I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1617 

To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to provide for a privacy 

official within each component of the Department of Homeland Security, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 19, 2009 

Mr. CARNEY (for himself and Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security 

A BILL 

To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to provide 

for a privacy official within each component of the Department of Homeland Security, and for other purposes. 

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 Component Privacy Officer Act of 2009’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF PRIVACY OFFICIAL WITHIN 

2 EACH COMPONENT OF DEPARTMENT OF 

3 HOMELAND SECURITY. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle C of title II of the Home5 land Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 141 et seq.) is amend6 ed by inserting after section 222 the following new section: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 222A. PRIVACY OFFICIALS. 

8 ‘‘(a) DESIGNATION.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For each component of the 

10 Department under paragraph (2), the Secretary 

11 shall, in consultation with the head of the compo12 nent, designate a full-time privacy official, who shall 

13 report directly to the senior official appointed under 

14 section 222. Each such component privacy official 

15 shall have primary responsibility for its component 

16 in implementing the privacy policy for the Depart17 ment established by the senior official appointed 

18 under section 222. 

19 ‘‘(2) COMPONENTS.—The components of the 

20 Department referred to in this subparagraph are as 

21 follows: 

22 ‘‘(A) The Transportation Security Admin23 istration. 

24 ‘‘(B) The Bureau of Citizenship and Immi25 gration Services. 

26 ‘‘(C) Customs and Border Protection. 


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1 ‘‘(D) Immigration and Customs Enforce2 ment. 

3 ‘‘(E) The Federal Emergency Management 

4 Agency. 

5 ‘‘(F) The Coast Guard. 

6 ‘‘(G) The Directorate of Science and Tech7 nology. 

8 ‘‘(H) The Office of Intelligence and Anal9 ysis. 

10 ‘‘(I) The Directorate for National Protec11 tion and Programs. 

12 ‘‘(b) RESPONSIBILITIES.—Each privacy official des13 ignated under subsection (a) shall report directly to both 

14 the head of the official’s component and the senior official 

15 appointed under section 222, and shall have the following 

16 responsibilities with respect to the component: 

17 ‘‘(1) Serve as such senior official’s main point 

18 of contact at the component to implement the polices 

19 and directives of such senior official in carrying out 

20 section 222. 

21 ‘‘(2) Advise the head of that component on pri22 vacy considerations when any law, regulation, pro23 gram, policy, procedure, or guideline is proposed, de24 veloped, or implemented. 


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1 ‘‘(3) Assure that the use of technologies by the 

2 component sustain or enhance privacy protections 

3 relating to the use, collection, and disclosure of per4 sonal information within the component. 

5 ‘‘(4) Identify privacy issues related to compo6 nent programs and apply appropriate privacy poli7 cies in accordance with Federal privacy law and De8 partmental policies developed to ensure that the 

9 component protects the privacy of individuals af10 fected by its activities. 

11 ‘‘(5) Monitor the component’s compliance with 

12 all applicable Federal privacy laws and regulations, 

13 implement corrective, remedial, and preventive ac14 tions and notify the senior official appointed under 

15 section 222 of privacy issues or non-compliance, 

16 whenever necessary. 

17 ‘‘(6) Ensure that personal information con18 tained in Privacy Act systems of records is handled 

19 in full compliance with section 552a of title 5, 

20 United States Code. 

21 ‘‘(7) Assist in drafting and reviewing privacy 

22 impact assessments, privacy threshold assessments, 

23 and system of records notices, in conjunction with 

24 and under the direction of the senior official ap25 pointed under section 222, for any new or substanVerDate Nov 24 2008 07:18 Mar 20, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1617.IH H1617

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1 tially changed program or technology that collects, 

2 maintains, or disseminates personally identifiable in3 formation within the official’s component. 

4 ‘‘(8) Assist in drafting and reviewing privacy 

5 impact assessments, privacy threshold assessments, 

6 and system of records notices in conjunction with 

7 and under the direction of the senior official ap8 pointed under section 222, for proposed rulemakings 

9 and regulations within the component. 

10 ‘‘(9) Conduct supervision of programs, regula11 tions, policies, procedures, or guidelines to ensure 

12 the component’s protection of privacy and, as nec13 essary, promulgate guidelines and conduct oversight 

14 to ensure the protection of privacy. 

15 ‘‘(10) Implement and monitor privacy training 

16 for component employees and contractors in coordi17 nation with the senior official appointed under sec18 tion 222. 

19 ‘‘(11) Provide the senior official appointed 

20 under section 222 with written materials and infor21 mation regarding the relevant activities of the com22 ponent, including privacy violations and abuse, that 

23 are needed by the senior official to successfully pre24 pare the reports the senior official submits to Con25 gress and prepares on behalf of the Department. 


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1 ‘‘(12) Any other responsibilities assigned by the 

2 Secretary or the senior official appointed under sec3 tion 222. 

4 ‘‘(c) ROLE OF COMPONENT HEADS.—The head of a 

5 component identified in subsection (a)(2) shall ensure that 

6 the privacy official designated under subsection (a) for 

7 that component— 

8 ‘‘(1) has the information, material, and re9 sources necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of 

10 such official under this section; 

11 ‘‘(2) is advised of proposed policy changes and 

12 the development of new programs, rules, regulations, 

13 procedures, or guidelines during the planning stage 

14 and is included in the decisionmaking process; and 

15 ‘‘(3) is given access to material and personnel 

16 the privacy official deems necessary to carry out the 

17 official’s responsibilities. 

18 ‘‘(d) LIMITATION.—Nothing in this section shall be 

19 considered to abrogate the role and responsibilities of the 

20 senior official appointed under section 222.’’. 

21 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

22 in section 1(b) of such Act is amended by inserting after 

23 the item related to section 222 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 222A. Privacy officials.’’. 

Æ 


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