[House Report 115-46]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


115th Congress   }                                            {  Report
                          HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session     }                                            {  115-46

======================================================================



 
             DHS MULTIYEAR ACQUISITION STRATEGY ACT OF 2017

                                _______
                                

 March 20, 2017.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

  Mr. McCaul, from the Committee on Homeland Security, submitted the 
                               following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 1249]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Homeland Security, to whom was referred 
the bill (H.R. 1249) to amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 
to require a multiyear acquisition strategy of the Department 
of Homeland Security, and for other purposes, having considered 
the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and 
recommend that the bill do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
Purpose and Summary..............................................     2
Background and Need for Legislation..............................     2
Hearings.........................................................     2
Committee Consideration..........................................     3
Committee Votes..................................................     3
Committee Oversight Findings.....................................     3
New Budget Authority, Entitlement Authority, and Tax Expenditures     3
Congressional Budget Office Estimate.............................     4
Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives............     4
Duplicative Federal Programs.....................................     4
Congressional Earmarks, Limited Tax Benefits, and Limited Tariff 
  Benefits.......................................................     4
Federal Mandates Statement.......................................     4
Preemption Clarification.........................................     4
Disclosure of Directed Rule Makings..............................     4
Advisory Committee Statement.....................................     5
Applicability to Legislative Branch..............................     5
Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation...................     5
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............     6

                          Purpose and Summary

    The purpose of H.R. 1249 is to amend the Homeland Security 
Act of 2002 (Pub. L. 107-296) to require a multi-year 
acquisition strategy for the Department of Homeland Security 
(DHS) and for other purposes.
    H.R. 1249 requires DHS to develop a multi-year acquisition 
strategy as part of each Future Years Homeland Security Program 
to guide the overall direction of DHS acquisitions, while also 
allowing flexibility to deal with ever-changing threats and 
risks. Specifically, the strategy shall include, among other 
things, a prioritized list of acquisition investments based on 
mission, a plan to develop a reliable DHS-wide inventory of 
investments, and an identification of capabilities required to 
leverage emerging technology. This will help industry better 
understand, plan, and align resources to meet the future 
acquisition needs of the Department.

                  Background and Need for Legislation

    The Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the DHS 
Office of Inspector General (OIG) have consistently reported on 
the longstanding challenges DHS faces in managing its major 
acquisition programs, which cost the Department over $7 billion 
each year. Every two years, GAO identifies areas in the federal 
government that are ``high risk'' due to their vulnerabilities 
to fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement. Since 2003, GAO has 
identified DHS's transformation of 22 agencies into one 
department, and the Department's subsequent challenges with its 
management functions, as high risk. In GAO's 2017 high risk 
update, GAO noted that DHS has made progress in addressing its 
management challenges, but has not yet completed all the 
necessary actions to fully address acquisition management. 
Additionally, the OIG reports annually on major management 
challenges facing the Department. In November 2016, the OIG 
identified challenges in DHS's management of acquisition 
programs. Although DHS has taken steps to improve acquisition 
management, DHS struggles to ensure that major acquisition 
programs cost what they were originally estimated, are 
delivered on schedule, and provide the capabilities originally 
intended. As a result, industry is not always informed of what 
capabilities and technologies the Department needs to address a 
particular threat. H.R. 1249 requires DHS to develop a multi-
year acquisition strategy to guide future acquisitions so that 
industry is able to provide the solutions necessary to address 
the Department's needs.

