[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1617 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1617

  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

                             March 19, 2009

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 2009''.

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, in consultation with 
        the head of the component, designate a full-time privacy 
        official, who shall report directly to the senior official 
        appointed under section 222. Each such component privacy 
        official shall have primary responsibility for its component in 
        implementing the privacy policy for the Department established 
        by the senior official appointed under section 222.
            ``(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 report directly to both the head of the official's 
component and the senior official appointed under section 222, and 
shall have the following responsibilities with respect to the 
component:
            ``(1) Serve as such senior official's main point of contact 
        at the component to implement the polices and directives of 
        such senior official in carrying out section 222.
            ``(2) Advise the head of that component on privacy 
        considerations when any law, regulation, program, policy, 
        procedure, or guideline is proposed, developed, or implemented.
            ``(3) Assure that the use of technologies by the component 
        sustain or enhance privacy protections relating to the use, 
        collection, and disclosure of personal information within the 
        component.
            ``(4) Identify privacy issues related to component programs 
        and apply appropriate privacy policies in accordance with 
        Federal privacy law and Departmental policies developed to 
        ensure that the component protects the privacy of individuals 
        affected by its activities.
            ``(5) Monitor the component's compliance with all 
        applicable Federal privacy laws and regulations, implement 
        corrective, remedial, and preventive actions and notify the 
        senior official appointed under section 222 of privacy issues 
        or non-compliance, whenever necessary.
            ``(6) Ensure that personal information contained in Privacy 
        Act systems of records is handled in full compliance with 
        section 552a of title 5, United States Code.
            ``(7) Assist in drafting and reviewing privacy impact 
        assessments, privacy threshold assessments, and system of 
        records notices, in conjunction with and under the direction of 
        the senior official appointed under section 222, for any new or 
        substantially changed program or technology that collects, 
        maintains, or disseminates personally identifiable information 
        within the official's component.
            ``(8) Assist in drafting and reviewing privacy impact 
        assessments, privacy threshold assessments, and system of 
        records notices in conjunction with and under the direction of 
        the senior official appointed under section 222, for proposed 
        rulemakings and regulations within the component.
            ``(9) Conduct supervision of programs, regulations, 
        policies, procedures, or guidelines to ensure the component's 
        protection of privacy and, as necessary, promulgate guidelines 
        and conduct oversight to ensure the protection of privacy.
            ``(10) Implement and monitor privacy training for component 
        employees and contractors in coordination with the senior 
        official appointed under section 222.
            ``(11) Provide the senior official appointed under section 
        222 with written materials and information regarding the 
        relevant activities of the component, including privacy 
        violations and abuse, that are needed by the senior official to 
        successfully prepare the reports the senior official submits to 
        Congress and prepares on behalf of the Department.
            ``(12) Any other responsibilities assigned by the Secretary 
        or the senior official appointed under section 222.
    ``(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 
        decisionmaking process; and
            ``(3) is given access to material and personnel the privacy 
        official deems necessary to carry out the official's 
        responsibilities.
    ``(d) Limitation.--Nothing in this section shall be considered to 
abrogate the role and responsibilities of the senior official appointed 
under section 222.''.
    (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:

``Sec. 222A. Privacy officials.''.
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