II 

Calendar No. 560 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4243 

[Report No. 117–208] 

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 

NOVEMBER 17, 2022 

Reported by Mr. PETERS, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘DHS Trade and Eco3 nomic Security Council Act of 2022’’. 

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

5 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

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

7 DHS Trade and Economic Security Council estab8 lished under subsection (b). 

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

10 refers to the Department of Homeland Security. 

11 (3) ECONOMIC SECURITY.—The term ‘‘eco12 nomic security’’ means the condition of having se13 cure and resilient domestic production capacity com14 bined with reliable access to the global resources 

15 necessary to maintain an acceptable standard of liv16 ing and protect core national values. 

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

18 the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Secu19 rity. 

20 (b) DHS TRADE AND ECONOMIC SECURITY COUN21 CIL.—In accordance with the mission of the Department 

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

23 2002 (6 U.S.C. 111(b)), and in particular paragraph 

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

25 standing council of component heads or their designees 


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

2 Economic Security Council’’. 

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

4 scope of the Department’s mission as described in sub5 section (b), the Council shall provide to the Secretary ad6 vice and recommendations on matters of trade and eco7 nomic security, including— 

8 (1) identifying concentrated risks for trade and 

9 economic security; 

10 (2) setting priorities for securing the trade and 

11 economic security of the United States; 

12 (3) coordinating Department-wide activity on 

13 trade and economic security matters; 

14 (4) with respect to the development of the 

15 President’s continuity of the economy plan under 

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

17 National Defense Authorization Act of Fiscal Year 

18 2021 (Public Law 116–283); 

19 (5) proposing statutory and regulatory changes 

20 impacting trade and economic security; and 

21 (6) any other matters the Secretary considers 

22 appropriate. 

23 (d) CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR.—The Assistant Sec24 retary for Trade and Economic Security of the Depart25 ment— 


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

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

3 Chair. 

4 (e) MEETINGS.—The Council shall meet not less fre5 quently than quarterly, as well as— 

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

7 (2) at the direction of the Secretary. 

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

9 date of enactment of this Act and every 6 months there10 after for 4 years, the Council shall brief the Committee 

11 on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the 

12 Senate and the Committee on Homeland Security of the 

13 House of Representatives on the actions and activities of 

14 the Council. 

15 SEC. 3. ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR TRADE AND ECONOMIC 

16 SECURITY. 

17 Section 709 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 

18 (6 U.S.C. 349) is amended— 

19 (1) by redesignating subsection (g) as sub20 section (h); and 

21 (2) by inserting after subsection (f) the fol22 lowing new subsection: 

23 ‘‘(g) ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR TRADE AND ECO24 NOMIC SECURITY.— 


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

2 the Office of Strategy, Policy, and Plans an Assist3 ant Secretary for Trade and Economic Security. 

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

5 Trade and Economic Security shall be responsible 

6 for policy formulation regarding matters relating to 

7 economic security and trade, as such matters relate 

8 to the mission and the operations of the Depart9 ment. 

10 ‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES.—In addi11 tion to the duties specified in paragraph (2), the As12 sistant Secretary for Trade and Economic Security 

13 shall— 

14 ‘‘(A) oversee— 

15 ‘‘(i) coordination of supply chain pol16 icy; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) assessments and reports to Con18 gress related to critical economic security 

19 domains; 

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

21 for the purposes of representing the Depart22 ment on the Committee on Foreign Investment 

23 in the United States, and the Committee for 

24 the Assessment of Foreign Participation in the 


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1 United States Telecommunications Services 

2 Sector; 

3 ‘‘(C) coordinate with stakeholders in other 

4 Federal departments and agencies and non-gov5 ernmental entities with trade and economic se6 curity interests, authorities, and responsibilities; 

7 and 

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

9 Secretary or the Under Secretary of Strategy, 

10 Policy, and Plans may prescribe. 

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

12 ‘‘(A) CRITICAL ECONOMIC SECURITY DO13 MAIN.—The term ‘critical economic security do14 main’ means any infrastructure, industry, tech15 nology, or intellectual property (or combination 

16 thereof) that is essential for the economic secu17 rity of the United States. 

18 ‘‘(B) ECONOMIC SECURITY.—The term 

19 ‘economic security’ has the meaning given that 

20 term in section 890B(c)(2).’’. 

21 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

22 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘DHS Trade and Eco23 nomic Security Council Act of 2022’’. 

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

25 (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 means the Department of Homeland Security. 

