IIB 
112TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5913 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
NOVEMBER 28, 2012 
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs 
AN ACT 
To create an independent advisory panel to comprehensively 
assess the management structure and capabilities related 
to the Department of Homeland Security and make rec-
ommendations to improve the efficiency and effectiveness 
of the management of the Department. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘DHS Accountability 
Act of 2012’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds that the Subcommittee on Oversight, 
Investigations, and Management of the Committee on 
Homeland Security of the House of Representatives held 
a series of four hearings related to the management of 
the Department of Homeland Security. The key findings 
from such hearings were the following: 
(1) The Department of Homeland Security has 
not prioritized the missions outlined in its key stra-
tegic planning documents. This lack of prioritization 
may hinder the Department’s efforts to effectively 
manage risks to the United States. Since 2003, the 
Government Accountability Office designated the 
transformation of the Department as high risk be-
cause the Department had to transform 22 agen-
cies—several with major management challenges— 
into one department, and failure to effectively ad-
dress the Department’s management and mission 
risks could have serious consequences to United 
States national and economic security. The Govern-
ment Accountability Office continues to designate 
the transformation of the Department as high risk. 
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(2) The Department has considerable work 
ahead to achieve actions and outcomes critical to ad-
dressing persistent management challenges. For ex-
ample, a significant number of acquisition programs 
proceeded without component or departmental ap-
proval of essential planning documents. These re-
views are important to ensure the success of an ac-
quisition program. The Department also continues 
to face challenges implementing key human capital 
initiatives. Integrating financial data essential to ef-
fectively managing the Department also remains a 
challenge. 
(3) Areas of duplicative effort have also been 
identified within the Department. For example, some 
Federal Government agencies are paying fees to the 
Department’s Federal Protective Service for facility 
risk assessments that are not being performed, while 
at the same time performing their own risk assess-
ments. The Department also lacks robust acquisition 
practices in place to position programs for success. 
Federal Government auditors questioned U.S. Cus-
toms and Border Protection’s plan to secure the Ari-
zona border because the agency could not justify the 
specific types, quantities, cost, and deployment loca-
tions of its surveillance technologies. 
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(4) Investigators continue to identify cases of 
employee corruption within the Department. Inves-
tigations by the Department’s Inspector General led 
to over 400 arrests of employees in 2011. Examples 
include Border Patrol agents accepting bribes, thefts 
by airport screeners, and immigration officers 
complicit in fraud. In addition, overall employee mo-
rale in the Department remains one of the lowest in 
the Federal Government. 
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT. 
There is established in the legislative branch an inde-
pendent advisory panel to— 
(1) comprehensively assess the management 
structure and capabilities related to the Department 
of Homeland Security; and 
(2) make recommendations to improve the effi-
ciency and effectiveness of the management of the 
Department. 
SEC. 4. MEMBERSHIP. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The independent advisory panel 
(in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Panel’’) established under 
section 3 shall be composed of eight members as follows: 
(1) Two members shall be appointed by the 
Speaker of the House of Representatives, in coordi-
nation with the Chairman of the Committee on 
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Homeland Security of the House of Representatives. 
Only one of such members may be from the same 
political party as the Speaker of the House of Rep-
resentatives. 
(2) Two members shall be appointed by the ma-
jority leader of the Senate, in coordination with the 
Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security 
and Governmental Affairs of the Senate. Only one of 
such members may be from the same political party 
as the majority leader of the Senate. 
(3) One member shall be appointed by the mi-
nority leader of the House of Representatives, in co-
ordination with the Ranking Minority Member of the 
Committee on Homeland Security of the House of 
Representatives. 
(4) One member shall be appointed by the mi-
nority leader of the Senate, in coordination with the 
Ranking Minority Member of the Committee on 
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the 
Senate. 
(5) Two members shall be appointed by the 
President, in consultation with the Secretary of 
Homeland Security. Only one of such members may 
be from the same political party as the President. 
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(b) PROHIBITION.—Except as provided in subsection 
(a), members of the Panel may not be current appointees 
of the President’s Administration or Members of Con-
gress, in order to ensure objectivity of the Panel’s assess-
ments. 
(c) DEADLINE
FOR APPOINTMENTS.—All appoint-
ments to the Panel shall be made not later than 90 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
(d) CO-CHAIRMEN.—The Panel shall have two co- 
chairmen, as follows: 
(1) A co-chairman who shall be a member of 
the Panel designated by the Speaker of the House 
of Representatives. 
(2) A co-chairman who shall be a member of 
the Panel designated by the majority leader of the 
Senate. 
(e) VACANCY.—In the event of a vacancy on the 
Panel, the individual appointed to fill the vacant seat shall 
be— 
(1) subject to paragraph (2), appointed by the 
same officer (or the officer’s successor) who made 
the appointment to the seat when the Panel was 
first established; or 
(2) if the officer’s successor is of a party other 
than the party of the officer who made the initial 
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appointment when the Panel was first established, 
chosen in consultation with the senior officers of the 
House of Representatives and the Senate of the 
party which is the party of the officer who made 
such initial appointment. 
(f) GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES.—Members of the 
Panel who are officers or employees of the Federal Gov-
ernment shall serve without additional pay (or benefits in 
the nature of compensation) for service as a member of 
the Panel. 
(g) INITIAL MEETING.—The Panel shall meet and 
begin the operations of the Panel not later than 60 days 
after the appointment of all Panel members under sub-
section (a). 
SEC. 5. DUTIES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Panel shall assess the current 
management structure and capabilities of the Department 
of Homeland Security, including examining the following: 
(1) The efficiency and effectiveness of the man-
agement structure and capabilities, including the 
policies, practices, and procedures, of the Depart-
ment of Homeland Security and its component agen-
cies in carrying out the management functions, such 
as program acquisition, financial management, infor-
mation technology, human capital issues, perform-
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ance measurement, and risk management efforts, re-
lated to homeland security. 
(2) The extent to which unnecessary duplication 
exists in such management structure and capabili-
ties, and how, if at all, such duplication negatively 
affects the mission of protecting the United States. 
(3) The extent to which management of key 
homeland security missions is centralized under the 
Department. 
(4) Options, as appropriate, to reduce or elimi-
nate harmful waste and duplication of effort in the 
Department. 
(5) Measures to evaluate the Department’s 
progress in reducing and eliminating waste and du-
plication from its management structure and capa-
bilities. 
(b) ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS.—In carrying out 
its duties, the Panel should consult and leverage the work 
performed and recommendations made by the Government 
Accountability Office on the management structure and 
capabilities of the Department of Homeland Security, in 
particular with respect to the issues identified under sub-
section (a). 
SEC. 6. POWERS AND AUTHORITIES. 
(a) HEARINGS AND EVIDENCE.— 
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Such committees may request information on the Panel’s 
progress as it conducts its work. 
(c) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than two years after 
the date of the appointment of all the members of the 
Panel, the Panel shall submit to the committees specified 
in subsection (a) a final report on the assessment and ex-
amination carried out in accordance with section 5. Such 
final report shall— 
(1) include the findings of the Panel; 
(2) identify lessons learned related to homeland 
security management issues; and 
(3) include specific recommendations related 
to— 
(A) improving the efficiency and effective-
ness of the management structure and capabili-
ties, including the policies, practices, and proce-
dures, of the Department of Homeland Security 
and its component agencies in carrying out the 
Department’s management functions and mis-
sion to protect the United States; 
(B) reducing or eliminating unnecessary 
duplication in the management structure and 
capabilities of the Department and its compo-
nent agencies; 
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