Border Security Technology Accountability Act of 2017
Latest action. Placed on Senate legislative calendarThe list of measures reported out of committee and eligible for floor action. Being on the calendar is not a promise of a vote.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) under General Orders. Calendar No. 379.
Border Security Technology Accountability Act of 2017
This bill amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to require the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to: (1) ensure that each border security technology acquisition program that is a major acquisition program has an acquisition program baseline approved by the relevant acquisition decision authority; (2) document program program cost, schedule, and performance compliance; and (3) have a plan for each program to meet implementation objectives by managing contractor performance.
DHS and U.S. Customs and Border Protection shall ensure that border security technology acquisition program managers adhere to internal control standards identified by the Government Accountability Office.
DHS shall submit a plan for testing border security technology so that new border security technologies are evaluated to ensure: (1) compliance with relevant departmental acquisition policies and the Federal Acquisition Regulation, and (2) the effectiveness of taxpayer dollars.
"Major acquisition program" means a DHS acquisition program that is estimated by DHS to require an eventual total expenditure of at least $300 million over its life cycle cost.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Reported to Senate without amendment" stage on April 16, 2018. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on April 16, 2018: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 379.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 115th Congress (2017-18), 442 of the 11,421 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.9 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ) introduced it on January 12, 2017, and 2 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 2 Democrats.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on January 12, 2017, 3528 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 3069 days ago, on April 16, 2018.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 115th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2019 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers