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Union Calendar No. 242 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4713 

[Report No. 116–300] 

To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to make certain improvements 

in the Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties of the Department 

of Homeland Security, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 17, 2019 

Mr. GREEN of Texas (for himself and Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security 

NOVEMBER 19, 2019 

Additional sponsor: Mr. TAYLOR

NOVEMBER 19, 2019 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on October 17, 2019] 


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A BILL 

To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to make 

certain improvements in the Office for Civil Rights and 

Civil Liberties of the Department of Homeland Security, 

and for other purposes. 


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1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Department of Home5 land Security Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Au6 thorization Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. OFFICER FOR CIVIL RIGHTS AND CIVIL LIBERTIES. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 705 of the Homeland Secu9 rity Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 345) is amended— 

10 (1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘ESTAB11 LISHMENT OF’’; and 

12 (2) by striking subsections (a) and (b) and in13 serting the following new subsections: 

14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There is established within the De15 partment an Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. The 

16 head of such Office is the Officer for Civil Rights and Civil 

17 Liberties, who shall report directly to the Secretary. 

18 ‘‘(b) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Officer for Civil Rights 

19 and Civil Liberties shall carry out the following responsibil20 ities: 

21 ‘‘(1) Oversee compliance with constitutional, 

22 statutory, regulatory, policy, and other requirements 

23 relating to the civil rights and civil liberties of indi24 viduals affected by the programs and activities of the 

25 Department. 


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1 ‘‘(2) Integrate civil rights and civil liberties pro2 tections into all programs and activities of the De3 partment. 

4 ‘‘(3) Conduct civil rights and civil liberties im5 pact assessments, as appropriate. 

6 ‘‘(4) Conduct periodic reviews of policies, proce7 dures, and activities of the Department relating to 

8 civil rights and civil liberties. 

9 ‘‘(5) Provide policy advice, recommendations, 

10 and other technical assistance relating to civil rights 

11 and civil liberties to the Secretary and to heads of 

12 components, directorates, and offices and other per13 sonnel within the Department. 

14 ‘‘(6) Review, assess, and investigate complaints, 

15 including complaints filed by members of the public, 

16 and information indicating possible abuses of civil 

17 rights or civil liberties at the Department, unless the 

18 Inspector General of the Department determines that 

19 any such complaint or information should be inves20 tigated by the Inspector General. 

21 ‘‘(7) Initiate reviews, assessments, inspections, 

22 and investigations of the administration of the pro23 grams and activities by the Department relating to 

24 civil rights and civil liberties, as the Officer deter25 mines necessary. 


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1 ‘‘(8) Coordinate with the Privacy Officer to en2 sure that— 

3 ‘‘(A) programs, policies, and procedures in4 volving civil rights, civil liberties, and privacy 

5 considerations are addressed in an integrated 

6 and comprehensive manner; and 

7 ‘‘(B) Congress receives appropriate reports 

8 regarding such programs, policies, and proce9 dures. 

10 ‘‘(9) Lead the equal employment opportunity 

11 programs of the Department, including complaint 

12 management and adjudication, and promote work13 force diversity and merit system principles. 

14 ‘‘(10) Make publicly available through accessible 

15 communications channels, including the website of the 

16 Department— 

17 ‘‘(A) information on the responsibilities and 

18 functions of, and how to contact, the Officer; and 

19 ‘‘(B) reports that are issued by the Officer 

20 upon completion of investigations carried out 

21 pursuant to paragraph (6) or (7). 

22 ‘‘(11) Engage with individuals and communities 

23 whose civil rights and civil liberties may be affected 

24 by programs and activities of the Department, includ25 ing by informing such individuals and communities 


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1 about report and redress processes and advising the 

2 Secretary and heads of components, directorates, of3 fices, and other personnel within the Department of 

4 any concerns raised by such individuals and commu5 nities. 

6 ‘‘(c) COORDINATION WITH INSPECTOR GENERAL.— 

7 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY TO INVESTIGATE POSSIBLE

8 ABUSES.—The Officer for Civil Rights and Civil Lib9 erties may investigate any matter referred to in para10 graph (6) or (7) of subsection (b) after fulfilling the 

11 coordination requirements under paragraph (2) with 

12 respect to such matter. 

