II 110th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 889 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES March 15, 2007 Mr. Kerry introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation A BILL To improve acquisition under the Deepwater program of the Coast Guard, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Deepwater Accountability Act.

2.

Improvement of acquisition under the Deepwater program of the Coast Guard

(a)

Competition requirements for future acquisitions

(1)

Requirement

The Secretary of Homeland Security shall, upon reaching the end of the period of performance currently under contract with Integrated Coast Guard Systems in June 2007 under the Deepwater program of the Coast Guard, acquire the completion, delivery, and acceptance of all assets under that contract through new contracts solicited under the full and open competition requirements of section 6.1 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation. (2)

Prohibition on use of lead systems integrator

The Secretary shall not utilize the services of a lead systems integrator in any manner to acquire the completion, delivery, or acceptance of assets under this subsection. (b)

Exception

(1)

In general

Notwithstanding subsection (a), the Secretary may enter into a new contract with Integrated Coast Guard Systems for the completion, delivery, and acceptance of assets for which construction has commenced, but not been completed, under the contract referred to in that subsection as of the date of the enactment of this Act if the Secretary certifies that— (A)the completion, delivery, and acceptance of such assets under a contract other than with Integrated Coast Guard Systems would pose an immediate or near-term risk to the national security interests of the United States; or (B)the cost of the completion, delivery, and acceptance of such assets under a contract with other than Integrated Coast Guard Systems would exceed the cost of the completion, delivery, and acceptance of such assets under a contract with Integrated Coast Guard Systems. (2)

Reports to congress

If the Secretary determines under paragraph (1) to acquire the completion, delivery, and acceptance of assets under a contract with Integrated Coast Guard Systems, the Secretary shall, not later than 180 days after the date of such determination and every 180 days thereafter until the completion, delivery, and acceptance of such assets, submit to Congress a report on the current construction status of such assets. (c)

Report on proposed acquisition to acquire completion, delivery, and acceptance of assets

Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on the acquisition of assets under the Deepwater program. The report shall set forth the following: (1)A list of each asset under the Deepwater program that has not been completed, delivered, and accepted as of the date of such report. (2)A list of each such asset of which the Secretary proposes to acquire completion, delivery, and acceptance under contracts entered into under subsection (a). (3)A list of each such asset of which the Secretary proposes to acquire completion, delivery, and acceptance under a contract under subsection (b) with Integrated Coast Guard Systems. (d)

Inspector General review of Deepwater program

Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security shall submit to the Secretary, and to Congress, a report on the acquisition of assets under the Deepwater program. The report shall include— (1)a description of each decision, if any, of the Coast Guard or Integrated Coast Guard Systems relating to the acquisition of assets under the Deepwater program that directly or indirectly resulted in cost overruns or program cost increases to the United States; (2)an assessment whether any decision covered by paragraph (1) violated the terms of the contract of Integrated Coast Guard Systems for the Deepwater program; (3)an assessment of how much program costs under the Deepwater program have increased as a result of any such decision; (4)an assessment of whether the Coast Guard or Integrated Coast Guard Systems is responsible for the payment of any cost overruns associated with any such decision. (e)

Definitions

In this section: (1)The term asset means any product to be acquired under the contract of the Coast Guard for the Deepwater program referred to in subsection (a), including vessels, fixed-wing aircraft, and rotary-wing aircraft, and any component thereof. (2)The term Integrated Coast Guard Systems means the joint venture, commonly referred to as Integrated Coast Guard Systems or ICGS between Lockheed Martin Corporation and Northrop Grumman Corporation for the purposes of completing and delivering assets to the Coast Guard under the Deepwater program.