Department of Homeland Security Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Authorization Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 3433 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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 10, 2020 Mr. PETERS (for himself and Ms. HASSAN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Secu- rity and Governmental Affairs 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. 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 ‘‘Department of Home- 4 land Security Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties 5 Authorization Act’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:01 Mar 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3433.IS S3433 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 3433 IS SEC. 2. OFFICER FOR CIVIL RIGHTS AND CIVIL LIBERTIES. 1 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 705 of the Homeland Se- 2 curity Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 345) is amended— 3 (1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘ESTAB- 4 LISHMENT OF’’; and 5 (2) by striking subsections (a) and (b) and in- 6 serting the following new subsections: 7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There is established within the 8 Department an Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. 9 The head of such Office is the Officer for Civil Rights 10 and Civil Liberties (referred to in this section as the ‘Offi- 11 cer’), who shall report directly to the Secretary. 12 ‘‘(b) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Officer shall carry out 13 the following responsibilities: 14 ‘‘(1) Oversee compliance with constitutional, 15 statutory, regulatory, policy, and other requirements 16 relating to the civil rights and civil liberties of indi- 17 viduals affected by the programs and activities of 18 the Department. 19 ‘‘(2) Integrate civil rights and civil liberties pro- 20 tections into all programs and activities of the De- 21 partment. 22 ‘‘(3) Conduct civil rights and civil liberties im- 23 pact assessments, including, as appropriate, prior to 24 the implementation of new Department regulations, 25 initiatives, programs, or policies. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:01 Mar 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3433.IS S3433 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 3433 IS ‘‘(4) Conduct periodic reviews and assessments 1 of policies, procedures, and activities of the Depart- 2 ment relating to civil rights and civil liberties, in- 3 cluding reviews initiated by the Officer. 4 ‘‘(5) Provide policy advice, recommendations, 5 and other technical assistance relating to civil rights 6 and civil liberties to the Secretary and to heads of 7 components, directorates, and offices and other per- 8 sonnel within the Department. 9 ‘‘(6) Review, assess, and investigate complaints, 10 including complaints filed by members of the public, 11 and information indicating possible abuses of civil 12 rights or civil liberties at the Department, unless the 13 Inspector General of the Department determines 14 that any such complaint should be investigated by 15 the Inspector General. 16 ‘‘(7) As the Officer determines necessary, ini- 17 tiate reviews, investigations, and assessments of the 18 administration of the programs and activities by the 19 Department relating to civil rights and civil liberties. 20 ‘‘(8) Coordinate with the Privacy Officer to en- 21 sure that— 22 ‘‘(A) programs, policies, and procedures in- 23 volving civil rights, civil liberties, and privacy 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:01 Mar 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3433.IS S3433 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 3433 IS considerations are addressed in an integrated 1 and comprehensive manner; and 2 ‘‘(B) Congress receives appropriate reports 3 regarding such programs, policies, and proce- 4 dures. 5 ‘‘(9) Lead the equal employment opportunity 6 programs of the Department, including complaint 7 management and adjudication, workforce diversity, 8 and promotion of the merit system principles. 9 ‘‘(10) On a semi-annual basis, make publicly 10 available through accessible communications chan- 11 nels, including the website of the Department— 12 ‘‘(A) information on the responsibilities 13 and functions of, and how to contact, the Of- 14 fice; 15 ‘‘(B) summary of the investigations that 16 result in final recommendations that are issued 17 by the Officer carried out pursuant to para- 18 graph (6); and 19 ‘‘(C) summaries of impact assessments 20 issued by the Officer and carried out pursuant 21 to paragraph (3) or (7). 22 ‘‘(11) Engage with individuals and communities 23 whose civil rights and civil liberties may be affected 24 by programs and activities of the Department, in- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:01 Mar 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3433.IS S3433 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 3433 IS cluding by informing such individuals and commu- 1 nities about report and redress processes and advis- 2 ing the Secretary and heads of components, direc- 3 torates, offices, and other personnel within the De- 4 partment of concerns raised by such individuals and 5 communities. 6 ‘‘(c) TRANSPARENCY.— 7 ‘‘(1) COMPLAINTS.—In the case of a complaint 8 made concerning allegations of abuses of civil rights 9 and civil liberties under paragraph (6) of subsection 10 (b), the Officer shall— 11 ‘‘(A) provide to the individual who made 12 the complaint notice of the receipt of such com- 13 plaint within 30 days of receiving the com- 14 plaint; and 15 ‘‘(B) inform the complainant of the deter- 16 mination of the Officer regarding the initiation 17 of a review, assessment, or investigation within 18 the Office, a referral to the Inspector General 19 of the Department, or any other action taken. 20 ‘‘(2) INVESTIGATIONS.