                                Hearings

    No hearings were specifically held on H.R.1249. However, 
the Committee held oversight hearings on acquisition 
management, as listed below.
    On February 26, 2015, the Subcommittee on Oversight and 
Management Efficiency held a hearing entitled ``Assessing DHS's 
Performance: Watchdog Recommendations to Improve Homeland 
Security.'' The Subcommittee received testimony from The 
Honorable John Roth, Inspector General, U.S. Department of 
Homeland Security; Ms. Rebecca Gambler, Director, Homeland 
Security and Justice, U.S. Government Accountability Office; 
and Dr. Daniel M. Gerstein, Senior Policy Researcher, The RAND 
Corporation.
    On April 22, 2015, the Subcommittee on Oversight and 
Management Efficiency held a hearing entitled ``Acquisition 
Oversight: How Effectively is DHS Safeguarding Taxpayer 
Dollars?'' The Subcommittee received testimony from Ms. Michele 
Mackin, Director, Acquisition and Sourcing Management, U.S. 
Government Accountability Office; The Honorable Chip Fulghum, 
Acting Deputy Undersecretary for Management and Chief Financial 
Officer, U.S. Department of Homeland Security; and Dr. Cedric 
Sims, Partner, Evermay Consulting Group.
    On September 18, 2015, the Subcommittee on Oversight and 
Management Efficiency held a hearing entitled ``Making DHS More 
Efficient: Industry Recommendations to Improve Homeland 
Security.'' The Subcommittee received testimony from Mr. Marc 
Pearl, President and Chief Executive Officer, Homeland Security 
and Defense Business Council; Mr. Harry Totonis, Board 
Director, Business Executives for National Security; and Ms. 
Elaine Duke, Principal, Elaine Duke & Associates, LLC.
    On February 16, 2017, the Subcommittee on Oversight and 
Management Efficiency held a hearing entitled ``Watchdog 
Recommendations: A Better Way Ahead to Manage the Department of 
Homeland Security.'' The Subcommittee received testimony from 
The Honorable John Roth, Inspector General, U.S. Department of 
Homeland Security, and Ms. Rebecca Gambler, Director, Homeland 
Security and Justice, U.S. Government Accountability Office.

                        Committee Consideration

    The Committee met on March 8, 2017, to consider H.R. 1249, 
and ordered the measure to be reported to the House with a 
favorable recommendation, without amendment, by voice vote.

                            Committee Votes

    Clause 3(b) of Rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives requires the Committee to list the recorded 
votes on the motion to report legislation and amendments 
thereto.
    No recorded votes were requested during consideration of 
H.R. 1249.

                      Committee Oversight Findings

    Pursuant to clause 3(c)(1) of Rule XIII of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, the Committee has held oversight 
hearings and made findings that are reflected in this report.

   New Budget Authority, Entitlement Authority, and Tax Expenditures

    In compliance with clause 3(c)(2) of Rule XIII of the Rules 
of the House of Representatives, the Committee finds that H.R. 
1249, the DHS Multiyear Acquisition Strategy Act of 2017, would 
result in no new or increased budget authority, entitlement 
authority, or tax expenditures or revenues.

                  Congressional Budget Office Estimate

    Pursuant to clause 3(c)(3) of Rule XIII of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, a cost estimate provided by the 
Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 402 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974 was not made available to the 
Committee in time for the filing of this report. The Chairman 
of the Committee shall cause such estimate to be printed in the 
Congressional Record upon its receipt by the Committee.

         Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives

    Pursuant to clause 3(c)(4) of Rule XIII of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, H.R. 1249 contains the following 
general performance goals and objectives, including outcome 
related goals and objectives authorized.
    The purpose of H.R. 1249, the DHS Multiyear Acquisition 
Strategy Act of 2017, is to provide guidance to the Department 
of Homeland Security regarding acquisition management.

                      Duplicative Federal Programs

    Pursuant to clause 3(c) of Rule XIII, the Committee finds 
that H.R. 1249 does not contain any provision that establishes 
or reauthorizes a program known to be duplicative of another 
Federal program.

   Congressional Earmarks, Limited Tax Benefits, and Limited Tariff 
                                Benefits

    In compliance with Rule XXI of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives, this bill, as reported, contains no 
congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff 
benefits as defined in clause 9(e), 9(f), or 9(g) of the Rule 
XXI.

                       Federal Mandates Statement

    An estimate of Federal mandates prepared by the Director of 
the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 423 of the 
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act was not made available to the 
Committee in time for the filing of this report. The Chairman 
of the Committee shall cause such estimate to be printed in the 
Congressional Record upon its receipt by the Committee.

                        Preemption Clarification

    In compliance with section 423 of the Congressional Budget 
Act of 1974, requiring the report of any Committee on a bill or 
joint resolution to include a statement on the extent to which 
the bill or joint resolution is intended to preempt State, 
local, or Tribal law, the Committee finds that H.R. 1249 does 
not preempt any State, local, or Tribal law.

                  Disclosure of Directed Rule Makings

    The Committee estimates that H.R. 1249 would require no 
directed rule makings.

                      Advisory Committee Statement

    No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b) 
of the Federal Advisory Committee Act were created by this 
legislation.

                  Applicability to Legislative Branch

    The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to 
the terms and conditions of employment or access to public 
services or accommodations within the meaning of section 
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act.

             Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation


Section 1.   Short Title.

    This section provides that this bill may be cited as the 
``DHS Multiyear Acquisition Strategy Act of 2017''.

Sec. 2.   Multiyear Acquisition Strategy.

    Section 2 amends Subtitle D of title VIII of the Homeland 
Security Act. This section requires that, within 1 year of 
enactment, the Secretary must submit to the House and Senate 
Committees on Homeland Security and the Comptroller General of 
the United States a multi-year acquisition strategy to guide 
the overall direction of DHS acquisitions. Every year 
thereafter, the Secretary must update and include that strategy 
in each Future Years Homeland Security Program report already 
required by section 874 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002.
    Section 2 also requires the Secretary to consult with 
headquarters, components, employees in the field, industry, and 
the academic community when developing the strategy. The 
strategy must allow flexibility to deal with ever-changing 
threats and risks and to help industry better understand, plan, 
and align resources to meet the future acquisition needs of 
DHS.
    Section 2 requires the Secretary to include the following 
elements in the strategy:
  1.   A prioritized list of acquisition investments;
  2.   A plan to develop a reliable DHS-wide inventory of 
        investments and real property assets;
  3.   A plan to address known funding gaps between 
        requirements and resources for acquisitions;
  4.   An identification of capabilities required to support 
        acquisition and to leverage emerging technology and R&D 
        trends;
  5.   A focus on flexible solutions to allow the necessary 
        incentives and protections for appropriate risk-taking 
        to meet acquisition needs with resiliency, agility, and 
        responsiveness;
  6.   A focus on incentives for program managers to achieve 
        cost savings;
  7.   An assessment of ways to improve the acquisition process 
        to reduce cost overruns;
  8.   A focus on ways to increase outreach to key stakeholders 
        that includes methods to engage small and disadvantaged 
        businesses and guidance for interaction by program 
        managers with key stakeholders to prevent 
        misinterpretation of acquisition regulations;
  9.   A plan to ensure competition or the option of 
        competition for major acquisition programs; and
  10.    plan to that identifies the acquisition workforce 
        needs of each component and develops options for 
        filling those needs. This plan shall also address ways 
        to improve recruitment, hiring, training, and retention 
        of acquisition workforce personnel to retain highly 
        qualified personnel, among other things
    The Committee believes that for this strategy to be 
actionable, it must be informed by the acquisition plans and 
priorities of the components. As such, the Secretary is 
encouraged to establish a robust process for collaboration 
between and among components to develop the Department's 
prioritized list of acquisition investments.

Sec. 3.   Government Accountability Office Review of Multiyear 
        Acquisition Strategy.

    Section 3 requires GAO to review the Department's multi-
year acquisition strategy within 6 months of the Secretary 
submitting the first strategy. The review shall assess, among 
other things, the Department's: (1) compliance with the 
requirements in section 2; (2) establishment of clear 
connections between DHS objectives and acquisition priorities; 
and (3) demonstration that acquisition policy reflects 
acquisition best practices.

         Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

  In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (new matter is 
printed in italics and existing law in which no change is 
proposed is shown in roman):

HOMELAND SECURITY ACT OF 2002

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TITLE VIII--COORDINATION WITH NON-FEDERAL ENTITIES; INSPECTOR GENERAL; 
UNITED STATES SECRET SERVICE; COAST GUARD; GENERAL PROVISIONS

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Subtitle D--Acquisitions

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SEC. 836. MULTIYEAR ACQUISITION STRATEGY.

