zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
(This measure has not been amended since it was passed by the Senate on December 10, 2016. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers Reform and Improvement Act of 2015

(Sec. 2) This bill amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to codify the establishment of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

The FLETC must be headed by a director who reports to the DHS Secretary.

The bill sets forth functions of the director, including to: establish and execute organizational plans and priorities; direct and manage training facilities, programs, and activities; develop training goals and curricula; disseminate homeland security information to law enforcement and security agencies and private sector stakeholders; conduct acquisition in compliance with federal law and regulations; coordinate and share digital resources with federal agencies; and collaborate to improve international instructional development, training, and technical assistance to foreign law enforcement.

Additionally, the bill sets forth training responsibilities of the FLETC and partner organizations (i.e., federal agencies that participate in FLETC training programs under a formal memorandum of understanding).

It authorizes the FLETC to: (1) train federal employees engaged in homeland security operations or law enforcement activities, and (2) execute strategic partnerships with state and local law enforcement agencies and coordinate with private sector stakeholders to provide training. The FLETC must consult with relevant law enforcement and security agencies to develop and deliver training programs.

A partner organization must pay for and assign non-reimbursable detailed instructors to support training programs.

The FLETC may conduct federal employee trainings at FLETC facilities, at off-site locations, or by distributed learning (e.g., online); detail its employees throughout DHS; charge fees for non-federal trainings; provide certain student support services; hire retired federal employees with training experience; and reimburse travel expenses of non-federal and intermittent federal employees. Individuals who attend FLETC training must reside in FLETC housing, to the extent practicable.

Finally, the bill codifies existing authorities of the FLETC to spend funds to promote awareness of and support for law enforcement training, accept and use gifts for authorized purposes, accept reimbursement for the construction or renovation of training facilities, obligate funds in anticipation of reimbursements, purchase uniforms and passenger vehicles, and provide room and board for student interns. It also authorizes the FLETC to spend funds to honor and memorialize FLETC graduates who have died in the line of duty.

Date: 2015-10-28
Topic: Defense (Civil)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
HSA Technical Corrections Act

(Sec. 3) This bill makes technical corrections to the Homeland Security Act of 2002.

The bill updates obsolete language and strikes out outdated offices and reporting requirements.

References to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement are updated.

The bill: (1) eliminates reference to the Office of Counternarcotics Enforcement, (2) updates a reference to the Director of Central Intelligence to read as the Director of National Intelligence, (3) strikes the provisions of the Arming Pilots Against Terrorism Act and provisions directing the President to submit a reorganization plan to implement the HSA, and (4) revises the term "Hawaiian native-serving" to read as "Native Hawaiian-serving."

Date: 2015-10-29
Topic: Defense (Civil)
Subject: Emergency management
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary has been expanded because action occurred on the measure.)

DHS Acquisition Documentation Integrity Act of 2016

(Sec. 2) This bill amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to direct the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to require the head of a relevant component or office to:

 maintain acquisition documentation that is complete, accurate, timely, and valid and that includes operational requirements that are validated consistent with DHS policy, a complete lifecycle cost estimate, verification of such estimate against independent cost estimates, a cost-benefit analysis, and a schedule; prepare cost estimates and schedules for major acquisition programs in a manner consistent with best practices as identified by the Government Accountability Office; and submit certain acquisition documentation to DHS to produce an annual comprehensive report on the status of DHS acquisitions for submission to Congress. DHS may waive such submission requirement for a fiscal year if the program: (1) has not entered the full rate production phase in the acquisition lifecycle, had a reasonable cost estimate established, and had a system configuration defined fully; or (2) does not meet the definition of capital asset, as defined by the Office of Management and Budget.

 DHS shall make available to Congress, at the same time the President's budget is submitted for a fiscal year, information on the requirements of this Act in the prior fiscal year, including the following information regarding each program for which DHS has waived the submission requirement:

 the grounds for granting a waiver for that program; the projected cost of that program; the proportion of a component's or office's annual acquisition budget attributed to that program; and information on the significance of the program with respect to the component's operations and execution of its mission. The bill defines a "major acquisition program" as one that is estimated to require total expenditures of at least $300 million.

