§3102 — Title 50 War and National Defense | U.S. Code

Summary

The Director of National Intelligence must take action when the total cost to buy a major system rises by a large amount at or above the critical cost growth threshold. First, the Director must find the root cause or causes of the cost increase. The Director must then estimate how much it will cost to finish the system if requirements stay the same, how much if requirements are reasonably changed, rough costs for any reasonable alternative systems or capabilities, and whether money for other systems will need to be cut to pay for the cost growth. After that review, the Director must stop the program unless a Major System Congressional Report and a written certification are sent to Congress within 90 days after getting the cost report. The certification must say the program is essential to national security; there are no cheaper alternatives that work; the new cost estimates are reasonable; the program is a higher priority than systems that would lose funding; and the program’s management is adequate. The report must include the root-cause analysis, the assessments above, the reasons for each certification point, and any funding changes with supporting documents. If the Director does not cancel the program, the Director must restructure it to fix the causes, cancel the last major approval milestone, require a new milestone approval before new or expanded contracts (except in narrow, necessary cases), set a revised Baseline Estimate from updated costs, and review the program regularly. If the program is ended, the Director must report why, what alternatives were considered, and how the intelligence need will be met. Reports may be classified. The Director can waive many of these steps if at least 90 percent of the current Baseline Estimate has been spent, but must notify the congressional intelligence committees within 90 days after getting a cost report that shows a cost increase at or above the significant or critical thresholds and include certain required information. Defined terms (brief): cost estimate; critical cost growth threshold; current Baseline Estimate; major system; total acquisition cost — each is defined in section 3101(a).

Title 50, §3102

War and National Defense — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)If the Director of National Intelligence determines under section 3101(d) of this title that the total acquisition cost of a major system has increased by a percentage equal to or greater than the critical cost growth threshold for the major system, the Director shall—

(1)determine the root cause or causes of the critical cost growth, in accordance with applicable statutory requirements, policies, procedures, and guidance; and

(2)carry out an assessment of—

(A)the projected cost of completing the major system if current requirements are not modified;

(B)the projected cost of completing the major system based on reasonable modification of such requirements;

(C)the rough order of magnitude of the costs of any reasonable alternative system or capability; and

(D)the need to reduce funding for other systems due to the growth in cost of the major system.

(b)(1)After conducting the reassessment required by subsection (a) with respect to a major system, the Director shall terminate the major system unless the Director submits to Congress a Major System Congressional Report containing a certification in accordance with paragraph (2) and the information described in paragraph (3). The Director shall submit such Major System Congressional Report and certification not later than 90 days after the date the Director receives the relevant major system cost report under subsection (b) or (c) of section 3101 of this title.

(2)A certification described by this paragraph with respect to a major system is a written certification that—

(A)the continuation of the major system is essential to the national security;

(B)there are no alternatives to the major system that will provide acceptable capability to meet the intelligence requirement at less cost;

(C)the new estimates of the total acquisition cost have been determined by the Director to be reasonable;

(D)the major system is a higher priority than other systems whose funding must be reduced to accommodate the growth in cost of the major system; and

(E)the management structure for the major system is adequate to manage and control the total acquisition cost.

(3)A Major System Congressional Report accompanying a written certification under paragraph (2) shall include, in addition to the requirements of section 3101(e) of this title, the root cause analysis and assessment carried out pursuant to subsection (a), the basis for each determination made in accordance with subparagraphs (A) through (E) of paragraph (2), and a description of all funding changes made as a result of the growth in the cost of the major system, including reductions made in funding for other systems to accommodate such cost growth, together with supporting documentation.

(c)If the Director elects not to terminate a major system pursuant to subsection (b), the Director shall—

(1)restructure the major system in a manner that addresses the root cause or causes of the critical cost growth, as identified pursuant to subsection (a), and ensures that the system has an appropriate management structure as set forth in the certification submitted pursuant to subsection (b)(2)(E);

(2)rescind the most recent Milestone approval for the major system;

(3)require a new Milestone approval for the major system before taking any action to enter a new contract, exercise an option under an existing contract, or otherwise extend the scope of an existing contract under the system, except to the extent determined necessary by the Milestone Decision Authority, on a nondelegable basis, to ensure that the system may be restructured as intended by the Director without unnecessarily wasting resources;

(4)establish a revised current Baseline Estimate for the major system based upon an updated cost estimate; and

(5)conduct regular reviews of the major system.

(d)If a major system is terminated pursuant to subsection (b), the Director shall submit to Congress a written report setting forth—

(1)an explanation of the reasons for terminating the major system;

(2)the alternatives considered to address any problems in the major system; and

(3)the course the Director plans to pursue to meet any intelligence requirements otherwise intended to be met by the major system.

(e)Any report or certification required to be submitted under this section may be submitted in a classified form.

(f)(1)The Director may waive the requirements of subsections (d)(2), (e), and (g) of section 3101 of this title and subsections (a)(2), (b), (c), and (d) of this section with respect to a major system if the Director determines that at least 90 percent of the amount of the current Baseline Estimate for the major system has been expended.

(2)(A)If the Director grants a waiver under paragraph (1) with respect to a major system, the Director shall submit to the congressional intelligence committees written notice of the waiver that includes—

(i)the information described in section 3101(f) of this title; and

(ii)if the current total acquisition cost of the major system has increased by a percentage equal to or greater than the critical cost growth threshold—

(I)a determination of the root cause or causes of the critical cost growth, as described in subsection (a)(1); and

(II)a certification that includes the elements described in subparagraphs (A), (B), and (E) of subsection (b)(2).

(B)The Director shall submit the written notice required by subparagraph (A) not later than 90 days after the date that the Director receives a major system cost report under subsection (b) or (c) of section 3101 of this title that indicates that the total acquisition cost for the major system has increased by a percentage equal to or greater than the significant cost growth threshold or critical cost growth threshold.

(g)In this section, the terms “cost estimate”, “critical cost growth threshold”, “current Baseline Estimate”, “major system”, and “total acquisition cost” have the meaning given those terms in section 3101(a) of this title.

Editorial Notes

Codification Section was formerly classified to section 415a–8 of this title prior to editorial reclassification and renumbering as this section.

§3102 Critical Cost Growth in Major Systems

Summary

Title 50, §3102

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Editorial Notes

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