[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 127 (Tuesday, July 29, 2008)]
[House]
[Pages H7175-H7176]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY COMPONENT PRIVACY OFFICER ACT OF 2008

  Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules 
and pass the bill (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, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 5170

       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, 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 decision-making 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.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Mississippi (Mr. Thompson) and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. 
Bilirakis) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Mississippi.


                             General Leave

  Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent 
that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their 
remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under 
consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Mississippi?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this 
measure and yield myself as much time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 5170, the Department of 
Homeland Security Component Privacy Officer Act of 2008.
  The Department's Chief Privacy Officer was the first ever statutorily 
created Federal Privacy Officer. The creation of this Office served as 
the ``gold standard'' for other Federal agencies to follow.
  Along those same lines, this bill advances the committee's 
authorization process by improving DHS and making it the first Federal 
agency to have statutorily created privacy officers in its component 
agencies. Hopefully, this will put the Department at the forefront of 
individual privacy protection.
  Under the current structure, the Chief Privacy Officer has to rely on 
component agencies--such as TSA, Customs and Border Protection and 
FEMA--for information concerning programs and policy that impact 
privacy rights. Sometimes this information is shared, sometimes it's 
not. When it's not, the risk includes spending valuable taxpayer funds 
on programs that may become stalled or cancelled due to privacy 
concerns or missteps.
  The component agencies are the pulse of the Department of Homeland 
Security. Most homeland security efforts stem from component agency 
actions. Privacy officers need to be where the action is happening, not 
waiting for a phone call after decisions have already been made.
  Establishing privacy officers in the component agencies that make up 
the Department of Homeland Security is the first step in ensuring that 
privacy protections are in place at the beginning of the process.
  Under the leadership of Management, Investigations and Oversight 
Subcommittee chairman, Mr. Carney, this legislation is informed by 
Government Accountability Office findings, internal discussions with 
the Department's Office of Privacy, and publications released by the 
DHS Chief Privacy Officer.
  H.R. 5170 requires the component privacy officers to, among other 
things,

[[Page H7176]]

serve as the main point of contact between their component head and the 
DHS Chief Privacy Officer; draft and review Privacy Impact Assessments 
and Federal Register notices published by their component; monitor the 
component's compliance with all applicable Federal privacy laws and 
regulations; and conduct supervision of programs, regulations, 
policies, procedures or guidelines to ensure the component's protection 
of privacy.
  As a result, Mr. Speaker, of the committee's oversight and its 
commitment to the authorization process, this bill would ensure that 
privacy considerations are integrated into the decision-making process 
at all of the DHS components.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this legislation that 
is not only critical to privacy rights, but the security of our country 
as well.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  I rise today in support of H.R. 5170, the Department of Homeland 
Security Component Privacy Officer Act, sponsored by my committee 
colleague, Chris Carney.
  H.R. 5170 would direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to 
designate a full-time privacy official within components of the 
Department. These components include the Transportation Security 
Administration, Citizenship and Immigration Services, Customs and 
Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, FEMA, the Coast 
Guard, the Science and Technology Directorate, the Office of 
Intelligence and Analysis, and NPPD.
  The bill provides that each component privacy official will report 
directly to the Department's Chief Privacy Officer. Each component 
privacy officer shall have primary responsibility for implementing the 
Department's privacy policy within its component.
  The bill provides for a dual direct report relationship to both the 
privacy official's component head and the Department's Chief Privacy 
Officer in carrying out his or her duties.
  I think we all can agree that protecting the privacy of our Nation's 
citizens is of great importance, and that privacy considerations should 
be integrated into the decision-making process at all DHS components.

                              {time}  1230

  I am pleased that the Department has already recognized the 
importance of privacy protection. In November, 2007, Secretary Chertoff 
signed a DHS memorandum entitled Designation of Component Level Privacy 
Officers. This memorandum calls for the designation of full-time 
component privacy officers at CBP, ICE, FEMA, the Bureau of Citizen and 
Immigration Services, the Office of Intelligence and Analysis, and the 
Science and Technology Directorate. Both TSA, US-VISIT, and the Bureau 
of Citizen and Immigration Services had their own privacy officials for 
some time.
  H.R. 5170 takes the additional step of statutorily mandating 
component privacy officials. The approach this bill takes certainly has 
much merit, though I hope that we can address some of the Department's 
concerns about the impacts the bill's mandates may have on the ability 
of the next Secretary to manage the administration of the Department as 
the legislative process moves on.
  Mr. Speaker, having said that, I intend to support H.R. 5170 and 
encourage all our colleagues to do the same.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests 
for time, and if the gentleman from Florida has no speakers, then I am 
prepared to close after the gentleman closes.
  Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, before I yield back the balance of my 
time, I just want to emphasize how important I believe it is for the 
House to consider both an authorization and appropriations bill for the 
Department of Homeland Security this year. Every Republican member of 
the Committee on Homeland Security has signed a letter to the Speaker, 
Speaker Pelosi, urging her to bring the fiscal year 2009 DHS 
Appropriations bill, which the Appropriations Committee has already 
approved, to the floor immediately. And I will add that the chairman 
has done an outstanding job. We would respectfully renew that request 
today.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as 
I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, public trust in the Department's ability to protect 
personal privacy rights is abysmally low.
  Recently, the Department's Inspector General determined that the 
Science and Technology Directorate's ADVISE program should be cancelled 
due to privacy concerns. This determination was made after the 
Department had spent $42 billion on the program. We also learned that 
the chief privacy officer was not brought into the process until almost 
2 years after the system had been deployed.
  This bill would put a privacy officer in the Science and Technology 
Directorate. Moreover, the Automated Targeting System, which is a 
Customs and Border Protection program, has been heavily criticized by 
privacy advocates. Again, this was a program that was operated for some 
time in the dark without proper safeguards and departmental oversight. 
Under this bill CBP would get a privacy officer too.
  Quite frankly, Mr. Speaker, there has been a litany of DHS programs 
that have been cancelled, delayed, or discontinued due to privacy 
concerns. Almost all of these were the products of Department Component 
Agencies that do not have a privacy officer within their ranks.
  H.R. 5170 will ensure that privacy protections and appropriate 
safeguards are part and parcel of how each component develops its 
policies and programs.
  I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Thompson) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 5170, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a 
quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not 
present.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.
  The point of no quorum is considered withdrawn.

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