Subtitle B—Acquisition Program 
Management Discipline 
SEC. 221. ACQUISITION REVIEW BOARD. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle D of title VIII of the 
Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 391 et seq.) 
is amended by adding at the end the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 836. ACQUISITION REVIEW BOARD. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish an 
Acquisition Review Board (in this section referred to as 
the ‘Board’) to— 
‘‘(1) strengthen accountability and uniformity 
within the Department acquisition review process; 
‘‘(2) review major acquisition programs; and 
‘‘(3) review the use of best practices. 
‘‘(b) COMPOSITION.—The Under Secretary for Man-
agement shall serve as chair of the Board. The Secretary 
shall also ensure participation by other relevant Depart-
ment officials, including at least two component heads or 
their designees, as permanent members of the Board. 
‘‘(c) MEETINGS.—The Board shall meet regularly for 
purposes of ensuring all acquisitions processes proceed in 
a timely fashion to achieve mission readiness. The Board 
shall convene at the discretion of the Secretary and at any 
time— 
‘‘(1) a major acquisition program— 
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‘‘(A) requires authorization to proceed 
from one acquisition decision event to another 
throughout the acquisition life cycle; 
‘‘(B) is in breach of its approved require-
ments; or 
‘‘(C) requires additional review, as deter-
mined by the Under Secretary for Management; 
or 
‘‘(2) a non-major acquisition program requires 
review, as determined by the Under Secretary for 
Management. 
‘‘(d) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The responsibilities of the 
Board are as follows: 
‘‘(1) Determine whether a proposed acquisition 
has met the requirements of key phases of the acqui-
sition life cycle framework and is able to proceed to 
the next phase and eventual full production and de-
ployment. 
‘‘(2) Oversee whether a proposed acquisition’s 
business strategy, resources, management, and ac-
countability is executable and is aligned to strategic 
initiatives. 
‘‘(3) Support the person with acquisition deci-
sion authority for an acquisition in determining the 
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appropriate direction for such acquisition at key ac-
quisition decision events. 
‘‘(4) Conduct systematic reviews of acquisitions 
to ensure that such acquisitions are progressing in 
compliance with the approved documents for their 
current acquisition phases. 
‘‘(5) Review the acquisition documents of each 
major acquisition program, including the acquisition 
program baseline and documentation reflecting con-
sideration of tradeoffs among cost, schedule, and 
performance objectives, to ensure the reliability of 
underlying data. 
‘‘(6) Ensure that practices are adopted and im-
plemented to require consideration of trade-offs 
among cost, schedule, and performance objectives as 
part of the process for developing requirements for 
major acquisition programs prior to the initiation of 
the second acquisition decision event, including, at a 
minimum, the following practices: 
‘‘(A) Department officials responsible for 
acquisition, budget, and cost estimating func-
tions are provided with the appropriate oppor-
tunity to develop estimates and raise cost and 
schedule matters before performance objectives 
are established for capabilities when feasible. 
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‘‘(B) Full consideration is given to possible 
trade-offs among cost, schedule, and perform-
ance objectives for each alternative. 
‘‘(e) ACQUISITION PROGRAM BASELINE REPORT RE-
QUIREMENT.—If the person exercising acquisition decision 
authority over a major acquisition program approves such 
program to proceed into the planning phase before such 
program has a Department-approved acquisition program 
baseline, the Under Secretary for Management shall cre-
ate and approve an acquisition program baseline report 
regarding such approval, and the Secretary shall— 
‘‘(1) within seven days after an acquisition deci-
sion memorandum is signed, notify in writing the 
Committee on Homeland Security of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Homeland 
Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate of 
such decision; and 
‘‘(2) within 60 days after the acquisition deci-
sion memorandum is signed, submit to such commit-
tees a report stating the rationale for such decision 
and a plan of action to require an acquisition pro-
gram baseline for such program. 
‘‘(f) REPORT.—The Under Secretary for Manage-
ment shall provide information to the Committee on 
Homeland Security of the House of Representatives and 
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the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
Affairs of the Senate on an annual basis through fiscal 
year 2022 on the activities of the Board for the prior fiscal 
year that includes information relating to the following: 
‘‘(1) For each meeting of the Board, any acqui-
sition decision memoranda. 
‘‘(2) Results of the systematic reviews con-
ducted pursuant to paragraph (4) of subsection (d). 
‘‘(3) Results of acquisition document reviews re-
quired pursuant to paragraph (5) of subsection (d). 
‘‘(4) Activities to ensure that practices are 
adopted and implemented throughout the Depart-
ment pursuant to paragraph (6) of subsection (d).’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 
in section 1(b) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 
U.S.C. 101 et seq.) is further amended by adding after 
the item relating to section 835 the following new item: 
‘‘Sec. 836. Acquisition Review Board.’’. 
SEC. 222. REQUIREMENTS TO REDUCE DUPLICATION IN AC-
QUISITION PROGRAMS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle D of title VIII of the 
Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 391 et seq.) 
is further amended by adding at the end the following new 
section: 
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‘‘SEC. 837. REQUIREMENTS TO REDUCE DUPLICATION IN 
ACQUISITION PROGRAMS. 
‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT TO ESTABLISH POLICIES.—In 
an effort to reduce unnecessary duplication and ineffi-
ciency for all Department investments, including major ac-
quisition programs, the Deputy Secretary, in consultation 
with the Under Secretary for Management, shall establish 
Department-wide policies to integrate all phases of the in-
vestment life cycle and help the Department identify, vali-
date, and prioritize common component requirements for 
major acquisition programs in order to increase opportuni-
ties for effectiveness and efficiencies. The policies shall 
also include strategic alternatives for developing and facili-
tating a Department component-driven requirements proc-
ess that includes oversight of a development test and eval-
uation capability; identification of priority gaps and over-
laps in Department capability needs; and provision of fea-
sible technical alternatives, including innovative commer-
cially available alternatives, to meet capability needs. 
‘‘(b) MECHANISMS TO CARRY OUT REQUIREMENT.— 
The Under Secretary for Management shall coordinate the 
actions necessary to carry out subsection (a), using such 
mechanisms as considered necessary by the Secretary to 
help the Department reduce unnecessary duplication and 
inefficiency for all Department investments, including 
major acquisition programs. 
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