117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6871 

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’’. 

4 SEC. 2. ACQUISITION AUTHORITIES FOR THE UNDER SEC5 RETARY OF 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— 

9 (1) in subsection (a)— 

10 (A) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘and ac11 quisition management’’ after ‘‘Procurement’’; 

12 and 

13 (B) in paragraph (6), by inserting ‘‘(in14 cluding firearms and other sensitive assets)’’ 

15 after ‘‘equipment’’; 

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

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

18 management consultation), and the second sub19 section (e) (relating to the definition of interoperable 

20 communications) as subsections (e), (f), and (g), re21 spectively; and 

22 (3) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol23 lowing new subsection: 

24 ‘‘(d) ACQUISITION AND RELATED RESPONSIBIL25 ITIES.— 
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 

2 1702(a) of title 41, United States Code, the Under 

3 Secretary for Management is the Chief Acquisition 

4 Officer of the Department. As Chief Acquisition Of5 ficer, the Under Secretary shall have the authorities 

6 and perform the functions specified in section 

7 1702(b) of such title, and perform all other func8 tions and responsibilities delegated by the Secretary 

9 or described in this subsection. 

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

11 addition to the authorities and functions specified in 

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

13 functions and responsibilities of the Under Secretary 

14 for Management related to acquisition (as such term 

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

16 following: 

17 ‘‘(A) Advising the Secretary regarding ac18 quisition management activities, considering 

19 risks of failure to achieve cost, schedule, or per20 formance parameters, to ensure that the De21 partment achieves its mission through the adop22 tion of widely accepted program management 

23 best practices (as such term is defined in sec24 tion 714) and standards and, where appro25 priate, acquisition innovation best practices. 
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1 ‘‘(B) Leading the Department’s acquisition 

2 oversight body, the Acquisition Review Board. 

3 ‘‘(C) Synchronizing interagency coordina4 tion relating to acquisition programs and acqui5 sition management efforts of the Department. 

6 ‘‘(D) Exercising the acquisition decision 

7 authority (as such term is defined in section 

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

9 rescission of approvals of program milestones), 

10 or cancel major acquisition programs (as such 

11 term is defined in section 714), unless the 

12 Under Secretary delegates such authority to a 

13 Component Acquisition Executive (as such term 

14 is defined in section 714) pursuant to para15 graph (3). 

16 ‘‘(E) Providing additional scrutiny and 

17 oversight for an acquisition that is not a major 

18 acquisition if— 

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

20 that is important to the strategic and per21 formance plans of the Department; 

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

23 with significant program or policy implica24 tions; and 
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1 ‘‘(iii) the Secretary determines that 

2 such scrutiny and oversight for the acquisi3 tion is proper and necessary. 

4 ‘‘(F) Establishing policies for managing 

5 acquisitions across the Department that pro6 mote best practices (as such term is defined in 

7 section 714). 

8 ‘‘(G) Establishing policies for acquisition 

9 that implement an approach that considers 

10 risks of failure to achieve cost, schedule, or per11 formance parameters that all components of the 

12 Department shall comply with, including out13 lining relevant authorities for program man14 agers to effectively manage acquisition pro15 grams (as such term is defined in section 714). 

16 ‘‘(H) Ensuring that each major acquisition 

17 program has a Department-approved acquisi18 tion program baseline (as such term is defined 

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

20 acquisition management policy that is traceable 

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

22 integrated master schedule, and operational re23 quirements. 

24 ‘‘(I) Assisting the heads of components 

25 and Component Acquisition Executives in ef-
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1 forts to comply with Federal law, the Federal 

2 Acquisition Regulation, and Department acqui3 sition management directives. 

4 ‘‘(J) Ensuring that grants and financial 

5 assistance are provided only to individuals and 

6 organizations that are not suspended or 

7 debarred. 

8 ‘‘(K) Distributing guidance throughout the 

9 Department to ensure that contractors involved 

10 in acquisitions, particularly contractors that ac11 cess the Department’s information systems and 

12 technologies, adhere to relevant Department 

13 policies related to physical and information se14 curity as identified by the Under Secretary. 

15 ‘‘(L) Overseeing the Component Acquisi16 tion Executive organizational structure to en17 sure Component Acquisition Executives have 

18 sufficient capabilities and comply with Depart19 ment acquisition policies. 

