I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1829 
To require the Secretary of Homeland Security to assess and submit to 
Congress a report on the ability of the Department of Homeland Security 
to convey information to, collect information from, and serve individuals 
with limited English proficiency. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 15, 2015 
Mrs. TORRES (for herself, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, and Mrs. WATSON 
COLEMAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Homeland Security 
A BILL 
To require the Secretary of Homeland Security to assess 
and submit to Congress a report on the ability of the 
Department of Homeland Security to convey information 
to, collect information from, and serve individuals with 
limited English proficiency. 
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 ‘‘DHS Communication 
Enhancement Act of 2015’’. 
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SEC. 2. ASSESSING AND DEVELOPING A PLAN TO IMPROVE 
DHS COMMUNICATION WITH AND SERVICE 
OF INDIVIDUALS WITH LIMITED ENGLISH 
PROFICIENCY. 
(a) ASSESSMENT.—Not later than 180 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Home-
land Security, acting through the Under Secretary for 
Management, shall complete an assessment of the ability 
of the Department of Homeland Security to convey infor-
mation to, collect information from, and serve individuals 
with limited English proficiency. With respect to each 
component in the Department, the assessment shall— 
(1) identify the languages spoken fluently and 
read by individuals with limited English proficiency 
commonly encountered by personnel of the compo-
nent; 
(2) review the public materials of the compo-
nent to assess the extent to which the materials are 
available in the languages identified under para-
graph (1); and 
(3) assess the ability of personnel of the compo-
nent to communicate with and serve individuals with 
limited English proficiency. 
(b) REPORT; IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.—Not later 
than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the Secretary shall submit a report to the Committee on 
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Homeland Security of the House of Representatives and 
the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
Affairs of the Senate concerning the assessment under 
subsection (a). Such report shall include— 
(1) a summary of the findings of such assess-
ment for each component of the Department; and 
(2) a plan, including a timeline for implementa-
tion, developed in consultation with the head of each 
component, to improve the ability of each component 
to convey information to, collect information from, 
and serve individuals with limited English pro-
ficiency. 
Æ 
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