II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4243 

To establish the Department of Homeland Security Trade and Economic 

Security Council and the position of Assistant Secretary for Trade and 

Economic Security within the Department of Homeland Security, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 18 (legislative day, MAY 17), 2022 

Mr. PORTMAN (for himself, Mr. PETERS, and Ms. STABENOW) introduced the 

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 

Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

A BILL 

To establish the Department of Homeland Security Trade 

and Economic Security Council and the position of Assistant Secretary for Trade and Economic Security within 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 ‘‘DHS Trade and Eco5 nomic Security Council Act of 2022’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DHS TRADE AND ECONOMIC SECURITY COUNCIL. 

7 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 (1) COUNCIL.—The term ‘‘Council’’ means the 

2 DHS Trade and Economic Security Council estab3 lished under subsection (b). 

4 (2) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 

5 refers to the Department of Homeland Security. 

6 (3) ECONOMIC SECURITY.—The term ‘‘eco7 nomic security’’ means the condition of having se8 cure and resilient domestic production capacity com9 bined with reliable access to the global resources 

10 necessary to maintain an acceptable standard of liv11 ing and protect core national values. 

12 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

13 the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Secu14 rity. 

15 (b) DHS TRADE AND ECONOMIC SECURITY COUN16 CIL.—In accordance with the mission of the Department 

17 under section 101(b) of the Homeland Security Act of 

18 2002 (6 U.S.C. 111(b)), and in particular paragraph 

19 (1)(F) of that subsection, the Secretary shall establish a 

20 standing council of component heads or their designees 

21 within the Department known as the ‘‘DHS Trade and 

22 Economic Security Council’’. 

23 (c) DUTIES OF THE COUNCIL.—Pursuant to the 

24 scope of the Department’s mission as described in sub25 section (b), the Council shall provide to the Secretary adVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:41 May 21, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4243.IS S4243

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1 vice and recommendations on matters of trade and eco2 nomic security, including— 

3 (1) identifying concentrated risks for trade and 

4 economic security; 

5 (2) setting priorities for securing the trade and 

6 economic security of the United States; 

7 (3) coordinating Department-wide activity on 

8 trade and economic security matters; 

9 (4) with respect to the development of the 

10 President’s continuity of the economy plan under 

11 section 9603 of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry 

12 National Defense Authorization Act of Fiscal Year 

13 2021 (Public Law 116–283); 

14 (5) proposing statutory and regulatory changes 

15 impacting trade and economic security; and 

16 (6) any other matters the Secretary considers 

17 appropriate. 

18 (d) CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR.—The Assistant Sec19 retary for Trade and Economic Security of the Depart20 ment— 

21 (1) shall serve as Chair of the Council; and 

22 (2) may designate a Council member as a Vice 

23 Chair. 

24 (e) MEETINGS.—The Council shall meet not less fre25 quently than quarterly, as well as— 


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1 (1) at the call of the Chair; or 

2 (2) at the direction of the Secretary. 

3 (f) BRIEFINGS.—Not later than 180 days after the 

4 date of enactment of this Act and every 6 months there5 after for 4 years, the Council shall brief the Committee 

6 on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the 

7 Senate and the Committee on Homeland Security of the 

8 House of Representatives on the actions and activities of 

9 the Council. 

10 SEC. 3. ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR TRADE AND ECONOMIC 

11 SECURITY. 

12 Section 709 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 

13 (6 U.S.C. 349) is amended— 

14 (1) by redesignating subsection (g) as sub15 section (h); and 

16 (2) by inserting after subsection (f) the fol17 lowing new subsection: 

18 ‘‘(g) ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR TRADE AND ECO19 NOMIC SECURITY.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is established within 

21 the Office of Strategy, Policy, and Plans an Assist22 ant Secretary for Trade and Economic Security. 

23 ‘‘(2) DUTIES.—The Assistant Secretary for 

24 Trade and Economic Security shall be responsible 

25 for policy formulation regarding matters relating to 


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1 economic security and trade, as such matters relate 

2 to the mission and the operations of the Depart3 ment. 

4 ‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES.—In addi5 tion to the duties specified in paragraph (2), the As6 sistant Secretary for Trade and Economic Security 

7 shall— 

8 ‘‘(A) oversee— 

9 ‘‘(i) coordination of supply chain pol10 icy; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) assessments and reports to Con12 gress related to critical economic security 

13 domains; 

14 ‘‘(B) serve as the designee of the Secretary 

15 for the purposes of representing the Depart16 ment on the Committee on Foreign Investment 

17 in the United States, and the Committee for 

18 the Assessment of Foreign Participation in the 

19 United States Telecommunications Services 

20 Sector; 

21 ‘‘(C) coordinate with stakeholders in other 

22 Federal departments and agencies and non-gov23 ernmental entities with trade and economic se24 curity interests, authorities, and responsibilities; 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(D) perform such additional duties as the 

2 Secretary or the Under Secretary of Strategy, 

3 Policy, and Plans may prescribe. 

4 ‘‘(4) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

5 ‘‘(A) CRITICAL ECONOMIC SECURITY DO6 MAIN.—The term ‘critical economic security do7 main’ means any infrastructure, industry, tech8 nology, or intellectual property (or combination 

9 thereof) that is essential for the economic secu10 rity of the United States. 

11 ‘‘(B) ECONOMIC SECURITY.—The term 

12 ‘economic security’ has the meaning given that 

13 term in section 890B(c)(2).’’. 

Æ 


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