CBP Does Not Have a Comprehensive Strategy for Meeting Its LS-NII Needs

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) does not have a comprehensive strategy for meeting its LS-NII scanning needs at all CBP locations. Instead, CBP used multiple plans, such as its Multi-Year Investment and Management Plan, and individual acquisition plans for each type of LS-NII equipment it may purchase. At times, these acquisition plans contained conflicting information and did not align with the program’s approved life-cycle cost estimate. We made three recommendations to improve CBP’s acquisition planning for LS-NII needs and ensure effective investments for its non-intrusive inspection program. We recommended the DHS Under Secretary for Management require the acquisition program office to develop an approved strategy that aligns its NII key acquisition documents with CBP’s evolving investments in critical LS-NII equipment. In addition, the CBP Component Acquisition Executive should implement procedures to ensure better alignment and tracking of reliable LS-NII data, and ensure an NII strategy encompasses an approved Acquisition Program Baseline that includes key performance baselines for all critical LS-NII equipment. The Department did not concur with one recommendation but concurred with two of our three recommendations.