Title: DHS Acquisition Review Board Act of 2019
Policy area: Emergency Management

Summary:
DHS Acquisition Review Board Act of 2019
This bill requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to establish an Acquisition Review Board to (1) strengthen accountability and uniformity within the DHS acquisition review process, (2) review major acquisition programs (programs estimated to require a total expenditure of at least $300 million over their life cycle cost), and (3) review the use of best practices.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2609 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2609

To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish the Acquisition 
  Review Board in the Department of Homeland Security, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 9, 2019

 Mr. Crenshaw introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Homeland Security

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish the Acquisition 
  Review Board in the Department of Homeland Security, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``DHS Acquisition Review Board Act of 
2019''.

SEC. 2. 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.--
            ``(1) Chair.--The Under Secretary for Management shall 
        serve as chair of the Board.
            ``(2) Participation.-- The Secretary shall ensure 
        participation by other relevant Department officials with 
        responsibilities related to acquisitions as permanent members 
        of the Board.
            ``(3) Oversight.--The Under Secretary for Management shall 
        designate a full time employee of the Department to oversee the 
        operations 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 Secretary's 
discretion and at any time--
            ``(1) a major acquisition program--
                    ``(A) requires authorization to proceed from one 
                acquisition decision event to another throughout the 
                acquisition life cycle;
                    ``(B) is in breach of its approved requirements; or
                    ``(C) requires additional review, as determined 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 acquisition life cycle 
        framework and is able to proceed to the next phase and eventual 
        full production and deployment.
            ``(2) Oversee whether a proposed acquisition's business 
        strategy, resources, management, and accountability is 
        executable and is aligned to strategic initiatives.
            ``(3) Support the person with acquisition decision 
        authority for an acquisition in determining the appropriate 
        direction for such acquisition at key acquisition 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 consideration of tradeoffs among 
        cost, schedule, and performance objectives, to ensure the 
        reliability of underlying data.
            ``(6) Ensure that practices are adopted and implemented 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 functions are 
                provided with the appropriate opportunity to develop 
                estimates and raise cost and schedule matters before 
                performance objectives are established for capabilities 
                when feasible.
                    ``(B) Full consideration is given to possible 
                trade-offs among cost, schedule, and performance 
                objectives for each alternative.
    ``(e) Acquisition Program Baseline Report Requirement.--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 create and approve 
an acquisition program baseline report regarding such approval, and the 
Secretary shall--
            ``(1) within 7 days after an acquisition decision 
        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 decision 
        memorandum is signed, submit to such committees a written 
        explanation of the rationale for such decision and a plan of 
        action to address acquisition program baseline requirements for 
        such program.
    ``(f) Report.--The Under Secretary for Management shall provide 
information to the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
Affairs of the Senate on an annual basis through fiscal year 2024 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 acquisition 
        decision memoranda.
            ``(2) Results of the systematic reviews conducted pursuant 
        to paragraph (4) of subsection (d).
            ``(3) Results of acquisition document reviews required 
        pursuant to paragraph (5) of subsection (d).
            ``(4) Activities to ensure that practices are adopted and 
        implemented throughout the Department pursuant to paragraph (6) 
        of subsection (d).
    ``(g) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Acquisition.--The term `acquisition' has the meaning 
        given such term in section 131 of title 41, United States Code.
            ``(2) Acquisition decision authority.--The term 
        `acquisition decision authority' means the authority, held by 
        the Secretary acting through the Deputy Secretary or Under 
        Secretary for Management to--
                    ``(A) ensure compliance with Federal law, the 
                Federal Acquisition Regulation, and Department 
                acquisition management directives;
                    ``(B) review (including approving, pausing, 
                modifying, or cancelling) an acquisition program 
                through the life cycle of such program;
                    ``(C) ensure that acquisition program managers have 
                the resources necessary to successfully execute an 
                approved acquisition program;
                    ``(D) ensure good acquisition program management of 
                cost, schedule, risk, and system performance of the 
                acquisition program at issue, including assessing 
                acquisition program baseline breaches and directing any 
                corrective action for such breaches; and
                    ``(E) ensure that acquisition program managers, on 
                an ongoing basis, monitor cost, schedule, and 
                performance against established baselines and use tools 
                to assess risks to an acquisition program at all phases 
                of the life cycle of such program to avoid and mitigate 
                acquisition program baseline breaches.
            ``(3) Acquisition decision event.--The term `acquisition 
        decision event', with respect to an acquisition program, means 
        a predetermined point within each of the acquisition phases at 
        which the acquisition decision authority determines whether 
        such acquisition program shall proceed to the next acquisition 
        phase.
            ``(4) Acquisition decision memorandum.--The term 
        `acquisition decision memorandum', with respect to an 
        acquisition, means the official acquisition decision event 
        record that includes a documented record of decisions, exit 
        criteria, and assigned actions for such acquisition, as 
        determined by the person exercising acquisition decision 
        authority for such acquisition.
            ``(5) Acquisition program.--The term `acquisition program' 
        means the process by which the Department acquires, with any 
        appropriated amounts, by contract for purchase or lease, 
        property or services (including construction) that support the 
        missions and goals of the Department.
            ``(6) Acquisition program baseline.--The term `acquisition 
        program baseline', with respect to an acquisition program, 
        means a summary of the cost, schedule, and performance 
        parameters, expressed in standard, measurable, quantitative 
        terms, which must be met in order to accomplish the goals of 
        such program.
            ``(7) Best practices.--The term `best practices', with 
        respect to acquisition, means a knowledge-based approach to 
        capability development that includes--
                    ``(A) identifying and validating needs;
                    ``(B) assessing alternatives to select the most 
                appropriate solution;
                    ``(C) clearly establishing well-defined 
                requirements;
                    ``(D) developing realistic cost assessments and 
                schedules;
                    ``(E) securing stable funding that matches 
                resources to requirements;
                    ``(F) demonstrating technology, design, and 
                manufacturing maturity;
                    ``(G) using milestones and exit criteria or 
                specific accomplishments that demonstrate progress;
                    ``(H) adopting and executing standardized processes 
                with known success across programs;
                    ``(I) establishing an adequate workforce that is 
                qualified and sufficient to perform necessary 
                functions; and
                    ``(J) integrating the capabilities described in 
                subparagraphs (A) through (I) into the Department's 
                mission and business operations.
            ``(8) Major acquisition program.--The term `major 
        acquisition program' means a Department acquisition program 
        that is estimated by the Secretary to require an eventual total 
        expenditure of at least $300,000,000 (based on fiscal year 2019 
        constant dollars) over its life cycle cost.''.
    (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 amended by 
inserting after the item relating to section 835 the following new 
item:

``Sec. 836. Acquisition Review Board.''.
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