II 
Calendar No. 234 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 623 
[Report No. 114–145] 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
FEBRUARY 3, 2015 
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs 
SEPTEMBER 21, 2015 
Reported by Mr. JOHNSON, with an amendment 
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 
AN ACT 
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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tioners, including representatives from the following 
entities: 
‘‘(A) The Office of Public Affairs of the 
Department. 
‘‘(B) The Office of the Chief Information 
Officer of the Department. 
‘‘(C) The Privacy Office of the Depart-
ment. 
‘‘(D) The Federal Emergency Management 
Agency. 
‘‘(E) The Office of Disability Integration 
and Coordination of the Federal Emergency 
Management Agency. 
‘‘(F) The American Red Cross. 
‘‘(G) The Forest Service. 
‘‘(H) The Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention. 
‘‘(I) The United States Geological Survey. 
‘‘(J) The National Oceanic and Atmos-
pheric Administration. 
‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL MEMBERS.—The Under Sec-
retary for Science and Technology shall appoint, on 
a rotating basis, qualified individuals to the Group. 
The
total
number
of
such
additional
members 
shall— 
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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) nonprofit disaster relief or-
ganizations. 
‘‘(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.’’. 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘DHS Social Media Im-
provement Act of 2015’’. 
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SEC. 2. SOCIAL MEDIA WORKING GROUP. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title III of the Homeland Security 
Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) is amended by adding 
at the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 318. SOCIAL MEDIA WORKING GROUP. 
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish 
within the Department a social media working group (in 
this section referred to as the ‘Group’). 
‘‘(b) PURPOSE.—In order to enhance the dissemination 
of information through social media technologies between 
the Department and appropriate stakeholders and to im-
prove use of social media technologies in support of pre-
paredness, response, and recovery, the Group shall identify, 
and provide guidance and best practices to the emergency 
preparedness and response community on, the use of social 
media technologies before, during, and after a natural dis-
aster or an act of terrorism or other man-made disaster. 
‘‘(c) MEMBERSHIP.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Membership of the Group 
shall be composed of a cross section of subject matter 
experts from Federal, State, local, tribal, territorial, 
and nongovernmental organization practitioners, in-
cluding representatives from the following entities: 
‘‘(A) The Office of Public Affairs of the De-
partment. 
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‘‘(B) The Office of the Chief Information Of-
ficer of the Department. 
‘‘(C) The Privacy Office of the Department. 
‘‘(D) The Federal Emergency Management 
Agency. 
‘‘(E) The Office of Disability Integration 
and Coordination of the Federal Emergency 
Management Agency. 
‘‘(F) The American Red Cross. 
‘‘(G) The Forest Service. 
‘‘(H) The Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention. 
‘‘(I) The United States Geological Survey. 
‘‘(J) The National Oceanic and Atmos-
pheric Administration. 
‘‘(2) CHAIRPERSON; CO-CHAIRPERSON.— 
‘‘(A) CHAIRPERSON.—The Secretary, or a 
designee of the Secretary, shall serve as the 
chairperson of the Group. 
‘‘(B) CO-CHAIRPERSON.—The chairperson 
shall designate, on a rotating basis, a representa-
tive from a State or local government who is a 
member of the Group to serve as the co-chair-
person of the Group. 
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‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL
MEMBERS.—The chairperson 
shall appoint, on a rotating basis, qualified individ-
uals to the Group. The total number of such addi-
tional members shall— 
‘‘(A) be equal to or greater than the total 
number of regular members under paragraph 
(1); and 
‘‘(B) include— 
‘‘(i) not fewer than 3 representatives 
from the private sector; and 
‘‘(ii) representatives from— 
‘‘(I) State, local, tribal, and terri-
torial entities, including from— 
‘‘(aa) law enforcement; 
‘‘(bb) fire services; 
‘‘(cc) 
emergency 
manage-
ment; and 
‘‘(dd) public health entities; 
‘‘(II) universities and academia; 
and 
‘‘(III) nonprofit disaster relief or-
ganizations. 
‘‘(4) TERM LIMITS.—The chairperson shall estab-
lish term limits for individuals appointed to the 
Group under paragraph (3). 
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‘‘(d) CONSULTATION WITH NON-MEMBERS.—To the ex-
tent practicable, the Group shall work with entities 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 enactment of this section, the Group 
shall hold its initial meeting. 
‘‘(2) SUBSEQUENT MEETINGS.—After the initial 
meeting under paragraph (1), the Group shall meet— 
‘‘(A) at the call of the chairperson; and 
‘‘(B) not less frequently than twice each 
year. 
‘‘(3) VIRTUAL MEETINGS.—Each meeting of the 
Group may be held virtually. 
‘‘(f) REPORTS.—During each year in which the Group 
meets, the Group shall submit to the appropriate congres-
sional committees a report that includes the following: 
‘‘(1) A review and analysis of current and 
emerging social media technologies being used to sup-
port preparedness and response activities related to 
natural disasters and acts of terrorism and other 
man-made disasters. 
‘‘(2) A review of best practices and lessons 
learned on the use of social media technologies during 
the response to natural disasters and acts of terrorism 
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and other man-made disasters that occurred during 
the period covered by the report at issue. 
‘‘(3) Recommendations to improve the Depart-
ment’s use of social media technologies for emergency 
management purposes. 
‘‘(4) Recommendations to improve public aware-
ness of the type of information disseminated through 
social media technologies, and how to access such in-
formation, during a natural disaster or an act of ter-
rorism or other man-made disaster. 
‘‘(5) A review of available training for Federal, 
State, local, tribal, and territorial officials on the use 
of social media technologies in response to a natural 
disaster or an act of terrorism or other man-made 
disaster. 
‘‘(6) A review of coordination efforts with the 
private sector to discuss and resolve legal, operational, 
technical, privacy, and security concerns. 
‘‘(g) DURATION OF GROUP.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Group shall terminate 
on the date that is 5 years after the date of enactment 
of this section unless the chairperson renews the 
Group for a successive 5-year period, prior to the date 
on which the Group would otherwise terminate, by 
submitting to the Committee on Homeland Security 
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and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Com-
mittee on Homeland Security of the House of Rep-
resentatives a certification that the continued exist-
ence of the Group is necessary to fulfill the purpose 
described in subsection (b). 
‘‘(2) CONTINUED
RENEWAL.—The chairperson 
may continue to renew the Group for successive 5- 
year periods by submitting a certification in accord-
ance with paragraph (1) prior to the date on which 
the Group would otherwise terminate.’’. 
(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: 
‘‘Sec. 318. Social media working group.’’. 
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Calendar No. 234 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 623 
[Report No. 114–145] 
AN ACT 
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. 
SEPTEMBER 21, 2015 
Reported with an amendment 
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