I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1617 
To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to provide for a privacy 
official within each component of the Department of Homeland Security, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 19, 2009 
Mr. CARNEY (for himself and Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security 
A BILL 
To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to provide 
for a privacy official within each component of the De-
partment of Homeland Security, 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 ‘‘Department of Home-
land Security Component Privacy Officer Act of 2009’’. 
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SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF PRIVACY OFFICIAL WITHIN 
EACH 
COMPONENT 
OF 
DEPARTMENT 
OF 
HOMELAND SECURITY. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle C of title II of the Home-
land Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 141 et seq.) is amend-
ed by inserting after section 222 the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 222A. PRIVACY OFFICIALS. 
‘‘(a) DESIGNATION.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For each component of the 
Department under paragraph (2), the Secretary 
shall, in consultation with the head of the compo-
nent, designate a full-time privacy official, who shall 
report directly to the senior official appointed under 
section 222. Each such component privacy official 
shall have primary responsibility for its component 
in implementing the privacy policy for the Depart-
ment established by the senior official appointed 
under section 222. 
‘‘(2) COMPONENTS.—The components of the 
Department referred to in this subparagraph are as 
follows: 
‘‘(A) The Transportation Security Admin-
istration. 
‘‘(B) The Bureau of Citizenship and Immi-
gration Services. 
‘‘(C) Customs and Border Protection. 
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‘‘(D) Immigration and Customs Enforce-
ment. 
‘‘(E) The Federal Emergency Management 
Agency. 
‘‘(F) The Coast Guard. 
‘‘(G) The Directorate of Science and Tech-
nology. 
‘‘(H) The Office of Intelligence and Anal-
ysis. 
‘‘(I) The Directorate for National Protec-
tion and Programs. 
‘‘(b) RESPONSIBILITIES.—Each privacy official des-
ignated under subsection (a) shall report directly to both 
the head of the official’s component and the senior official 
appointed under section 222, and shall have the following 
responsibilities with respect to the component: 
‘‘(1) Serve as such senior official’s main point 
of contact at the component to implement the polices 
and directives of such senior official in carrying out 
section 222. 
‘‘(2) Advise the head of that component on pri-
vacy considerations when any law, regulation, pro-
gram, policy, procedure, or guideline is proposed, de-
veloped, or implemented. 
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‘‘(3) Assure that the use of technologies by the 
component sustain or enhance privacy protections 
relating to the use, collection, and disclosure of per-
sonal information within the component. 
‘‘(4) Identify privacy issues related to compo-
nent programs and apply appropriate privacy poli-
cies in accordance with Federal privacy law and De-
partmental policies developed to ensure that the 
component protects the privacy of individuals af-
fected by its activities. 
‘‘(5) Monitor the component’s compliance with 
all applicable Federal privacy laws and regulations, 
implement corrective, remedial, and preventive ac-
tions and notify the senior official appointed under 
section 222 of privacy issues or non-compliance, 
whenever necessary. 
‘‘(6) Ensure that personal information con-
tained in Privacy Act systems of records is handled 
in full compliance with section 552a of title 5, 
United States Code. 
‘‘(7) Assist in drafting and reviewing privacy 
impact assessments, privacy threshold assessments, 
and system of records notices, in conjunction with 
and under the direction of the senior official ap-
pointed under section 222, for any new or substan-
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tially changed program or technology that collects, 
maintains, or disseminates personally identifiable in-
formation within the official’s component. 
‘‘(8) Assist in drafting and reviewing privacy 
impact assessments, privacy threshold assessments, 
and system of records notices in conjunction with 
and under the direction of the senior official ap-
pointed under section 222, for proposed rulemakings 
and regulations within the component. 
‘‘(9) Conduct supervision of programs, regula-
tions, policies, procedures, or guidelines to ensure 
the component’s protection of privacy and, as nec-
essary, promulgate guidelines and conduct oversight 
to ensure the protection of privacy. 
‘‘(10) Implement and monitor privacy training 
for component employees and contractors in coordi-
nation with the senior official appointed under sec-
tion 222. 
‘‘(11) Provide the senior official appointed 
under section 222 with written materials and infor-
mation regarding the relevant activities of the com-
ponent, including privacy violations and abuse, that 
are needed by the senior official to successfully pre-
pare the reports the senior official submits to Con-
gress and prepares on behalf of the Department. 
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‘‘(12) Any other responsibilities assigned by the 
Secretary or the senior official appointed under sec-
tion 222. 
‘‘(c) ROLE OF COMPONENT HEADS.—The head of a 
component identified in subsection (a)(2) shall ensure that 
the privacy official designated under subsection (a) for 
that component— 
‘‘(1) has the information, material, and re-
sources necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of 
such official under this section; 
‘‘(2) is advised of proposed policy changes and 
the development of new programs, rules, regulations, 
procedures, or guidelines during the planning stage 
and is included in the decisionmaking process; and 
‘‘(3) is given access to material and personnel 
the privacy official deems necessary to carry out the 
official’s responsibilities. 
‘‘(d) LIMITATION.—Nothing in this section shall be 
considered to abrogate the role and responsibilities of the 
senior official appointed under section 222.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 
in section 1(b) of such Act is amended by inserting after 
the item related to section 222 the following new item: 
‘‘Sec. 222A. Privacy officials.’’. 
Æ 
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