acquisition Executive’ means 

25 the senior acquisition official within a component 


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1 who is designated in writing by the Under Secretary 

2 for 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 en6 sure that statutory, regulatory, and higher level pol7 icy requirements are fulfilled, including compliance 

8 with Federal law, the Federal Acquisition Regula9 tion, and Department acquisition management direc10 tives established by the Under Secretary. 

11 ‘‘(10) LIFE-CYCLE COST.—The term ‘life-cycle 

12 cost’ means the total cost to the Government of ac13 quiring, operating, supporting, and (if applicable) 

14 disposing of the items being acquired. 

15 ‘‘(11) MAJOR ACQUISITION PROGRAM.—The 

16 term ‘major acquisition program’ means a Depart17 ment capital asset, services, or hybrid acquisition 

18 program that is estimated by the Secretary to re19 quire an eventual total expenditure of at least 

20 $300,000,000 (based on fiscal year 2022 constant 

21 dollars) over its life cycle or a program identified by 

22 the Chief Acquisition Officer as a program of special 

23 interest.’’. 

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 

2 710 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 714. Program Accountability and Risk Management office.’’. 

3 SEC. 8. ACQUISITION DOCUMENTATION. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle D of title VIII of the 

5 Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 391 et seq.), 

6 as amended by this Act, is further amended by adding 

7 at the end the following new section: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 837. ACQUISITION DOCUMENTATION. 

9 ‘‘For each major acquisition program (as such term 

10 is defined in section 714), the Secretary, acting through 

11 the Under Secretary for Management, shall require the 

12 head of each relevant component or office of the Depart13 ment to— 

14 ‘‘(1) maintain acquisition documentation that is 

15 complete, accurate, timely, and valid, and that in16 cludes— 

17 ‘‘(A) operational requirements that are 

18 validated consistent with departmental policy; 

19 ‘‘(B) a complete life-cycle cost estimate 

20 with supporting documentation; 

21 ‘‘(C) verification of such life-cycle cost esti22 mate against independent cost estimates, and 

23 reconciliation of any differences; 

24 ‘‘(D) a cost-benefit analysis with sup25 porting documentation; 


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1 ‘‘(E) an integrated master schedule with 

2 supporting documentation; 

3 ‘‘(F) plans for conducting systems engi4 neering reviews and test and evaluation activi5 ties throughout development to support produc6 tion and deployment decisions; 

7 ‘‘(G) an acquisition plan that outlines the 

8 procurement approach, including planned con9 tracting vehicles; 

10 ‘‘(H) a logistics and support plan for oper11 ating and maintaining deployed capabilities 

12 until such capabilities are disposed of or retired; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(I) an acquisition program baseline that 

15 is traceable to the operational requirements of 

16 the program required under subparagraphs (A), 

17 (B), and (E); 

18 ‘‘(2) prepare cost estimates and schedules for 

19 major acquisition programs pursuant to subpara20 graphs (B) and (E) of paragraph (1) in a manner 

21 consistent with best practices as identified by the 

22 Comptroller General of the United States; and 

23 ‘‘(3) ensure any revisions to the acquisition doc24 umentation maintained pursuant to paragraph (1) 


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1 are reviewed and approved in accordance with de2 partmental policy.’’. 

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

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

5 amended by adding after the item relating to section 836, 

6 as added by section 3 of this Act, the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 837. Acquisition documentation.’’. 

Æ 


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