[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4713 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4713

To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to make certain improvements 
in the Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties of the Department of 
               Homeland Security, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 17, 2019

   Mr. Green of Texas (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 make certain improvements 
in the Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties 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 
Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Authorization Act''.

SEC. 2. OFFICER FOR CIVIL RIGHTS AND CIVIL LIBERTIES.

    (a) In General.--Section 705 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 
(6 U.S.C. 345) is amended--
            (1) in the section heading, by striking ``establishment 
        of''; and
            (2) by striking subsections (a) and (b) and inserting the 
        following new subsections:
    ``(a) In General.--There is established within the Department an 
Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. The head of such Office is 
the Officer for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, who shall report 
directly to the Secretary.
    ``(b) Responsibilities.--The Officer for Civil Rights and Civil 
Liberties shall carry out the following responsibilities:
            ``(1) Oversee compliance with constitutional, statutory, 
        regulatory, policy, and other requirements relating to the 
        civil rights and civil liberties of individuals affected by the 
        programs and activities of the Department.
            ``(2) Integrate civil rights and civil liberties into all 
        programs and activities of the Department.
            ``(3) Conduct civil rights and civil liberties impact 
        assessments, as appropriate.
            ``(4) Conduct periodic reviews of policies and activities 
        of the Department.
            ``(5) Provide policy advice, recommendations, and other 
        technical assistance to the Secretary and to heads of 
        components, directorates, and offices and other personnel 
        within the Department.
            ``(6) Review, assess, and investigate complaints, including 
        complaints filed by members of the public, and information 
        indicating possible abuses of civil rights or civil liberties, 
        unless the Inspector General of the Department determines that 
        any such complaint or information should be investigated by the 
        Inspector General.
            ``(7) Initiate reviews, assessments, and investigations of 
        the administration of the programs and activities by the 
        Department, as the Officer determines necessary.
            ``(8) Coordinate with the Privacy Officer to ensure that--
                    ``(A) programs, policies, and procedures involving 
                civil rights, civil liberties, and privacy 
                considerations are addressed in an integrated and 
                comprehensive manner; and
                    ``(B) Congress receives appropriate reports 
                regarding such programs, policies, and procedures.
            ``(9) Lead the equal employment opportunity programs of the 
        Department, including complaint management and adjudication, 
        and promote workforce diversity and merit system principles.
            ``(10) Make publicly available through accessible 
        communications channels, including the website of the 
        Department--
                    ``(A) information on the responsibilities and 
                functions of, and how to contact, the Officer; and
                    ``(B) reports that are issued by the Officer upon 
                completion of investigations carried out pursuant to 
                paragraph (6) or (7).
            ``(11) Engage with individuals and communities whose civil 
        rights and civil liberties may be affected by programs and 
        activities of the Department, including by informing such 
        individuals and communities about redress processes and 
        advising the Secretary and heads of components, directorates, 
        offices, and other personnel within the Department of any 
        concerns raised by such individuals and communities.
    ``(c) Transparency.--
            ``(1) Complaints.--In the case of a complaint made 
        concerning allegations of abuses of civil rights and civil 
        liberties under paragraph (6) of subsection (b), the Officer 
        for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties shall--
                    ``(A) provide to the individual who made the 
                complaint notice of the receipt of such complaint 
                within 30 days of receiving the complaint; and
                    ``(B) inform the complainant of the determination 
                of the Officer regarding the initiation of a review, 
                assessment, or investigation within the Office or a 
                referral to the Inspector General of the Department.
            ``(2) Investigations.--In the case of an investigation 
        initiated by the Officer pursuant to paragraph (6) or (7) of 
        subsection (b), upon the conclusion of the investigation, the 
        Officer shall produce a report on the investigation which--
                    ``(A) shall include the findings and 
                recommendations of the Officer;
                    ``(B) shall be made publicly available; and
                    ``(C) may include a classified appendix, as the 
                Officer determines appropriate.
            ``(3) Submittal to heads of operational compoenents.--The 
        Officer shall transmit a copy of each report produced under 
        paragraph (2) to the Secretary and to the relevant head of each 
        relevant operational component of the Department.
    ``(d) Component Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Officer.--The head 
of each of the operational components of the Department shall designate 
a career appointee (as such term is defined in section 3132 of title 5, 
United States Code) from such component as the Officer for Civil Rights 
and Civil Liberties of that component. The Officer for Civil Rights and 
Civil Liberties of each such component shall report to the Officer for 
Civil Rights and Civil Liberties of the Department.
    ``(e) Access to Information.--The Officer for Civil Rights and 
Civil Liberties of the Department shall--
            ``(1) have access to all records, reports, audits, reviews, 
        documents, papers, recommendations, and other materials 
        available to the Department that relate to programs and 
        operations with respect to the responsibilities of the Officer 
        under subsection (b);
            ``(2) subject to the approval of the Secretary, may, to the 
        extent the Officer determines necessary, issue a subpoena to 
        require the production, by any person other than a Federal 
        agency, of all information, documents, reports, answers, 
        records, accounts, papers, and other data or documentary 
        evidence necessary to the performance of the responsibilities 
        of the Officer under this section; and
            ``(3) administer to or take from any person an oath, 
        affirmation, or affidavit whenever necessary in the performance 
        of the responsibilities of the Officer under this section.
    ``(f) Annual Report.--Not later than March 31 of each year, the 
Officer for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties of the Department shall 
submit directly to the President, the President of the Senate, the 
Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the appropriate committees 
and subcommittees of Congress, without any prior comment or amendment 
by the Secretary, Deputy Secretary, or any other officer or employee of 
the Department, a report on the implementation of this section during 
the year preceding the year during which the report is submitted. Each 
such report shall include, for the year covered by the report--
            ``(1) any allegations of abuse described under subsection 
        (b)(6) and any actions by the Department or a component, 
        directorate, or office of the Department that the Officer 
        identifies as responsive to such allegations;
            ``(2) a list of Department programs and activities for 
        which civil rights and civil liberties impact assessments were 
        conducted, or policy advice, recommendations, or other 
        technical assistance was provided;
            ``(3) any recommendations issued by the Officer to the 
        Secretary or the head of a component, directorate, or office, 
        together with information on the status of the implementation 
        of such recommendations;
            ``(4) information on the diversity and equal employment 
        opportunity activities of the Department, including information 
        on complaint management and adjudication of equal employment 
        opportunity complaints and efforts to ensure compliance 
        throughout the Department with equal employment opportunity 
        requirements;
            ``(5) a description of any efforts to engage with 
        individuals and communities whose civil rights and civil 
        liberties may be affected by activities carried out by the 
        Department, including public meetings; and
            ``(6) information on total staffing for the Office of Civil 
        Rights and Civil Liberties, including--
                    ``(A) the number of full-time, part-time and 
                contract support personnel; and
                    ``(B) information on the number of employees whose 
                primary responsibilities include supporting the Officer 
                in carrying out paragraph (9) of subsection (b).''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The item relating to section 705 in 
section 1(b) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 is amended to read as 
follows:

``Sec. 705. Officer for civil rights and civil liberties.''.
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