IIB 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1617 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 26, 2009 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and 

Governmental Affairs 

AN ACT 

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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Department of Home3 land Security Component Privacy Officer Act of 2009’’. 

4 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF PRIVACY OFFICIAL WITHIN 

5 EACH COMPONENT OF DEPARTMENT OF 

6 HOMELAND SECURITY. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle C of title II of the Home8 land Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 141 et seq.) is amend9 ed by inserting after section 222 the following new section: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 222A. PRIVACY OFFICIALS. 

11 ‘‘(a) DESIGNATION.— 

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

13 Department under paragraph (2), the Secretary 

14 shall, in consultation with the head of the compo15 nent, designate a full-time privacy official, who shall 

16 report directly to the senior official appointed under 

17 section 222. Each such component privacy official 

18 shall have primary responsibility for its component 

19 in implementing the privacy policy for the Depart20 ment established by the senior official appointed 

21 under section 222. 

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

23 Department referred to in this subparagraph are as 

24 follows: 

25 ‘‘(A) The Transportation Security Admin26 istration. 


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1 ‘‘(B) The Bureau of Citizenship and Immi2 gration Services. 

3 ‘‘(C) Customs and Border Protection. 

4 ‘‘(D) Immigration and Customs Enforce5 ment. 

6 ‘‘(E) The Federal Emergency Management 

7 Agency. 

8 ‘‘(F) The Coast Guard. 

9 ‘‘(G) The Directorate of Science and Tech10 nology. 

11 ‘‘(H) The Office of Intelligence and Anal12 ysis. 

13 ‘‘(I) The Directorate for National Protec14 tion and Programs. 

15 ‘‘(b) RESPONSIBILITIES.—Each privacy official des16 ignated under subsection (a) shall report directly to both 

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

18 appointed under section 222, and shall have the following 

19 responsibilities with respect to the component: 

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

21 of contact at the component to implement the polices 

22 and directives of such senior official in carrying out 

23 section 222. 

24 ‘‘(2) Advise the head of that component on pri25 vacy considerations when any law, regulation, proVerDate Nov 24 2008 01:04 Mar 27, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1617.RFS H1617

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1 gram, policy, procedure, or guideline is proposed, de2 veloped, or implemented. 

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

4 component sustain or enhance privacy protections 

5 relating to the use, collection, and disclosure of per6 sonal information within the component. 

7 ‘‘(4) Identify privacy issues related to compo8 nent programs and apply appropriate privacy poli9 cies in accordance with Federal privacy law and De10 partmental policies developed to ensure that the 

11 component protects the privacy of individuals af12 fected by its activities. 

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

14 all applicable Federal privacy laws and regulations, 

15 implement corrective, remedial, and preventive ac16 tions and notify the senior official appointed under 

17 section 222 of privacy issues or non-compliance, 

18 whenever necessary. 

19 ‘‘(6) Ensure that personal information con20 tained in Privacy Act systems of records is handled 

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

22 United States Code. 

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

24 impact assessments, privacy threshold assessments, 

25 and system of records notices, in conjunction with 


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1 and under the direction of the senior official ap2 pointed under section 222, for any new or substan3 tially changed program or technology that collects, 

4 maintains, or disseminates personally identifiable in5 formation within the official’s component. 

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

7 impact assessments, privacy threshold assessments, 

8 and system of records notices in conjunction with 

9 and under the direction of the senior official ap10 pointed under section 222, for proposed rulemakings 

11 and regulations within the component. 

12 ‘‘(9) Conduct supervision of programs, regula13 tions, policies, procedures, or guidelines to ensure 

14 the component’s protection of privacy and, as nec15 essary, promulgate guidelines and conduct oversight 

16 to ensure the protection of privacy. 

17 ‘‘(10) Implement and monitor privacy training 

18 for component employees and contractors in coordi19 nation with the senior official appointed under sec20 tion 222. 

21 ‘‘(11) Provide the senior official appointed 

22 under section 222 with written materials and infor23 mation regarding the relevant activities of the com24 ponent, including privacy violations and abuse, that 

25 are needed by the senior official to successfully preVerDate Nov 24 2008 01:04 Mar 27, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1617.RFS H1617

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1 pare the reports the senior official submits to Con2 gress and prepares on behalf of the Department. 

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

4 Secretary or the senior official appointed under sec5 tion 222. 

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

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

8 the privacy official designated under subsection (a) for 

9 that component— 

10 ‘‘(1) has the information, material, and re11 sources necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of 

12 such official under this section; 

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

14 the development of new programs, rules, regulations, 

15 procedures, or guidelines during the planning stage 

16 and is included in the decisionmaking process; and 

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

18 the privacy official deems necessary to carry out the 

19 official’s responsibilities. 

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

21 considered to abrogate the role and responsibilities of the 

22 senior official appointed under section 222.’’. 


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

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

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

‘‘Sec. 222A. Privacy officials.’’. 

Passed the House of Representatives March 24, 

2009. 

Attest: LORRAINE C. MILLER, 

Clerk. 


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