[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Pages 15813-15814]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 SOCIAL MEDIA WORKING GROUP ACT OF 2015

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 234, H.R. 623.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (H.R. 623) to amend the Homeland Security Act of 
     2002 to authorize the Department of Homeland Security to 
     establish a social media working group, and for other 
     purposes.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill, 
which had been reported from the Committee on Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs, with an amendment to strike all after the 
enacting clause and insert in lieu thereof the following:

                                H.R. 623

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``DHS Social Media Improvement 
     Act of 2015''.

     SEC. 2. SOCIAL MEDIA WORKING GROUP.

       (a) In General.--Title III of the Homeland Security Act of 
     2002 (6 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 
     the following:

     ``SEC. 318. SOCIAL MEDIA WORKING GROUP.

       ``(a) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish within 
     the Department a social media working group (in this section 
     referred to as the `Group').
       ``(b) Purpose.--In order to enhance the dissemination of 
     information through social media technologies between the 
     Department and appropriate stakeholders and to improve use of 
     social media technologies in support of preparedness, 
     response, and recovery, the Group shall identify, and provide 
     guidance and best practices to the emergency preparedness and 
     response community on, the use of social media technologies 
     before, during, and after a natural disaster or an act of 
     terrorism or other man-made disaster.
       ``(c) Membership.--
       ``(1) In general.--Membership of the Group shall be 
     composed of a cross section of subject matter experts from 
     Federal, State, local, tribal, territorial, and 
     nongovernmental organization practitioners, including 
     representatives from the following entities:
       ``(A) The Office of Public Affairs of the Department.
       ``(B) The Office of the Chief Information Officer of the 
     Department.
       ``(C) The Privacy Office of the Department.
       ``(D) The Federal Emergency Management Agency.
       ``(E) The Office of Disability Integration and Coordination 
     of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
       ``(F) The American Red Cross.
       ``(G) The Forest Service.
       ``(H) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
       ``(I) The United States Geological Survey.
       ``(J) The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
       ``(2) Chairperson; co-chairperson.--
       ``(A) Chairperson.--The Secretary, or a designee of the 
     Secretary, shall serve as the chairperson of the Group.
       ``(B) Co-chairperson.--The chairperson shall designate, on 
     a rotating basis, a representative from a State or local 
     government who is a member of the Group to serve as the co-
     chairperson of the Group.
       ``(3) Additional members.--The chairperson shall appoint, 
     on a rotating basis, qualified individuals to the Group. The 
     total number of such additional members shall--
       ``(A) be equal to or greater than the total number of 
     regular members under paragraph (1); and
       ``(B) include--
       ``(i) not fewer than 3 representatives from the private 
     sector; and
       ``(ii) representatives from--

       ``(I) State, local, tribal, and territorial entities, 
     including from--

       ``(aa) law enforcement;
       ``(bb) fire services;
       ``(cc) emergency management; and
       ``(dd) public health entities;

       ``(II) universities and academia; and
       ``(III) nonprofit disaster relief organizations.

       ``(4) Term limits.--The chairperson shall establish term 
     limits for individuals appointed to the Group under paragraph 
     (3).
       ``(d) Consultation With Non-members.--To the extent 
     practicable, the Group shall work with entities in the public 
     and private sectors to carry out subsection (b).
       ``(e) Meetings.--
       ``(1) Initial meeting.--Not later than 90 days after the 
     date of enactment of this section, the Group shall hold its 
     initial meeting.
       ``(2) Subsequent meetings.--After the initial meeting under 
     paragraph (1), the Group shall meet--
       ``(A) at the call of the chairperson; and
       ``(B) not less frequently than twice each year.
       ``(3) Virtual meetings.--Each meeting of the Group may be 
     held virtually.
       ``(f) Reports.--During each year in which the Group meets, 
     the Group shall submit to the appropriate congressional 
     committees a report that includes the following:
       ``(1) A review and analysis of current and emerging social 
     media technologies being used to support preparedness and 
     response activities related to natural disasters and acts of 
     terrorism and other man-made disasters.
       ``(2) A review of best practices and lessons learned on the 
     use of social media technologies during the response to 
     natural disasters and acts of terrorism and other man-made 
     disasters that occurred during the period covered by the 
     report at issue.
       ``(3) Recommendations to improve the Department's use of 
     social media technologies for emergency management purposes.
       ``(4) Recommendations to improve public awareness of the 
     type of information disseminated through social media 
     technologies, and how to access such information, during a 
     natural disaster or an act of terrorism or other man-made 
     disaster.
       ``(5) A review of available training for Federal, State, 
     local, tribal, and territorial officials on the use of social 
     media technologies in response to a natural disaster or an 
     act of terrorism or other man-made disaster.
       ``(6) A review of coordination efforts with the private 
     sector to discuss and resolve legal, operational, technical, 
     privacy, and security concerns.
       ``(g) Duration of Group.--
       ``(1) In general.--The Group shall terminate on the date 
     that is 5 years after the date of enactment of this section 
     unless the chairperson renews the Group for a successive 5-
     year period, prior to the date on which the Group would 
     otherwise terminate, by submitting to the Committee on 
     Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and 
     the Committee on

[[Page 15814]]

     Homeland Security of the House of Representatives a 
     certification that the continued existence of the Group is 
     necessary to fulfill the purpose described in subsection (b).
       ``(2) Continued renewal.--The chairperson may continue to 
     renew the Group for successive 5-year periods by submitting a 
     certification in accordance with paragraph (1) prior to the 
     date on which the Group would otherwise terminate.''.
       (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 317 the 
     following:

``Sec. 318. Social media working group.''.

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
committee-reported substitute amendment be agreed to, the bill, as 
amended, be read a third time and passed, and the motion to reconsider 
be considered made and laid upon the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The committee-reported amendment in the nature of a substitute was 
agreed to.
  The amendment was ordered to be engrossed, and the bill to be read a 
third time.
  The bill was read the third time.
  The bill (H.R. 623), as amended, was passed.

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