151 
section (a) by not later than 180 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act. 
(c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 
in section 1(b) is further amended by adding at the end 
of the items relating to title III the following new item: 
‘‘Sec. 320. Identification and prioritization of research and development re-
quirements.’’. 
SEC. 704. RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRESS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title III (6 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) 
is further amended by adding at the end the following new 
section: 
‘‘SEC. 321. MONITORING PROGRESS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary for Science 
and Technology shall monitor the progress of the research, 
development, testing, and evaluation activities undertaken 
by the Directorate of Science and Technology, and shall 
provide, at a minimum on a biannual basis, regular up-
dates on that progress to relevant customers of those ac-
tivities. 
‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS OF PROGRESS UPDATES.—In 
order to provide the progress updates required under sub-
section (a), the Under Secretary shall develop a system 
that— 
‘‘(1) monitors progress toward project mile-
stones identified by the Under Secretary; 
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‘‘(2) maps progress toward deliverables identi-
fied in the 5-year plan required under section 319; 
‘‘(3) generates up-to-date reports to customers 
that transparently disclose the status and progress 
of research, development, testing, and evaluation ef-
forts of the Directorate; 
‘‘(4) evaluates the extent to which a technology 
or service produced as a result of the Directorate’s 
programs has addressed homeland security capa-
bility gaps and requirements as determined by the 
Capabilities and Requirements Council established 
under section 709; and 
‘‘(5) allows the Under Secretary to report the 
number of products and services developed by the 
Directorate that have been transitioned into acquisi-
tion programs and resulted in successfully fielded 
technologies. 
‘‘(c) EVALUATION METHODS.— 
‘‘(1) EXTERNAL
INPUT, CONSULTATION, AND 
REVIEW.—The Under Secretary shall implement 
procedures to engage outside experts in assisting in 
the evaluation of the progress of research and devel-
opment programs or activities of the Directorate, in-
cluding through— 
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‘‘(A) consultation with experts, including 
scientists and practitioners, to gather inde-
pendent expert peer opinion and advice on a 
project or on specific issues or analyses con-
ducted by the Directorate; and 
‘‘(B) periodic, independent, external review 
to assess the quality and relevance of the Direc-
torate’s programs and projects. 
‘‘(2) CUSTOMER FEEDBACK.—The Under Sec-
retary shall establish a formal process to collect 
feedback from customers of the Directorate on the 
performance of the Directorate, that includes— 
‘‘(A) appropriate methodologies through 
which customers can assess the quality and use-
fulness of technology and services delivered by 
the Directorate; 
‘‘(B) development of metrics for measuring 
customer satisfaction and the usefulness of any 
technology or service provided by the Direc-
torate; and 
‘‘(C) standards for high-quality customer 
service.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 
in section 1(b) is further amended by adding at the end 
of the items relating to title III the following new item: 
‘‘Sec. 321. Monitoring progress.’’. 
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154 
SEC. 705. ACQUISITION AND OPERATIONS SUPPORT. 
(a) RESPONSIBILITIES AND AUTHORITIES OF THE 
UNDER SECRETARY.—Section 302 (6 U.S.C. 183) is 
amended by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon at the end 
of paragraph (13), by striking the period at the end of 
paragraph (14) and inserting ‘‘; and’’, and by adding at 
the end the following new paragraph: 
‘‘(15) providing science-based, analytic capa-
bility and capacity across the Department to— 
‘‘(A) support technological assessments of 
major acquisition programs throughout the ac-
quisition lifecycle; 
‘‘(B) help define appropriate technological 
requirements and perform feasibility analysis; 
‘‘(C) assist in evaluating new and emerging 
technologies against capability gaps; 
‘‘(D) support evaluation of alternatives; 
and 
‘‘(E) improve the use of technology De-
partmentwide.’’. 
(b) TECHNOLOGY READINESS ASSESSMENT PROC-
ESS.—Section 308 (6 U.S.C. 188) is amended by adding 
at the end the following new subsection: 
‘‘(d) TECHNOLOGY READINESS ASSESSMENT PROC-
ESS.— 
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‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary for 
Science and Technology shall establish a formal, sys-
tematic, metrics-based process to comprehensively 
evaluate technology maturity and reduce technical 
risks, that includes— 
‘‘(A) an independent assessment of the 
performance, 
maturity, 
suitability, 
and 
supportability of a technology and associated 
risks; 
‘‘(B) technology readiness evaluations to 
establish technology readiness levels as a meas-
ure of the maturity of the technology; and 
‘‘(C) provision of a report containing the 
findings and conclusions of each assessment 
conducted under the process provided, to the 
appropriate customers and personnel of the De-
partment. 
‘‘(2) APPLICATION.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 
subparagraph (B), the process shall be applied 
to— 
‘‘(i) technology developed by the Di-
rectorate; and 
‘‘(ii) technology being procured or 
considered by any component of the De-
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