Date: 2016-02-01
Topic: Defense (Civil)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Enhancing Overseas Traveler Vetting Act

(Sec. 2) This bill authorizes the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of State to:

 develop open-source software based on U.S. Customs and Border Protection's global travel targeting and analysis systems and the State Department's watch listing, identification, and screening systems to facilitate the vetting of travelers against terrorist watch lists and law enforcement databases, enhance border management, and improve targeting and analysis; and make such software and any related technical assistance or training available to foreign governments or multilateral organizations for such purposes. DHS and the State Department shall submit an implementing plan to Congress.

Before making open-source software available to foreign governments or multilateral organizations, DHS and the State Department shall: (1) certify to Congress that such availability is in U.S. national security interests, and (2) inform Congress on how such software or any related technical assistance or training will be made available.

 No additional funds are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act.

Date: 2016-02-01
Topic: Defense (Civil)
Subject: International affairs
Counterterrorism Advisory Board Act of 2016

(Sec. 2) This bill amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) a board to coordinate and integrate DHS's intelligence, activities, and policy related to its counterterrorism mission and functions. The board shall: (1) advise the Secretary of DHS on the issuance of terrorism alerts, and (2) meet on a regular basis to discuss intelligence and coordinate ongoing threat mitigation efforts and departmental activities.

The board's charter shall direct it to focus on the current threat environment and the importance of aligning departmental counterterrorism activities under the Secretary's guidance.

The Secretary shall appoint a Coordinator for Counterterrorism within DHS who shall serve as the chair of the board and report on its status and activities.

Date: 2016-02-01
Topic: Defense (Civil)
Subject: Emergency management
Border Security Health Initiative Act

This bill amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to establish a program to decrease the number of Border Patrol agents who are removed from border security operations for the purpose of accompanying to medical treatment facilities ill or injured individuals interdicted by the Border Patrol.

Such program shall place appropriate medical personnel from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) at Border Patrol stations along the southwest border to ensure that Border Patrol agents are able to prioritize securing the international borders of the United States.

The CBP, in coordination with the Chief Medical Officer of DHS, shall submit a report on implementation of such program, including a list of Border Patrol stations within which the program is operational, statistics on Border Patrol agent hours spent on border security operations that would have otherwise been spent accompanying ill or injured detainees to medical treatment facilities, and an estimation of efficiencies and cost savings from such program.

Date: 2016-02-03
Topic: Defense (Civil)
Subject: Immigration
State and High-Risk Urban Area Working Group Act

(Sec. 2) This bill amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to require any state or high-risk urban area receiving a grant under the State Homeland Security Grant Program or the Urban Area Security Initiative to establish an urban area working group to assist in preparation and revision of the state, regional, or local homeland security plan or the threat and hazard identification and risk assessment.

The bill adds to the stakeholders who shall have at least one representative on such a committee or working group:

 public health officials and other appropriate medical practitioners, individuals representing educational institutions, state and regional interoperable communications coordinators, and state and major urban area fusion centers. (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.)

Date: 2016-02-09
Topic: Defense (Civil)
Subject: Emergency management
Preventing Illegal Visa Overstays Act of 2016

This bill prohibits the obligation of funds to pay the salary of the Secretary of Homeland Security until a biometric entry and exit data system has been fully implemented.

Date: 2016-03-10
Topic: Defense (Civil)
Subject: Immigration
(This measure has not been amended since it was reported to the House on May 13, 2006. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

Department of Homeland Security Strategy for International Programs Act

(Sec. 2) This bill directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to submit a comprehensive three-year strategy for international programs in which DHS personnel and resources are deployed abroad for vetting and screening persons seeking to enter the United States.

The strategy shall include:

 specific risk-based goals for such programs; a risk-based method for determining whether to establish new international programs in new locations, given resource constraints, or expand existing international programs; alignment with the highest DHS-wide and government-wide strategic priorities of resource allocations on such programs; and a common reporting framework for the submission of reliable, comparable cost data by DHS components on overseas expenditures attributable to such programs. In developing the strategy, DHS shall consider:

 information on existing operations of DHS programs that includes corresponding information for each location in which each such program operates, analysis of the impact of each such international program on domestic activities of DHS components, the number of DHS personnel deployed to each location at which such an international program is in operation during the current and preceding fiscal year, and analysis of barriers to the expansion of such an international program.

Date: 2016-03-17
Topic: Defense (Civil)
Subject: Emergency management
(This measure has not been amended since it was reported to the House on September 19, 2016. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

Securing our Agriculture and Food Act

(Sec. 2) This bill amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to direct the Assistant Secretary for Health Affairs to carry out a program to coordinate Department of Homeland Security (DHS) efforts related to defending the food, agriculture, and veterinary systems of the United States against terrorism and other high-consequence events that pose a high risk to homeland security.

Such program shall include:

 providing oversight and management of DHS's responsibilities pursuant to Homeland Security Presidential Directive 9 - Defense of United States Agriculture and Food; providing oversight and integration of DHS activities related to veterinary public health, food defense, and agricultural security; leading DHS policy initiatives relating to food, animal, and agricultural incidents and to overall domestic preparedness for, and collective response to, agricultural terrorism; coordinating with other DHS components, including U.S. Customs and Border Protection, on activities related to food and agriculture security and screening procedures for domestic and imported products; and coordinating with appropriate federal departments and agencies.

Date: 2016-05-26
Topic: Defense (Civil)
Subject: Emergency management
Save Our Communities from Risky Trains Act of 2016

This bill directs the Department of Transportation (DOT) to issue regulations to require enhanced security measures for shipments of security sensitive material.

DOT shall designate a material, or a group or class of material, as security sensitive if it determines that transporting such material in commerce poses a significant risk to national security due to its potential use in an act of terrorism.

Each railroad carrier transporting security sensitive material shall:

 compile material route and storage pattern information, and submit to DOT a written rail transportation route and storage pattern security risk analysis and an alternative route and storage pattern analysis. Railroad carriers shall use the route and storage pattern that, based on the analyses, best reduces the risk, including consequences, of a terrorist attack on, or derailment of, a shipment of security sensitive material transported through or near an area of concern (i.e., urban areas).

Each railroad carrier shall review once every five years any changes affecting the security movements of such material.

Date: 2016-05-26
Topic: Defense (Civil)
Subject: Transportation and public works
(This measure has not been amended since it was reported to the House on July 5, 2016. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

Quadrennial Homeland Security Review Technical Correction Act of 2016

(Sec. 2) This bill amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to make technical corrections regarding quadrennial homeland security reviews.

The bill includes among the entities with whom the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is required to consult in conducting each review appropriate advisory committees established pursuant to such Act or otherwise, including the Homeland Security Advisory Council, the Homeland Security Science and Technology Advisory Committee, and the Aviation Security Advisory Committee.

DHS's outline and prioritization of the full range of critical homeland security mission areas of the nation for each review must be based on a risk assessment of the nation's homeland security interests.

Each review shall include a description of: (1) the resources required for the homeland security program (currently, a budget plan for such program); and (2) the resources required to execute the missions called for in the homeland security strategy and the homeland security mission areas (currently, a budget plan for such resources), including any resources identified from redundant, wasteful, or unnecessary capabilities and capacities that can be redirected to better support other existing capabilities and capacities.

DHS must submit the report on each review within 60 days after the date of submittal of the President's budget for the fiscal year after the fiscal year in which such a review is required (currently by December 31 of the year in which the review is conducted).

The bill repeals requirements that DHS review and assess the effectiveness of the mechanisms of DHS for executing the process of turning the requirements developed in each review into an acquisition strategy and expenditure plan. But DHS must provide information on the degree to which the findings and recommendations developed in each review were integrated into DHS's acquisition strategy and expenditure plans.

DHS must retain and, upon request, provide specified documentation regarding each review, including: (1) records regarding the consultation carried out, and (2) information regarding the risk assessment of the nation's homeland security interests.

This bill shall apply to each quadrennial homeland security review required to be submitted after December 31, 2017.

Date: 2016-06-07
Topic: Defense (Civil)
Subject: Emergency management
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary has been expanded because action occurred on the measure.)

Support for Rapid Innovation Act of 2016

(Sec. 2) This bill amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to direct the Under Secretary for Science and Technology of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to support the research, development, testing, evaluation, and transition of cybersecurity technologies.

Such research and development shall:

 advance the development and accelerate the deployment of more secure information systems, improve and create technologies for detecting attacks or intrusions, improve and create mitigation and recovery methodologies and development of resilient networks and information systems, support the review of source code that underpins critical infrastructure information systems, develop and support infrastructure and tools to support cybersecurity research and development efforts, assist the development and support of technologies to reduce vulnerabilities in industrial control systems, and develop and support cyber forensics and attack attribution capabilities. The Under Secretary shall:

 support projects carried out under this bill through their full life cycle; identify mature technologies that address existing or imminent cybersecurity gaps in public or private information systems and networks, identify and support necessary improvements, and introduce new cybersecurity technologies throughout the homeland security enterprise through partnerships and commercialization; and target federally funded cybersecurity research that demonstrates a high probability of successful transition to the commercial market within two years and that is expected to have a notable impact on information systems and networks. The bill: (1) extends the authority of the Secretary of DHS to carry out a research and development projects pilot program until September 30, 2020; (2) requires a DHS component to obtain the Secretary's approval before utilizing authority for such a project by providing a proposal that includes the rationale, funds to be spent, and expected outcome for the project; and (3) requires the Secretary's annual report on such program to include the extent of cost-sharing for projects among federal and non-federal sources and the extent to which utilization of project authority has addressed a homeland security capability gap or threat to the homeland.

Date: 2016-06-07
Topic: Defense (Civil)
Subject: Science, technology, communications
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary has been expanded because action occurred on the measure.)

Leveraging Emerging Technologies Act of 2016

(Sec. 2) This bill requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to: (1) engage with innovative and emerging technology developers and firms, including technology-based small businesses and startup ventures, to address homeland security needs; and (2) develop, submit to Congress, and implement a DHS-wide strategy to proactively engage with such developers and firms that focuses on sustainable methods and guidance to build relationships to establish, develop, and enhance DHS capabilities to address such needs.

DHS may establish personnel and office space in areas in the United States with high concentrations of such developers and firms, co-located with other assets of DHS or other federal facilities, where possible.

No additional funds are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this bill.

Date: 2016-06-07
Topic: Defense (Civil)
Subject: Emergency management
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The expanded summary of the House reported version is repeated here.)

Gains in Global Nuclear Detection Architecture Act

(Sec. 2) This bill amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to require the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office, in conducting research and development to generate and improve technologies to detect and prevent the illicit entry, transport, assembly, or potential use within the United States of a nuclear explosive device or fissile or radiological material, to:

 develop and maintain documentation that provides information on how the Office's research investments align with gaps in the enhanced global nuclear detection architecture and with research challenges identified by the Director, and that defines in detail how the Office will address such research challenges; document the rational for prioritizing and selecting research topics; and develop a systematic approach for evaluating how the outcomes of the Office's individual research projects collectively contribute to addressing its research challenges.

Date: 2016-06-07
Topic: Defense (Civil)
Subject: Emergency management
(This measure has not been amended since it was reported to the House on September 19, 2016. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

Cyber Preparedness Act of 2016

(Sec. 2) This bill amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to require the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS's) State, Local, and Regional Fusion Center Initiative to coordinate with the national cybersecurity and communications integration center (NCCIC) to provide state, local, and regional fusion centers with expertise on DHS cybersecurity resources. (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.)

DHS must: (1) provide timely access to technical assistance, risk management support, and incident response capabilities for cybersecurity threat indicators, defensive measures, risks, and incidents, including cybersecurity risks to equipment and technology related to the electoral process; (2) review cybersecurity risk information gathered by fusion centers to incorporate into DHS's cybersecurity risk information; and (3) disseminate cybersecurity risk information to fusion centers.

Fusion center officers or intelligence analysts may be assigned from the NCCIC. Such officers and analysts must assist fusion centers in using cybersecurity risk information to develop a comprehensive and accurate threat picture.

The NCCIC may include, and must share analysis and best practices with, state and major urban area fusion centers.

(Sec. 3) States, local or tribal governments, or high-risk urban areas receiving grants to protect against terrorism under the Urban Area Security Initiative or the State Homeland Security Grant Program may use the funds to: (1) prepare for and respond to cybersecurity risks and incidents, and (2) develop statewide cyber threat information analysis and dissemination activities.

(Sec. 4) The bill expresses the sense of Congress that DHS should share actionable information related to cyber threats in an unclassified form to facilitate timely dissemination to state, local, and private sector stakeholders.

Date: 2016-06-13
Topic: Defense (Civil)
Subject: Science, technology, communications
First Responder Access to Innovative Technologies Act

(Sec. 2) This bill amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to direct the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to implement a uniform process for reviewing applications that contain explanations to use grants provided under the Urban Area Security Initiative or the State Homeland Security Grant Program to purchase equipment or systems that do not meet or exceed any applicable national voluntary consensus standards developed under the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006.

 FEMA must consider:

 current or past use of proposed equipment or systems by federal agencies or the Armed Forces; the absence of a national voluntary consensus standard for such equipment or systems; the existence of an international consensus standard for such equipment or systems and whether such equipment or systems meets such standard; the nature of the capability gap identified by the applicant and how such equipment or systems will address such gap; and the degree to which such equipment or systems will serve the needs of the applicant better than equipment or systems that meet or exceed existing consensus standards. The Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security shall submit to specified congressional committees a report assessing the implementation of such review process, including information on the number of requests to purchase equipment or systems that do not meet or exceed any applicable consensus standard, the capability gaps identified by applicants and the number of such requests granted or denied, and the processing time for the review of such requests.

Date: 2016-06-13
Topic: Defense (Civil)
Subject: Emergency management
TSA Workforce Flexibility Act 

This bill amends the Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2016 to repeal a provision that limits the number of full-time equivalent Transportation Security Administration screeners to 45,000.

Date: 2016-06-20
Topic: Defense (Civil)
Subject: Transportation and public works
Active Shooter Preparedness Enhancement Act of 2016

This bill amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to direct the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to develop and make available to state, local, tribal, territorial, and nongovernmental partners guidance to assist in the development of emergency action and response plans for active shooter and mass casualty incidents.

Such guidance may relate to the development of:

 a strategy for properly responding to such incidents, a plan for establishing a unified command, a schedule for regular testing of equipment used to receive communications during such incidents, a practiced method and plan to communicate with occupants of locations of such incidents and with the surrounding community, a plan for coordinating with volunteer organizations to expedite assistance for victims, a schedule for joint exercises and training, and a plan for outreach to facilities that have been identified by DHS as potentially vulnerable targets. The bill permits funds under homeland security grants to states and high-risk urban areas to be used for training exercises to enhance preparedness for and response to mass casualty and active shooter incidents and security events at private locations (current law permits such funds to be used for such exercises at public locations). In allocating grant funds among states and high-risk urban areas, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) shall consider the threat from active shooters to critical infrastructure and U.S. populations.

Date: 2016-07-06
Topic: Defense (Civil)
Subject: Emergency management
Naming the Enemy Within Homeland Security Act

This bill amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to prohibit the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from providing any financial or other assistance or advice to, or otherwise engaging with, organizations associated with the Muslim Brotherhood or any individual or other person determined by DHS to be associated with it.

DHS shall treat each person or entity named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the case U.S. v. Holy Land Foundation, any other organization that is a successor to such person, and any individual determined to be associated with such organizations as a person associated with the Muslim Brotherhood.

Date: 2016-07-14
Topic: Defense (Civil)
Subject: Emergency management
Detain and Deport Act

This bill provides that a state or political subdivision that has in effect a statute, policy, or practice providing that it not comply with any Department of Homeland Security (DHS) detainer ordering it to temporarily hold an alien in its custody so that the alien may be taken into federal custody or to transport the alien for transfer to federal custody shall not be eligible to receive any law enforcement or DHS grant.

A state or political subdivision acting in compliance with such a DHS detainer shall be considered to be acting under color of federal authority for purposes of determining its liability and immunity from suit in civil actions brought by the aliens. 

It is the sense of Congress that DHS has probable cause to believe that an alien is inadmissible or deportable when it issues a detainer regarding the alien under the standards in place on the date of introduction of this bill.

Date: 2016-07-14
Topic: Defense (Civil)
Subject: Immigration
(This measure has not been amended since it was reported to the House on September 9, 2016. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

Community Counterterrorism Preparedness Act

(Sec. 2) This bill amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to require the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to carry out a grant program for emergency response providers to prevent, prepare for, and respond to the most likely terrorist attack scenarios, including active shooters against major metropolitan areas.

DHS shall provide to eligible applicants: (1) unclassified information on such scenarios, and (2) information on training and exercises best practices. Recipients may use grants to conduct training and exercises consistent with preventing, preparing for, and responding to such scenarios.

Emergency response providers in jurisdictions that are currently receiving, or that previously received, funding under the Urban Area Security Initiative may apply for such a grant.

Eligible applicants receiving funding under the program may include in funded activities neighboring jurisdictions that would be likely to provide mutual aid in response to terrorist attack scenarios.

Grant applications must include a description of how the applicant will work with community partners such as schools, places of worship, and businesses when conducting permitted activities.

DHS shall make funds provided under this bill available for use by a grant recipient for a period of at least 24 months.

Date: 2016-07-14
Topic: Defense (Civil)
Subject: Emergency management
This bill amends the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense, the Global War on Terror, and Tsunami Relief, 2005 to eliminate the discretionary authority of the Department of Homeland Security to determine what is considered an "official purpose" for purposes of federal agency acceptance of state-issued drivers' licenses and personal identification cards.

Date: 2016-12-12
Topic: Defense (Civil)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Directs the Secretary of State to: (1) annually estimate the number of illegal border crossings along the southern U.S. land border, and (2) reduce financial assistance to the government of Mexico by a total of $1,000 for each illegal border crossing from Mexico to the United States during the previous fiscal year.

Authorizes the Secretary to not reduce appropriations for the government of Mexico from the International Military Education and Training Fund, the International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement Fund, and the fund to carry out nonproliferation, anti-terrorism, demining, and related programs and activities.

Date: 2015-01-07
Topic: Defense (Civil)
Subject: International affairs
Requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to fully utilize surveillance and detection capabilities developed or used by federal agencies to enhance the functioning and operational capability to conduct continuous and integrated manned or unmanned monitoring, sensing, or surveillance of 100% of the southern border of the United States.

Prohibits DHS from procuring any additional unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) until it provides written certification that it successfully operated its current UAS fleet at least 23,000 hours during the preceding calendar year. Excepts the procurement of unmanned aircraft that do not weigh more than 150 pounds.

Requires DHS to: (1) use the best available radar and surveillance technology to increase awareness of illegal border activities along the southern border and to identify gaps in surveillance capabilities; and (2) consult with the Department of Defense to identify best practices that could be used by DHS to improve the security of the southern border.

Directs DHS to report biannually on:

 the number of UAS flight hours required, planned, and flown to provide persistent surveillance along the southern border and the number of flight hours cancelled; the number of UAS flight hours planned in support of any federal or state agency; performance measures regarding the number of hours flown, subjects detected, and apprehensions and illicit drug seizures assisted; and the accumulated cost associated with the UAS Program. Terminates this Act five years after its enactment.

Date: 2015-01-13
Topic: Defense (Civil)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Counterterrorism Border Security Enhancement Act

 Directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to conduct an assessment (which shall focus on the visa waiver program requirements for travelers and program countries) and report to Congress regarding: (1) needed border security and entry procedures improvements in response to homeland threats from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), and (2) growing participation by U.S. and European nationals as foreign fighters in Syria and Iraq and in terrorist activity.

Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act regarding the visa waiver program to: (1) expand pre-travel clearance procedures; and (2) increase information-sharing requirements, including suspension of countries not fully cooperating with such requirements.

Directs the Department of State to submit a plan to Congress for training consular officers on visa interviewing techniques that emphasizes counterterrorism efforts.

Directs DHS, the State Department, and the Attorney General (DOJ) to submit to Congress a plan for: (1) increasing the scrutiny of U.S. citizens who have recently traveled to Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, or Libya; and (2) enhancing DOJ and other federal agency capabilities to investigate, arrest, and prosecute U.S. citizens suspected of engaging in terrorist acts or involvement with a terrorist organization.

Authorizes the State Department to revoke and confiscate any passport issued to a U.S. citizen who is suspected of, or who has demonstrated an intent to engage in, terrorist activities.

