I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1372 

To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to ensure that the needs 

of children are considered in homeland security planning, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 6, 2017 

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

and in addition to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, 

for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case 

for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 

committee concerned 

A BILL 

To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to ensure 

that the needs of children are considered in homeland 

security planning, 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 ‘‘Homeland Security 

5 for Children Act’’. 


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•HR 1372 IH

1 SEC. 2. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE UNDER SECRETARY FOR 

2 STRATEGY, POLICY, AND PLANS. 

3 Subsection (c) of section 709 of the Homeland Secu4 rity Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 349) is amended— 

5 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (4) through 

6 (7) as paragraphs (5) through (8), respectively; and 

7 (2) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol8 lowing new paragraph: 

9 ‘‘(4) lead, conduct, and coordinate Department10 wide identification and integration of the needs of 

11 children into the Department’s policies, programs, 

12 and activities, in coordination with relevant outside 

13 organizations and experts, as necessary.’’. 

14 SEC. 3. TECHNICAL EXPERT AUTHORIZED. 

15 Paragraph (2) of section 503(b) of the Homeland Se16 curity Act (6 U.S.C. 313(b)) is amended— 

17 (1) in subparagraph (G), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

18 the end; 

19 (2) in subparagraph (H), by striking the period 

20 at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

21 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub22 paragraph: 

23 ‘‘(I) identify and integrate the needs of 

24 children into activities to prepare for, protect 

25 against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate 

26 against the risk of natural disasters, acts of terVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:33 Mar 09, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1372.IH H1372

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1 rorism, and other manmade disasters, including 

2 catastrophic incidents, including by appointing 

3 a technical expert, who may consult with rel4 evant outside organizations and experts, as nec5 essary, to coordinate such integration, as nec6 essary.’’. 

7 SEC. 4. REPORT. 

8 Not later than one year after the date of the enact9 ment of this Act and annually thereafter for five years, 

10 the Under Secretary for Strategy, Policy, and Plans of the 

11 Department of Homeland Security shall submit to the 

12 Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Rep13 resentatives and the Committee on Homeland Security 

14 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate a report describ15 ing the efforts the Department has undertaken to identify 

16 and integrate the needs of children into the Department’s 

17 policies, programs, and activities in accordance with para18 graph (4) of section 709(c) of the Homeland Security Act 

19 of 2002 (as added by section 2 of this Act), including in20 formation on the following: 

21 (1) The designation of any individual respon22 sible for carrying out such paragraph (4). 

23 (2) Any review, formal or informal, of any poli24 cies, programs, or activities of the Department 


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1 under such paragraph (4) to assess the suitability of 

2 such policies, programs, or activities for children. 

3 (3) Any such review, change, modification, or 

4 promulgation of any such policies, programs, or ac5 tivities to ensure that such policies, programs, or ac6 tivities are appropriate for children. 

7 (4) Coordination with organizations or experts 

8 outside the Department pursuant to such paragraph 

9 (4) conducted to inform any such review, change, 

10 modification, or promulgation of such policies, pro11 grams, or activities. 

Æ 


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