II 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2536 

To enumerate the responsibilities of the Officer for Civil Rights and Civil 

Liberties of the Department of Homeland Security, to require the Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security to designate a 

senior official to investigate civil rights complaints, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 17, 2004 

Ms. COLLINS (for herself and Mr. WYDEN) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Governmental Affairs 

A BILL 

To enumerate the responsibilities of the Officer for Civil 

Rights and Civil Liberties of the Department of Homeland Security, to require the Inspector General of the 

Department of Homeland Security to designate a senior 

official to investigate civil rights complaints, 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 Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Protection Act of 2004’’. 
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1 SEC. 2. MISSION OF DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECU2 RITY. 

3 Section 101(b)(1) of the Homeland Security Act of 

4 2002 (6 U.S.C. 111(b)(1)) is amended— 

5 (1) in subparagraph (F), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

6 after the semicolon; 

7 (2) by redesignating subparagraph (G) as sub8 paragraph (H); and 

9 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (F) the fol10 lowing: 

11 ‘‘(G) ensure that the civil rights and civil 

12 liberties of persons are not diminished by ef13 forts, activities, and programs aimed at secur14 ing the homeland; and’’. 

15 SEC. 3. OFFICER FOR CIVIL RIGHTS AND CIVIL LIBERTIES. 

16 Section 705(a) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 

17 (6 U.S.C. 345(a)) is amended— 

18 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 

19 inserting ‘‘report directly to the Secretary and shall’’ 

20 after ‘‘who shall’’; 

21 (2) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

22 end; 

23 (3) in paragraph (2), by striking the period at 

24 the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

25 (4) by adding at the end the following: 
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1 ‘‘(3) assist the Secretary, directorates, and of2 fices of the Department to develop, implement, and 

3 periodically review Department policies and proce4 dures to ensure that the protection of civil rights 

5 and civil liberties is appropriately incorporated into 

6 Department programs and activities; 

7 ‘‘(4) oversee compliance with constitutional, 

8 statutory, regulatory, policy, and other requirements 

9 relating to the civil rights and civil liberties of indi10 viduals affected by the programs and activities of 

11 the Department; 

12 ‘‘(5) coordinate with the Privacy Officer to en13 sure that— 

14 ‘‘(A) programs, policies, and procedures in15 volving civil rights, civil liberties, and privacy 

16 considerations are addressed in an integrated 

17 and comprehensive manner; and 

18 ‘‘(B) Congress receives appropriate reports 

19 regarding such programs, policies, and proce20 dures; and 

21 ‘‘(6) investigate complaints and information in22 dicating possible abuses of civil rights or civil lib23 erties, unless the Inspector General of the Depart24 ment determines that any such complaint or infor-
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1 mation should be investigated by the Inspector Gen2 eral.’’. 

3 SEC. 4. PROTECTION OF CIVIL RIGHTS AND CIVIL LIB4 ERTIES BY OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL. 

5 Section 8I of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 

6 U.S.C. App.) is amended by adding at the end the fol7 lowing: 

8 ‘‘(f)(1) The Inspector General of the Department of 

9 Homeland Security shall designate a senior official within 

10 the Office of Inspector General, who shall be a career 

11 member of the civil service at the equivalent to the GS– 

12 15 level or a career member of the Senior Executive Serv13 ice, to perform the functions described in paragraph (2). 

14 ‘‘(2) The senior official designated under paragraph 

15 (1) shall— 

16 ‘‘(A) coordinate the activities of the Office of 

17 Inspector General with respect to investigations of 

18 abuses of civil rights or civil liberties; 

19 ‘‘(B) receive and review complaints and infor20 mation from any source alleging abuses of civil 

21 rights and civil liberties by employees or officials of 

22 the Department and employees or officials of inde23 pendent contractors or grantees of the Department; 

24 ‘‘(C) initiate investigations of alleged abuses of 

25 civil rights or civil liberties by employees or officials 
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1 of the Department and employees or officials of 

2 independent contractors or grantees of the Depart3 ment; 

4 ‘‘(D) ensure that personnel within the Office of 

5 Inspector General receive sufficient training to con6 duct effective civil rights and civil liberties investiga7 tions; 

8 ‘‘(E) consult with the Officer for Civil Rights 

9 and Civil Liberties regarding— 

10 ‘‘(i) alleged abuses of civil rights or civil 

11 liberties; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) any policy recommendations regarding 

13 civil rights and civil liberties that may be found14 ed upon an investigation by the Office of In15 spector General; 

16 ‘‘(F) provide the Officer for Civil Rights and 

17 Civil Liberties with information regarding the out18 come of investigations of alleged abuses of civil 

19 rights and civil liberties; 

20 ‘‘(G) refer civil rights and civil liberties matters 

21 that the Inspector General decides not to investigate 

22 to the Officer for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties; 

23 ‘‘(H) ensure that the Office of the Inspector 

24 General publicizes and provides convenient public ac25 cess to information regarding— 
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1 ‘‘(i) the procedure to file complaints or 

2 comments concerning civil rights and civil lib3 erties matters; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) the status of investigations initiated 

5 in response to public complaints; and 

6 ‘‘(I) inform the Officer for Civil Rights and 

7 Civil Liberties of any weaknesses, problems, and de8 ficiencies within the Department relating to civil 

9 rights or civil liberties.’’. 

10 SEC. 5. PRIVACY OFFICER. 

11 Section 222 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 

12 (6 U.S.C. 142) is amended— 

13 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 

14 inserting ‘‘, who shall report directly to the Sec15 retary,’’ after ‘‘in the Department’’; 

16 (2) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

17 end; 

18 (3) by redesignating paragraph (5) as para19 graph (6); and 

20 (4) by inserting after paragraph (4) the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘(5) coordinating with the Officer for Civil 

23 Rights and Civil Liberties to ensure that— 

24 ‘‘(A) programs, policies, and procedures in25 volving civil rights, civil liberties, and privacy 
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1 considerations are addressed in an integrated 

2 and comprehensive manner; and 

3 ‘‘(B) Congress receives appropriate reports 

4 on such programs, policies, and procedures; 

5 and’’. 

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