Amends the federal criminal code to include adherence to terrorist organizations within the definition of "treason."

Date: 2015-02-24
Topic: Defense (Civil)
Subject: Immigration
Arizona Borderlands Protection and Preservation Act

(Sec. 3) This bill directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the Department of the Interior to provide U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel with access to federal lands for security activities, including: (1) routine motorized patrols; and (2) deployment of communications, surveillance, and detection equipment.

 DHS, Interior, and USDA may provide education and training to CBP personnel on the natural and cultural resources present on individual federal land units.

Access authority shall not apply to private or state-owned land within federal land boundaries.

 The requirements of this section shall terminate four years after the date of enactment of this Act.

(Sec. 4) The Government Accountability Office shall submit a report to Congress that includes:

 an analysis of the actions taken pursuant to this Act, including their impact on border security and on the natural and cultural resources on impacted federal lands; an assessment of the 2006 Memos of Understanding between DHS, USDA, and Interior regarding access to federal and Indian lands for border security activities; a sector-by-sector analysis of the expected impact of applying the requirements of this Act to the entire U.S. land border; and a sector-by-sector analysis of the costs incurred by each Department relating to managing and mitigating for illegal border activity on federal lands, and the impact of illegal traffic on wildlife and on natural, cultural, and historic resources.

Date: 2015-03-17
Topic: Defense (Civil)
Subject: Immigration
Amends the federal criminal code to prohibit knowingly going on any critical infrastructure used in or affecting interstate commerce to commit a criminal offense.

Defines "critical infrastructure" as a vital physical system or asset, including a national monument, the incapacity or destruction of which would have a debilitating impact on security, national economic security, or national public health or safety.

Date: 2015-04-13
Topic: Defense (Civil)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary has been expanded because action occurred on the measure.)

DHS IT Duplication Reduction Act of 2015

(Sec. 2) This bill directs the Chief Information Officer of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to report on:

 the number of information technology systems at DHS; the number of such systems exhibiting duplication or fragmentation (i.e., where there are two or more systems or programs that deliver similar functionality to similar user populations); a strategy for reducing such duplicative systems, including an assessment of potential cost savings; and a methodology for determining which system should be eliminated when there is duplication or fragmentation.

Date: 2015-06-18
Topic: Defense (Civil)
Subject: Government operations and politics
(This measure has not been amended since it was reported to the Senate on March 14, 2016. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

Department of Homeland Security Headquarters Consolidation Accountability Act of 2015

(Sec. 2) This bill directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in coordination with the General Services Administration (GSA), to submit information on the implementation of the enhanced plan for the DHS headquarters consolidation project within the National Capital Region, approved by the Office of Management and Budget and included in the budget of the President for FY2016, that includes:

 a proposed occupancy plan that includes specific information about which DHS-wide operations, component operations, and support offices will be located at the site, the aggregate number of full time equivalent employees projected to occupy the site, the seat-to-staff ratio at the site, and schedule estimates for migrating operations to the site; a comprehensive assessment of the difference between the current real property and facilities needed by DHS in the Region to carry out its mission and its future needs; an analysis of the difference between the current and needed capital assets and facilities of DHS; a current plan for construction of the headquarters consolidation at the St. Elizabeths campus that includes the estimated costs and schedule for the current plan and any estimated cost savings associated with reducing the scope of the project and increasing the use of existing capacity developed under the project; a current plan for the leased portfolio of DHS in the Region that includes an end-state vision that identifies which DHS-wide operations, component operations, and support offices do not migrate to the St. Elizabeths campus and continue to operate at a property in the leased portfolio, the number of full-time equivalent employees who are expected to operate at each property, component, or office for each year until the consolidation project is completed, the anticipated total rentable square feet leased per year between the date of this Act's enactment and the date on which the consolidation project is completed, and the timing and anticipated lease terms for leased space; and an analysis that identifies the costs and benefits of leasing and construction alternatives for the remainder of the consolidation project, including a comparison of the long-term cost that would result from leasing to the cost of consolidating functions on government-owned space and the identification of any cost impacts in terms of premiums for short-term lease extensions or holdovers due to the uncertainty of funding for, or delays in, completing construction required for the consolidation. The bill directs the Government Accountability Office to evaluate the quality and reliability of the cost and schedule estimates submitted and report on the results.

