H. R. 3619—42 
‘‘(5) ASSET ALREADY IN LOW, INITIAL, OR FULL-RATE PRODUC-
TION.—If operational test and evaluation of a capability or 
asset already in low, initial, or full-rate production identifies 
a safety concern with the capability or asset or any subsystems 
of the capability or asset not previously identified during 
developmental or operational test and evaluation, the Com-
mandant shall— 
‘‘(A) notify the program manager and the Chief Acquisi-
tion Officer of the safety concern as soon as practicable, 
but not later than 30 days after the completion of the 
test and evaluation event or activity that identified the 
safety concern; and 
‘‘(B) notify the Chief Acquisition Officer and include 
in such notification— 
‘‘(i) an explanation of the actions that will be taken 
to correct or mitigate the safety concern in all capabili-
ties or assets and subsystems of the capabilities or 
assets yet to be produced, and the date by which those 
actions will be taken; 
‘‘(ii) an explanation of the actions that will be 
taken to correct or mitigate the safety concern in pre-
viously produced capabilities or assets and subsystems 
of the capabilities or assets, and the date by which 
those actions will be taken; and 
‘‘(iii) an assessment of the adequacy of current 
funding to correct or mitigate the safety concern in 
capabilities or assets and subsystems of the capabilities 
or assets and in previously produced capabilities or 
assets and subsystems. 
‘‘(c) TECHNICAL CERTIFICATION.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commandant shall ensure that any 
Level 1 or Level 2 acquisition project or program is certified 
by the technical authority of the Coast Guard after review 
by an independent third party with capabilities in the mission 
area, asset, or particular asset component. 
‘‘(2) TEMPEST TESTING.—The Commandant shall— 
‘‘(A) cause all electronics on all aircraft, surface, and 
shore capabilities and assets that require TEMPEST certifi-
cation and that are delivered after the date of enactment 
of the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2010 to be tested 
in accordance with TEMPEST standards and communica-
tions security (comsec) standards by an independent third 
party that is authorized by the Federal Government to 
perform such testing; and 
‘‘(B) certify that the assets meet all applicable TEM-
PEST requirements. 
‘‘(3) CUTTER CLASSIFICATION.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Commandant shall cause each 
cutter, other than a National Security Cutter, acquired 
by the Coast Guard and delivered after the date of enact-
ment of the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2010 to 
be classed by the American Bureau of Shipping before 
final acceptance. 
‘‘(B) REPORTS.—Not later than December 31, 2011, and 
biennially thereafter, the Commandant shall provide a 
report to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastruc-
ture of the House of Representatives and the Committee
H. R. 3619—43 
on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 
identifying which, if any, Coast Guard cutters that have 
been issued a certificate of classification by the American 
Bureau of Shipping have not been maintained in class 
and detailing the reasons why they have not been main-
tained in class. 
‘‘(4) OTHER VESSELS.—The Commandant shall cause the 
design and construction of each National Security Cutter, other 
than National Security Cutters 1, 2, and 3, to be assessed 
by an independent third party with expertise in vessel design 
and construction certification. 
‘‘(5) AIRCRAFT
AIRWORTHINESS.—The Commandant shall 
cause all aircraft and aircraft engines acquired by the Coast 
Guard and delivered after the date of enactment of the Coast 
Guard Authorization Act of 2010 to be assessed for airworthi-
ness by an independent third party with expertise in aircraft 
and aircraft engine certification before final acceptance. 
‘‘§ 574. Acquisition, production, deployment, and support 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Commandant shall— 
‘‘(1) ensure there is a stable and efficient production and 
support capability to develop an asset or capability for the 
Coast Guard; 
‘‘(2) conduct follow-on testing to confirm and monitor 
performance and correct deficiencies; and 
‘‘(3) conduct acceptance tests and trials prior to the delivery 
of each asset or system to ensure the delivered asset or system 
achieves full operational capability. 
‘‘(b) ELEMENTS.—The Commandant shall— 
‘‘(1) execute production contracts; 
‘‘(2) ensure that delivered assets and capabilities meet oper-
ational cost and schedules requirements established in the 
acquisition program baseline; 
‘‘(3) validate manpower and training requirements to meet 
system needs to operate, maintain, support, and instruct the 
assets or capabilities; and 
‘‘(4) prepare an acquisition project or program transition 
plan to enter into programmatic sustainment, operations, and 
support. 
‘‘§ 575. Acquisition program baseline breach 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Commandant shall submit a report 
to the appropriate congressional committees and the Committee 
on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives as soon 
as possible, but not later than 30 days, after the Chief Acquisition 
Officer of the Coast Guard becomes aware of the breach of an 
acquisition program baseline for any Level 1 or Level 2 acquisition 
program, by— 
‘‘(1) a likely cost overrun greater than 15 percent of the 
acquisition program baseline for that individual capability or 
asset or a class of capabilities or assets; 
‘‘(2) a likely delay of more than 180 days in the delivery 
schedule for any individual capability or asset or class of 
capabilities or assets; or 
‘‘(3) an anticipated failure for any individual capability 
or asset or class of capabilities or assets to satisfy any key
H. R. 3619—44 
performance threshold or parameter under the acquisition pro-
gram baseline. 
‘‘(b) CONTENT.—The report submitted under subsection (a) shall 
include— 
‘‘(1) a detailed description of the breach and an explanation 
of its cause; 
‘‘(2) the projected impact to performance, cost, and schedule; 
‘‘(3) an updated acquisition program baseline and the com-
plete history of changes to the original acquisition program 
baseline; 
‘‘(4) the updated acquisition schedule and the complete 
history of changes to the original schedule; 
‘‘(5) a full life-cycle cost analysis for the capability or asset 
or class of capabilities or assets; 
‘‘(6) a remediation plan identifying corrective actions and 
any resulting issues or risks; and 
‘‘(7) a description of how progress in the remediation plan 
will be measured and monitored. 
‘‘(c) SUBSTANTIAL VARIANCES
IN COSTS
OR SCHEDULE.—If a 
likely cost overrun is greater than 20 percent or a likely delay 
is greater than 12 months from the costs and schedule described 
in the acquisition program baseline for any Level 1 or Level 2 
acquisition project or program of the Coast Guard, the Commandant 
shall include in the report a written certification, with a supporting 
explanation, that— 
‘‘(1) the capability or asset or capability or asset class 
to be acquired under the project or program is essential to 
the accomplishment of Coast Guard missions; 
‘‘(2) there are no alternatives to such capability or asset 
or capability or asset class that will provide equal or greater 
capability in both a more cost-effective and timely manner; 
‘‘(3) the new acquisition schedule and estimates for total 
acquisition cost are reasonable; and 
‘‘(4) the management structure for the acquisition program 
is adequate to manage and control performance, cost, and 
schedule. 
‘‘§ 576. Acquisition approval authority 
‘‘Nothing in this subchapter shall be construed as altering 
or diminishing in any way the statutory authority and responsibility 
of the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard 
is operating, or the Secretary’s designee, to— 
‘‘(1) manage and administer department procurements, 
including procurements by department components, as required 
by section 701 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 
341); or 
‘‘(2) manage department acquisition activities and act as 
the Acquisition Decision Authority with regard to the review 
or approval of a Coast Guard Level 1 or Level 2 acquisition 
project or program, as required by section 16 of the Office 
of Federal Procurement Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 414) and related 
implementing regulations and directives. 
‘‘SUBCHAPTER III—DEFINITIONS 
‘‘§ 581. Definitions 
‘‘In this chapter:
H. R. 3619—45 
‘‘(1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES.—The term 
‘appropriate congressional committees’ means the Committee 
on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep-
resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation of the Senate. 
‘‘(2) CHIEF ACQUISITION OFFICER.—The term ‘Chief Acquisi-
tion Officer’ means the officer appointed under section 56 of 
this title. 
‘‘(3) COMMANDANT.—The term ‘Commandant’ means the 
Commandant of the Coast Guard. 
‘‘(4) LEVEL 1 ACQUISITION.—The term ‘Level 1 acquisition’ 
means— 
‘‘(A) an acquisition by the Coast Guard— 
‘‘(i) the estimated life-cycle costs of which exceed 
$1,000,000,000; or 
‘‘(ii) the estimated total acquisition costs of which 
exceed $300,000,000; or 
‘‘(B) any acquisition that the Chief Acquisition Officer 
of the Coast Guard determines to have a special interest— 
‘‘(i) due to— 
‘‘(I) the experimental or technically immature 
nature of the asset; 
‘‘(II) the technological complexity of the asset; 
‘‘(III) the commitment of resources; or 
‘‘(IV) the nature of the capability or set of 
capabilities to be achieved; or 
‘‘(ii) because such acquisition is a joint acquisition. 
‘‘(5) LEVEL 2 ACQUISITION.—The term ‘Level 2 acquisition’ 
means an acquisition by the Coast Guard— 
‘‘(A) the estimated life-cycle costs of which are equal 
to 
or 
less 
than 
$1,000,000,000, 
but 
greater 
than 
$300,000,000; or 
‘‘(B) the estimated total acquisition costs of which are 
equal to or less than $300,000,0000, but greater than 
$100,000,000. 
‘‘(6) LIFE-CYCLE COST.—The term ‘life-cycle cost’ means all 
costs for development, procurement, construction, and oper-
ations and support for a particular capability or asset, without 
regard to funding source or management control. 
‘‘(7) PROJECT OR PROGRAM MANAGER DEFINED.—The term 
‘project or program manager’ means an individual designated— 
‘‘(A) to develop, produce, and deploy a new asset to 
meet identified operational requirements; and 
‘‘(B) to manage cost, schedule, and performance of the 
acquisition, project, or program. 
‘‘(8) SAFETY CONCERN.—The term ‘safety concern’ means 
any hazard associated with a capability or asset or a subsystem 
of a capability or asset that is likely to cause serious bodily 
injury or death to a typical Coast Guard user in testing, 
maintaining, repairing, or operating the capability, asset, or 
subsystem or any hazard associated with the capability, asset, 
or subsystem that is likely to cause major damage to the 
capability, asset, or subsystem during the course of its normal 
operation by a typical Coast Guard user. 
‘‘(9) DEVELOPMENTAL
TEST
AND
EVALUATION.—The term 
‘developmental test and evaluation’ means—