I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 623 
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 
JANUARY 30, 2015 
Mrs. BROOKS of Indiana (for herself, Mr. MCCAUL, and Mr. PAYNE) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Trans-
portation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Home-
land Security, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 
in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the juris-
diction of the committee concerned 
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. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Social Media Working 
Group Act of 2015’’. 
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SEC. 2. SOCIAL MEDIA WORKING GROUP. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title III of the Homeland Secu-
rity Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) is amended by 
adding at the end the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 318. SOCIAL MEDIA WORKING GROUP. 
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall estab-
lish within the Department a social media working group 
(in this section referred to as the ‘Group’). 
‘‘(b) PURPOSE.—In order to enhance information 
sharing between the Department and appropriate stake-
holders, the Group shall provide guidance and best prac-
tices to the emergency preparedness and response commu-
nity on the use of social media technologies before, during, 
and after a terrorist attack or other emergency. 
‘‘(c) MEMBERSHIP.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary for 
Science and Technology shall serve as the permanent 
chairperson of the Group, and shall designate, on a 
rotating basis, a representative from a State or local 
government who is a member of the Group to serve 
as co-chairperson. The Under Secretary shall estab-
lish term limits for individuals appointed to the 
Group pursuant to paragraph (2). Membership of 
the Group shall be composed of a cross section of 
subject matter experts from Federal, State, local, 
tribal, and nongovernmental organization practi-
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‘‘(A) be equal to or greater than the total 
number of regular members under paragraph 
(1); and 
‘‘(B) include— 
‘‘(i) not fewer than three representa-
tives from the private sector; and 
‘‘(ii) representatives from— 
‘‘(I) State, local, and tribal enti-
ties, including from— 
‘‘(aa) law enforcement; 
‘‘(bb) fire services; 
‘‘(cc) 
emergency 
manage-
ment; and 
‘‘(dd) public health entities; 
‘‘(II) universities and academia; 
and 
‘‘(III) non-profit disaster relief 
organizations. 
‘‘(d) CONSULTATION WITH NON-MEMBERS.—To the 
extent practicable, the Group shall work with existing bod-
ies in the public and private sectors to carry out subsection 
(b). 
‘‘(e) MEETINGS.— 
‘‘(1) INITIAL
MEETING.—Not later than 90 
days after the date of the enactment of this section, 
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the Group shall hold its initial meeting. Such initial 
meeting may be held virtually. 
‘‘(2) SUBSEQUENT MEETINGS.—After the initial 
meeting under paragraph (1), the Group shall meet 
at least twice each year, or at the call of the Chair-
person. Such subsequent meetings may be held vir-
tually. 
‘‘(f) NONAPPLICABILITY
OF FACA.—The Federal 
Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply 
to the Group. 
‘‘(g) REPORTS.—Not later than March 30 of each 
year, the Group shall submit to the appropriate congres-
sional committees a report that includes the following: 
‘‘(1) A review of current and emerging social 
media technologies being used to support prepared-
ness and response activities related to terrorist at-
tacks and other emergencies. 
‘‘(2) A review of best practices and lessons 
learned on the use of social media during the re-
sponse to terrorist attacks and other emergencies 
that occurred during the period covered by the re-
port at issue. 
‘‘(3) Recommendations to improve the Depart-
ment’s use of social media for emergency manage-
ment purposes. 
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‘‘(4) 
Recommendations 
to 
improve 
public 
awareness of the type of information disseminated 
through social media, and how to access such infor-
mation, during a terrorist attack or other emer-
gency. 
‘‘(5) Recommendations to improve information 
sharing among the Department and its components. 
‘‘(6) Recommendations to improve information 
sharing among State and local governments. 
‘‘(7) A review of available training for Federal, 
State, local, and tribal officials on the use of social 
media in response to a terrorist attack or other 
emergency. 
‘‘(8) A summary of coordination efforts with 
the private sector to discuss and resolve legal, oper-
ational, technical, privacy, and security concerns.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 
in section 1(b) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 is 
amended by inserting after the item relating to section 
317 the following new item: 
‘‘Sec. 318. Social media working group.’’. 
Æ 
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