I 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4263 

To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to authorize the Department 

of Homeland Security to establish a social media working group, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 14, 2014 

Mrs. BROOKS of Indiana (for herself, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. PALAZZO, and Mr. 

SWALWELL of California) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security 

A BILL 

To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to authorize 

the Department of Homeland Security to establish a 

social media working group, 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 ‘‘Social Media Working 

5 Group Act of 2014’’. 

6 SEC. 2. SOCIAL MEDIA WORKING GROUP. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title III of the Homeland Secu8 rity Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) is amended by 

9 adding at the end the following new section: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 318. SOCIAL MEDIA WORKING GROUP. 

2 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall estab3 lish within the Department a social media working group 

4 (in this section referred to as the ‘Group’). 

5 ‘‘(b) PURPOSE.—In order to enhance information 

6 sharing between the Department and appropriate stake7 holders, the Group shall provide guidance and best prac8 tices to the emergency preparedness and response commu9 nity on the use of social media technologies before, during, 

10 and after a terrorist attack. 

11 ‘‘(c) MEMBERSHIP.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary for 

13 Science and Technology shall serve as the permanent 

14 chairperson of the Group, and shall designate, on a 

15 rotating basis, a representative from a State or local 

16 government who is a member of the Group to serve 

17 as co-chairperson. Membership of the Group shall be 

18 composed of a cross section of subject matter ex19 perts from Federal, State, local, tribal, and non20 governmental organization practitioners, including 

21 representatives from the following entities: 

22 ‘‘(A) The Office of Public Affairs of the 

23 Department. 

24 ‘‘(B) The Office of the Chief Information 

25 Officer of the Department. 


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1 ‘‘(C) The Privacy Office of the Depart2 ment. 

3 ‘‘(D) The Federal Emergency Management 

4 Agency. 

5 ‘‘(E) The American Red Cross. 

6 ‘‘(F) The United States Forest Service. 

7 ‘‘(G) The Centers for Disease Control and 

8 Prevention. 

9 ‘‘(H) The United States Geological Survey. 

10 ‘‘(I) The National Oceanic and Atmos11 pheric Administration. 

12 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL MEMBERS.—The Under Sec13 retary for Science and Technology shall appoint, on 

14 a rotating basis, qualified individuals to the Group. 

15 The total number of such additional members 

16 shall— 

17 ‘‘(A) be equal to or greater than the total 

18 number of regular members under paragraph 

19 (1); and 

20 ‘‘(B) include— 

21 ‘‘(i) not fewer than three representa22 tives from the private sector; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) representatives from— 

24 ‘‘(I) State, local, and tribal enti25 ties, including from— 


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1 ‘‘(aa) law enforcement; 

2 ‘‘(bb) fire services; 

3 ‘‘(cc) emergency manage4 ment services; and 

5 ‘‘(dd) public health entities; 

6 ‘‘(II) universities and academia; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(III) non-profit disaster relief 

9 organizations. 

10 ‘‘(d) CONSULTATION WITH NON-MEMBERS.—To the 

11 extent practicable, the Group shall work with existing bod12 ies in the public and private sectors to carry out subsection 

13 (b). 

14 ‘‘(e) MEETINGS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) INITIAL MEETING.—Not later than 90 

16 days after the date of the enactment of this section, 

17 the Group shall hold its initial meeting. Such initial 

18 meeting may be held virtually. 

19 ‘‘(2) SUBSEQUENT MEETINGS.—After the initial 

20 meeting under paragraph (1), the Group shall meet 

21 at least twice each year, or at the call of the Chair22 person. Such subsequent meetings may be held vir23 tually. 


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1 ‘‘(f) NONAPPLICABILITY OF FACA.—The Federal 

2 Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply 

3 to the Group. 

4 ‘‘(g) REPORTS.—Not later than March 30 of each 

5 year, the Group shall submit to the appropriate congres6 sional committees a report that includes the following: 

7 ‘‘(1) A review of current and emerging social 

8 media technologies being used to support prepared9 ness and response activities related to terrorist at10 tacks. 

11 ‘‘(2) A review of best practices and lessons 

12 learned on the use of social media during the re13 sponse to terrorist attacks that occurred during the 

14 period covered by the report at issue. 

15 ‘‘(3) Recommendations to improve the Depart16 ment’s use of social media. 

17 ‘‘(4) Recommendations to improve information 

18 sharing among the Department and its components. 

19 ‘‘(5) Recommendations to improve information 

20 sharing among State and local governments. 

21 ‘‘(6) A review of available training for Federal, 

22 State, local, and tribal officials on the use of social 

23 media in response to a terrorist attack. 


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1 ‘‘(7) A summary of coordination efforts with 

2 the private sector to discuss and resolve legal, oper3 ational, technical, privacy, and security concerns.’’. 

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

5 in section 1(b) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 is 

6 amended by inserting after the item relating to section 

7 317 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 318. Social media working group.’’. 

Æ 


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