[Senate Report 114-227]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 387
114th Congress } { Report
SENATE
2d Session } { 114-227
_______________________________________________________________________
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
HEADQUARTERS CONSOLIDATION ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 2015
__________
R E P O R T
of the
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND
GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
UNITED STATES SENATE
to accompany
S. 1638
TO DIRECT THE SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY TO SUBMIT
TO CONGRESS INFORMATION ON THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
HEADQUARTERS CONSOLIDATION PROJECT IN THE NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION, AND
FOR OTHER PURPOSES
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
March 14, 2016.--Ordered to be printed
______
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
59-010 WASHINGTON : 2016
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin, Chairman
JOHN McCAIN, Arizona THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware
ROB PORTMAN, Ohio CLAIRE McCASKILL, Missouri
RAND PAUL, Kentucky JON TESTER, Montana
JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin
MICHAEL B. ENZI, Wyoming HEIDI HEITKAMP, North Dakota
KELLY AYOTTE, New Hampshire CORY A. BOOKER, New Jersey
JONI ERNST, Iowa GARY C. PETERS, Michigan
BEN SASSE, Nebraska
Christopher R. Hixon, Staff Director
Gabrielle D'Adamo Singer, Chief Counsel
David S. Luckey, Director of Homeland Security
William H.W. McKenna, Chief Counsel for Homeland Security
Jeffrey A. Fiore, U.S. Government Accountability Office Detailee
Gabrielle A. Batkin, Minority Staff Director
John P. Kilvington, Minority Deputy Staff Director
Mary Beth Schultz, Minority Chief Counsel
Stephen R. Vina, Minority Chief Counsel for Homeland Security
Laura W. Kilbride, Chief Clerk
Calendar No. 387
114th Congress } { Report
SENATE
2d Session } { 114-227
======================================================================
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY HEADQUARTERS CONSOLIDATION
ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 2015
_______
March 14, 2016.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Johnson, from the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 1638]
The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (S. 1638) to direct the
Secretary of Homeland Security to submit to Congress
information on the Department of Homeland Security headquarters
consolidation project in the National Capital Region, and for
other purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably
thereon with amendments and recommends that the bill, as
amended, do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
I. Purpose and Summary..............................................1
II. Background and Need for the Legislation..........................2
III. Legislative History..............................................3
IV. Section-by-Section Analysis......................................3
V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact..................................4
VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................4
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............5
I. PURPOSE AND SUMMARY
The purpose of S. 1638, the Department of Homeland Security
Headquarters Consolidation Accountability Act of 2015, is to
require the Department of Homeland Security (DHS or ``the
Department'') to provide information on its progress toward
completing its headquarters consolidation project. The bill
directs the Secretary of Homeland Security (the Secretary), in
coordination with the Administrator of the General Services
Administration (GSA), to submit to Congress information within
120 days of enactment of the Act about the DHS headquarters
consolidation project, including an updated list of the
components and offices to be included in the project, a
comprehensive assessment of the current and future real
property required by DHS, and updated cost and schedule
estimates. The bill will further enhance congressional
oversight of the headquarters consolidation project by
directing the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to assess
the quality and reliability of the updated cost and schedule
estimates.
II. BACKGROUND AND THE NEED FOR LEGISLATION
The Homeland Security Act of 2002 sought to improve
coordination and information sharing among Federal agencies
with responsibilities for protecting the homeland by, among
other things, combining 22 Federal agencies into one
department--DHS.\1\ However, the agencies that comprise DHS
operate from numerous facilitates across the National Capital
Region, making collaboration, operations, and communication
difficult.\2\ For example, in 2014, DHS employees operated from
94 buildings and 50 locations in the National Capital
Region.\3\ The DHS headquarters consolidation project,
initiated by DHS in 2006, is intended to consolidate the
Department's leadership, operational management, and other
personnel to one location at the St. Elizabeths Campus in
Washington, D.C.\4\ The project has a number of valuable
objectives, including improving mission effectiveness, creating
a unified DHS organization, and reducing long-term facility
costs.\5\
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\1\Pub. L. No. 107-296, 116 Stat. 2135.
\2\Gov't Accountability Office, GAO-14-648, Federal Real Property:
DHS and GSA Need To Strengthen the Management of DHS Headquarters
Consolidation 3-4 (2014).
\3\Id.
\4\Id. at 1.
\5\Id. at 4.
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However, the headquarters consolidation project has
experienced significant problems including cost overruns,
delays, and funding shortfalls.\6\ For example, as of September
2014, the project was estimated to cost $4.5 billion and
conclude in 2026, which represented a $1.2 billion increase and
an 11-year delay from initial estimates in 2007.\7\ In
addition, GAO recommended in its 2014 report that DHS and GSA
develop: (1) ``a comprehensive needs assessment and gap
analysis of current and needed capabilities that take into
consideration changing conditions, and an alternatives analysis
that identifies the costs and benefits of leasing and
construction alternatives for the remainder of the project'',
and (2) ``revised cost and schedule estimates for the remaining
portions of the consolidation project that conform to GSA
guidance and leading practices for cost and schedule
estimation, including an independent evaluation of the
estimates.''\8\ GAO further stated that, until these
recommendations are addressed by DHS and GSA, Congress will be
limited in its ability to make informed decisions regarding the
headquarters consolidation project.\9\
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\6\Id. at passim.