  (a) Multiyear Acquisition Strategy Required.--
          (1) In general.--Not later than one year after the 
        date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary 
        shall submit to the appropriate congressional 
        committees and the Comptroller General of the United 
        States a multiyear acquisition strategy to guide the 
        overall direction of the acquisitions of the Department 
        while allowing flexibility to deal with ever-changing 
        threats and risks, and to help industry better 
        understand, plan, and align resources to meet the 
        future acquisition needs of the Department. Such 
        strategy shall be updated and included in each Future 
        Years Homeland Security Program required under section 
        874.
          (2) Form.--The strategy required under paragraph (1) 
        shall be submitted in unclassified form but may include 
        a classified annex for any sensitive or classified 
        information if necessary. The Secretary shall publish 
        such strategy in an unclassified format that is 
        publicly available.
  (b) Consultation.--In developing the strategy required under 
subsection (a), the Secretary shall, as the Secretary 
determines appropriate, consult with headquarters, components, 
employees in the field, and individuals from industry and the 
academic community.
  (c) Contents of Strategy.--The strategy shall include the 
following:
          (1) Prioritized list.--A systematic and integrated 
        prioritized list developed by the Under Secretary for 
        Management in coordination with all of the Component 
        Acquisition Executives of Department major acquisition 
        programs that Department and component acquisition 
        investments seek to address, including the expected 
        security and economic benefit of the program or system 
        that is the subject of acquisition and an analysis of 
        how the security and economic benefit derived from such 
        program or system will be measured.
          (2) Inventory.--A plan to develop a reliable 
        Department-wide inventory of investments and real 
        property assets to help the Department--
                  (A) plan, budget, schedule, and acquire 
                upgrades of its systems and equipment; and
                  (B) plan for the acquisition and management 
                of future systems and equipment.
          (3) Funding gaps.--A plan to address funding gaps 
        between funding requirements for major acquisition 
        programs and known available resources, including, to 
        the maximum extent practicable, ways of leveraging best 
        practices to identify and eliminate overpayment for 
        items to--
                  (A) prevent wasteful purchasing;
                  (B) achieve the greatest level of efficiency 
                and cost savings by rationalizing purchases;
                  (C) align pricing for similar items; and
                  (D) utilize purchase timing and economies of 
                scale.
          (4) Identification of capabilities.--An 
        identification of test, evaluation, modeling, and 
        simulation capabilities that will be required to--
                  (A) support the acquisition of technologies 
                to meet the needs of such strategy;
                  (B) leverage to the greatest extent possible 
                emerging technological trends and research and 
                development trends within the public and 
                private sectors; and
                  (C) identify ways to ensure that appropriate 
                technology is acquired and integrated into the 
                Department's operating doctrine to improve 
                mission performance.
          (5) Focus on flexible solutions.--An assessment of 
        ways the Department can improve its ability to test and 
        acquire innovative solutions to allow needed incentives 
        and protections for appropriate risk-taking in order to 
        meet its acquisition needs with resiliency, agility, 
        and responsiveness to assure homeland security and 
        facilitate trade.
          (6) Focus on incentives to save taxpayer dollars.--An 
        assessment of ways the Department can develop 
        incentives for program managers and senior Department 
        acquisition officials to--
                  (A) prevent cost overruns;
                  (B) avoid schedule delays; and
                  (C) achieve cost savings in major acquisition 
                programs.
          (7) Focus on addressing delays and bid protests.--An 
        assessment of ways the Department can improve the 
        acquisition process to minimize cost overruns in--
                  (A) requirements development;
                  (B) procurement announcements;
                  (C) requests for proposals;
                  (D) evaluation of proposals;
                  (E) protests of decisions and awards; and
                  (F) the use of best practices.
          (8) Focus on improving outreach.--An identification 
        and assessment of ways to increase opportunities for 
        communication and collaboration with industry, small 
        and disadvantaged businesses, intra-government 
        entities, university centers of excellence, accredited 
        certification and standards development organizations, 
        and national laboratories to ensure that the Department 
        understands the market for technologies, products, and 
        innovation that is available to meet its mission needs 
        and to inform the Department's requirements-setting 
        process before engaging in an acquisition, including--
                  (A) methods designed especially to engage 
                small and disadvantaged businesses, a cost-
                benefit analysis of the tradeoffs that small 
                and disadvantaged businesses provide, 
                information relating to barriers to entry for 
                small and disadvantaged businesses, and 
                information relating to unique requirements for 
                small and disadvantaged businesses; and
                  (B) within the Department Vendor 
                Communication Plan and Market Research Guide, 
                instructions for interaction by acquisition 
                program managers with such entities to--
                          (i) prevent misinterpretation of 
                        acquisition regulations; and
                          (ii) permit, within legal and ethical 
                        boundaries, interacting with such 
                        entities with transparency.
          (9) Competition.--A plan regarding competition under 
        subsection (d).
          (10) Acquisition workforce.--A plan regarding the 