13 ‘‘(2) COORDINATION REQUIREMENTS.— 

14 ‘‘(A) REFERRAL OF MATTERS TO INSPECTOR

15 GENERAL.—Before initiating any investigation 

16 described under paragraph (1), the Officer for 

17 Civil Rights and Civil Liberties shall refer the 

18 matter and all related complaints, allegations, 

19 and information to the Inspector General of the 

20 Department. 

21 ‘‘(B) INSPECTOR GENERAL RESPONSIBIL22 ITIES.— 

23 ‘‘(i) DETERMINATION AND NOTIFICA24 TION.—Not later than 30 days after the reVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:25 Nov 19, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H4713.RH H4713

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1 ceipt of a matter referred under subpara2 graph (A), the Inspector General shall— 

3 ‘‘(I) make a determination re4 garding whether the Inspector General 

5 intends to initiate an audit or inves6 tigation of the matter referred under 

7 subparagraph (A); and 

8 ‘‘(II) notify the Officer of such de9 termination. 

10 ‘‘(ii) AUDITS AND INVESTIGATIONS.—If 

11 the Inspector General notifies the Officer for 

12 Civil Rights and Civil Liberties that the In13 spector General intends to initiate an audit 

14 or investigation, the Inspector General 

15 shall— 

16 ‘‘(I) initiate such audit or inves17 tigate by not later than 90 days after 

18 providing such notification; or 

19 ‘‘(II) not later than three days 

20 after the end of the 90-day period spec21 ified in subclause (I), notify the Officer 

22 that such audit or investigation was 

23 not initiated. 

24 ‘‘(C) PROVISION OF ASSISTANCE.—At the 

25 request of the Inspector General, the Officer for 


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1 Civil Rights and Civil Liberties may provide as2 sistance to the Inspector General on any inves3 tigation or audit initiated by the Inspector Gen4 eral based on a referral under subparagraph (A). 

5 ‘‘(D) INVESTIGATION BY OFFICER.—The Of6 ficer for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties may in7 vestigate a matter referred to the Inspector Gen8 eral under subparagraph (A) only if— 

9 ‘‘(i) the Inspector General notifies the 

10 Officer for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties 

11 that the Inspector General does not intend 

12 to initiate an audit or investigation relat13 ing to that matter; or 

14 ‘‘(ii) the Inspector General provides 

15 notification under subparagraph (B)(ii)(II) 

16 that an audit or investigation was not ini17 tiated. 

18 ‘‘(d) TRANSPARENCY.— 

19 ‘‘(1) COMPLAINTS.—In the case of a complaint 

20 made concerning allegations of abuses of civil rights 

21 and civil liberties under paragraph (6) of subsection 

22 (b), the Officer for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties 

23 shall— 

24 ‘‘(A) provide to the individual who made 

25 the complaint notice of the receipt of such comVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:25 Nov 19, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H4713.RH H4713

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1 plaint within 30 days of receiving the complaint; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(B) inform the complainant of the deter4 mination of the Officer regarding the initiation 

5 of a review, assessment, or investigation within 

6 the Office, a referral to the Inspector General of 

7 the Department, or any other action taken. 

8 ‘‘(2) INVESTIGATIONS.—In the case of an inves9 tigation initiated by the Officer pursuant to para10 graph (6) or (7) of subsection (b), upon the conclusion 

11 of the investigation, the Officer shall produce a report 

12 on the investigation which— 

13 ‘‘(A) shall include the findings and rec14 ommendations of the Officer; 

15 ‘‘(B) shall be made publicly available; 

16 ‘‘(C) shall not include any personally iden17 tifiable information related to any individual 

18 involved in such investigation; and 

19 ‘‘(D) may include a classified appendix, as 

20 the Officer determines appropriate. 

21 ‘‘(3) SUBMITTAL TO HEADS OF OPERATIONAL

22 COMPONENTS.—The Officer shall transmit a copy of 

23 each report produced under paragraph (2) to the Sec24 retary and to the relevant head of each relevant oper25 ational component of the Department. 


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1 ‘‘(4) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Upon the conclu2 sion of any investigation conducted by the Officer for 

3 Civil Rights and Civil Liberties under paragraph (6) 

4 or (7) of subsection (b), the Officer shall submit to 

5 Congress a report on the investigation, which shall be 

6 prepared and submitted without any prior comment 

7 or amendment by the Secretary, Deputy Secretary, or 

8 any other officer or employee of the Department, un9 less the Officer seeks such comment. 

