Title: Department of Homeland Security Support to Fusion Centers Act of 2017
Policy area: Emergency Management

Summary:
Department of Homeland Security Support to Fusion Centers Act of 2017
This bill directs the Comptroller General to conduct an assessment of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) personnel assigned to fusion centers established under the Homeland Security Act of 2002. (A fusion center serves as a focal point within the state and local environment for the receipt, analysis, gathering, and sharing of threat-related information between the federal government and state, local, tribal, territorial, and private sector partners.)
The assessment must include information on:
The bill expresses the sense of Congress that any program established by DHS's Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis to provide eligibility for access to information classified as Top Secret for state, local, tribal, and territorial analysts located in fusion centers shall be consistent with the need-to-know requirements pursuant to Executive Order No. 13526.
The Under Secretary must report on:
The Under Secretary shall assess information systems used to share homeland security information between DHS and fusion centers in the network and make appropriate upgrades.
The Under Secretary shall enter into a memorandum of understanding with each Network fusion center regarding the type of information fusion centers will provide to DHS and whether such information may be subject to public disclosure.
Fusion centers are required to assist, review information from, and disseminate information to territorial governments.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 678 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 678

  To require an assessment of fusion center personnel needs, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 24, 2017

Ms. McSally (for herself, Mr. Barletta, Mr. McCaul, and Mr. King of New 
    York) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Homeland Security

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To require an assessment of fusion center personnel needs, and for 
                            other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Department of Homeland Security 
Support to Fusion Centers Act of 2017''.

SEC. 2. FUSION CENTER PERSONNEL NEEDS ASSESSMENT.

    Not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct an 
assessment of Department of Homeland Security personnel assigned to 
fusion centers pursuant to subsection (c) of section 210A of the 
Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 124h), including an assessment 
of whether deploying additional Department personnel to such fusion 
centers would enhance the Department's mission under section 101(b) of 
such Act and the National Network of Fusion Centers. The assessment 
required under this subsection shall include the following:
            (1) Information on the current deployment of the 
        Department's personnel to each fusion center.
            (2) Information on the roles and responsibilities of the 
        Department's Office of Intelligence and Analysis intelligence 
        officers, intelligence analysts, senior reports officers, 
        reports officers, and regional directors deployed to fusion 
        centers.
            (3) Information on Federal resources, in addition to 
        personnel, provided to each fusion center.
            (4) An analysis of the optimal number of personnel the 
        Office of Intelligence and Analysis should deploy to fusion 
        centers, including a cost-benefit analysis comparing deployed 
        personnel with technological solutions to support information 
        sharing.
            (5) An assessment of fusion centers located in 
        jurisdictions along land and maritime borders of the United 
        States, and the degree to which deploying personnel, as 
        appropriate, from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. 
        Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Coast Guard to 
        such fusion centers would enhance the integrity and security at 
        such borders by helping Federal, State, local, tribal, and 
        territorial law enforcement authorities to identify, 
        investigate, and interdict persons, weapons, and related 
        contraband that pose a threat to homeland security.
            (6) An assessment of fusion centers located in 
        jurisdictions with large and medium hub airports, and the 
        degree to which deploying, as appropriate, personnel from the 
        Transportation Security Administration to such fusion centers 
        would enhance the integrity and security of aviation security.

SEC. 3. PROGRAM FOR STATE AND LOCAL ANALYST CLEARANCES.

    (a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that any 
program established by the Under Secretary for Intelligence and 
Analysis of the Department of Homeland Security to provide eligibility 
for access to information classified as Top Secret for State, local, 
tribal, and territorial analysts located in fusion centers shall be 
consistent with the need to know requirements pursuant to Executive 
Order No. 13526 (50 U.S.C. 3161 note).
    (b) Report.--Not later than two years after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Under Secretary of Intelligence and Analysis 
of the Department of Homeland Security, in consultation with the 
Director of National Intelligence, shall submit to the Committee on 
Homeland Security and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of 
the House of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs and the Select Committee on Intelligence of the 
Senate a report on the following:
            (1) The process by which the Under Secretary of 
        Intelligence and Analysis determines a need to know pursuant to 
        Executive Order No. 13526 to sponsor Top Secret clearances for 
        appropriate State, local, tribal, and territorial analysts 
        located in fusion centers.
            (2) The effects of such Top Secret clearances on enhancing 
        information sharing with State, local, tribal, and territorial 
        partners.
            (3) The cost for providing such Top Secret clearances for 
        State, local, tribal, and territorial analysts located in 
        fusion centers, including training and background 
        investigations.
            (4) The operational security protocols, training, 
        management, and risks associated with providing such Top Secret 
        clearances for State, local, tribal, and territorial analysts 
        located in fusion centers.

SEC. 4. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT.

    The Under Secretary of Intelligence and Analysis of the Department 
of Homeland Security, in collaboration with the Chief Information 
Officer of the Department and representatives from the National Network 
of Fusion Centers, shall conduct an assessment of information systems 
(as such term is defined in section 3502 of title 44, United States 
Code) used to share homeland security information between the 
Department and fusion centers in the National Network of Fusion Centers 
and make upgrades to such systems, as appropriate. Such assessment 
shall include the following:
            (1) An evaluation of the accessibility and ease of use of 
        such systems by fusion centers in the National Network of 
        Fusion Centers.
            (2) A review to determine how to establish improved 
        interoperability of departmental information systems with 
        existing information systems used by fusion centers in the 
        National Network of Fusion Centers.
            (3) An evaluation of participation levels of departmental 
        components and offices of information systems used to share 
        homeland security information with fusion centers in the 
        National Network of Fusion Centers.

SEC. 5. MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.

    Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the Under Secretary of Intelligence and Analysis of the Department 
of Homeland Security shall enter into a memorandum of understanding 
with each fusion center in the National Network of Fusion Centers 
regarding the type of information such fusion centers will provide to 
the Department and whether such information may be subject to public 
disclosure.

SEC. 6. AMENDMENTS.

    Section 210A of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 124h) 
is amended--
            (1) in subsection (d), by striking ``and tribal'' each 
        place it appears and inserting ``tribal, and territorial'';
            (2) in subsection (e), by striking ``and tribal'' each 
        place it appears and inserting ``tribal, and territorial'';
            (3) in subsection (g)(1), by striking ``or tribal'' and 
        inserting ``tribal, or territorial'';
            (4) in subsection (i)--
                    (A) in paragraph (3), by striking ``and tribal'' 
                and inserting ``tribal, territorial''; and
                    (B) in paragraph (6), by inserting ``territorial,'' 
                after ``tribal,''; and
            (5) in subsection (j)(1), by striking ``or tribal'' and 
        inserting ``tribal, or territorial''.

SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Fusion center.--The term ``fusion center'' has the 
        meaning given such term in subsection (j) of section 210A of 
        the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 124h).
            (2) National network of fusion centers.--The term 
        ``National Network of Fusion Centers'' means a decentralized 
        arrangement of fusion centers intended to enhance individual 
        State and urban area fusion centers' ability to leverage the 
        capabilities and expertise of all such fusion centers for the 
        purpose of enhancing analysis and homeland security information 
        sharing nationally.
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