[House Report 117-446]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


117th Congress }                                          { Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2nd Session   }                                          { 117-446

======================================================================
 
                  DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY SEAL 
                          PROTECTION ACT OF 2022

                                _______
                                

 July 28, 2022.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

 Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, from the Committee on Homeland Security, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 7778]

    The Committee on Homeland Security, to whom was referred 
the bill (H.R. 7778) to amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 
to prohibit misuse of the Department of Homeland Security seal, 
and for other purposes, having considered the same, reports 
favorably thereon with an amendment and recommends that the 
bill as amended do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
Purpose and Summary..............................................     2
Background and Need for Legislation..............................     2
Hearing..........................................................     3
Committee Consideration..........................................     3
Committee Votes..................................................     3
Committee Oversight Findings.....................................     3
C.B.O. Estimate, New Budget Authority, Entitlement Authority, and 
  Tax Expenditures...............................................     3
Federal Mandates Statement.......................................     4
Duplicative Federal Programs.....................................     4
Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives............     4
Congressional Earmarks, Limited Tax Benefits, and Limited Tariff 
  Benefits.......................................................     4
Advisory Committee Statement.....................................     4
Applicability to Legislative Branch..............................     4
Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation...................     4
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............     5

    The amendment is as follows:
  Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
following:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

  This Act may be cited as the ``Department of Homeland Security Seal 
Protection Act of 2022''.

SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON MISUSE OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY 
                    SEAL.

  Subsection (a) of section 875 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 
U.S.C. 455) is amended to read as follows:
  ``(a) Seal.--
          ``(1) In general.--The Department shall have a seal, the 
        design of which shall be subject to the approval of the 
        President.
          ``(2) Protection of seal.--Except with the written permission 
        of the Secretary, no person may knowingly use the seal, or any 
        colorable imitation thereof, of the Department in a manner 
        reasonably calculated to convey the impression that the 
        Department or any organizational component or element of the 
        Department has approved, endorsed, or authorized such use.
          ``(3) Construction.--Nothing in this subsection may be 
        construed to restrict the use of the seal of the Department by 
        officers and employees of the Department in their course of 
        their official duties.
          ``(4) Existing design.--Notwithstanding paragraph (1), 
        nothing in this subsection renders unlawful the use of any seal 
        of the Department the design of which was lawful as of the date 
        of the enactment of this subsection.''.

                          Purpose and Summary

    H.R. 7778, the ``Department of Homeland Security Seal 
Protection Act of 2022,'' prohibits the use of the Department 
of Homeland Security's (DHS) seal or colorable imitation of the 
seal in a manner that gives the false impression that the 
Department or its components have authorized such use except 
with the written permission of the Secretary of Homeland 
Security. This bill specifies that DHS personnel are permitted 
to use the seal while conducting official duties. In addition, 
the bill includes a provision to protect current lawful users 
of existing seal designs at the time of enactment.

                  Background and Need for Legislation

    On August 11, 2021, DHS submitted a legislative proposal to 
Congress to enhance the protection of DHS's seal in response to 
challenges it has encountered when relying upon the general 
seal protection statute.
    Since June 2003, DHS has maintained a seal to symbolize its 
mission; it is incorporated in DHS uniforms and equipment as 
well as the branding of DHS components. There are provisions of 
law that generally prohibit the misappropriation or 
exploitation of a Federal agency's symbol.\1\ However, the DHS 
seal lacks specific statutory protections like the seals of 
other Federal departments and agencies. Departments and 
agencies with specific protections include the Department of 
the Treasury, Department of Defense, Department of Veterans 
Affairs, National Security Agency, Central Intelligence Agency, 
U.S. Marshals Service, and U.S. Marine Corps.\2\
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    \1\Unauthorized use is a violation of 18 U.S.C.  506, 701, and 
1017.
    \2\Examples of Federal departments and agencies whose seals are 
protected include: the Department of the Treasury (31 U.S.C.  333); 
Department of Defense (32 C.F.R.  212.6); Department of Veterans 
Affairs (38 C.F.R.  1.9); National Security Agency (50 U.S.C.  3613); 
Central Intelligence Agency (50 U.S.C.  3513); U.S. Marshals Service 
(18 U.S.C.  709); and U.S. Marine Corps (10 U.S.C.  8921).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    DHS has identified substantial misuse of its seal 
undermining the Department's core values of integrity, 
vigilance, and respect. Individuals have used the seal to 
impersonate DHS officers and agents and engage in crimes, and 
businesses have used it to convey the impression that the 
Department endorses their products or services to seek material 
gain.\3\ The risks stemming from impersonators were 
demonstrated in April 2022, when Federal prosecutors charged 
two individuals of allegedly impersonating undercover DHS 
agents to gain the trust of officers within the U.S. Secret 
Service. According to court records, ``the men were not merely 
playing dress-up'' but ``engaged in conduct that represented a 
serious threat to the community, compromised the operations of 
a federal law enforcement agency, and created a potential risk 
to national security.''\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \3\Documents on file with the Committee (DHS Slides for Committee 
Staff Briefing on Mar. 23, 2022).
    \4\Spencer S. Hsu, Peter Humm, and Matt Zapotosky, ``Men posing as 
DHS employees created potential national security risk, prosecutors 
say,'' Washington Post, (Apr. 8, 2022), available at https://
www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/04/08/men-impersonating-federal-
officers-detention/.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Businesses misrepresenting endorsement or approval by DHS 
of products and services include a tornado shelter manufacturer 
using the seal to endorse its products, a third-party website 
using the seal to advertise medical examinations, and online 
retailers selling face masks displaying the seal during the 
COVID-19 pandemic.\5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \5\Documents on file with the Committee, supra, at note 3.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                                Hearings

    For the purposes of clause 3(c)(6) of rule XIII of the 
Rules of the House of Representatives, no hearings were used to 
develop H.R. 7778.

                        Committee Consideration

    The Committee met on May 19, 2022, a quorum being present, 
to consider H.R. 7778 and ordered the measure to be favorably 
reported to the House, as amended, by voice vote.

                            Committee Votes

    Clause 3(b) of rule XIII requires the Committee to list the 
recorded votes on the motion to report legislation and 
amendments thereto.
    No recorded votes were considered during consideration of 
H.R. 7778.

                      Committee Oversight Findings

    In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII, the 
Committee advises that the findings and recommendations of the 
Committee, based on oversight activities under clause 2(b)(1) 
of rule X, are incorporated in the descriptive portions of this 
report.

Congressional Budget Office Estimate, New Budget Authority, Entitlement 
                    Authority, and Tax Expenditures

    With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(2) of rule 
XIII and section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 
1974, and with respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(3) of 
rule XIII and section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 
1974, the Committee has requested but not received from the 
Director of the Congressional Budget Office a statement as to 
whether this bill contains any new budget authority, spending 
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in 
revenues or tax expenditures.

                       Federal Mandates Statement

    An estimate of Federal mandates prepared by the Director of 
the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 423 of the 
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act was not made available to the 
Committee in time for the filing of this report. The Chairman 
of the Committee shall cause such estimate to be printed in the 
Congressional Record upon its receipt by the Committee.

                      Duplicative Federal Programs

    Pursuant to clause 3(c) of rule XIII, the Committee finds 
that H.R. 7778 does not contain any provision that establishes 
or reauthorizes a program known to be duplicative of another 
Federal program.

         Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives

    Pursuant to clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the objective of 
H.R. 7778 is to enhance the protection of DHS's seal by 
allowing the Department to prevent or pursue action against 
individuals, organizations, or businesses that use the seal to 
misrepresent endorsement or approval by DHS and harm the public

   Congressional Earmarks, Limited Tax Benefits, and Limited Tariff 
                                Benefits

    In compliance with rule XXI, this bill, as reported, 
contains no congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or 
limited tariff benefits as defined in clause 9(d), 9(e), or 
9(f) of rule XXI.