20 ‘‘(M) Developing and managing a profes21 sional acquisition workforce to ensure the goods 

22 and services acquired by the Department meet 

23 the needs of the mission and are at the best 

24 value for the expenditure of public resources. 
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1 ‘‘(3) DELEGATION OF CERTAIN ACQUISITION

2 DECISION AUTHORITY.—The Under Secretary for 

3 Management may delegate acquisition decision au4 thority, in writing, to the relevant Component Acqui5 sition Executive for a major capital asset, service, or 

6 hybrid acquisition program that has a life-cycle cost 

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

8 $1,000,000,000, based on fiscal year 2022 constant 

9 dollars, if— 

10 ‘‘(A) the component concerned possesses 

11 working policies, processes, and procedures that 

12 are consistent with Department acquisition pol13 icy; 

14 ‘‘(B) the Component Acquisition Executive 

15 concerned has adequate, experienced, and dedi16 cated professional employees with program 

17 management training; and 

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

19 Department-approved acquisition program base20 line, and it is meeting agreed-upon cost, sched21 ule, and performance thresholds.’’. 
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1 SEC. 3. OFFICE OF TEST AND EVALUATION OF THE DE2 PARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title III of the Homeland Secu4 rity Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) is amended by 

5 adding at the end the following new section: 

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

7 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE.—There is estab8 lished in the Directorate of Science and Technology of the 

9 Department an Office of Test and Evaluation (in this sec10 tion referred to as the ‘Office’). The Office shall— 

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

12 test and evaluation support across the Department; 

13 and 

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

15 with— 

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

17 local, Tribal, and territorial governments; 

18 ‘‘(B) the private sector; 

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

20 ‘‘(D) other relevant entities. 

21 ‘‘(b) DIRECTOR.—The Office shall be led by a Direc22 tor. The Director shall oversee the duties specified in sub23 section (a) and carry out the following responsibilities: 

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

25 Acquisition Review Board. 
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1 ‘‘(2) Establish and update, as necessary, test 

2 and evaluation policies, procedures, and guidance for 

3 the Department. 

4 ‘‘(3) Ensure, in coordination with the Chief Ac5 quisition Officer, the Joint Requirements Council, 

6 the Under Secretary for Science and Technology, 

7 and relevant component heads, that acquisition pro8 grams (as such term is defined in section 714)— 

9 ‘‘(A) complete reviews of operational re10 quirements to ensure such requirements— 

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

12 physical and cybersecurity threats; 

13 ‘‘(ii) are operationally relevant; and 

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

15 achievable within the constraints of cost 

16 and schedule; 

17 ‘‘(B) complete independent testing and 

18 evaluation of a system or service throughout de19 velopment of such system or service; 

20 ‘‘(C) complete operational testing and eval21 uation that includes all system components and 

22 incorporates operators into such testing and 

23 evaluation to ensure that a system or service 

24 satisfies the mission requirements in the oper-
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1 ational environment of such system or service 

2 as intended in the acquisition program baseline; 

3 ‘‘(D) use independent verification and vali4 dation of test and evaluation implementation 

5 and results, as appropriate; and 

6 ‘‘(E) document whether such programs 

7 meet all operational requirements. 

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

9 activities for major acquisition programs throughout 

10 the acquisition life cycle by— 

11 ‘‘(A) approving program test and evalua12 tion master plans, plans for individual test and 

13 evaluation events, and other related documenta14 tion, determined appropriate by the Director; 

15 ‘‘(B) approving which independent test and 

16 evaluation agent or third-party tester is selected 

17 for each program; and 

18 ‘‘(C) providing an independent assessment 

19 to the acquisition decision authority (as such 

20 term is defined in section 714) that assesses a 

21 program’s progress in meeting operational re22 quirements and operational effectiveness, suit23 ability, and resilience to inform production and 

24 deployment decisions. 
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1 ‘‘(5) Determine if testing of a system or service 

2 conducted by other Federal agencies, entities, or in3 stitutions of higher education are relevant and suffi4 cient in determining whether such system or service 

5 performs as intended. 

6 ‘‘(c) ANNUAL REPORT.— 

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

8 after the date of the enactment of this section and 

9 annually thereafter, the Director of the Office shall 

10 submit to the Secretary, the Under Secretary for 

11 Management, component heads, and the Committee 

12 on Homeland Security of the House of Representa13 tives and the Committee on Homeland Security and 

14 Governmental Affairs a report relating to the test 

15 and evaluation activities of the major acquisition 

16 programs of the Department for the previous fiscal 

17 year. 

