[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

[[Page H832]]

     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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