The House passed by voice vote on Tuesday a bill aiming to strengthen accountability and uniformity within the Department of Homeland Security’s acquisition review process by codifying the Acquisition Review Board (ARB).
The DHS Acquisition Review Board Act of 2021 (H.R. 5652) was introduced by Congressman Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ).
Chaired by the Under Secretary for Management, the ARB is composed of senior Department officials with responsibilities related to acquisitions, such as the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Procurement Officer.
This bill requires DHS to establish an Acquisition Review Board to support the Management Directorate in managing DHS acquisitions.
The bill lists the board’s responsibilities, which include determining 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.
The chair of the board must ensure that all actions and decisions made pursuant to the board’s responsibilities are documented in an acquisition decision memorandum that includes specified elements, such as the rationale for the decision.
Read the text of the bill here