6 (3) ECONOMIC SECURITY.—The term ‘‘economic 

7 security’’ has the meaning given that term in section 

8 890B(c)(2) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 

9 U.S.C. 474(c)(2)). 

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

11 the Secretary of Homeland Security. 

12 (b) DHS TRADE AND ECONOMIC SECURITY COUN13 CIL.—In accordance with the mission of the Department 

14 under section 101(b) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 

15 (6 U.S.C. 111(b)), and in particular paragraph (1)(F) of 

16 that section, the Secretary shall establish a standing council 

17 of component heads or their designees within the Depart18 ment, which shall be known as the ‘‘DHS Trade and Eco19 nomic Security Council’’. 

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

21 of the mission of the Department as described in subsection 

22 (b), the Council shall provide to the Secretary advice and 

23 recommendations on matters of trade and economic secu24 rity, including— 


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1 (1) identifying concentrated risks for trade and 

2 economic security; 

3 (2) setting priorities for securing the trade and 

4 economic security of the United States; 

5 (3) coordinating Department-wide activity on 

6 trade and economic security matters; 

7 (4) with respect to the development of the con8 tinuity of the economy plan of the President under 

9 section 9603 of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry Na10 tional Defense Authorization Act of Fiscal Year 2021 

11 (6 U.S.C. 322); 

12 (5) proposing statutory and regulatory changes 

13 impacting trade and economic security; and 

14 (6) any other matters the Secretary considers ap15 propriate. 

16 (d) CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR.—The Under Secretary 

17 for Strategy, Policy, and Plans of the Department— 

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

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

20 Chair. 

21 (e) MEETINGS.—The Council shall meet not less fre22 quently than quarterly, as well as— 

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

24 (2) at the direction of the Secretary. 


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

2 of enactment of this Act and every 180 days thereafter for 

3 4 years, the Council shall brief the Committee on Homeland 

4 Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the 

5 Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Rep6 resentatives on the actions and activities of the Council. 

7 SEC. 3. ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR TRADE AND ECONOMIC 

8 SECURITY. 

9 Section 709 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 

10 U.S.C. 349) is amended— 

11 (1) by redesignating subsection (g) as subsection 

12 (h); and 

13 (2) by inserting after subsection (f) the following: 

14 ‘‘(g) ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR TRADE AND ECO15 NOMIC SECURITY.— 

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

17 the Office of Strategy, Policy, and Plans an Assistant 

18 Secretary for Trade and Economic Security. 

19 ‘‘(2) DUTIES.—At the direction of the Under 

20 Secretary for Strategy, Policy, and Plans, the Assist21 ant Secretary for Trade and Economic Security shall 

22 be responsible for policy formulation regarding mat23 ters relating to economic security and trade, as such 

24 matters relate to the mission and the operations of the 

25 Department. 


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1 ‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES.—In addi2 tion to the duties specified in paragraph (2), the As3 sistant Secretary for Trade and Economic Security, 

4 at the direction of the Under Secretary for Strategy, 

5 Policy, and Plans, may— 

6 ‘‘(A) oversee— 

7 ‘‘(i) coordination of supply chain pol8 icy; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) assessments and reports to Con10 gress related to critical economic security 

11 domains; 

12 ‘‘(B) serve as the representative of the 

13 Under Secretary for Strategy, Policy, and Plans 

14 for the purposes of representing the Department 

15 on— 

16 ‘‘(i) the Committee on Foreign Invest17 ment in the United States; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) the Committee for the Assessment 

19 of Foreign Participation in the United 

20 States Telecommunications Services Sector; 

21 ‘‘(C) coordinate with stakeholders in other 

22 Federal departments and agencies and non23 governmental entities with trade and economic 

24 security interests, authorities, and responsibil25 ities; 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 security 

10 of the United States. 

11 ‘‘(B) ECONOMIC SECURITY.—The term ‘eco12 nomic security’ has the meaning given that term 

13 in section 890B(c)(2).’’. 

14 SEC. 4. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

15 Nothing in this Act or the amendments made by this 

16 Act shall be construed to affect or diminish the authority 

17 otherwise granted to any other officer of the Department 

18 of Homeland Security. 


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Calendar No. 560 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4243 

[Report No. 117–208] 

A BILL 

To establish the Department of Homeland Security 

Homeland Security, and for other purposes. Economic Security within the Department of position of Assistant Secretary for Trade and Trade and Economic Security Council and the 

NOVEMBER 17, 2022 

Reported with an amendment 


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