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

19 paragraph (1) shall include the following: 

20 ‘‘(A) An assessment of— 

21 ‘‘(i) test and evaluation activities con22 ducted for each major acquisition program 

23 with respect to demonstrating operational 

24 requirements and operational effectiveness, 
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1 suitability, and resilience for each such 

2 program; 

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

4 from, approved program test and evalua5 tion master plans referred to in subsection 

6 (b)(3)(A); 

7 ‘‘(iii) any concerns raised by the inde8 pendent test and evaluation agent or third9 party tester selected and approved under 

10 subsection (b)(3)(B) relating to such waiv11 ers or deviations; and 

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

13 or are planned to be taken to address such 

14 concerns. 

15 ‘‘(B) Recommendations with respect to re16 sources, facilities, and levels of funding made 

17 available for test and evaluation activities re18 ferred to in subparagraph (A). 

19 ‘‘(3) FORM.—Each report required under para20 graph (1) shall be submitted in unclassified form but 

21 may include a classified annex. 

22 ‘‘(d) RELATIONSHIP TO UNDER SECRETARY FOR

23 SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY.— 

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

25 Management and the Under Secretary for Science 
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1 and Technology shall coordinate in matters related 

2 to Department-wide acquisitions so that investments 

3 of the Directorate of Science and Technology are 

4 able to support current and future requirements of 

5 the components of the Department. 

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

7 this subsection may be construed as affecting or di8 minishing the authority of the Under Secretary for 

9 Science and Technology.’’. 

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

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

12 amended by inserting after the item relating to section 

13 322 the following new item: 

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

14 SEC. 4. ACQUISITION AUTHORITIES FOR CHIEF FINANCIAL 

15 OFFICER OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HOME16 LAND SECURITY. 

17 Paragraph (2) of section 702(b) of the Homeland Se18 curity Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 342(b)) is amended by— 

19 (1) redesignating subparagraph (I) as subpara20 graph (J); and 

21 (2) inserting after subparagraph (H) the fol22 lowing new subparagraph: 

23 ‘‘(I) Oversee the costs of acquisition pro24 grams (as such term is defined in section 714) 

25 and related activities to ensure that actual and 
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1 planned costs are in accordance with budget es2 timates and are affordable, or can be ade3 quately funded, over the life cycle of such pro4 grams and activities.’’. 

5 SEC. 5. ACQUISITION AUTHORITIES FOR CHIEF INFORMA6 TION OFFICER OF THE DEPARTMENT OF 

7 HOMELAND SECURITY. 

8 Section 703 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 

9 (6 U.S.C. 343) is amended— 

10 (1) by redesignating subsection (b) as sub11 section (c); and 

12 (2) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol13 lowing new subsection: 

14 ‘‘(b) ACQUISITION RESPONSIBILITIES.—In addition 

15 to the responsibilities specified in section 11315 of title 

16 40, United States Code, the acquisition responsibilities of 

17 the Chief Information Officer, in consultation with the 

18 Under Secretary for Management, shall include the fol19 lowing: 

20 ‘‘(1) Overseeing the management of the Home21 land Security Enterprise Architecture and ensuring 

22 that, before each acquisition decision event (as such 

23 term is defined in section 714), approved informa24 tion technology acquisitions comply with any depart25 mental information technology management require-
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1 ments, security protocols, and the Homeland Secu2 rity Enterprise Architecture, and in any case in 

3 which information technology acquisitions do not so 

4 comply, making recommendations to the Depart5 ment’s Acquisition Review Board regarding such 

6 noncompliance. 

7 ‘‘(2) Providing recommendations to the Acquisi8 tion Review Board regarding information technology 

9 programs and developing information technology ac10 quisition strategic guidance.’’. 

