§563a Acquisition Justification and Reports

Summary

Before the agency buys or installs any security technology, the Administrator must show the purchase is justified by doing an analysis that follows the Department’s rules. The review must cover eight things: what risks and scenarios the technology would address; how it fits the Department’s Plan; a comparison of total lifecycle costs to expected measurable and non-measurable benefits; other options (including changes to policy or procedures); likely privacy and civil liberties effects, with input from privacy advocates when possible; whether it follows the Department Privacy Officer’s fair information practices; any health or safety risks; and an estimate of benefits for commercial airline passengers. At least 30 days before awarding any contract over $30,000,000, the Administrator must send the analysis results and a certification that the security benefits justify the cost to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives. If there is a known or suspected imminent threat, the Administrator may cut the 30-day period to 5 days and must immediately notify those same committees about the threat.