[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4713 Referred in Senate (RFS)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4713
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
December 10, 2019
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security
and Governmental Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
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
protections into all programs and activities of the Department.
``(3) Conduct civil rights and civil liberties impact
assessments, as appropriate, including prior to the
implementation of new Department regulations, initiatives,
programs, or policies.
``(4) Conduct periodic reviews of policies, procedures, and
activities of the Department relating to civil rights and civil
liberties.
``(5) Provide policy advice, recommendations, and other
technical assistance relating to civil rights and civil
liberties 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
at the Department, unless the Inspector General of the
Department determines that any such complaint should be
investigated by the Inspector General.
``(7) Initiate reviews, investigations, and assessments of
the administration of the programs and activities by the
Department relating to civil rights and civil liberties, 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,
workforce diversity, and promotion of the 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 Office;
``(B) summary of reports of investigations that
result in final recommendations that are issued by the
Officer upon completion of investigations carried out
pursuant to paragraph (6); and
``(C) summaries of impact assessments issued by the
Officer and carried out pursuant to paragraph (3) 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 report and redress processes
and advising the Secretary and heads of components,
directorates, offices, and other personnel within the
Department of concerns raised by such individuals and
communities.
``(c) Coordination With Inspector General.--
``(1) Authority to investigate possible abuses.--The
Officer for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties may investigate
any matter referred to in paragraph (6) or (7) of subsection
(b) after fulfilling the coordination requirements under
paragraph (2) with respect to such matter.
``(2) Coordination requirements.--
``(A) Referral of matters to inspector general.--
Before initiating any investigation described under
paragraph (1), the Officer for Civil Rights and Civil
Liberties shall refer the matter and all related
complaints to the Inspector General of the Department.
``(B) Inspector general responsibilities.--
``(i) Determination and notification.--Not
later than 5 business days after the receipt of
a matter referred under subparagraph (A), the
Inspector General shall--
``(I) make a determination
regarding whether the Inspector General
intends to initiate an audit or
investigation of the matter referred
under subparagraph (A); and
``(II) notify the Officer of such
determination.
``(ii) Audits and investigations.--If the
Inspector General notifies the Officer for
Civil Rights and Civil Liberties that the
Inspector General intends to initiate an audit
or investigation, the Inspector General shall--
``(I) initiate such audit or
investigate by not later than 90 days
after providing such notification; or
``(II) not later than 3 days after
the end of the 90-day period specified
in subclause (I), notify the Officer
that such audit or investigation was
not initiated.
``(C) Provision of assistance.--At the request of
the Inspector General, the Officer for Civil Rights and
Civil Liberties may provide assistance to the Inspector
General on any investigation or audit initiated by the
Inspector General based on a referral under
subparagraph (A).
``(D) Investigation by officer.--The Officer for
Civil Rights and Civil Liberties may investigate a
matter referred to the Inspector General under
subparagraph (A) only if--
``(i) the Inspector General notifies the
Officer for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
that the Inspector General does not intend to
initiate an audit or investigation relating to
that matter; or
``(ii) the Inspector General provides
notification under subparagraph (B)(ii)(II)
that an audit or investigation was not
initiated.
``(d) 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, a
referral to the Inspector General of the Department, or
any other action taken.
``(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) a summary of which shall be made publicly
available;
``(C) shall not include any personally identifiable
information related to any individual involved in such
investigation; and
``(D) may include a classified appendix, as the
Officer determines appropriate.
``(3) Submittal to heads of operational components.--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.
``(4) Reports to congress.--Upon the conclusion of any
investigation conducted by the Officer for Civil Rights and
Civil Liberties under paragraph (6) or (7) of subsection (b),
the Officer shall submit to Congress a report on the
investigation, which shall be prepared and submitted without
any prior comment or amendment by the Secretary, Deputy
Secretary, or any other officer or employee of the Department,
unless the Officer seeks such comment.
``(e) 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 coordinate with and
provide information to the Officer for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
of the Department on matters related to civil rights and civil
liberties within the components.
``(f) Access to Information.--The Officer for Civil Rights and
Civil Liberties of the Department--
``(1) shall 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); and
``(2) may, to the extent the Officer determines necessary,
and subject to the approval of the Secretary--
``(A) 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 documentary evidence
necessary in the performance of the responsibilities of
the Officer under this section; and
``(B) 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.
``(g) 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, 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.''.
SEC. 3. COMPTROLLER GENERAL REVIEW.
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this
Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to
Congress a report on subsection (b)(11) of section 705 of the Homeland
Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 345), as amended by section 2.
Passed the House of Representatives December 9, 2019.
Attest:
CHERYL L. JOHNSON,
Clerk.