[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5170 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5170

  To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to provide for a privacy 
official within each component of the Department of Homeland Security, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 29, 2008

Mr. Carney (for himself and Mr. Thompson of Mississippi) introduced the 
    following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Homeland 
                                Security

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to provide for a privacy 
official within each component of the Department of Homeland Security, 
                        and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Department of Homeland Security 
Component Privacy Officer Act of 2008''.

SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF PRIVACY OFFICIAL WITHIN EACH COMPONENT OF 
              DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY.

    (a) In General.--Subtitle C of title II of the Homeland Security 
Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 141 et seq.) is amended by inserting after 
section 222 the following new section:

``SEC. 222A. PRIVACY OFFICIALS.

    ``(a) Designation.--
            ``(1) In general.--For each component of the Department 
        under paragraph (2), the Secretary shall designate a full-time 
        privacy official, who shall report directly to the senior 
        official appointed under section 222. Each such official shall 
        have primary responsibility for privacy policy at that 
        official's component.
            ``(2) Components.--The components of the Department 
        referred to in this subparagraph are as follows:
                    ``(A) The Transportation Security Administration.
                    ``(B) The Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration 
                Services.
                    ``(C) Customs and Border Protection.
                    ``(D) Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
                    ``(E) The Federal Emergency Management Agency.
                    ``(F) The Coast Guard.
                    ``(G) The Directorate of Science and Technology.
                    ``(H) The Office of Intelligence and Analysis.
                    ``(I) The Directorate for National Protection and 
                Programs.
    ``(b) Responsibilities.--Each privacy official designated under 
subsection (a) shall have the following responsibilities with respect 
to the component of the Department for which that official is 
responsible:
            ``(1) Advising the head of that component on privacy 
        considerations when any law, regulation, program, policy, 
        procedure, or guideline is proposed, developed, or implemented.
            ``(2) Assuring that the use of technologies sustain or 
        enhance privacy protections relating to the use, collection, 
        and disclosure of personal information within the component.
            ``(3) Assuring that personal information contained in 
        Privacy Act systems of records is handled in full compliance 
        with section 552a of title 5, United States Code.
            ``(4) Conducting privacy impact assessments, in conjunction 
        with and under the direction of the senior official appointed 
        under section 522, for any new or substantially changed program 
        or technology that collects, maintains, or disseminates 
        personally identifiable information within the official's 
        component.
            ``(5) Conducting privacy impact assessments, in conjunction 
        with and under the direction of the senior official appointed 
        under section 522, for proposed rulemakings and regulations 
        within the component.
            ``(6) Conducting supervision of programs, regulations, 
        policies, procedures, or guidelines to ensure the protection of 
        privacy and, where necessary, promulgating guidelines and 
        conducting oversight to ensure the protection of privacy.
            ``(7) Providing the senior official appointed under section 
        222 with written materials and information regarding the 
        relevant activities of the component or office that are needed 
        by the senior official to successfully prepare the reports the 
        senior official submits to Congress.
    ``(c) Role of Component Heads.--The head of a component identified 
in subsection (a)(2) shall ensure that the privacy official designated 
under subsection (a) for that component--
            ``(1) has the information, material, and resources 
        necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of such official 
        under this section;
            ``(2) is advised of proposed policy changes and the 
        development of new programs, rules, regulations, procedures, or 
        guidelines during the planning stage and is included in the 
        decision-making process; and
            ``(3) is given access to material and personnel the privacy 
        official deems necessary to carry out the official's 
        responsibilities.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents in section 1(b) of 
such Act is amended by inserting after the item related to section 222 
the following new item:

``222A. Privacy officials.''.
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