Date: 2015-06-18
Topic: Defense (Civil)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Federal Information Security Management Reform Act of 2015

Requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in administering federal agencies' implementation of information system security policies, to: (1) operate consolidated intrusion detection, prevention, or protective capabilities and use of associated countermeasures to protect agency information and systems from security threats; (2) provide incident detection, analysis, mitigation, and response information and remote or onsite technical assistance; (3) develop and conduct impact assessments in consultation with other agencies and private entities; (4) foster development of technologies for use across multiple agencies in conjunction with other agencies and the private sector; and (5) coordinate such information security policies with standards for national security systems and policies issued by the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Director of National Intelligence.

 Authorizes the DHS Secretary to acquire, intercept, retain, use, and disclose communications and system traffic transiting to or from or stored on agency information systems and deploy countermeasures if the Secretary certifies that: (1) the measures are reasonably necessary to protect agency information systems from security threats; (2) content of communications will not be retained, and traffic will not be subject to countermeasures, unless associated with a known or reasonably suspected information security threat; (3) the information will be used for law enforcement purposes only with the Attorney General's approval when the information is evidence of a crime; (4) system users have been notified of the potential for such an acquisition or disclosure; and (5) the procedures have been approved by the Attorney General.

Allows agency heads to disclose such information to the Secretary notwithstanding any other law that would otherwise restrict or prevent such disclosures. Provides liability protections to private entities authorized to assist the Secretary for such purposes.

Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) issue a directive to an agency to take any lawful action with respect to the operation of a system that maintains agency information in response to a known or reasonably suspected information security threat, vulnerability, or incident that represents a substantial threat to an agency's information security; or (2) authorize, without prior consultation with the affected agency, the use of protective capabilities under the Secretary's control if there is an imminent threat and a directive is unlikely to be timely.

Exempts DOD and the intelligence community from such procedures.

Date: 2015-07-22
Topic: Defense (Civil)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Critical Infrastructure Protection Act of 2016 or the CIPA

(Sec. 2) This bill amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to add as responsibilities of the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) relating to intelligence and analysis and infrastructure protection: (1) conducting an intelligence-based review and comparison of the risk and consequences to critical infrastructures of threats and hazards, including a geomagnetic disturbance (GMD) caused by a solar storm or another naturally occurring phenomenon and an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) caused by a nuclear device or non-nuclear device, including such a pulse caused by an act of terrorism; and (2) submitting and biennially updating a recommended strategy to protect and prepare the critical infrastructure of the American homeland against such threats.

The strategy: (1) shall be developed in consultation with the relevant federal sector-specific agencies and coordinating councils for critical infrastructures, and (2) may be incorporated into a broader DHS recommendation to help protect and prepare critical infrastructure from terrorism, cyber attacks, and other threats and hazards.

The Under Secretary for Science and Technology shall conduct research and development to mitigate the consequences of EMP and GMD threats, including:

 an objective scientific analysis of the risks to critical infrastructures from a range of such threats; determination of the critical utilities and national security assets and infrastructures that are at risk from such threats; an evaluation of emergency planning and response technologies that would address the findings and recommendations of experts, including those of the Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse Attack; an analysis of available technology options to improve the resiliency of critical infrastructure to such threats; research regarding the restoration and recovery capabilities of critical infrastructure under differing levels of damage and disruption from such threats; and an analysis of the feasibility of a real-time alert system to inform electric grid operators and other stakeholders within milliseconds of a high-altitude nuclear explosion. The bill requires the Secretary to: (1) develop an incident annex or similar response and planning strategy that guides the response to a major GMD or EMP event; and (2) conduct outreach to educate owners and operators of critical infrastructure, emergency planners, and emergency response providers at all levels of government regarding EMP and GMD threats.

The Secretary shall submit a report to Congress within 180 days on the progress made in, and an estimated completion date for: (1) including threats of EMP and GMD in national planning; (2) conducting the research and development, and developing the strategy, required under this bill; and (3) beginning to conduct outreach to educate emergency planners and emergency response providers at all levels of government regarding EMP and GMD threats.

Date: 2015-07-23
Topic: Defense (Civil)
Subject: Emergency management