11 SEC. 6. ACQUISITION AUTHORITIES FOR UNDER SEC12 RETARY OF STRATEGY, POLICY, AND PLANS 

13 OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECU14 RITY. 

15 Subsection (c) of section 709 of the Homeland Secu16 rity Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 349) is amended by— 

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

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

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

20 new paragraph: 

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

22 is defined in section 714) support the DHS Quad23 rennial Homeland Security Review Report, the DHS 

24 Strategic Plan, the DHS Strategic Priorities, and 

25 other appropriate successor documents;’’. 
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1 SEC. 7. ACQUISITION AUTHORITIES FOR PROGRAM AC2 COUNTABILITY AND RISK MANAGEMENT 

3 (PARM) OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND 

4 SECURITY. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title VII of the Homeland Secu6 rity Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 341 et seq.) is amended by 

7 adding at the end the following new section: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 714. PROGRAM ACCOUNTABILITY AND RISK MANAGE9 MENT OFFICE. 

10 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE.—There is estab11 lished in the Management Directorate of the Department 

12 a Program Accountability and Risk Management office. 

13 Such office shall— 

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) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.—The Program Ac22 countability and Risk Management office shall be led by 

23 an Executive Director. The Executive Director shall over24 see the duties specified in subsection (a), report directly 

25 to the Under Secretary for Management, and carry out 

26 the following responsibilities: 
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1 ‘‘(1) Regularly monitor the performance of De2 partment major acquisition programs between acqui3 sition decision events to identify problems with cost, 

4 performance, or schedule that components may need 

5 to address to prevent cost overruns, performance 

6 issues, or schedule delays. 

7 ‘‘(2) Assist the Under Secretary for Manage8 ment in managing the Department’s acquisition pro9 grams, acquisition workforce, and related activities 

10 of the Department. 

11 ‘‘(3) Conduct oversight of individual acquisition 

12 programs to implement Department acquisition pro13 gram policy, procedures, and guidance, with a pri14 ority on ensuring the data the office collects and 

15 maintains from Department components is accurate 

16 and reliable. 

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

18 for the acquisition life-cycle review process and as 

19 the executive secretariat for the Department’s Ac20 quisition Review Board. 

21 ‘‘(5) Advise the persons having acquisition deci22 sion authority to— 

23 ‘‘(A) make acquisition decisions consistent 

24 with all applicable laws; and 
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1 ‘‘(B) establish clear lines of authority, ac2 countability, and responsibility for acquisition 

3 decision-making within the Department. 

4 ‘‘(6) Develop standardized certification stand5 ards, in consultation with the Component Acquisi6 tion Executives, for all acquisition program man7 agers. 

8 ‘‘(7) Assess the results of major acquisition pro9 grams’ post-implementation reviews, and identify op10 portunities to improve performance throughout the 

11 acquisition process. 

12 ‘‘(8) Provide technical support and assistance 

13 to Department acquisition programs and acquisition 

14 personnel, and coordinate with the Chief Procure15 ment Officer regarding workforce training and devel16 opment activities. 

17 ‘‘(9) Assist, as appropriate, with the prepara18 tion of the Future Years Homeland Security Pro19 gram, and make such information available to the 

20 congressional homeland security committees. 

21 ‘‘(10) In coordination with the Component Ac22 quisition Executives, maintain the Master Acquisi23 tion Oversight List, updated quarterly, that shall 

24 serve as an inventory of all major acquisition pro-
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1 grams and non-major acquisition programs within 

2 the Department, including for each such program— 

3 ‘‘(A) the component sponsoring the acqui4 sition; 

5 ‘‘(B) the name of the acquisition; 

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

7 the anticipated life-cycle cost of the program 

8 and other criteria pursuant to the Department9 level acquisition policy; 

10 ‘‘(D) the acquisition decision authority for 

11 the acquisition; and 

12 ‘‘(E) the current acquisition phase. 

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

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

15 Federal Acquisition Regulation, and Department acquisi16 tion management directives established by the Under Sec17 retary for Management. For each major acquisition pro18 gram, each head of a component shall— 

19 ‘‘(1) establish an organizational structure for 

20 conducting acquisitions within the component, to be 

21 managed by a Component Acquisition Executive; 

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

23 such an organizational structure that are aligned 

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

25 acquisition programs of the component; and 
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1 ‘‘(3) oversee sustainment of capabilities de2 ployed by major acquisition programs and non-major 

3 acquisition programs after all planned deployments 

4 are completed until such capabilities are retired or 

5 replaced. 

