Reducing Costs of DHS Acquisitions Act

Bill: 117-hr-6861
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Clyde, Andrew S. [R-GA-9]
Introduced: 2022-02-28
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Subjects: Congressional oversight

Department of Homeland Security

Government information and archives

Public contracts and procurement
Latest action: action_date: 2022-03-02
text: Subcommittee on Oversight, Management, and Accountability Discharged.

Summaries:
action_date: 2022-02-28
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p><strong>Reducing Costs of DHS Acquisitions Act</strong></p> <p>This bill requires notification of the Management Directorate of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Congress if a major acquisition program of DHS fails to satisfy any approved cost, schedule, or performance threshold. <em>Major acquisition program</em> means (1) a capital asset, service, or hybrid acquisition program that is estimated by DHS to require an eventual total expenditure of at least $300 million over the life-cycle cost of the program; or (2) an acquisition program identified as a program of special interest.</p> <p>If such a failure occurs, or is expected to occur, the bill requires a remediation plan and root cause analysis. The Management Directorate must review such plan and either approve it for continuation or provide an alternative proposed corrective action.</p>

tv_txt: I 117th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 6861 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES February 28, 2022 Mr. Clyde (for himself, Mr. Katko , Mr. Guest , Mr. LaMalfa , Mrs. Harshbarger , and Mr. Higgins of Louisiana ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security A BILL To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to provide for congressional notification regarding major acquisition program breaches, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Reducing Costs of DHS Acquisitions Act . 2. Congressional notification for major acquisition program breach (a) Definitions (1) In general Subtitle D of title VIII of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 ( 6 U.S.C. 391 et seq. ) is amended by inserting before section 831 the following new section: 830. Definitions In this subtitle: (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, in addition to the authorities and functions specified in subsection (b) of section 1702 of title 41, United States Code, held by the Secretary acting through the 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 canceling) an acquisition program throughout 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 appropriate acquisition program management of cost, schedule, risk, and system or service performance of the acquisition program at issue, including assessing acquisition program baseline breaches and directing any corrective action for such breaches; (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; and (F) establish policies and procedures for major acquisition programs of the Department. (3) Acquisition decision memorandum The term acquisition decision memorandum , with respect to an acquisition, means the official documented record of decisions, including the rationale for such decisions and any assigned actions for such acquisition, as determined by the individual exercising acquisition decision authority for such acquisition. (4) Acquisition program The term acquisition program means the conceptualization, initiation, design, development, test, contracting, production, deployment, logistics support, modification, or disposal of systems, supplies, or services (including construction) to satisfy the Department’s needs. (5) Acquisition program baseline The term acquisition program baseline , with respect to an acquisition program, means the cost, schedule, and performance parameters, expressed in standard, measurable, quantitative terms, which shall be satisfied to accomplish the goals of such program. (6) Appropriate committees of Congress The term appropriate committees of Congress means— (A) the Committee on Homeland Security and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; and (B) in the case of notice or a report relating to the Coast Guard or the Transportation Security Administration, the committees specified in subparagraph (A) and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate. (7) Breach The term breach , with respect to a major acquisition program, means a failure to satisfy any cost, schedule, or performance threshold specified in the most recently approved acquisition program baseline. (8) Chief Acquisition Officer The term Chief Acquisition Officer means the Chief Acquisition Officer pursuant to section 1702 of title 41, United States Code. (9) Component Acquisition Executive The term Component Acquisition Executive means the senior acquisition official within a component who is designated in writing by the Under Secretary for Management, in consultation with the component head, with authority and responsibility for leading a process and staff to provide acquisition and program management oversight, policy, and guidance to ensure that statutory, regulatory, and higher level policy requirements are fulfilled, including compliance with Federal law, the Federal Acquisition Regulation, and Department acquisition management directives established by the Under Secretary for Management. (10) Life-cycle cost The term life-cycle cost means the total ownership cost of an acquisition, including all relevant costs related to acquiring, deploying, operating, maintaining, supporting, and (if applicable) disposing of the system, project, or product at issue over a specified period of time. (11) Major acquisition program The term major acquisition program means a Department capital asset, service, or hybrid acquisition program that is estimated by the Secretary to require an eventual total expenditure of at least $300,000,000 (based on fiscal year 2022 constant dollars) over the life-cycle cost of the program, or an acquisition program identified by the Chief Acquisition Officer as a program of special interest. . (2) Clerical amendment The table of contents in section 1(b) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 is amended