Homeland Security Counterintelligence Threat Reduction Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2728 To establish a Department of Homeland Security counterintelligence vetting task force, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES OCTOBER 29, 2019 Mr. HAWLEY introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs A BILL To establish a Department of Homeland Security counterintelligence vetting task force, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Homeland Security 4 Counterintelligence Threat Reduction Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY COUNTER- 6 INTELLIGENCE VETTING TASK FORCE. 7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days after 8 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 9 Homeland Security shall assign personnel of the Depart- 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:27 Oct 31, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2728.IS S2728 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 2728 IS ment of Homeland Security to participate in a counter- 1 intelligence vetting task force to make recommendations 2 to improve counterintelligence vetting for appropriate de- 3 partmental programs. 4 (b) PERSONNEL.—In carrying out subsection (a), the 5 Secretary of Homeland Security may assign personnel 6 from any component of the Department of Homeland Se- 7 curity the Secretary determines necessary to participate 8 in the task force established pursuant to such subsection. 9 (c) COORDINATION.—In carrying out subsection (a), 10 the Secretary of Homeland Security may request partici- 11 pation in the task force established pursuant to such sub- 12 section from other appropriate Federal agencies. 13 (d) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date 14 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland 15 Security shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Se- 16 curity of the House of Representatives and the Committee 17 on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the 18 Senate a report on the recommendations made by the task 19 force established pursuant to subsection (a). 20 SEC. 3. COUNTERINTELLIGENCE TRAINING AND VETTING. 21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 22 date of the enactment of this Act, in carrying out the pro- 23 gram administered pursuant to section 442(a)(4) of the 24 Homeland Security Act (6 U.S.C. 252(a)(4)), the Sec- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:27 Oct 31, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2728.IS S2728 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 2728 IS retary of Homeland Security shall develop a counterintel- 1 ligence awareness training program and require participa- 2 tion in such program from appropriate faculty, as deter- 3 mined by the Secretary in consultation with the Homeland 4 Security Academic Advisory Council (established pursuant 5 to section 871 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 6 U.S.C. 451)), from approved institutions of higher edu- 7 cation, other approved educational institutions, and des- 8 ignated exchange visitor programs in the United States. 9 (b) PROGRAM ENHANCEMENTS.—Not later than one 10 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 11 of Homeland Security shall make the following enhance- 12 ments to the program administered pursuant to section 13 442(a)(4) of the Homeland Security Act (6 U.S.C. 14 252(a)(4)): 15 (1) Identify degrees and fields of study deter- 16 mined to be sensitive for homeland security and 17 counterintelligence purposes. 18 (2) Update the information to be collected to 19 include any changes to the degree programs, if ap- 20 plicable, and fields of study. 21 (3) Make any other enhancements determined 22 appropriate by the Secretary to improve counter- 23 intelligence vetting capabilities. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:27 Oct 31, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2728.IS S2728 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 2728 IS (c) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out the identifica- 1 tion required pursuant to subsection (b)(1), the Secretary 2 of Homeland Security shall consult with the Secretary of 3 State to ensure the degrees and field of study determined 4 to be sensitive for homeland security and counterintel- 5 ligence purposes referred to in such subsection are aligned, 6 to the greatest extent practicable, between the Department 7 of Homeland Security and the Department of State. 8 (d) DEFINITIONS.— 9 (1) APPROVED INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDU- 10 CATION.—The term ‘‘approved institution of higher 11 education’’ has the meaning given such term in sec- 12 tion 641(h) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and 13 Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 14 1372). 15 (2) DESIGNATED EXCHANGE VISITOR PRO- 16 GRAM.—The term ‘‘designated exchange visitor pro- 17 gram’’ has the meaning given such term in section 18 641(h) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immi- 19 grant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1372). 20 (3) OTHER APPROVED EDUCATIONAL INSTITU- 21 TION.—The term ‘‘other approved educational insti- 22 tution’’ has the meaning given such term in section 23 641(h) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immi- 24 grant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1372). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:27 Oct 31, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2728.IS S2728 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 2728 IS SEC. 4. HOMELAND SECURITY ACADEMIC ADVISORY COUN- 1 CIL. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after the 3 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Home- 4 land Security shall convene a meeting of the Homeland 5 Security Academic Advisory Council to seek advice and 6 recommendations from the Council on the counterintel- 7 ligence awareness training and appropriate faculty des- 8 ignated to receive such training required under section 3. 9 (b) NOTIFICATION.—Not later than February 1, 10 2020, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall notify the 11 Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Rep- 12 resentatives and the Committee on Homeland Security 13 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate if the Secretary 14 determines to not extend the existence of the Homeland 15 Security Academic Advisory Council. 16 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:27 Oct 31, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S2728.IS S2728 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS