[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 28 (Tuesday, February 23, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H831-H833]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
DHS ACQUISITION DOCUMENTATION INTEGRITY ACT OF 2016
Mr. KATKO. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill
(H.R. 4398) to amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to provide for
requirements relating to documentation for major acquisition programs,
and for other purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 4398
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
Documentation Integrity Act of 2016''.
SEC. 2. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY ACQUISITION
DOCUMENTATION.
(a) In General.--Title VII of the Homeland Security Act of
2002 (6 U.S.C. 341 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end
the following:
``SEC. 708. ACQUISITION DOCUMENTATION.
``(a) In General.--For each major acquisition program, the
Secretary, acting through the Under Secretary for Management,
shall require the head of a relevant component or office to--
``(1) maintain acquisition documentation that is complete,
accurate, timely, and valid and that includes, at a minimum--
``(A) operational requirements that are validated
consistent with Departmental policy and changes to those
requirements, as appropriate;
``(B) a complete lifecycle cost estimate with supporting
documentation;
``(C) verification of the lifecycle cost estimate against
independent cost estimates, and reconciliation of any
differences;
``(D) a cost-benefit analysis with supporting
documentation; and
``(E) a schedule, including, as appropriate, an integrated
master schedule;
``(2) prepare cost estimates and schedules for major
acquisition programs, as required
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under subparagraphs (B) and (E), in a manner consistent with
best practices as identified by the Comptroller General of
the United States; and
``(3) submit certain acquisition documentation to the
Secretary to produce an annual comprehensive report on the
status of departmental acquisitions for submission to
Congress.
``(b) Waiver.--On a case-by-case basis, the Secretary may
waive the requirement under paragraph (3) of subsection (a)
for a fiscal year if either--
``(1) the program has not--
``(A) entered the full rate production phase in the
acquisition lifecycle;
``(B) had a reasonable cost estimate established; and
``(C) had a system configuration defined fully; or
``(2) the program does not meet the definition of capital
asset, as such term is defined by the Director of the Office
of Management and Budget.
``(c) Congressional Oversight.--At the same time the
President's budget is submitted for a fiscal year under
section 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code, the
Secretary shall make information available, as applicable, to
the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs of the Senate information on the
requirement under subsection (a) in the prior fiscal year
that includes the following specific information regarding
each program for which the Secretary has issued a waiver
under subsection (b):
``(1) The grounds for granting a waiver for that program.
``(2) The projected cost of that program.
``(3) The proportion of a component's or office's annual
acquisition budget attributed to that program, as available.
``(4) Information on the significance of the program with
respect to the component's operations and execution of its
mission.
``(d) Major Acquisition Program Defined.--In this section,
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 2016 constant dollars)
over its lifecycle 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 adding after the item related to section
707 the following new item:
``Sec. 708. Acquisition documentation.''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New
York (Mr. Katko) and the gentlewoman from New Jersey (Mrs. Watson
Coleman) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New York.
General Leave
Mr. KATKO. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have
5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from New York?
There was no objection.
Mr. KATKO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 4398, the Department of
Homeland Security Acquisition Documentation Integrity Act.
This legislation requires the Department of Homeland Security to
improve management of its major purchases of systems to secure the
border, better screen travelers, protect our shores, and other vital
missions.
Too often DHS has failed to document what these programs will cost,
when they will be complete, and what they will deliver. It is
unacceptable to spend billions of taxpayer dollars and not document
this important information. H.R. 4398 will help our committee and
congressional watchdogs hold the Department accountable, and ensure
taxpayers dollars are being spent in an efficient and effective manner.
This bill uses language similar to H.R. 3572, the DHS Headquarters
Reform and Improvement Act, which also includes language that would
comprehensively reform DHS' acquisition process. H.R. 3572 passed the
House unanimously in October of last year, but has yet to be acted upon
in the Senate.
This important, bipartisan legislation will improve the oversight and
management of billions of taxpayer dollars. It would empower DHS
leaders to hold programs accountable, increase transparency for
Congress, and require DHS to articulate a roadmap for how it spends
billion of dollars to secure America.
Safeguarding Americans' hard-earned taxpayer dollars is why our
constituents sent us to Washington. I urge the Senate to act swiftly on
these bills to improve the management of the Department of Homeland
Security.
I commend Ranking Member Watson Coleman for her leadership on this
issue, and I ask all Members to join me in support of this legislation.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4398, the DHS Acquisition
Documentation Integrity Act of 2016. I introduced this legislation to
ensure that, when it comes to managing acquisitions, the Department of
Homeland Security gets the fundamentals right.
H.R. 4398 would require ``complete, accurate, timely, and valid''
documentation to be maintained for each of the Department's major
acquisition programs. A major acquisition program is defined as one
with a life-cycle cost estimated at $300 million or more.
Later this week, the subcommittee on which I serve as ranking member
will be conducting an oversight hearing about an acquisition that is,
to my mind, a textbook case of why my legislation is so critical.
After more than 12 years of effort at delivering a Department-wide
human resource IT system and the expenditure of hundreds of millions of
dollars, DHS has virtually nothing to show for it.
{time} 1630
That acquisition, the Human Resource Information Technology program,
or HRIT, lacked basic acquisition documentation, including a valid cost
estimate and schedule.
Under H.R. 4398, DHS would have to maintain current cost estimates
and schedules for major acquisition programs. These sources of critical
information for acquisition decisionmakers would have to conform to
best practices, as identified by the Government Accountability Office.
Additionally, each component head within DHS would be obligated to
submit acquisition documentation to the Secretary for the production of
an annual comprehensive report to Congress on the status of the
acquisition. Under H.R. 4398, the Secretary could only waive these
requirements in very limited circumstances.
Mr. Speaker, for the reasons I have outlined here, I urge support for
H.R. 4398.
Mr. Speaker, anything less than an up-to-date acquisition
documentation increases the odds of cost and schedule overruns. It also
risks delayed delivery of critical capabilities and wastefully depletes
resources that could be put to better use to protect the homeland.
The Homeland Security Committee favorably reported H.R. 4398 on
February 2 by a unanimous vote, and I thank my colleague for being a
part of that.
The fact that this legislation is cosponsored by Representatives
McCaul and Thompson, the chairman and ranking member of our committee,
reflects a strong commitment to bolstering the effectiveness of DHS
acquisition programs.
I urge passage of H.R. 4398, a bill that will help ensure that DHS is
a good steward of taxpayer dollars and can provide DHS operators in the
field with the tools they need to protect the American people.
I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. KATKO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I once again urge my colleagues to support H.R. 4398.
I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R.
4398, ``DHS Acquisition Documentation Integrity Act of 2016.''
I support this bill because it requires the DHS to produce cost
estimates and schedules for all major acquisition programs and to
maintain complete and accurate documentation of these projects.
Specifically, for all programs expected to cost $300 million or more
over its lifecycle, the department must maintain complete, accurate,
timely and valid acquisition documentation.
This bill will set a standard for all programs under DHS to follow
and will save programs money and time.
Government Accountability Office (GAO) reviewed 22 major programs in
DHS and out of 22 major programs:
1. GAO was unable to access six programs (including four in Customs
and Border Protection).
2. The remaining 14 programs experienced schedule slips and cost
growths.
On average, these program milestones slipped more than three and a
half year, and their life-cycle cost estimates increased by $9.7
billion, or 18 percent.
[[Page H833]]
As a member of the Homeland Security Committee, I believe this act
will maintain a standard across the board for programs to follow the
Government Accountability Office's (GAO's) best practices.
The Department of Homeland Security is constantly changing to fit the
needs of our ever-changing world and there is a need of transparency
between the DHS and GAO.
This bill further requires that cost estimates and schedules for
major acquisition programs be consistent with best practices as
identified by GAO.
Finally this bill limits the Secretary's authority to waive
acquisition documentation requirements for a report to Congress on the
status of major acquisition programs.
This sets forth narrow conditions where waivers could be granted for
a fiscal year, and requiring the Secretary to report annually to the
Congressional homeland-security committees on each use of waiver
authority during the preceding fiscal year.
This bill creates an accountability model for the DHS which creates
transparency between GAO and DHS and saves programs time and money, I
urge my colleagues to support this bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from New York (Mr. Katko) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 4398.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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