IB 
Union Calendar No. 242 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4713 
[Report No. 116–300] 
To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to make certain improvements 
in the Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties of the Department 
of Homeland Security, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 17, 2019 
Mr. GREEN of Texas (for himself and Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Home-
land Security 
NOVEMBER 19, 2019 
Additional sponsor: Mr. TAYLOR 
NOVEMBER 19, 2019 
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on October 17, 2019] 
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A BILL 
To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to make 
certain improvements in the Office for Civil Rights and 
Civil Liberties of the Department of Homeland Security, 
and for other purposes. 
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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 Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Au-
thorization Act’’. 
SEC. 2. OFFICER FOR CIVIL RIGHTS AND CIVIL LIBERTIES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 705 of the Homeland Secu-
rity Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 345) is amended— 
(1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘ESTAB-
LISHMENT OF’’; and 
(2) by striking subsections (a) and (b) and in-
serting the following new subsections: 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There is established within the De-
partment an Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. The 
head of such Office is the Officer for Civil Rights and Civil 
Liberties, who shall report directly to the Secretary. 
‘‘(b) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Officer for Civil Rights 
and Civil Liberties shall carry out the following responsibil-
ities: 
‘‘(1) Oversee compliance with constitutional, 
statutory, regulatory, policy, and other requirements 
relating to the civil rights and civil liberties of indi-
viduals affected by the programs and activities of the 
Department. 
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‘‘(2) Integrate civil rights and civil liberties pro-
tections into all programs and activities of the De-
partment. 
‘‘(3) Conduct civil rights and civil liberties im-
pact assessments, as appropriate. 
‘‘(4) Conduct periodic reviews of policies, proce-
dures, and activities of the Department relating to 
civil rights and civil liberties. 
‘‘(5) Provide policy advice, recommendations, 
and other technical assistance relating to civil rights 
and civil liberties to the Secretary and to heads of 
components, directorates, and offices and other per-
sonnel within the Department. 
‘‘(6) Review, assess, and investigate complaints, 
including complaints filed by members of the public, 
and information indicating possible abuses of civil 
rights or civil liberties at the Department, unless the 
Inspector General of the Department determines that 
any such complaint or information should be inves-
tigated by the Inspector General. 
‘‘(7) Initiate reviews, assessments, inspections, 
and investigations of the administration of the pro-
grams and activities by the Department relating to 
civil rights and civil liberties, as the Officer deter-
mines necessary. 
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‘‘(8) Coordinate with the Privacy Officer to en-
sure that— 
‘‘(A) programs, policies, and procedures in-
volving civil rights, civil liberties, and privacy 
considerations are addressed in an integrated 
and comprehensive manner; and 
‘‘(B) Congress receives appropriate reports 
regarding such programs, policies, and proce-
dures. 
‘‘(9) Lead the equal employment opportunity 
programs of the Department, including complaint 
management and adjudication, and promote work-
force diversity and merit system principles. 
‘‘(10) Make publicly available through accessible 
communications channels, including the website of the 
Department— 
‘‘(A) information on the responsibilities and 
functions of, and how to contact, the Officer; and 
‘‘(B) reports that are issued by the Officer 
upon completion of investigations carried out 
pursuant to paragraph (6) or (7). 
‘‘(11) Engage with individuals and communities 
whose civil rights and civil liberties may be affected 
by programs and activities of the Department, includ-
ing by informing such individuals and communities 
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about report and redress processes and advising the 
Secretary and heads of components, directorates, of-
fices, and other personnel within the Department of 
any concerns raised by such individuals and commu-
nities. 
‘‘(c) COORDINATION WITH INSPECTOR GENERAL.— 
‘‘(1) AUTHORITY
TO
INVESTIGATE
POSSIBLE 
ABUSES.—The Officer for Civil Rights and Civil Lib-
erties may investigate any matter referred to in para-
graph (6) or (7) of subsection (b) after fulfilling the 
coordination requirements under paragraph (2) with 
respect to such matter. 
‘‘(2) COORDINATION REQUIREMENTS.— 
‘‘(A) REFERRAL OF MATTERS TO INSPECTOR 
GENERAL.—Before initiating any investigation 
described under paragraph (1), the Officer for 
Civil Rights and Civil Liberties shall refer the 
matter and all related complaints, allegations, 
and information to the Inspector General of the 
Department. 
‘‘(B) INSPECTOR
GENERAL
RESPONSIBIL-
ITIES.— 
‘‘(i) DETERMINATION
AND
NOTIFICA-
TION.—Not later than 30 days after the re-
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ceipt of a matter referred under subpara-
graph (A), the Inspector General shall— 
‘‘(I) make a determination re-
garding whether the Inspector General 
intends to initiate an audit or inves-
tigation of the matter referred under 
subparagraph (A); and 
‘‘(II) notify the Officer of such de-
termination. 
‘‘(ii) AUDITS AND INVESTIGATIONS.—If 
the Inspector General notifies the Officer for 
Civil Rights and Civil Liberties that the In-
spector General intends to initiate an audit 
or investigation, the Inspector General 
shall— 
‘‘(I) initiate such audit or inves-
tigate by not later than 90 days after 
providing such notification; or 
‘‘(II) not later than three days 
after the end of the 90-day period spec-
ified in subclause (I), notify the Officer 
that such audit or investigation was 
not initiated. 
‘‘(C) PROVISION
OF
ASSISTANCE.—At the 
request of the Inspector General, the Officer for 
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Civil Rights and Civil Liberties may provide as-
sistance to the Inspector General on any inves-
tigation or audit initiated by the Inspector Gen-
eral based on a referral under subparagraph (A). 
‘‘(D) INVESTIGATION BY OFFICER.—The Of-
ficer for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties may in-
vestigate a matter referred to the Inspector Gen-
eral under subparagraph (A) only if— 
‘‘(i) the Inspector General notifies the 
Officer for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties 
that the Inspector General does not intend 
to initiate an audit or investigation relat-
ing to that matter; or 
‘‘(ii) the Inspector General provides 
notification under subparagraph (B)(ii)(II) 
that an audit or investigation was not ini-
tiated. 
‘‘(d) TRANSPARENCY.— 
‘‘(1) COMPLAINTS.—In the case of a complaint 
made concerning allegations of abuses of civil rights 
and civil liberties under paragraph (6) of subsection 
(b), the Officer for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties 
shall— 
‘‘(A) provide to the individual who made 
the complaint notice of the receipt of such com-
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plaint within 30 days of receiving the complaint; 
and 
‘‘(B) inform the complainant of the deter-
mination of the Officer regarding the initiation 
of a review, assessment, or investigation within 
the Office, a referral to the Inspector General of 
the Department, or any other action taken. 
‘‘(2) INVESTIGATIONS.—In the case of an inves-
tigation initiated by the Officer pursuant to para-
graph (6) or (7) of subsection (b), upon the conclusion 
of the investigation, the Officer shall produce a report 
on the investigation which— 
‘‘(A) shall include the findings and rec-
ommendations of the Officer; 
‘‘(B) shall be made publicly available; 
‘‘(C) shall not include any personally iden-
tifiable information related to any individual 
involved in such investigation; and 
‘‘(D) may include a classified appendix, as 
the Officer determines appropriate. 
‘‘(3) SUBMITTAL
TO
HEADS
OF
OPERATIONAL 
COMPONENTS.—The Officer shall transmit a copy of 
each report produced under paragraph (2) to the Sec-
retary and to the relevant head of each relevant oper-
ational component of the Department. 
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