II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 575 

To continue operation of the Human Exploitation Rescue Operative (HERO) 

Child Rescue Corps, a Cyber Crimes Center, a Child Exploitation Investigations Unit, a Computer Forensics Unit, and a Cyber Crimes Unit 

to support the mission of the Homeland Security Investigations directorate of United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement to combat the exploitation of children. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 25, 2015 

Mr. KIRK (for himself and Mr. BLUMENTHAL) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To continue operation of the Human Exploitation Rescue 

Operative (HERO) Child Rescue Corps, a Cyber Crimes 

Center, a Child Exploitation Investigations Unit, a Computer Forensics Unit, and a Cyber Crimes Unit to support the mission of the Homeland Security Investigations 

directorate of United States Immigration and Customs 

Enforcement to combat the exploitation of children. 

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 title may be cited as the ‘‘Human Exploitation 

3 Rescue Operations Act of 2015’’ or the ‘‘HERO Act of 

4 2015’’. 

5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

6 Congress finds the following: 

7 (1) The illegal market for the production and 

8 distribution of child abuse imagery is a growing 

9 threat to children in the United States. International 

10 demand for this material creates a powerful incen11 tive for the rape, abuse, and torture of children 

12 within the United States. 

13 (2) The targeting of United States children by 

14 international criminal networks is a threat to the 

15 homeland security of the United States. This threat 

16 must be fought with trained personnel and highly 

17 specialized counter-child-exploitation strategies and 

18 technologies. 

19 (3) The United States Immigration and Cus20 toms Enforcement of the Department of Homeland 

21 Security serves a critical national security role in 

22 protecting the United States from the growing inter23 national threat of child exploitation and human traf24 ficking. 

25 (4) The Cyber Crimes Center of the United 

26 States Immigration and Customs Enforcement is a 


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1 vital national resource in the effort to combat inter2 national child exploitation, providing advanced ex3 pertise and assistance in investigations, computer 

4 forensics, and victim identification. 

5 (5) The returning military heroes of the United 

6 States possess unique and valuable skills that can 

7 assist law enforcement in combating global sexual 

8 and child exploitation, and the Department of 

9 Homeland Security should use this national resource 

10 to the maximum extent possible. 

11 (6) Through the Human Exploitation Rescue 

12 Operative (HERO) Child Rescue Corps program, the 

13 returning military heroes of the United States are 

14 trained and hired to investigate crimes of child ex15 ploitation in order to target predators and rescue 

16 children from sexual abuse and slavery. 

17 SEC. 3. CYBER CRIMES CENTER, CHILD EXPLOITATION IN18 VESTIGATIONS UNIT, AND COMPUTER 

19 FORENSICS UNIT. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle H of title VIII of the 

21 Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 451 et seq.) 

22 is amended by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 890A. CYBER CRIMES CENTER, CHILD EXPLOITATION 

2 INVESTIGATIONS UNIT, COMPUTER 

3 FORENSICS UNIT, AND CYBER CRIMES UNIT. 

4 ‘‘(a) CYBER CRIMES CENTER.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall oper6 ate, within United States Immigration and Customs 

7 Enforcement, a Cyber Crimes Center (referred to in 

8 this section as the ‘Center’). 

9 ‘‘(2) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Center 

10 shall be to provide investigative assistance, training, 

11 and equipment to support United States Immigra12 tion and Customs Enforcement’s domestic and inter13 national investigations of cyber-related crimes. 

14 ‘‘(b) CHILD EXPLOITATION INVESTIGATIONS

15 UNIT.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall oper17 ate, within the Center, a Child Exploitation Inves18 tigations Unit (referred to in this subsection as the 

19 ‘CEIU’). 

20 ‘‘(2) FUNCTIONS.—The CEIU— 

21 ‘‘(A) shall coordinate all United States Im22 migration and Customs Enforcement child ex23 ploitation initiatives, including investigations 

24 into— 

25 ‘‘(i) child exploitation; 

26 ‘‘(ii) child pornography; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) child victim identification; 

2 ‘‘(iv) traveling child sex offenders; and 

3 ‘‘(v) forced child labor, including the 

4 sexual exploitation of minors; 

5 ‘‘(B) shall, among other things, focus on— 

6 ‘‘(i) child exploitation prevention; 

7 ‘‘(ii) investigative capacity building; 

8 ‘‘(iii) enforcement operations; and 

9 ‘‘(iv) training for Federal, State, local, 

10 tribal, and foreign law enforcement agency 

11 personnel, upon request; 

12 ‘‘(C) shall provide training, technical ex13 pertise, support, or coordination of child exploi14 tation investigations, as needed, to cooperating 

