[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5652 Referred in Senate (RFS)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5652
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
November 18, 2021
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security
and Governmental Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
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
2021''.
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.--There is established in the Department an
Acquisition Review Board (in this section referred to as the `Board')
to support the Under Secretary for Management in managing the
Department's acquisitions.
``(b) Composition.--
``(1) Chair.--The Under Secretary for Management shall
serve as chair of the Board.
``(2) Oversight.--The Under Secretary for Management may
designate an employee of the Department to oversee the
operations of the Board.
``(3) Participation.-- The Under Secretary for Management
shall ensure participation by other relevant Department
officials with responsibilities related to acquisitions as
permanent members of the Board, including the following:
``(A) The Chair of the Joint Requirements Council.
``(B) The Chief Financial Officer.
``(C) The Chief Human Capital Officer.
``(D) The Chief Information Officer.
``(E) The Chief Procurement Officer.
``(F) The Chief Readiness Support Officer.
``(G) The Chief Security Officer.
``(H) The Director of the Office of Test and
Evaluation.
``(I) Other relevant senior Department officials,
as designated by the Under Secretary for Management.
``(c) Meetings.--The Board shall meet regularly for purposes of
evaluating the progress and status of an acquisition program. The Board
shall convene at the Under Secretary for Management's discretion, and
at such time as--
``(1) a new acquisition program is initiated;
``(2) 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 acquisition
program baseline; or
``(C) requires additional review, as determined by
the Under Secretary for Management; or
``(3) 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 the appropriate acquisition level and
acquisition decision authority for new acquisition programs
based on the estimated eventual total expenditure of each such
program to satisfy the mission need of the Department over the
life-cycle of such acquisition regardless of funding source.
``(2) 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.
``(3) Oversee whether a proposed acquisition's business
strategy, resources, management, and accountability is
executable and is aligned with the mission and strategic goals
of the Department.
``(4) Support the person with acquisition decision
authority for an acquisition in determining the appropriate
direction for such acquisition at key acquisition decision
events.
``(5) Conduct systematic reviews of acquisitions to ensure
that such acquisitions are progressing in accordance with best
practices and in compliance with the most recently approved
documents for such acquisitions' current acquisition phases.
``(6) 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.
``(7) 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 concerns 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) Documentation.--
``(1) In general.--The chair of the Board shall ensure that
all actions and decisions made pursuant to the responsibilities
of the Board under subsection (d) are documented in an
acquisition decision memorandum that includes--
``(A) a summary of the action at issue or purpose
for convening a meeting under subsection (c);
``(B) the decision with respect to actions
discussed during such meeting;
``(C) the rationale for such a decision, including
justifications for any such decision made to allow
acquisition programs to deviate from the acquisition
management policy of the Department;
``(D) any assigned items for further action; and
``(E) the signature of the chair verifying the
contents of such memorandum.
``(2) Submission of memorandum.--Not later than seven days
after the date on which the acquisition decision memorandum is
signed by the chair pursuant to paragraph (1)(E), the chair
shall submit to the Secretary, the Committee on Homeland
Security of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate a copy
of such memorandum.
``(f) 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 to--
``(A) ensure acquisition programs are in 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 appropriate 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' means the official documented
record of decisions, including the rationale for such decisions
and any assigned actions, for the acquisition at issue, as
determined by the person exercising acquisition decision
authority for such acquisition.
``(5) 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 satisfied to accomplish the goals of such
program.
``(6) 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 estimates and
schedules that account for the entire life-cycle of
such an acquisition;
``(E) securing stable funding that matches
resources to requirements before initiating such
development;
``(F) demonstrating technology, design, and
manufacturing maturity before initiating production of
the item that is the subject of such acquisition;
``(G) using milestones and exit criteria or
specific accomplishments that demonstrate the
attainment of knowledge to support progress;
``(H) regularly assessing and managing risks to
achieving requirements and cost and schedule goals;
``(I) adopting and executing standardized processes
with known success across programs;
``(J) establishing an adequate workforce that is
qualified and sufficient to perform necessary
functions; and
``(K) integrating the capabilities described in
subparagraphs (A) through (J).
``(7) Major acquisition program.--The term `major
acquisition program' means--
``(A) 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 million (based on fiscal year 2022
constant dollars) over its life-cycle cost; or
``(B) a program identified by the Under Secretary
for Management as a program of special interest.
``(8) Non-major acquisition program.--The term `non-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 less than
$300,000,000 (based on fiscal year 2022 constant dollars) over
its life-cycle.''.
(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.''.
Passed the House of Representatives November 16, 2021.
Attest:
CHERYL L. JOHNSON,
Clerk.