        Department acquisition workforce under subsection (e).
  (d) Competition Plan.--The strategy required under subsection 
(a) shall also include a plan to address actions to ensure 
competition, or the option of competition, for major 
acquisition programs. Such plan may include assessments of the 
following measures in appropriate cases if such measures are 
cost effective:
          (1) Competitive prototyping.
          (2) Dual-sourcing.
          (3) Unbundling of contracts.
          (4) Funding of next-generation prototype systems or 
        subsystems.
          (5) Use of modular, open architectures to enable 
        competition for upgrades.
          (6) Acquisition of complete technical data packages.
          (7) Periodic competitions for subsystem upgrades.
          (8) Licensing of additional suppliers, including 
        small businesses.
          (9) Periodic system or program reviews to address 
        long-term competitive effects of program decisions.
  (e) Acquisition Workforce Plan.--
          (1) Acquisition workforce.--The strategy required 
        under subsection (a) shall also include a plan to 
        address Department acquisition workforce accountability 
        and talent management that identifies the acquisition 
        workforce needs of each component performing 
        acquisition functions and develops options for filling 
        such needs with qualified individuals, including a 
        cost-benefit analysis of contracting for acquisition 
        assistance.
          (2) Additional matters covered.--The acquisition 
        workforce plan under this subsection shall address ways 
        to--
                  (A) improve the recruitment, hiring, 
                training, and retention of Department 
                acquisition workforce personnel, including 
                contracting officer's representatives, in order 
                to retain highly qualified individuals who have 
                experience in the acquisition life cycle, 
                complex procurements, and management of large 
                programs;
                  (B) empower program managers to have the 
                authority to manage their programs in an 
                accountable and transparent manner as such 
                managers work with the acquisition workforce;
                  (C) prevent duplication within Department 
                acquisition workforce training and 
                certification requirements through leveraging 
                already-existing training within the Federal 
                Government, academic community, or private 
                industry;
                  (D) achieve integration and consistency with 
                Government-wide training and accreditation 
                standards, acquisition training tools, and 
                training facilities;
                  (E) designate the acquisition positions that 
                will be necessary to support the Department 
                acquisition requirements, including in the 
                fields of--
                          (i) program management;
                          (ii) systems engineering;
                          (iii) procurement, including 
                        contracting;
                          (iv) test and evaluation;
                          (v) life cycle logistics;
                          (vi) cost estimating and program 
                        financial management; and
                          (vii) additional disciplines 
                        appropriate to Department mission 
                        needs;
                  (F) strengthen the performance of contracting 
                officers' representatives (as defined in 
                subpart 1.602-2 and subpart 2.101 of the 
                Federal Acquisition Regulation), including by--
                          (i) assessing the extent to which 
                        such representatives are certified and 
                        receive training that is appropriate;
                          (ii) assessing what training is most 
                        effective with respect to the type and 
                        complexity of assignment; and
                          (iii) implementing actions to improve 
                        training based on such assessments; and
                  (G) identify ways to increase training for 
                relevant investigators and auditors of the 
                Department to examine fraud in major 
                acquisition programs, including identifying 
                opportunities to leverage existing Government 
                and private sector resources in coordination 
                with the Inspector General of the Department.
  (f) Definitions.--In this section:
          (1) Acquisition.--The term ``acquisition'' has the 
        meaning given such term in section 131 of title 41, 
        United States Code.
          (2) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
        ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
                  (A) the Committee on Homeland Security of the 
                House of Representatives and the Committee on 
                Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of 
                the Senate; and
                  (B) the Committee on Appropriations of the 
                House of Representatives and the Committee on 
                Appropriations of the Senate.
          (3) Best practices.--The term ``best practices'', 
        with respect to acquisition, means--
                  (A) a knowledge-based approach to capability 
                development that includes 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 into the mission and business 
                operations of the Department of Homeland 
                Security the capabilities described in 
                subparagraphs (A) through (I).
          (4) Component acquisition executive.--The term 
        ``Component Acquisition Executive'' means the senior 
        acquisition official within a component who is 
        designated in writing by the Under Secretary for 
        Management, in consultation with the component head, 
        with authority and responsibility for leading a process 
        and staff to provide acquisition and program management 
        oversight, policy, and guidance to ensure that 
        statutory, regulatory, and higher level policy 
        requirements are fulfilled, including compliance with 
        Federal law, the Federal Acquisition Regulation, and 
        Department acquisition management directives 
        established by the Under Secretary for Management.
          (5) 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 at least $300,000,000 
        (based on fiscal year 2017 constant dollars) over its 
        life cycle cost.

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