[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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