6 ‘‘(d) RESPONSIBILITIES OF COMPONENT ACQUISI7 TION EXECUTIVES.—Each Component Acquisition Execu8 tive shall— 

9 ‘‘(1) establish and implement policies and guid10 ance for managing and conducting oversight for 

11 major acquisition programs and non-major acquisi12 tion programs within the component at issue that 

13 comply with Federal law, the Federal Acquisition 

14 Regulation, and Department acquisition manage15 ment directives established by the Under Secretary 

16 for Management; 

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

18 ‘‘(A) define baseline requirements and doc19 ument changes to such requirements, as appro20 priate; 

21 ‘‘(B) establish a complete life cycle cost es22 timate with supporting documentation that is 

23 consistent with cost estimating best practices as 

24 identified by the Comptroller General of the 

25 United States; 
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1 ‘‘(C) verify each life cycle cost estimate 

2 against independent cost estimates or assess3 ments, as appropriate, and reconcile any dif4 ferences; 

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

6 supporting documentation; and 

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

8 is consistent with scheduling best practices as 

9 identified by the Comptroller General of the 

10 United States, including, in appropriate cases, 

11 an integrated master schedule; 

12 ‘‘(3) ensure that all acquisition program docu13 mentation provided by the component demonstrates 

14 the knowledge required for successful program exe15 cution prior to final approval and is complete, accu16 rate, timely, and valid; 

17 ‘‘(4) in such cases where it is appropriate, exer18 cise the acquisition decision authority to approve, 

19 pause, modify (including the rescission of approvals 

20 of program milestones), or cancel major acquisition 

21 programs or non-major acquisition programs when 

22 delegated by the Under Secretary for Management 

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

24 ‘‘(5) review, oversee, and direct activities be25 tween acquisition decision events for major acquisi-
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1 tion programs within the component for which the 

2 Under Secretary for Management is the acquisition 

3 decision authority. 

4 ‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

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

6 the meaning given such term in section 131 of title 

7 41, United States Code. 

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

9 term ‘acquisition decision authority’ means the au10 thority, in addition to the authorities and functions 

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

12 41, United States Code, held by the Secretary acting 

13 through the Under Secretary for Management to— 

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

15 the Federal Acquisition Regulation, and De16 partment acquisition management directives; 

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

18 modifying, or canceling) an acquisition program 

19 throughout the life cycle of such program; 

20 ‘‘(C) ensure that acquisition program man21 agers have the resources necessary to success22 fully execute an approved acquisition program; 

23 ‘‘(D) ensure appropriate acquisition pro24 gram management of cost, schedule, risk, and 

25 system or service performance of the acquisition 
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1 program at issue, including assessing acquisi2 tion program baseline breaches and directing 

3 any corrective action for such breaches; 

4 ‘‘(E) ensure that acquisition program man5 agers, on an ongoing basis, monitor cost, sched6 ule, and performance against established base7 lines and use tools to assess risks to an acquisi8 tion program at all phases of the life-cycle of 

9 such program; and 

10 ‘‘(F) establish policies and procedures for 

11 major acquisition programs of the Department. 

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

13 ‘acquisition decision event’, with respect to an acqui14 sition program, means a predetermined point within 

15 the acquisition life-cycle at which the acquisition de16 cision authority determines whether such acquisition 

17 program shall proceed to the next acquisition phase. 

18 ‘‘(4) ACQUISITION PROGRAM.—The term ‘acqui19 sition program’ means the conceptualization, initi20 ation, design, development, test, contracting, produc21 tion, deployment, logistics support, modification, or 

22 disposal of systems, supplies, or services (including 

23 construction) to satisfy the Department’s needs. 

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

25 term ‘acquisition program baseline’, with respect to 
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1 an acquisition program, means the cost, schedule, 

2 and performance parameters, expressed in standard, 

3 measurable, quantitative terms, which must be met 

4 to accomplish the goals of such program. 

5 ‘‘(6) BEST PRACTICES.—The term ‘best prac6 tices’, with respect to acquisition, means a knowl7 edge-based approach to capability development, pro8 curement, and support that includes the following: 

9 ‘‘(A) Identifying and validating needs. 

10 ‘‘(B) Assessing alternatives to select the 

11 most appropriate solution. 

12 ‘‘(C) Establishing well-defined require13 ments. 

14 ‘‘(D) Developing realistic cost assessments 

15 and schedules that account for the entire life16 cycle of an acquisition. 

17 ‘‘(E) Demonstrating technology, design, 

18 and manufacturing maturity before initiating 

19 production. 