15 law enforcement agencies and personnel; 

16 ‘‘(D) shall provide psychological support 

17 and counseling services for United States Immi18 gration and Customs Enforcement personnel 

19 engaged in child exploitation prevention initia20 tives, including making available other existing 

21 services to assist employees who are exposed to 

22 child exploitation material during investigations; 

23 ‘‘(E) is authorized to collaborate with the 

24 Department of Defense and the National Asso25 ciation to Protect Children for the purpose of 


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1 the recruiting, training, equipping and hiring of 

2 wounded, ill, and injured veterans and 

3 transitioning service members, through the 

4 Human Exploitation Rescue Operative (HERO) 

5 Child Rescue Corps program; and 

6 ‘‘(F) shall collaborate with other govern7 mental, nongovernmental, and nonprofit entities 

8 approved by the Secretary for the sponsorship 

9 of, and participation in, outreach and training 

10 activities. 

11 ‘‘(3) DATA COLLECTION.—The CEIU shall col12 lect and maintain data concerning— 

13 ‘‘(A) the total number of suspects identi14 fied by United States Immigration and Customs 

15 Enforcement; 

16 ‘‘(B) the number of arrests by United 

17 States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, 

18 disaggregated by type, including— 

19 ‘‘(i) the number of victims identified 

20 through investigations carried out by 

21 United States Immigration and Customs 

22 Enforcement; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) the number of suspects arrested 

24 who were in positions of trust or authority 

25 over children; 


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1 ‘‘(C) the number of cases opened for inves2 tigation by United States Immigration and Cus3 toms Enforcement; and 

4 ‘‘(D) the number of cases resulting in a 

5 Federal, State, foreign, or military prosecution. 

6 ‘‘(4) AVAILABILITY OF DATA TO CONGRESS.—In 

7 addition to submitting the reports required under 

8 paragraph (7), the CEIU shall make the data col9 lected and maintained under paragraph (3) available 

10 to the committees of Congress described in para11 graph (7). 

12 ‘‘(5) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—The CEIU 

13 is authorized to enter into cooperative agreements to 

14 accomplish the functions set forth in paragraphs (2) 

15 and (3). 

16 ‘‘(6) ACCEPTANCE OF GIFTS.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary is au18 thorized to accept monies and in-kind donations 

19 from the Virtual Global Taskforce, national lab20 oratories, Federal agencies, not-for-profit orga21 nizations, and educational institutions to create 

22 and expand public awareness campaigns in sup23 port of the functions of the CEIU. 

24 ‘‘(B) EXEMPTION FROM FEDERAL ACQUISI25 TION REGULATION.—Gifts authorized under 


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1 subparagraph (A) shall not be subject to the 

2 Federal Acquisition Regulation for competition 

3 when the services provided by the entities re4 ferred to in such subparagraph are donated or 

5 of minimal cost to the Department. 

6 ‘‘(7) REPORTS.—Not later than 1 year after the 

7 date of the enactment of the HERO Act of 2015, 

8 and annually for the following 4 years, the CEIU 

9 shall— 

10 ‘‘(A) submit a report containing a sum11 mary of the data collected pursuant to para12 graph (3) during the previous year to— 

13 ‘‘(i) the Committee on Homeland Se14 curity and Governmental Affairs of the 

15 Senate; 

16 ‘‘(ii) the Committee on the Judiciary 

17 of the Senate; 

18 ‘‘(iii) the Committee on Appropria19 tions of the Senate; 

20 ‘‘(iv) the Committee on Homeland Se21 curity of the House of Representatives; 

22 ‘‘(v) the Committee on the Judiciary 

23 of the House of Representatives; and 

24 ‘‘(vi) the Committee on Appropria25 tions of the House of Representatives; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) make a copy of each report submitted 

2 under subparagraph (A) publicly available on 

3 the website of the Department. 

4 ‘‘(c) COMPUTER FORENSICS UNIT.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall oper6 ate, within the Center, a Computer Forensics Unit 

7 (referred to in this subsection as the ‘CFU’). 