10 ‘‘(e) COMPONENT CIVIL RIGHTS AND CIVIL LIBERTIES

11 OFFICER.—The head of each of the operational components 

12 of the Department shall designate a career appointee (as 

13 such term is defined in section 3132 of title 5, United States 

14 Code) from such component as the Officer for Civil Rights 

15 and Civil Liberties of that component. The Officer for Civil 

16 Rights and Civil Liberties of each such component shall co17 ordinate with and provide information to the Officer for 

18 Civil Rights and Civil Liberties of the Department on mat19 ters related to civil rights and civil liberties within the com20 ponents. 

21 ‘‘(f) ACCESS TO INFORMATION.—The Officer for Civil 

22 Rights and Civil Liberties of the Department— 

23 ‘‘(1) shall have access to all records, reports, au24 dits, reviews, documents, papers, recommendations, 

25 and other materials available to the Department that 


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1 relate to programs and operations with respect to the 

2 responsibilities of the Officer under subsection (b); 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(2) may, to the extent the Officer determines 

5 necessary, and subject to the approval of the Sec6 retary— 

7 ‘‘(A) issue a subpoena to require the produc8 tion, by any person other than a Federal agency, 

9 of all information, documents, reports, answers, 

10 records, accounts, papers, and other documentary 

11 evidence necessary in the performance of the re12 sponsibilities of the Officer under this section; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(B) administer to or take from any person 

15 an oath, affirmation, or affidavit, whenever nec16 essary in the performance of the responsibilities 

17 of the Officer under this section. 

18 ‘‘(g) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than March 31 of 

19 each year, the Officer for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties 

20 of the Department shall submit directly to the President, 

21 the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of 

22 Representatives, and the appropriate committees and sub23 committees of Congress, a report on the implementation of 

24 this section during the year preceding the year during 


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1 which the report is submitted. Each such report shall in2 clude, for the year covered by the report— 

3 ‘‘(1) any allegations of abuse described under 

4 subsection (b)(6) and any actions by the Department 

5 or a component, directorate, or office of the Depart6 ment that the Officer identifies as responsive to such 

7 allegations; 

8 ‘‘(2) a list of Department programs and activi9 ties for which civil rights and civil liberties impact 

10 assessments were conducted, or policy advice, rec11 ommendations, or other technical assistance was pro12 vided; 

13 ‘‘(3) any recommendations issued by the Officer 

14 to the Secretary or the head of a component, direc15 torate, or office, together with information on the sta16 tus of the implementation of such recommendations; 

17 ‘‘(4) information on the diversity and equal em18 ployment opportunity activities of the Department, 

19 including information on complaint management and 

20 adjudication of equal employment opportunity com21 plaints and efforts to ensure compliance throughout 

22 the Department with equal employment opportunity 

23 requirements; 

24 ‘‘(5) a description of any efforts to engage with 

25 individuals and communities whose civil rights and 


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1 civil liberties may be affected by activities carried out 

2 by the Department, including public meetings; and 

3 ‘‘(6) information on total staffing for the Office 

4 of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, including— 

5 ‘‘(A) the number of full-time, part-time and 

6 contract support personnel; and 

7 ‘‘(B) information on the number of employ8 ees whose primary responsibilities include sup9 porting the Officer in carrying out paragraph 

10 (9) of subsection (b).’’. 

11 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The item relating to sec12 tion 705 in section 1(b) of the Homeland Security Act of 

13 2002 is amended to read as follows: 

‘‘Sec. 705. Officer for civil rights and civil liberties.’’. 

14 SEC. 3. COMPTROLLER GENERAL REVIEW. 

15 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment 

16 of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 

17 shall submit to Congress a report on subsection (b)(11) of 

18 section 705 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 

19 345), as amended by section 2. 


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Union Calendar No. 242 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4713 

[Report No. 116–300] 

A BILL 

To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to 

Homeland Security, and for other purposes. Rights and Civil Liberties of the Department of make certain improvements in the Office for Civil 

NOVEMBER 19, 2019 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS