I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2526
To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (Public Law 107–296) to 
provide for the protection of voluntarily furnished confidential informa-
tion, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 19, 2003
Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts (for himself and Mr. UDALL of New Mexico) 
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
Government Reform, and in addition to the Select 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 (Public Law 
107–296) to provide for the protection of voluntarily 
furnished confidential information, and for other pur-
poses.
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 ‘‘Restoration of Free-
dom of Information Act of 2003’’.
SEC. 2. PROTECTION OF VOLUNTARILY FURNISHED CON-
FIDENTIAL INFORMATION. 
Title II of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (Pub-
lic Law 107–296) is amended by striking subtitle B and 
inserting the following: 
‘‘Subtitle B—Protection of Volun-
tarily 
Furnished 
Confidential 
Information 
‘‘SEC. 211. PROTECTION OF VOLUNTARILY FURNISHED 
CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION. 
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) CRITICAL
INFRASTRUCTURE.—The term 
‘critical infrastructure’ has the meaning given that 
term in section 1016(e) of the USA PATRIOT ACT 
of 2001 (42 U.S.C. 5195c(e)). 
‘‘(2) FURNISHED VOLUNTARILY.—
‘‘(A) DEFINITION.—The term ‘furnished 
voluntarily’ means a submission of a record 
that—
‘‘(i) is made to the Department in the 
absence of authority of the Department re-
quiring that record to be submitted; and 
‘‘(ii) is not submitted or used to sat-
isfy any legal requirement or obligation or 
to obtain any grant, permit, benefit (such 
as agency forbearance, loans, or reduction
or modifications of agency penalties or rul-
ings), or other approval from the Govern-
ment. 
‘‘(B) BENEFIT.—In this paragraph, the 
term ‘benefit’ does not include any warning, 
alert, or other risk analysis by the Department. 
‘‘(b) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other pro-
vision of law, a record pertaining to the vulnerability of 
and threats to critical infrastructure (such as attacks, re-
sponse, and recovery efforts) that is furnished voluntarily 
to the Department shall not be made available under sec-
tion 552 of title 5, United States Code, if—
‘‘(1) the provider would not customarily make 
the record available to the public; and 
‘‘(2) the record is designated and certified by 
the provider, in a manner specified by the Depart-
ment, as confidential and not customarily made 
available to the public. 
‘‘(c) RECORDS SHARED WITH OTHER AGENCIES.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—
‘‘(A) RESPONSE TO REQUEST.—An agency 
in receipt of a record that was furnished volun-
tarily to the Department and subsequently 
shared with the agency shall, upon receipt of a
request under section 552 of title 5, United 
States Code, for the record—
‘‘(i) not make the record available; 
and 
‘‘(ii) refer the request to the Depart-
ment for processing and response in ac-
cordance with this section. 
‘‘(B) 
SEGREGABLE
PORTION
OF 
RECORD.—Any reasonably segregable portion of 
a record shall be provided to the person re-
questing the record after deletion of any portion 
which is exempt under this section. 
‘‘(2) DISCLOSURE
OF
INDEPENDENTLY
FUR-
NISHED RECORDS.—Notwithstanding paragraph (1), 
nothing in this section shall prohibit an agency from 
making available under section 552 of title 5, United 
States Code, any record that the agency receives 
independently of the Department, regardless of 
whether or not the Department has a similar or 
identical record. 
‘‘(d) WITHDRAWAL
OF CONFIDENTIAL DESIGNA-
TION.—The provider of a record that is furnished volun-
tarily to the Department under subsection (b) may at any 
time withdraw, in a manner specified by the Department, 
the confidential designation.
‘‘(e) PROCEDURES.—The Secretary shall prescribe 
procedures for—
‘‘(1) the acknowledgement of receipt of records 
furnished voluntarily; 
‘‘(2) the designation, certification, and marking 
of records furnished voluntarily as confidential and 
not customarily made available to the public; 
‘‘(3) the care and storage of records furnished 
voluntarily; 
‘‘(4) the protection and maintenance of the con-
fidentiality of records furnished voluntarily; and 
‘‘(5) the withdrawal of the confidential designa-
tion of records under subsection (d). 
‘‘(f) EFFECT ON STATE AND LOCAL LAW.—Nothing 
in this section shall be construed as preempting or other-
wise modifying State or local law concerning the disclosure 
of any information that a State or local government re-
ceives independently of the Department. 
‘‘(g) REPORT.—
‘‘(1) 
REQUIREMENT.—Not 
later 
than 
months after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the Comptroller General of the United States shall 
submit to the committees of Congress specified in 
paragraph (2) a report on the implementation and 
use of this section, including—
‘‘(A) the number of persons in the private 
sector, and the number of State and local agen-
cies, that furnished voluntarily records to the 
Department under this section; 
‘‘(B) the number of requests for access to 
records granted or denied under this section; 
and 
‘‘(C) such recommendations as the Comp-
troller General considers appropriate regarding 
improvements in the collection and analysis of 
sensitive information held by persons in the pri-
vate sector, or by State and local agencies, re-
lating to vulnerabilities of and threats to critical 
infrastructure, including the response to such 
vulnerabilities and threats. 
‘‘(2) COMMITTEES
OF
CONGRESS.—The com-
mittees of Congress specified in this paragraph 
are—
‘‘(A) the Committees on the Judiciary and 
Governmental Affairs of the Senate; and 
‘‘(B) the Committees on the Judiciary and 
Government Reform and Oversight of the 
House of Representatives.
‘‘(3) FORM.—The report shall be submitted in 
unclassified form, but may include a classified 
annex.’’. 
SEC. 3. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT. 
The table of contents for the Homeland Security Act 
of 2002 (Public Law 107–296) is amended by striking the 
matter relating to subtitle B of title II and inserting the 
following:
‘‘Subtitle B—Protection of Voluntarily Furnished Confidential In-
formation.
‘‘Sec. 211. Protection of Voluntarily Furnished Confidential Infor-
mation.’’.
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