Topic: Defense — Civil
Subject: Economics and public finance
Date: 2011-09-13 00:00:00

Department of Homeland Security Authorization Act of 2011 - Amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to direct the Secretary of Homeland Security (the Secretary) to establish: (1) a process for the review of proposed investments by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS); (2) an Acquisition Review Board to carry out that process; and (3) an acquisition professional career program for selected professionals to foster the recruitment, training, certification, and retention of qualified acquisition personnel throughout DHS. Requires the Secretary to develop a long-term strategic human capital plan for the recruitment, retention, and training of DHS's acquisition workforce. Requires the Secretary to notify specified congressional committees at least three business days before: (1) making a contract award, other transaction agreement, or task and delivery order exceeding $10 million; or (2) announcing the intention to make such an award. Makes an exception where compliance would pose a substantial risk to human life, health, or safety. Directs the Chief Procurement Officer of DHS to issue guidance on use of independent verification and validation to provide a process for the independent evaluation of the integrity and quality of major acquisitions. Establishes within DHS a Cost Analysis Division, which shall evaluate and report on acquisition program cost estimates. Authorizes the Secretary to utilize special emergency procurement authority in a domestic emergency operation to provide support for: (1) an emergency or major disaster, or (2) any instance for which the Secretary determines federal assistance is needed to supplement state and local efforts and capabilities to save lives and to protect property and public health and safety or to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe in the United States. Directs the Secretary to submit an efficiencies report and implementation plan that: (1) examines and provides recommendations and a cost-benefit analysis for the consolidation of facilities and administrative and logistics functions of DHS components within designated geographic areas; and (2) reduces the aggregate expenditures on all DHS facilities, administrative and logistics functions, and operational activities located near each other by 5% by consolidating facilities and support functions. Directs the Secretary to consolidate all DHS youth preparedness educational programs. Provides for the establishment within DHS of an Under Secretary for Policy. Permits the incumbent Assistant Secretary for Policy to serve until such Under Secretary is appointed. Reestablishes the Office of International Affairs as a separate Office within DHS, headed by the Assistant Secretary for International Affairs, to coordinate international activities. Eliminates the Office for Domestic Preparedness, the Office of Counternarcotics Enforcement, the Office of Cargo Security Policy, the Border and Transportation Security Directorate, and the Office of State and Local Government Coordination. Requires the Secretary to consolidate the location of the headquarters of DHS and the headquarters of components of DHS at the West Campus and East Campus of Saint Elizabeths Hospital in the District of Columbia by the end of FY2018. Directs the Secretary to designate a DHS official to coordinate efforts to counter violent extremism in the United States, particularly the ideology that gives rise to Islamist terrorism as identified in the 9/11 Commission Report. Modifies the Secretary's authority to reorganize DHS in the future. Renames the National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD) as the Infrastructure Protection and Resilience Directorate. Places the Federal Protective Service and Office of Infrastructure Protection within such Directorate. Authorizes the Secretary to assess and collect fees and security charges for the costs of providing protective service. Amends the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Act of 2006 to require the President to ensure that there are comprehensive plans to prevent, prepare for, protect against, respond to, and recover from natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and other man-made disasters throughout the federal government. Requires: (1) the President to identify and prioritize risks of catastrophic incidents, ensure that federal agencies coordinate to conduct comprehensive and effective catastrophic incident planning to address prioritized catastrophic risks, and review plans for catastrophic incidents developed by federal agencies to ensure their effectiveness; and (2) the Secretary to appoint a senior official within the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) who shall be responsible for catastrophic incident planning. Directs the Administrator of FEMA to enhance and promote preparedness for natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and other man-made disasters and coordinate with state, local, and tribal governments and private sector and nongovernmental organizations in these efforts. Establishes within FEMA a Disaster Reserve Workforce. Directs the senior official responsible for catastrophic incident planning to develop communications plans for providing information to the public relating to preparing for, protecting against, and responding to natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and other man-made disasters. Directs the Secretary to develop and make available to state, local, and tribal governments, nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector guidelines for responding to an explosion or release of nuclear, biological, radiological, or chemical material. Directs the Secretary to develop and disseminate integrated plume models to enable rapid response activities following a nuclear, radiological, chemical, or biological explosion or release. Directs the President to include in each annual federal budget a description of resources identified to support the preparedness, response, and recovery responsibilities of each federal agency with responsibilities under the National Response Framework and the National Disaster Recovery Framework. Reestablishes within DHS a Metropolitan Medical Response System to support states, local governments, and Indian tribes in preparing for, protecting against, and responding to mass casualty incidents by systematically enhancing cooperation and integration of emergency response providers and public health and medical personnel. Directs the Secretary to periodically develop a workforce staffing plan that details the optimal staffing level required to carry out the responsibilities of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Authorizes the Commissioner of CBP to deploy existing surge teams to proactively respond to intelligence-related, high-risk threats or to assist or augment agency operations at ports of entry in the United States during emergencies. Directs the Secretary to: (1) ensure that CBP has instituted an outbound inspections program at land, air, and maritime ports of entry and that outbound inspections do not add significantly to wait times for crossing the border; and (2) submit a plan for improving situational awareness over the northern border, including CBP's ability to identify illegal entries. Establishes within DHS an Office of International Travel Security and Screening, headed by an Assistant Secretary responsible for the integrated entry and exist data system (US-VISIT), the visa waiver program, and the Screening Coordination Office, as well as coordinating DHS activities and preventing the travel of terrorists to the United States. Directs: (1) the Secretary of State, in cooperation with the Secretary, to deploy an electronic system to notify airlines of the cancellation of any traveler's visa for entry into the United States; and (2) the Secretary to develop an electronic system for remotely reviewing visa applications and supporting documentation at diplomatic and consular posts at which visas are issued. Deems funds authorized or made available for DHS intelligence activities to be specifically authorized for purposes of the National Security Act of 1947 during FY2012. Establishes a Classified National Security Information Program, which shall be designed to safeguard and govern access to classified information shared by the federal government with states, local governments, Indian tribes, and private sector entities. Authorizes the Secretary to convert competitive service positions within the Office of Intelligence and Analysis to excepted service positions, and to establish new positions, as necessary to carry out DHS's intelligence functions. Establishes a Directorate of Science Technology within DHS, headed by an Under Secretary for Science and Technology, and a Director of Testing and Evaluation within that Directorate. Directs the Under Secretary to: (1) develop a Five-Year Research and Development Investment Plan that shall guide all expenditures by DHS for basic, advanced, or applied research and technology development activities; and (2) establish a process for evaluating the readiness, performance, and suitability of any technologies or systems that DHS acquires or develops to carry out its mission. Authorizes the Under Secretary to make available to any person or entity, for an appropriate fee, the services of any center or other testing facility owned and operated by DHS for the testing of items designed to advance the homeland security mission. Provides for the confidentiality of test results. Includes within the mission of the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office to coordinate strategic planning and investments within DHS and with other federal agencies and state and local governments to: (1) detect and prevent illegal trafficking in nuclear weapons-making materials or technologies, and (2) reduce the risk of a nuclear terrorist attack. Requires the Director of that Office, in coordination with relevant federal agencies, to develop a plan to integrate and strengthen the nation's capabilities to deter, detect, and prevent nuclear terrorist threats in the domestic portion of the global nuclear detection architecture within 10 years.