#aaeth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #hhf ,,an ,,act ,to amend the ,homeland ,security ,act of #bjjb to establish an ,acquisition ,review ,board in the ,department of ,homeland ,security1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,,dhs ,acquisition ,review ,board ,act of #bjag4 #b4 ,acquisition ,review ,board 7a7 ,in general ,subtitle ,d of title ,,viii of the ,homeland ,security ,act of #bjjb 7#f ,u4,s4,c4 #cia et seq47 is amended by adding at the end the following3 #hcf4 ,acquisition ,review ,board 7a7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,acquisition ,the term acquisition has the meaning given the term in section #aca of title #da1 ,united ,states ,code4 7#b7 ,acquisition decision authority ,the term acquisition decision authority means the authority1 held by the ,secretary acting through the ,deputy ,secretary or ,under ,secretary for ,management to-- 7,a7 ensure compliance with ,federal law1 the ,federal ,acquisition ,regulation1 and ,department acquisition management directives2 7,b7 review 7including approving1 pausing1 modifying1 or cancelling7 an acquisition program through the life cycle of the program2 7,c7 advocate for acquisition program managers to have the resources necessary to successfully execute an approved acquisition program2 7,d7 ensure good acquisition program management of cost1 schedule1 risk1 and system performance of the acquisition program at issue1 including assessing acquisition program baseline breaches and directing any corrective action for such breaches2 and 7,e7 monitor1 on an ongoing basis1 cost1 schedule1 and performance of acquisition programs in order to manage risk at all phases of the life cycle of such program and direct corrective action for any variances that would lead to baseline breaches4 7#c7 ,acquisition decision event ,the term acquisition decision event1 with respect to an acquisition program1 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 phase4 7#d7 ,acquisition decision memorandum ,the term acquisition decision memorandum1 with respect to an acquisition program1 means the official acquisition decision event record that includes a documented record of decisions1 exit criteria1 and assigned actions for the acquisition program1 as determined by the person exercising acquisition decision authority for the acquisition4 7#e7 ,acquisition program ,the term acquisition program means the process by which the ,department acquires1 with any appropriated amounts1 by contract for purchase or lease1 property or services 7including construction7 that support the missions and goals of the ,department4 7#f7 ,acquisition program baseline ,the term acquisition program baseline1 with respect to an acquisition program1 means a summary of the cost1 schedule1 and performance parameters1 expressed in standard1 measurable1 quantitative terms1 which must be met in order to accomplish the goals of such program4 7#g7 ,appropriate committees of ,congress ,the term appropriate committees of ,congress means-- 7,a7 the ,committee on ,homeland ,security of the ,house of ,representatives and the ,committee on ,homeland ,security and ,governmental ,affairs of the ,senate2 7,b7 in the case of notice or a report relating to the ,coast ,guard1 the committees described in subparagraph 7,a7 and the ,committee on ,transportation and ,infrastructure of the ,house of ,representatives and the ,committee on ,commerce1 ,science1 and ,transportation of the ,senate2 and 7,c7 in the case of notice or a report relating to the ,transportation ,security ,administration1 the committees described in subparagraph 7,a7 and the ,committee on ,commerce1 ,science1 and ,transportation of the ,senate4 7#h7 ,best practices ,the term best practices1 with respect to acquisition1 means a knowledge-based approach to capability development that includes-- 7,a7 identifying and validating needs2 7,b7 assessing alternatives to select the most appropriate solution2 7,c7 clearly establishing well-defined requirements2 7,d7 developing realistic cost estimates and schedules2 7,e7 securing stable funding that matches resources to requirements2 7,f7 demonstrating technology1 design1 and manufacturing maturity2 7,g7 using milestones and exit criteria or specific accomplishments that demonstrate progress2 7,h7 adopting and executing standardized processes with known success across programs2 7,i7 establishing an adequate workforce that is qualified and sufficient to perform necessary functions2 7,j7 integrating the capabilities described in subparagraphs 7,a7 through 7,i7 into the mission and business operations of the ,department2 and 7,k7 any other criteria as determined by the ,under ,secretary for ,management4 7#i7 ,board ,the term ,board means the ,acquisition ,review ,board required to be established under subsection 7b74 7#aj7 ,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 #cjj1jjj1jjj 7based on fiscal year #bjag constant dollars7 over the life cycle cost of the acquisition program4 7b7 ,establishment of ,board ,the ,secretary shall establish an ,acquisition ,review ,board to-- 7#a7 strengthen accountability and uniformity within the ,department acquisition review process2 7#b7 review major acquisition programs2 and 7#c7 review the use of best practices4 7c7 ,composition 7#a7 ,chairperson ,the ,under ,secretary for ,management shall serve as chairperson of the ,board4 7#b7 ,other members ,the ,secretary shall ensure participation by other relevant ,department officials1 including not fewer than #b component heads or their designees1 as permanent members of the ,board4 7d7 ,meetings 7#a7 ,regular meetings ,the ,board shall meet regularly for purposes of ensuring all acquisitions programs proceed in a timely fashion to achieve mission readiness4 7#b7 ,other meetings ,the ,board shall convene-- 7,a7 at the discretion of the ,secretary2 and 7,b7 at any time-- 7i7 a major acquisition program-- 7,i7 requires authorization to proceed from one acquisition decision event to another throughout the acquisition life cycle2 7,,ii7 is in breach of the approved requirements of the major acquisition program2 or 7,,iii7 requires additional review1 as determined by the ,under ,secretary for ,management2 or 7ii7 a non-major acquisition program requires review1 as determined by the ,under ,secretary for ,management4 7e7 ,responsibilities ,the responsibilities of the ,board are as follows3 7#a7 ,determine whether a proposed acquisition program has met the requirements of phases of the acquisition life cycle framework and is able to proceed to the next phase and eventual full production and deployment4 7#b7 ,oversee whether the business strategy1 resources1 management1 and accountability of a proposed acquisition is executable and is aligned to strategic initiatives4 7#c7 ,support the person with acquisition decision authority for an acquisition program in determining the appropriate direction for the acquisition at key acquisition decision events4 7#d7 ,conduct reviews of acquisitions to ensure that the acquisitions are progressing in compliance with the approved documents for their current acquisition phases4 7#e7 ,review the acquisition program documents of each major acquisition program1 including the acquisition program baseline and documentation reflecting consideration of tradeoffs among cost1 schedule1 and performance objectives1 to ensure the reliability of underlying data4 7#f7 ,ensure that practices are adopted and implemented to require consideration of trade-offs among cost1 schedule1 and performance objectives as part of the process for developing requirements for major acquisition programs prior to the initiation of the second acquisition decision event1 including1 at a minimum1 the following practices3 7,a7 ,department officials responsible for acquisition1 budget1 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 feasible4 7,b7 ,full consideration is given to possible trade-offs among cost1 schedule1 and performance objectives for each alternative4 7f7 ,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 baseline1 as required by ,department policy-- 7#a7 the ,under ,secretary for ,management shall create and approve an acquisition program baseline report regarding such approval2 and 7#b7 the ,secretary shall-- 7,a7 not later than #g days after the date on which the acquisition decision memorandum is signed1 provide written notice of the decision to the appropriate committees of ,congress2 and 7,b7 not later than #fj days after the date on which the acquisition decision memorandum is signed1 submit a report stating the rationale for such decision and a plan of action to require an acquisition program baseline for such program to the appropriate committees of ,congress4 7g7 ,report ,not later than #a year after the date of enactment of this section and every year thereafter through fiscal year #bjbb1 the ,under ,secretary for ,management shall provide information to the appropriate committees of ,congress on the activities of the ,board for the prior fiscal year that includes information relating to the following3 7#a7 ,for each meeting of the ,board1 any acquisition decision memoranda4 7#b7 ,results of the systematic reviews conducted under subsection 7e77#d74 7#c7 ,results of acquisition document reviews required under subsection 7e77#e74 7#d7 ,activities to ensure that practices are adopted and implemented throughout the ,department under subsection 7e77#f74 4 7b7 ,clerical amendment ,the table of contents in section #a7;b7 of the ,homeland ,security ,act of #bjjb 7#f ,u4,s4,c4 #aja et seq47 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section #hce the following3 ,sec4 #hcf4 ,acquisition ,review ,board4 4 ,passed the ,senate ,november #i1 #bjag4,secretary