8 ‘‘(2) FUNCTIONS.—The CFU— 

9 ‘‘(A) shall provide training and technical 

10 support in digital forensics to— 

11 ‘‘(i) United States Immigration and 

12 Customs Enforcement personnel; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) Federal, State, local, tribal, mili14 tary, and foreign law enforcement agency 

15 personnel engaged in the investigation of 

16 crimes within their respective jurisdictions, 

17 upon request and subject to the availability 

18 of funds; 

19 ‘‘(B) shall provide computer hardware, 

20 software, and forensic licenses for all computer 

21 forensics personnel within United States Immi22 gration and Customs Enforcement; 

23 ‘‘(C) shall participate in research and de24 velopment in the area of digital forensics, in coVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:55 Mar 06, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S575.IS S575

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1 ordination with appropriate components of the 

2 Department; and 

3 ‘‘(D) is authorized to collaborate with the 

4 Department of Defense and the National Asso5 ciation to Protect Children for the purpose of 

6 recruiting, training, equipping, and hiring 

7 wounded, ill, and injured veterans and 

8 transitioning service members, through the 

9 Human Exploitation Rescue Operative (HERO) 

10 Child Rescue Corps program. 

11 ‘‘(3) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—The CFU 

12 is authorized to enter into cooperative agreements to 

13 accomplish the functions set forth in paragraph (2). 

14 ‘‘(4) ACCEPTANCE OF GIFTS.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary is au16 thorized to accept monies and in-kind donations 

17 from the Virtual Global Task Force, national 

18 laboratories, Federal agencies, not-for-profit or19 ganizations, and educational institutions to cre20 ate and expand public awareness campaigns in 

21 support of the functions of the CFU. 

22 ‘‘(B) EXEMPTION FROM FEDERAL ACQUISI23 TION REGULATION.—Gifts authorized under 

24 subparagraph (A) shall not be subject to the 

25 Federal Acquisition Regulation for competition 


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1 when the services provided by the entities re2 ferred to in such subparagraph are donated or 

3 of minimal cost to the Department. 

4 ‘‘(d) CYBER CRIMES UNIT.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall oper6 ate, within the Center, a Cyber Crimes Unit (re7 ferred to in this subsection as the ‘CCU’). 

8 ‘‘(2) FUNCTIONS.—The CCU— 

9 ‘‘(A) shall oversee the cyber security strat10 egy and cyber-related operations and programs 

11 for United States Immigration and Customs 

12 Enforcement; 

13 ‘‘(B) shall enhance United States Immi14 gration and Customs Enforcement’s ability to 

15 combat criminal enterprises operating on or 

16 through the Internet, with specific focus in the 

17 areas of— 

18 ‘‘(i) cyber economic crime; 

19 ‘‘(ii) digital theft of intellectual prop20 erty; 

21 ‘‘(iii) illicit e-commerce (including hid22 den marketplaces); 

23 ‘‘(iv) Internet-facilitated proliferation 

24 of arms and strategic technology; and 


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1 ‘‘(v) cyber-enabled smuggling and 

2 money laundering; 

3 ‘‘(C) shall provide training and technical 

4 support in cyber investigations to— 

5 ‘‘(i) United States Immigration and 

6 Customs Enforcement personnel; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) Federal, State, local, tribal, mili8 tary, and foreign law enforcement agency 

9 personnel engaged in the investigation of 

10 crimes within their respective jurisdictions, 

11 upon request and subject to the availability 

12 of funds; 

13 ‘‘(D) shall participate in research and de14 velopment in the area of cyber investigations, in 

15 coordination with appropriate components of 

16 the Department; and 

17 ‘‘(E) is authorized to recruit participants 

18 of the Human Exploitation Rescue Operative 

19 (HERO) Child Rescue Corps program for inves20 tigative and forensic positions in support of the 

21 functions of the CCU. 

22 ‘‘(3) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—The CCU is 

23 authorized to enter into cooperative agreements to 

24 accomplish the functions set forth in paragraph (2). 


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1 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

2 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary such 

3 sums as are necessary to carry out this section.’’. 

4 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS AMENDMENT.—The table 

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

6 of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101 note) is amended by adding after 

7 the item relating to section 890 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 890A. Cyber crimes center, child exploitation investigations unit, computer forensics unit, and cyber crimes unit.’’. 

8 SEC. 4. HERO CORPS HIRING. 

9 It is the sense of Congress that Homeland Security 

10 Investigations of the United States Immigration and Cus11 toms Enforcement should hire, recruit, train, and equip 

12 wounded, ill, or injured military veterans (as defined in 

13 section 101, title 38, United States Code) who are affili14 ated with the HERO Child Rescue Corps program for in15 vestigative, intelligence, analyst, and forensic positions. 

16 SEC. 5. INVESTIGATING CHILD EXPLOITATION. 

17 Section 307(b)(3) of the Homeland Security Act of 

18 2002 (6 U.S.C. 187(b)(3)) is amended— 

19 (1) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

20 the end; 

21 (2) in subparagraph (C), by striking the period 

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

23 (3) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(D) conduct research and development for 

2 the purpose of advancing technology for the in3 vestigation of child exploitation crimes, includ4 ing child victim identification, trafficking in 

5 persons, and child pornography, and for ad6 vanced forensics.’’. 

Æ 


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