[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 1]
[House]
[Pages 1453-1454]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          DHS ACQUISITION DOCUMENTATION INTEGRITY ACT OF 2017

  Mr. PERRY. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(H.R. 347) 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. 347

       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 2017''.

     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 new section:

     ``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 such 
     requirements, as appropriate;
       ``(B) a complete lifecycle cost estimate with supporting 
     documentation;
       ``(C) verification of such 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 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 with respect to any 
     major acquisition program under this section, the Secretary 
     may waive the requirement under paragraph (3) of subsection 
     (a) for a fiscal year if either--
       ``(1) such 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) such 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 regarding the requirement 
     described in subsection (a) in the prior fiscal year that 
     includes the following specific information regarding each 
     major acquisition program for which the Secretary has issued 
     a waiver under subsection (b):
       ``(1) The grounds for granting a waiver for such program.
       ``(2) The projected cost of such program.
       ``(3) The proportion of a component's or office's annual 
     acquisition budget attributed to such program, as available.
       ``(4) Information on the significance of such program with 
     respect to the component's or office'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 2017 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 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Perry) and the gentlewoman from New Jersey (Mrs. 
Watson Coleman) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Pennsylvania.


                             General Leave

  Mr. PERRY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 
5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and 
to include any extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. PERRY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I rise in support of H.R. 347, the Department of Homeland Security 
Acquisition Documentation Integrity Act. This legislation requires the 
Department of Homeland Security to improve the management of its major 
purchases of systems to secure the border, better screen travelers, 
protect our shores, and other vital missions.
  Too often, the DHS has failed to document what these programs will 
cost,

[[Page 1454]]

when they will be complete, and what they actually will deliver. It is 
unacceptable to spend billions of taxpayer dollars and not document 
this very basic but important information. H.R. 347 will help our 
committee and congressional watchdogs hold the Department accountable 
and ensure taxpayer dollars are being spent in both an efficient and 
effective manner. Safeguarding Americans' hard-earned tax dollars is 
why our constituents sent us here in the first place.
  I commend Ranking Member Watson Coleman for her leadership on this 
issue, and I ask all Members to join me in supporting this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  I rise in support of H.R. 347, the DHS Acquisition Documentation 
Integrity Act of 2017.
  I reintroduced H.R. 347, a measure that the House unanimously 
approved on February 23, 2016, to ensure that the progress that the 
Department of Homeland Security has made with respect to how it manages 
acquisitions continues.
  H.R. 347 requires complete, accurate, timely, and valid documentation 
to be maintained for each of the Department's major acquisition 
programs, which is defined as one with a life cycle cost estimate of 
$300 million or more. The required documentation includes information 
regarding operational requirements, a complete life cycle cost 
estimate, a cost-benefit analysis, and a schedule.
  Under this legislation, the DHS component heads would also be 
required to submit certain documentation to the DHS Secretary for 
inclusion in an annual status report on the Department's acquisitions. 
While there have been improvements to acquisitions management under 
former Secretary Jeh Johnson, the Department has struggled when it 
comes to delivering a specific program on time and at an established 
cost.
  Most of the DHS' major acquisition programs continue to cost more 
than expected, take longer to deploy than planned, or deliver less 
capability than promised. For example, the DHS' efforts to deliver a 
Department-wide human resources IT system--HR-IT--have spanned almost 
14 years and have cost millions of dollars with little to show for it. 
As can be seen with the case of HR-IT, anything less than up-to-date 
acquisition documentation increases the odds of cost and schedule 
overruns, risks delayed delivery of critical capabilities, and depletes 
resources needed to address future requirements.
  As such, H.R. 347 codifies ``best practices'' already embodied in the 
DHS' acquisition policy and necessary for the success of the DHS' 
mission. H.R. 347 requires the DHS Secretary, through the Under 
Secretary for Management, to require components to maintain specific 
types of acquisition documentation.
  Representatives McCaul and Thompson, the chairman and ranking member 
of our committee, and Representative Perry, the chairman of the 
Subcommittee on Oversight and Management Efficiency, cosponsored this 
legislation, which reflects a strong commitment to bolstering the 
effectiveness of the DHS' acquisition programs in a bipartisan fashion.
  I urge the passage of H.R. 347, a bill that will help ensure that the 
DHS is a good steward of taxpayer dollars and can provide the DHS' 
operators in the field with the tools they need to protect the American 
people.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

                              {time}  1545

  Mr. PERRY. Mr. Speaker, I, once again, commend my good friend and 
colleague from New Jersey (Mrs. Watson Coleman) on her hard work in 
offering this viable and meaningful solution.
  I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 347.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Perry) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 347.
  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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