IB 
Union Calendar No. 27 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1252 
[Report No. 115–47] 
To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to provide for certain acquisi-
tion authorities for the Under Secretary of Management of the Depart-
ment of Homeland Security, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 28, 2017 
Mr. HIGGINS of Louisiana (for himself and Mr. MCCAUL) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security 
MARCH 20, 2017 
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on February 28, 2017] 
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A BILL 
To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to provide 
for certain acquisition authorities for the Under Sec-
retary of Management of the Department of Homeland 
Security, and for other purposes. 
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘DHS Acquisition Au-
thorities Act of 2017’’. 
SEC. 2. ACQUISITION AUTHORITIES FOR UNDER SEC-
RETARY FOR MANAGEMENT OF THE DEPART-
MENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY. 
Section 701 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 
U.S.C. 341) is amended by— 
(1) redesignating subsections (d) and (e) as sub-
sections (e) and (f); and 
(2) inserting after subsection (c) the following 
new subsection: 
‘‘(d) ACQUISITION
AND
RELATED
RESPONSIBIL-
ITIES.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 
1702(b) of title 41, United States Code, the Under 
Secretary for Management is the Chief Acquisition 
Officer of the Department. As Chief Acquisition Offi-
cer, the Under Secretary shall have the authorities 
and perform the functions specified in section 1702(b) 
of such title, and perform all other functions and re-
sponsibilities delegated by the Secretary or described 
in this subsection. 
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‘‘(2) FUNCTIONS
AND
RESPONSIBILITIES.—In 
addition to the authorities and functions specified in 
section 1702(b) of title 41, United States Code, the 
functions and responsibilities of the Under Secretary 
for Management related to acquisition (as such term 
is defined in section 710) include the following: 
‘‘(A) Advising the Secretary regarding ac-
quisition management activities, taking into ac-
count risks of failure to achieve cost, schedule, or 
performance parameters, to ensure that the De-
partment achieves its mission through the adop-
tion of widely accepted program management 
best practices (as such term is defined in section 
710) and standards and, where appropriate, ac-
quisition innovation best practices. 
‘‘(B) Leading the Department’s acquisition 
oversight body, the Acquisition Review Board, 
and exercising the acquisition decision authority 
(as such term is defined in section 710) to ap-
prove, pause, modify (including the rescission of 
approvals of program milestones), or cancel 
major acquisition programs (as such term is de-
fined in section 710), unless the Under Secretary 
delegates such authority to a Component Acqui-
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sition Executive (as such term is defined in sec-
tion 710) pursuant to paragraph (3). 
‘‘(C) Establishing policies for acquisition 
that implement an approach that takes into ac-
count risks of failure to achieve cost, schedule, or 
performance parameters that all components of 
the Department shall comply with, including 
outlining relevant authorities for program man-
agers to effectively manage acquisition programs. 
‘‘(D) Ensuring that each major acquisition 
program has a Department-approved acquisition 
program baseline (as such term is defined in sec-
tion 710), pursuant to the Department’s acquisi-
tion management policy. 
‘‘(E) Ensuring that the heads of components 
and Component Acquisition Executives comply 
with Federal law, the Federal Acquisition Regu-
lation, and Department acquisition management 
directives. 
‘‘(F) Ensuring that grants and financial 
assistance are provided only to individuals and 
organizations 
that 
are 
not 
suspended 
or 
debarred. 
‘‘(G) Distributing guidance throughout the 
Department to ensure that contractors involved 
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in acquisitions, particularly contractors that ac-
cess the Department’s information systems and 
technologies, adhere to relevant Department poli-
cies related to physical and information security 
as identified by the Under Secretary for Manage-
ment. 
‘‘(H) Overseeing the Component Acquisition 
Executive organizational structure to ensure 
Component Acquisition Executives have suffi-
cient capabilities and comply with Department 
acquisition policies. 
‘‘(3) DELEGATION OF ACQUISITION DECISION AU-
THORITY.— 
‘‘(A) LEVEL 3 ACQUISITIONS.—The Under 
Secretary for Management may delegate acquisi-
tion decision authority in writing to the relevant 
Component Acquisition Executive for an acquisi-
tion program that has a life cycle cost estimate 
of less than $300,000,000. 
‘‘(B) LEVEL 2 ACQUISITIONS.—The Under 
Secretary for Management may delegate acquisi-
tion decision authority in writing to the relevant 
Component Acquisition Executive for a major 
acquisition program that has a life cycle cost es-
timate of at least $300,000,000 but not more 
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than $1,000,000,000 if all of the following re-
quirements are met: 
‘‘(i) The component concerned possesses 
working policies, processes, and procedures 
that are consistent with Department-level 
acquisition policy. 
‘‘(ii) The Component Acquisition Exec-
utive concerned has adequate, experienced, 
and dedicated professional employees with 
program management training, as applica-
ble, commensurate with the size of the ac-
quisition programs and related activities 
delegated to such Component Acquisition 
Executive by the Under Secretary for Man-
agement. 
‘‘(iii) Each major acquisition program 
concerned has written documentation show-
ing that it has a Department-approved ac-
quisition program baseline and it is meet-
ing agreed-upon cost, schedule, and per-
formance thresholds. 
‘‘(4) RELATIONSHIP TO UNDER SECRETARY FOR 
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Nothing in this sub-
section shall diminish the authority granted to 
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the Under Secretary for Science and Technology 
under this Act. The Under Secretary for Man-
agement and the Under Secretary for Science 
and Technology shall cooperate in matters re-
lated to the coordination of acquisitions across 
the Department so that investments of the Direc-
torate of Science and Technology are able to sup-
port current and future requirements of the com-
ponents of the Department. 
‘‘(B) OPERATIONAL TESTING AND EVALUA-
TION.—The Under Secretary for Science and 
Technology shall— 
‘‘(i) ensure, in coordination with rel-
evant component heads, that major acquisi-
tion programs— 
‘‘(I) complete operational testing 
and evaluation of technologies and sys-
tems; 
‘‘(II) use independent verification 
and validation of operational test and 
evaluation implementation and results; 
and 
‘‘(III) document whether such pro-
grams meet all performance require-
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ments included in their acquisition 
program baselines; 
‘‘(ii) ensure that such operational test-
ing and evaluation includes all system com-
ponents and incorporates operators into the 
testing to ensure that systems perform as 
intended in the appropriate operational set-
ting; and 
‘‘(iii) determine if testing conducted by 
other Federal agencies and private entities 
is relevant and sufficient in determining 
whether systems perform as intended in the 
operational setting.’’. 
SEC. 3. ACQUISITION AUTHORITIES FOR CHIEF FINANCIAL 
OFFICER OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HOME-
LAND SECURITY. 
Paragraph (2) of section 702(b) of the Homeland Secu-
rity Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 342(b)) is amended by adding 
at the end the following new subparagraph: 
‘‘(J) Oversee the costs of acquisition pro-
grams and related activities to ensure that ac-
tual and planned costs are in accordance with 
budget estimates and are affordable, or can be 
adequately funded, over the life cycle of such pro-
grams and activities.’’. 
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SEC. 4. ACQUISITION AUTHORITIES FOR CHIEF INFORMA-
TION OFFICER OF THE DEPARTMENT OF 
HOMELAND SECURITY. 
Section 703 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 
U.S.C. 343) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating subsection (b) as subsection 
(c); and 
(2) by inserting after subsection (a) the following 
new subsection: 
‘‘(b) 
ACQUISITION
RESPONSIBILITIES.—Notwith-
standing section 11315 of title 40, United States Code, the 
acquisition responsibilities of the Chief Information Officer, 
in consultation with the Under Secretary for Management, 
shall include the following: 
‘‘(1) Oversee the management of the Homeland 
Security Enterprise Architecture and ensure that, be-
fore each acquisition decision event (as such term is 
defined in section 710), approved information tech-
nology acquisitions comply with departmental infor-
mation technology management processes, technical 
requirements, and the Homeland Security Enterprise 
Architecture, and in any case in which information 
technology acquisitions do not comply with the De-
partment’s 
management 
directives, 
make 
rec-
ommendations to the Acquisition Review Board re-
garding such noncompliance. 
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‘‘(2) Be responsible for providing recommenda-
tions to the Acquisition Review Board regarding in-
formation technology programs, and be responsible for 
developing information technology acquisition stra-
tegic guidance.’’. 
SEC. 5. ACQUISITION AUTHORITIES FOR PROGRAM AC-
COUNTABILITY 
AND 
RISK 
MANAGEMENT 
(PARM). 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title VII of the Homeland Security 
Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 341 et seq.) is amended by adding 
at the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 710. ACQUISITION AUTHORITIES FOR PROGRAM AC-
COUNTABILITY AND RISK MANAGEMENT. 
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE.—Within the Man-
agement Directorate, there shall be a Program Account-
ability and Risk Management office to— 
‘‘(1) provide consistent accountability, standard-
ization, and transparency of major acquisition pro-
grams of the Department; and 
‘‘(2) serve as the central oversight function for 
all Department acquisition programs. 
‘‘(b) RESPONSIBILITIES OF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.— 
The Program Accountability and Risk Management office 
shall be led by an Executive Director to oversee the require-
ment under subsection (a). The Executive Director shall re-
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port directly to the Under Secretary for Management, and 
shall carry out the following responsibilities: 
‘‘(1) Monitor regularly the performance of De-
partment acquisition programs between acquisition 
decision events to identify problems with cost, per-
formance, or schedule that components may need to 
address to prevent cost overruns, performance issues, 
or schedule delays. 
‘‘(2) Assist the Under Secretary for Management 
in managing the Department’s acquisition programs 
and related activities. 
‘‘(3) Conduct oversight of individual acquisition 
programs to implement Department acquisition pro-
gram policy, procedures, and guidance with a pri-
ority on ensuring the data the office collects and 
maintains from Department components is accurate 
and reliable. 
‘‘(4) Serve as the focal point and coordinator for 
the acquisition life cycle review process and as the ex-
ecutive secretariat for the Acquisition Review Board. 
‘‘(5) Advise the persons having acquisition deci-
sion authority in making acquisition decisions con-
sistent with all applicable laws and in establishing 
clear lines of authority, accountability, and responsi-
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bility for acquisition decisionmaking within the De-
partment. 
‘‘(6) Engage in the strategic planning and per-
formance evaluation process required under section 
306 of title 5, United States Code, and sections 
1105(a)(28), 1115, 1116, and 9703 of title 31, United 
States Code, by supporting the Chief Procurement Of-
ficer in developing strategies and specific plans for 
hiring, training, and professional development in 
order to rectify any deficiency within the Depart-
ment’s acquisition workforce. 
‘‘(7) Develop standardized certification stand-
ards in consultation with the Component Acquisition 
Executives for all acquisition program managers. 
‘‘(8) In the event that an acquisition program 
manager’s certification or actions need review for 
purposes of promotion or removal, provide input, in 
consultation with the relevant Component Acquisition 
Executive, into the relevant acquisition program 
manager’s performance evaluation, and report posi-
tive or negative experiences to the relevant certifying 
authority. 
‘‘(9) Provide technical support and assistance to 
Department acquisitions and acquisition personnel in 
conjunction with the Chief Procurement Officer. 
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