                      Advisory Committee Statement

    No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b) 
of the Federal Advisory Committee Act were created by this 
legislation.

                  Applicability to Legislative Branch

    The Committee finds that H.R. 7778 does not relate to the 
terms and conditions of employment or access to public services 
or accommodations within the meaning of section 102(b)(3) of 
the Congressional Accountability Act.

             Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation


Section 1. Short title

    This section states that the Act may be cited as the 
``Department of Homeland Security Seal Protection Act of 
2022''.

Sec. 2. Prohibition on misuse of the Department of Homeland Security 
        seal

    This section provides that DHS shall have a seal subject to 
approval of the President of the United States.
    This section states that no individual may knowingly use 
the Department's seal, or colorable imitation, to convey the 
Department or its components have approved, endorsed, or 
authorized such use without written consent from the Secretary 
of Homeland Security.
    This section also states that this Act does not restrict 
the use of the seal by officers and employees during official 
duties and provides a clause to protect lawful users of designs 
in existence at the time of enactment of this Act.

         Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

  In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law 
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new 
matter is printed in italics, and existing law in which no 
change is proposed is shown in roman):

                     HOMELAND SECURITY ACT OF 2002




           *       *       *       *       *       *       *
TITLE VIII--COORDINATION WITH NON-FEDERAL ENTITIES; INSPECTOR GENERAL; 
UNITED STATES SECRET SERVICE; COAST GUARD; GENERAL PROVISIONS

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


Subtitle H--Miscellaneous Provisions

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


SEC. 875. MISCELLANEOUS AUTHORITIES.

  [(a) Seal.--The Department shall have a seal, whose design is 
subject to the approval of the President.]
  (a) Seal.--
          (1) In general.--The Department shall have a seal, 
        the design of which shall be subject to the approval of 
        the President.
          (2) Protection of seal.--Except with the written 
        permission of the Secretary, no person may knowingly 
        use the seal, or any colorable imitation thereof, of 
        the Department in a manner reasonably calculated to 
        convey the impression that the Department or any 
        organizational component or element of the Department 
        has approved, endorsed, or authorized such use.
          (3) Construction.--Nothing in this subsection may be 
        construed to restrict the use of the seal of the 
        Department by officers and employees of the Department 
        in their course of their official duties.
          (4) Existing design.--Notwithstanding paragraph (1), 
        nothing in this subsection renders unlawful the use of 
        any seal of the Department the design of which was 
        lawful as of the date of the enactment of this 
        subsection.
  (b) Participation of Members of the Armed Forces.--With 
respect to the Department, the Secretary shall have the same 
authorities that the Secretary of Transportation has with 
respect to the Department of Transportation under section 324 
of title 49, United States Code.
  (c) Redelegation of Functions.--Unless otherwise provided in 
the delegation or by law, any function delegated under this Act 
may be redelegated to any subordinate.
  (d) Investigation of Certain Violent Acts, Shootings, and 
Mass Killings.--
          (1) In general.--At the request of an appropriate law 
        enforcement official of a State or political 
        subdivision, the Secretary, through deployment of the 
        Secret Service or United States Immigration and Customs 
        Enforcement, may assist in the investigation of violent 
        acts and shootings occurring in a place of public use, 
        and in the investigation of mass killings and attempted 
        mass killings. Any assistance provided by the Secretary 
        under this subsection shall be presumed to be within 
        the scope of Federal office or employment.
          (2) Definitions.--For purposes of this subsection--
                  (A) the term ``mass killings'' means 3 or 
                more killings in a single incident; and
                  (B) the term ``place of public use'' has the 
                meaning given that term under section 
                2332f(e)(6) of title 18, United States Code.

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