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

21 specific accomplishments that demonstrate the 

22 attainment of knowledge to support progress 

23 throughout the acquisition phases. 
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1 ‘‘(G) Regularly assessing and managing 

2 risks to achieve requirements and cost and 

3 schedule goals. 

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

5 adopting and executing standardized processes. 

6 ‘‘(I) Establishing a workforce that is quali7 fied to perform necessary acquisition roles. 

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

9 mission and business operations the capabilities 

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

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

12 to a major acquisition program, means a failure to 

13 meet any cost, schedule, or performance threshold 

14 specified in the most recently approved acquisition 

15 program baseline. 

16 ‘‘(8) CONGRESSIONAL HOMELAND SECURITY

17 COMMITTEES.—The term ‘congressional homeland 

18 security committees’ means— 

19 ‘‘(A) the Committee on Homeland Security 

20 of the House of Representatives and the Com21 mittee on Homeland Security and Govern22 mental Affairs of the Senate; and 

23 ‘‘(B) the Committee on Appropriations of 

24 the House of Representatives and the Com25 mittee on Appropriations of the Senate. 
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1 ‘‘(9) COMPONENT ACQUISITION EXECUTIVE.— 

2 The term ‘Component Acquisition Executive’ means 

3 the senior acquisition official within a component 

4 who is designated in writing by the Under Secretary 

5 for Management, in consultation with the component 

6 head, with authority and responsibility for leading a 

7 process and staff to provide acquisition and program 

8 management oversight, policy, and guidance to en9 sure that statutory, regulatory, and higher level pol10 icy requirements are fulfilled, including compliance 

11 with Federal law, the Federal Acquisition Regula12 tion, and Department acquisition management direc13 tives established by the Under Secretary. 

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

15 cost’ means the total cost to the Government of ac16 quiring, operating, supporting, and (if applicable) 

17 disposing of the items being acquired. 

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

19 term ‘major acquisition program’ means a Depart20 ment capital asset, services, or hybrid acquisition 

21 program that is estimated by the Secretary to re22 quire an eventual total expenditure of at least 

23 $300,000,000 (based on fiscal year 2022 constant 

24 dollars) over its life cycle or a program identified by 
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1 the Chief Acquisition Officer as a program of special 

2 interest.’’. 

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

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

5 amended by inserting after the item relating to section 

6 710 the following new item: 

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

7 SEC. 8. ACQUISITION DOCUMENTATION. 

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

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

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

11 at the end the following new section: 

12 ‘‘SEC. 837. ACQUISITION DOCUMENTATION. 

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

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

15 the Under Secretary for Management, shall require the 

16 head of each relevant component or office of the Depart17 ment to— 

18 ‘‘(1) maintain acquisition documentation that is 

19 complete, accurate, timely, and valid, and that in20 cludes— 

21 ‘‘(A) operational requirements that are 

22 validated consistent with departmental policy; 

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

24 with supporting documentation; 
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1 ‘‘(C) verification of such life-cycle cost esti2 mate against independent cost estimates, and 

3 reconciliation of any differences; 

4 ‘‘(D) a cost-benefit analysis with sup5 porting documentation; 

6 ‘‘(E) an integrated master schedule with 

7 supporting documentation; 

8 ‘‘(F) plans for conducting systems engi9 neering reviews and test and evaluation activi10 ties throughout development to support produc11 tion and deployment decisions; 

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

13 procurement approach, including planned con14 tracting vehicles; 

15 ‘‘(H) a logistics and support plan for oper16 ating and maintaining deployed capabilities 

17 until such capabilities are disposed of or retired; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(I) an acquisition program baseline that 

20 is traceable to the operational requirements of 

21 the program required under subparagraphs (A), 

22 (B), and (E); 

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

24 major acquisition programs pursuant to subpara25 graphs (B) and (E) of paragraph (1) in a manner 
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•HR 6871 EH

1 consistent with best practices as identified by the 

2 Comptroller General of the United States; and 

3 ‘‘(3) ensure any revisions to the acquisition doc4 umentation maintained pursuant to paragraph (1) 

5 are reviewed and approved in accordance with de6 partmental policy.’’. 

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

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

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

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

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

Passed the House of Representatives May 17, 2022. 

Attest: 

Clerk. 
117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6871 

AN ACT 

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