6 U.S.C. § 396: Lead system integrator…

Summary

No company acting as a lead system integrator for a DHS major system contract entered into after July 1, 2007 may have a direct financial stake in building any individual system or part of a larger system. An exception lets the company have that stake if the Secretary of Homeland Security certifies to certain House and Senate committees that the company was picked through a competitive process and steps were taken to avoid conflicts of interest, or if the company was chosen as a lower-tier subcontractor by another firm in a process it did not control. The rule still allows lead integrators to do work that joins two or more systems together. By July 1, 2007, the Secretary must update DHS purchasing rules to define “lead system integrator” clearly and to list what contract and fee types are appropriate for them.

Title 6, §396

Domestic Security, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)In general

With respect to contracts entered into after July 1, 2007, and except as provided in subsection (b), no entity performing lead system integrator functions in the acquisition of a major system by the Department of Homeland Security may have any direct financial interest in the development or construction of any individual system or element of any system of systems.

(b)Exception

An entity described in subsection (a) may have a direct financial interest in the development or construction of an individual system or element of a system of systems if—

(1)the Secretary of Homeland Security certifies to the Committees on Appropriations of the Senate and the House of Representatives, the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives, the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives, the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate, and the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation of the Senate that—

(A)the entity was selected by the Department of Homeland Security as a contractor to develop or construct the system or element concerned through the use of competitive procedures; and

(B)the Department took appropriate steps to prevent any organizational conflict of interest in the selection process; or

(2)the entity was selected by a subcontractor to serve as a lower-tier subcontractor, through a process over which the entity exercised no control.

(c)Construction

Nothing in this section shall be construed to preclude an entity described in subsection (a) from performing work necessary to integrate two or more individual systems or elements of a system of systems with each other.

(d)Regulations update

Not later than July 1, 2007, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall update the acquisition regulations of the Department of Homeland Security in order to specify fully in such regulations the matters with respect to lead system integrators set forth in this section. Included in such regulations shall be: (1) a precise and comprehensive definition of the term “lead system integrator”, modeled after that used by the Department of Defense; and (2) a specification of various types of contracts and fee structures that are appropriate for use by lead system integrators in the production, fielding, and sustainment of complex systems.

Editorial Notes

Codification Section was enacted as part of the U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans’ Care, Katrina Recovery, and Iraq Accountability Appropriations Act, 2007, and not as part of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 which comprises this chapter.

§396 Lead System Integrator; Financial Interests

Summary

Title 6, §396

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Citations & Metadata