[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 147 (Tuesday, September 12, 2017)]
[House]
[Pages H7241-H7242]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
{time} 1245
UNIFYING DHS INTELLIGENCE ENTERPRISE ACT
Mr. PERRY. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill
(H.R. 2468) to amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish a
homeland intelligence doctrine for 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. 2468
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 ``Unifying DHS Intelligence
Enterprise Act''.
SEC. 2. HOMELAND INTELLIGENCE DOCTRINE.
(a) In General.--Subtitle A of title II of the Homeland
Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 121 et seq.) is amended by
adding at the end the following new section:
``SEC. 210G. HOMELAND INTELLIGENCE DOCTRINE.
``(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date
of the enactment of this section, the Secretary, acting
through the Chief Intelligence Officer of the Department, in
coordination with intelligence components of the Department,
the Office of the General Counsel, the Privacy Office, and
the Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, shall
develop and disseminate written Department-wide guidance for
the processing, analysis, production, and dissemination of
homeland security information (as such term is defined in
section 892) and terrorism information (as such term is
defined in section 1016 of the Intelligence Reform and
Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (6 U.S.C. 485)).
``(b) Contents.--The guidance required under subsection (a)
shall, at a minimum, include the following:
``(1) A description of guiding principles and purposes of
the Department's intelligence enterprise.
``(2) A summary of the roles and responsibilities of each
intelligence component of the Department and programs of the
intelligence components of the Department in the processing,
analysis, production, or dissemination of homeland security
information and terrorism information, including relevant
authorities and restrictions applicable to each intelligence
component of the Department and programs of each such
intelligence component.
``(3) Guidance for the processing, analysis, and production
of such information.
``(4) Guidance for the dissemination of such information,
including within the Department, among and between Federal
departments and agencies, among and between State, local,
tribal, and territorial governments, including law
enforcement, and with foreign partners and the private
sector.
``(5) An assessment and description of how the
dissemination to the intelligence community (as such term is
defined in section 3(4) of the National Security Act of 1947
(50 U.S.C. 3003(4))) and Federal law enforcement of homeland
security information and terrorism information assists such
entities in carrying out their respective missions.
``(c) Form.--The guidance required under subsection (a)
shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a
classified annex.
``(d) Annual Review.--For each of the five fiscal years
beginning with the fiscal year that begins after the date of
the enactment of this section, the Secretary shall conduct a
review of the guidance required under subsection (a) and, as
appropriate, revise such guidance.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents in section
1(b) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 is amended by
inserting after the item relating to section 210F the
following new item:
``Sec. 210G. Homeland intelligence doctrine.''.
SEC. 3. ANALYSTS FOR THE CHIEF INTELLIGENCE OFFICER.
Paragraph (1) of section 201(e) of the Homeland Security
Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 121(e)) is amended by adding at the end
the following new sentence: ``The Secretary shall also
provide the Chief Intelligence Officer with a staff having
appropriate expertise and experience to assist the Chief
Intelligence Officer.''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Pennsylvania (Mr. Perry) and the gentlewoman from New York (Miss Rice)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Pennsylvania.
General Leave
Mr. PERRY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have
5 legislative days within which 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 Pennsylvania?
There was no objection.
Mr. PERRY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, 16 years ago, an unprecedented attack against the United
States revealed immense gaps in how the United States approached
domestic security and information sharing. As a result, the Department
of Homeland Security was established to consolidate 22 existing Federal
agencies and reshape the domestic intelligence and counterterrorism
structure in the United States.
Over the years, DHS has matured and refined its Intelligence
Enterprise, or what we know as DHS IE. Even now, however, the
Department has struggled to fully unify the various intelligence
offices within the component agencies. This has limited the value DHS
provides to the intelligence community and its State and local
partners. Disparate guidance for the intelligence components within DHS
undermines the Department's ability to fully utilize important data and
conduct analysis.
DHS needs to follow the model of many other members of the
intelligence community and produce an intelligence doctrine that
clearly articulates roles and priorities across the DHS Intelligence
Enterprise. The lack of this internal structure reflects a painful
legacy from the pre-9/11 era in which bureaucracies operated as silos
and were poorly coordinated.
H.R. 2468 empowers DHS to address this continued failure. By
requiring the Department to produce guidance to all its components on
the processing, analysis, production, and dissemination of information
and intelligence, this bill helps to professionalize the DHS
Intelligence Enterprise. Such a doctrine will guide how operational
information from across DHS is incorporated into a wider strategic
Homeland Security picture. This will increase the use of Department-
specific information in its analytic products and processes.
H.R. 2468 also takes another step in strengthening the Department's
Intelligence Enterprise by formalizing the Department's existing
support for the DHS Chief Intelligence Officer, or the CINT. Though the
Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis, or the I&A, serves as
the Department's Chief Intelligence Officer, these two roles carry
different statutory authorities and distinct missions.
Therefore, Congress should support both functions by authorizing
staff support for the CINT. H.R. 2468 does not authorize new hiring
but, rather, reauthorizes the Department's existing staff assignment
and, most importantly, makes those assignments permanent.
It is now time to hold the Department accountable for developing a
common foundation among members of the Department's Intelligence
Enterprise. By requiring DHS to produce these guidelines and by
ensuring the Department's leadership is properly and reliably
supported, H.R. 2468 helps us to work to fulfill the promises made to
the American people 16 years ago: Never again.
I am very pleased the text of H.R. 2468 was included in the larger
DHS authorization bill, which passed this very House in July. I urge my
colleagues to support the standalone measure to improve the quality of
DHS' analytical
[[Page H7242]]
products and help the Department better serve the intelligence
community and its State and local partners.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Miss RICE of New York. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2468, the Unifying DHS
Intelligence Enterprise Act of 2017, and I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
Mr. Speaker, this measure seeks to help safeguard our Nation's
homeland security information. Specifically, it requires the Department
of Homeland Security to develop and distribute Departmentwide guidance
on the proper procedures for handling and sharing information related
to homeland security and terrorism.
The 9/11 Commission Report found that the U.S. Government did not
fully share or pool intelligence information prior to the attacks. In
response, policies and procedures were reformed at all levels to ensure
that critical national security information is properly shared.
Intelligence sharing is critical to terrorism prevention, but it must
be carried out in a manner that ensures that sensitive information is
properly handled and distributed. H.R. 2468 seeks to do just that.
The bill requires the establishment of rules and regulations for the
dissemination of such information both within DHS and with homeland
security stakeholders at the State and local levels as well as in the
private sector.
I urge my House colleagues to support this bipartisan legislation.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2468 has strong support on both sides of the aisle.
Effective security measures to improve our intelligence systems and
mechanisms are critical to the mission of protecting the homeland.
I thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Perry) for his work on
this important legislation, and I encourage my colleagues to support
it.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. PERRY. Mr. Speaker, I once again urge my colleagues to support
H.R. 2468, and I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Perry) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 2468, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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