\7\E.g., id. at 48.
\8\Id. at 45-46.
\9\Id. at 18.
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The Administration's Fiscal Year 2016 budget request
included an ``Enhanced Plan'', addressing some of GAO's
recommendations. The Enhanced Plan seeks a reduction in overall
project costs through the more efficient utilization of
space.\10\ GSA reported that the plan will reduce costs by more
than $800 million, provide an accelerated delivery timeline for
the project and add 3,000 employees to the campus, reducing the
size of the campus and saving taxpayers an estimated $1.2
billion over 30 years when compared to the best alternative
commercial lease option.\11\ While the enhanced plan provides
Congress with some of the information outlined in the GAO's
report, this legislation ensures that DHS and GSA fully address
GAO's recommendations and provide Congress the additional
information needed to make sound decisions regarding the
headquarters consolidation project.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\10\Gen. Servs. Admin., Prospectus--Construction: Department of
Homeland Security, Consolidation at St. Elizabeths, Washington, DC
(Feb. 2, 2015), available at http://www.gsa.gov/portal/mediaId/209735/
fileName/2016.
\11\Gen. Servs. Admin., GSA: Data Shows Why Fully Funding St.
Elizabeths Enhanced Plan in FY16 is the Right Decision (2015),
available at http://www.gsa.gov/portal/content/118958.
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III. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
Chairman Johnson introduced S. 1638 with Ranking Minority
Member Carper on June 18, 2015, and the bill was referred to
the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
Representative Mark Walker introduced H.R. 1640, the House
companion to S. 1638, on March 25, 2015. The Committee
considered S. 1638 at a business meeting on June 24, 2015.
The Committee ordered the bill reported favorably by voice
vote. Senators present for the vote were: Johnson, McCain,
Lankford, Ayotte, Ernst, Sasse, Carper, Tester, Baldwin, and
Heitkamp. Consistent with the Committee's order on technical
and conforming changes at the meeting, the Committee reports
the bill with a technical amendment by mutual agreement of the
full Committee majority and minority staff.
IV. SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF THE BILL, AS REPORTED
Section 1. Short title
This section provides the bill's short title, the
``Department of Homeland Security Headquarters Consolidation
Accountability Act of 2015.''
Section 2. Information on Department of Homeland Security Headquarters
consolidation project
Subsection (a) directs the Secretary, in coordination with
the Administrator of GSA, to provide to Congress an updated
list of the components and offices to be included in the
consolidation project; a comprehensive assessment of the
current and future real property and facilities required by
DHS; updated cost and schedule estimates; a plan for the leased
portfolio of DHS in the National Capital Region; and the costs
and benefits of leasing and construction alternatives for the
remainder of the consolidation project.
Subsection (b) directs the Comptroller General to assess
the quality and reliability of the cost and schedule estimates
prepared by DHS and GSA.
Subsection (c) defines several terms, including ``National
Capital Region'' and ``appropriate committees of Congress.''
V. EVALUATION OF REGULATORY IMPACT
Pursuant to the requirements of paragraph 11(b) of rule
XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee has
considered the regulatory impact of this bill and determined
that the bill will have no regulatory impact within the meaning
of the rules. The Committee agrees with the Congressional
Budget Office's statement that the bill contains no
intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would impose no costs
on state, local, or tribal governments.
VI. CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE
July 6, 2015.
Hon. Ron Johnson,
Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S.
Senate, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 1638, the Department
of Homeland Security Headquarters Consolidation Accountability
Act of 2015.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Mark
Grabowicz.
Sincerely,
Keith Hall.
Enclosure.
S. 1638--Department of Homeland Security Headquarters Consolidation
Accountability Act of 2015
S. 1638 would require the Department of Homeland Security
(DHS) to prepare a report to the Congress on the project to
consolidate DHS headquarters within the national capital
region, including updated timelines and cost estimates. The
bill also would require the Government Accountability Office
(GAO) to review the DHS estimates of project costs and
schedules and to report its findings to the Congress.
Based on the cost of similar activities, CBO estimates that
implementing S. 1638 would cost less than $500,000; any
spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated
funds. Much of the information needed for the DHS and GAO
reports has already been compiled. Because enacting the
legislation would not affect direct spending or revenues, pay-
as-you-go procedures do not apply.
S. 1638 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and
would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal
governments.
On June 3, 2015, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R.
1640, the Department of Homeland Security Headquarters
Consolidation Accountability Act of 2015, as ordered reported
by the House Committee on Homeland Security on May 20, 2015.
The two bills are similar and CBO's estimates of the budgetary
effects are the same.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Mark Grabowicz.
The estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
VII. CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED
Because this legislation would not repeal or amend any
provision of current law, it would make no changes in existing
law within the meaning of clauses (a) and (b) of paragraph 12
of rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate.
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