[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 58 (Tuesday, April 4, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2427-S2428]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
By Mr. DAINES (for himself and Mrs. McCaskill):
S. 886. A bill to amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to
establish an Acquisition Review Board in the Department of Homeland
Security, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Homeland Security
and Governmental Affairs.
Mr. DAINES. Mr. President, the Department of Homeland Security, DHS,
is tasked with keeping Americans safe in the homeland. To carry out
this mission, DHS spends over $7 billion on acquisition programs
annually. DHS and its agencies are held to a high standard for keeping
our Nation safe. We also must hold it to a high standard of fiscal
responsibility. DHS must be good stewards of taxpayer resources.
DHS's acquisition process has long faced problems resulting in waste,
delays, and under delivery of performance objectives. Since the
inception of DHS, the Government Accountability Office, GAO, has
highlighted challenges and offered recommendations to improve the
acquisition process. There has been progress; however, there continues
to be room for improvement. According to a GAO report released today,
DHS's acquisition process remains a high-risk issue, susceptible to
cost overruns and schedules delays. These issues reduce buying power
and force security employees to wait for new capabilities. This is not
fair to those on the front lines tasked with keeping us safe and it is
not fair to the American taxpayers.
I spent 28 years in the private sector. I know when tough business
decisions need to be made, you convene a board that brings with it a
breadth of experience and a deep understanding of strategic objectives
and goals.
That is why I am introducing the OHS Acquisition Review Board Act of
2017. This legislation will create a review board within the Department
to strengthen accountability and uniformity across all agencies and the
entire acquisition process, ensure long term strategic objectives are
met, and ensure the use of industry-proven best practices.
I thank Senator McCaskill for being an original cosponsor of this
bill and Representatives Thomas Garrett and Michael McCaul for leading
introduction of companion legislation in the House of Representatives.
I ask my Senate colleagues to join us in support of this important
legislation.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be
printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be
printed in the Record, as follows:
S. 886
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 2017''.
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:
``SEC. 836. ACQUISITION REVIEW BOARD.
``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Acquisition.--The term `acquisition' has the meaning
given the 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 acting through the Deputy Secretary or Under
Secretary for Management to--
``(A) ensure 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
the program;
``(C) ensure that acquisition program managers have the
resources necessary to successfully execute an approved
acquisition program;
``(D) ensure good 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 the acquisition program shall proceed to the next
acquisition phase.
``(4) Acquisition decision memorandum.--The term
`acquisition decision memorandum', with respect to an
acquisition, means the official acquisition decision event
record that includes a documented record of decisions, exit
criteria, and assigned actions for the acquisition, as
determined by the person exercising acquisition decision
authority for the acquisition.
``(5) Acquisition program.--The term `acquisition program'
means the process by which the Department acquires, with any
appropriated amounts, by contract for purchase or lease,
property or services (including construction) that support
the missions and goals of the Department.
``(6) 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 met in order to accomplish the goals of
such program.
``(7) 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 assessments and schedules;
``(E) securing stable funding that matches resources to
requirements;
``(F) demonstrating technology, design, and manufacturing
maturity;
``(G) using milestones and exit criteria or specific
accomplishments that demonstrate progress;
``(H) adopting and executing standardized processes with
known success across programs;
``(I) establishing an adequate workforce that is qualified
and sufficient to perform necessary functions; and
``(J) integrating the capabilities described in
subparagraphs (A) through (I) into the mission and business
operations of the Department.
``(8) Board.--The term `Board' means the Acquisition Review
Board required to be established under subsection (b).
``(9) Major acquisition program.--The term `major
acquisition program' means a Department acquisition program
that is estimated by the Secretary to require an eventual
total expenditure of not less than $300,000,000 (based on
fiscal year 2017 constant dollars) over the life cycle cost
of the acquisition program.
``(b) Establishment of Board.--The Secretary shall
establish an Acquisition Review Board to--
``(1) strengthen accountability and uniformity within the
Department acquisition review process;
``(2) review major acquisition programs; and
``(3) review the use of best practices.
``(c) Composition.--
``(1) Chairperson.--The Under Secretary for Management
shall serve as chairperson of the Board.
``(2) Other members.--The Secretary shall ensure
participation by other relevant Department officials,
including not fewer than 2 component heads or their
designees, as permanent members of the Board.
``(d) Meetings.--
``(1) Regular meetings.--The Board shall meet regularly for
purposes of ensuring all acquisitions processes proceed in a
timely fashion to achieve mission readiness.
``(2) Other meetings.--The Board shall convene--
``(A) at the discretion of the Secretary; and
``(B) at any time--
``(i) a major acquisition program--
``(I) requires authorization to proceed from one
acquisition decision event to another throughout the
acquisition life cycle;
``(II) is in breach of the approved requirements of the
major acquisition program; or
``(III) requires additional review, as determined by the
Under Secretary for Management; or
``(ii) a non-major acquisition program requires review, as
determined by the Under Secretary for Management.
``(e) Responsibilities.--The responsibilities of the Board
are as follows:
``(1) 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.
[[Page S2428]]
``(2) Oversee whether the business strategy, resources,
management, and accountability of a proposed acquisition is
executable and is aligned to strategic initiatives.
``(3) Support the person with acquisition decision
authority for an acquisition in determining the appropriate
direction for the acquisition at key acquisition decision
events.
``(4) Conduct systematic reviews of acquisitions to ensure
that the acquisitions are progressing in compliance with the
approved documents for their current acquisition phases.
``(5) 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.
``(6) 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 matters 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.
``(f) Acquisition Program Baseline Report Requirement.--If
the person exercising acquisition decision authority over a
major acquisition program approves the major acquisition
program to proceed into the planning phase before the major
acquisition program has a Department-approved acquisition
program baseline--
``(1) the Under Secretary for Management shall create and
approve an acquisition program baseline report regarding such
approval; and
``(2) the Secretary shall--
``(A) not later than 7 days after the date on which the
acquisition decision memorandum is signed, notify in writing
the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs of the Senate of the decision; and
``(B) not later than 60 days after the date on which the
acquisition decision memorandum is signed, submit to the
Committee on Homeland Security of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs of the Senate a report stating the
rationale for such decision and a plan of action to require
an acquisition program baseline for such program.
``(g) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this section and every year thereafter through
fiscal year 2022, the Under Secretary for Management shall
provide information to the Committee on Homeland Security of
the House of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate on the
activities of the Board for the prior fiscal year that
includes information relating to the following:
``(1) For each meeting of the Board, any acquisition
decision memoranda.
``(2) Results of the systematic reviews conducted under
subsection (e)(4).
``(3) Results of acquisition document reviews required
under subsection (e)(5).
``(4) Activities to ensure that practices are adopted and
implemented throughout the Department under subsection
(e)(6).''.
(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:
``Sec. 836. Acquisition Review Board.''.
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