Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my bill, H.R. 5652, the DHS Acquisition Review Board Act of 2021. The Department of Homeland Security invests billions of dollars each year in its major acquisitions. These programs include buying IT systems to help secure our border, Coast Guard cutters to increase marine safety, and tools to help TSA screen travelers more efficiently. These acquisitions, and others, enable the Department to execute its many critical missions. In fiscal year 2021 alone, DHS planned to spend more than $7 billion on its major acquisition programs, and ultimately, the Department plans to spend more than $200 billion over the programs' entire life cycles. However, the Government Accountability Office, GAO, and the DHS Office of the Inspector General, OIG, have reported on the longstanding challenges DHS faces in managing its major acquisition programs, which began with the inception of the Department and continue to this day. For example, in January 2021, GAO reported that of the 24 major acquisition programs it audited, 10 had been in breach of their cost or scheduled goals, or both, at some point during fiscal year 2020. Also, in 2018, the OIG reported that DHS components have an ongoing tendency to acquire systems before they adequately define their requirements or develop performance measures. We cannot allow this to continue.…”