by inserting before the item relating to section 831 the following new item: Sec. 830. Definitions. . (b) Congressional notification for major acquisition program breach (1) 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: 836. Congressional notification and other requirements for major acquisition program breach (a) Notifications within Department in event of breach (1) Notification of breach If a breach occurs, or is expected to occur, in a major acquisition program, the program manager for such program shall notify the Component Acquisition Executive for such program, the head of the component concerned, and the Executive Director of the Program Accountability and Risk Management office in writing not later than 30 calendar days after the date on which such breach is identified. (2) Notification to Under Secretary Not later than five business days after receipt of a notification pursuant to paragraph (1), the Component Acquisition Executive for the major acquisition program at issue shall notify the Under Secretary for Management in writing of the breach that is the subject of such notification. (3) Pausing activities Upon notification to the Under Secretary under paragraph (2), the major acquisition program that is the subject of the breach at issue shall pause all activities relating to such program except those activities necessary to develop the remediation plan required under subsection (b) until the Under Secretary for Management approves such plan or provides alternative corrective actions for such program pursuant to subsection (c). (b) Notification to Congress in event of breach Not later than 30 days after the date on which a notification to the Under Secretary for Management is made under subsection (a)(1) relating to a breach in a major acquisition program, the Under Secretary shall notify in writing the appropriate committees of Congress of such breach. (c) Remediation plan and root cause analysis (1) In general If a breach occurs, or is expected to occur, in a major acquisition program, the program manager for such program shall, in coordination with the Component Acquisition Executive for such program, submit in writing to the head of the component concerned, the Executive Director of the Program Accountability and Risk Management office, and the Under Secretary for Management, at a date established by the Under Secretary, a remediation plan and root cause analysis relating to such breach and program. (2) Remediation plan The remediation plan required under subparagraph (A) shall— (A) explain the circumstances of the breach at issue; (B) provide prior cost estimating information; (C) include a root cause analysis that determines the underlying cause or causes of such breach, including— (i) unrealistic performance expectations; (ii) unrealistic baseline estimates for cost or schedule or changes in program requirements; (iii) immature technologies or excessive manufacturing or integration risk; (iv) unanticipated design, engineering, manufacturing, or technology integration issues arising during program performance; (v) inadequate program funding or changes in planned out-year funding from one five-year funding plan to the next five-year funding plan as outlined in the Future Years Homeland Security Program required under section 874; (vi) legislative, legal, or regulatory changes; (vii) inadequate program management personnel, including lack of sufficient number of staff, training, credentials, or certifications; or (viii) inadequate assessment or mitigation of program risk; (C) propose corrective action to address the underlying cause or causes of the breach identified pursuant to subparagraph (C); (D) explain the rationale for why a proposed corrective action is recommended compared to other options considered; and (E) identify the estimated impact on program cost, schedule, or performance goals of implementing such proposed corrective action, and the extent to which funding from other acquisition programs would need to be reduced to cover the cost growth of the major acquisition program at issue. (d) Review of remediation plans (1) In general Not later than 30 days after the date on which the Under Secretary for Management receives a remediation plan pursuant to subsection (c)(1), the Under Secretary shall review such plan and either approve such plan for continuation or provide an alternative proposed corrective action, including cancelling the major acquisition program at issue. (2) Documentation (A) Acquisition decision memorandum The Under Secretary for Management shall document the review under paragraph (1) in an acquisition decision memorandum. (B) Program continuation approval If the Under Secretary for Management approves a major acquisition program pursuant to paragraph (1) for continuation or alternate proposed corrective action rather than cancellation, the Under Secretary shall certify in the acquisition decision memorandum required under subparagraph (A) that— (i) such program is essential to the mission of the Department; (ii) there are no alternatives to the capability or asset provided by such program that will provide equal or greater capability in a more cost-effective and timely manner; (iii) the estimated impact on program cost, schedule, or performance goals are reasonable of continuing or implementing the alternative proposed corrective action, as the case may be; and (iv) the management structure for such program is adequate to manage and control cost, schedule, or performance. (3) Submission to Congress Not later than 30 days after the date on which the Under Secretary for Management completes a review of a remediation plan under paragraph (1), the Under Secretary shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress— (A) a copy of such remediation plan; and (B) a statement describing the corrective action or actions in such remediation plan in accordance with such paragraph for the major acquisition program at issue, with a justification for each such action in accordance with paragraph (2). . (2) Clerical amendment The table of contents in section 1(b) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 835 the following new item: Sec. 836. Congressional notification and other requirements for major acquisition program breach. .