—In the case of an inves- 21 tigation initiated by the Officer pursuant to para- 22 graph (6) or (7) of subsection (b) in which findings 23 or recommendations are issued, the Officer shall, on 24 a semi-annual basis, make publicly available through 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:01 Mar 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3433.IS S3433 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 3433 IS accessible communications channels, including the 1 website of the Department— 2 ‘‘(A) the findings and recommendations of 3 the Officer, if any; 4 ‘‘(B) a summary of the investigations that 5 result in final recommendations that are issued 6 by the Officer; and 7 ‘‘(C) shall not include any personally iden- 8 tifiable information related to any individual in- 9 volved in such investigation. 10 ‘‘(3) SUBMITTAL TO HEADS OF OPERATIONAL 11 COMPONENTS.—The Officer shall transmit a copy of 12 each summary produced under paragraph (2) to the 13 Secretary and to the relevant head of each relevant 14 operational component of the Department. 15 ‘‘(4) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Upon the con- 16 clusion of any investigation conducted by the Officer 17 under paragraph (6) or (7) of subsection (b) in 18 which findings or recommendations are issued, the 19 Officer shall submit to Congress a report on the in- 20 vestigation, which shall be prepared and submitted 21 without any prior comment or amendment by the 22 Secretary, Deputy Secretary, or any other officer or 23 employee of the Department or the Office of Man- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:01 Mar 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3433.IS S3433 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 3433 IS agement and Budget, unless the Officer seeks such 1 comment. 2 ‘‘(d) COMPONENT CIVIL RIGHTS AND CIVIL LIB- 3 ERTIES OFFICER.—The head of each of the operational 4 components of the Department, in consultation with the 5 Officer, shall designate a career appointee (as such term 6 is defined in section 3132 of title 5, United States Code) 7 from such component as the Officer for Civil Rights and 8 Civil Liberties of that component. The Officer for Civil 9 Rights and Civil Liberties of each such component shall 10 coordinate with and provide information to the Officer for 11 Civil Rights and Civil Liberties of the Department on mat- 12 ters related to civil rights and civil liberties within the 13 components. 14 ‘‘(e) ACCESS TO INFORMATION.—The Officer— 15 ‘‘(1) shall have access in a timely manner to all 16 records, reports, audits, reviews, documents, papers, 17 recommendations, and other materials available to 18 the Department that relate to programs and oper- 19 ations with respect to the responsibilities of the Offi- 20 cer under subsection (b); and 21 ‘‘(2) may, to the extent the Officer determines 22 necessary, and subject to the approval of the Sec- 23 retary— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:01 Mar 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3433.IS S3433 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 3433 IS ‘‘(A) issue a subpoena to require the pro- 1 duction, by any person other than a Federal 2 agency, of all information, documents, reports, 3 answers, records, accounts, papers, and other 4 documentary evidence necessary in the perform- 5 ance of the responsibilities of the Officer under 6 this section; and 7 ‘‘(B) administer to or take from any per- 8 son an oath, affirmation, or affidavit, whenever 9 necessary in the performance of the responsibil- 10 ities of the Officer under this section. 11 ‘‘(f) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than March 31 of 12 each year, the Officer shall submit to the appropriate com- 13 mittees and subcommittees of Congress a report on the 14 implementation of this section during the year preceding 15 the year during which the report is submitted. Each such 16 report shall include, for the year covered by the report— 17 ‘‘(1) a list of Department programs and activi- 18 ties for which civil rights and civil liberties impact 19 assessments were conducted, or policy advice, rec- 20 ommendations, or other technical assistance was 21 provided; 22 ‘‘(2) a summary of investigations resulting in 23 recommendations issued under paragraph (6) or (7) 24 of subsection (b) by the Officer to the Secretary or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:01 Mar 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3433.IS S3433 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 3433 IS the head of a component, directorate, or office, to- 1 gether with information on the status of the compo- 2 nent, directorate, or office’s implementation of such 3 recommendations; 4 ‘‘(3) information on the diversity and equal em- 5 ployment opportunity activities of the Department, 6 including information on complaint management and 7 adjudication of equal employment opportunity com- 8 plaints and efforts to ensure compliance throughout 9 the Department with equal employment opportunity 10 requirements; 11 ‘‘(4) a description of any efforts to engage with 12 individuals and communities whose civil rights and 13 civil liberties may be affected by activities carried 14 out by the Department, including public meetings; 15 and 16 ‘‘(5) information on total staffing for the Office 17 for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, including— 18 ‘‘(A) the number of full-time, part-time 19 and contract support personnel; and 20 ‘‘(B) information on the number of em- 21 ployees whose primary responsibilities include 22 supporting the Officer in carrying out para- 23 graph (9) of subsection (b).’’. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:01 Mar 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3433.IS S3433 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 3433 IS (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The item relating to 1 section 705 in section 1(b) of the Homeland Security Act 2 of 2002 is amended to read as follows: 3 ‘‘SEC. 705. OFFICER FOR CIVIL RIGHTS AND CIVIL LIB- 4 ERTIES.’’. 5 (c) REPORTING TO CONGRESS.—Section 6 1062(f)(1)(A)(i) of the National Security Intelligence Re- 7 form Act of 2004 (42 U.S.C. 2000ee–1(f)(1)(A)(i)) is 8 amended by inserting ‘‘the Committee on Homeland Secu- 9 rity of the House of Representatives,’’ after ‘‘Affairs of 10 the Senate,’’. 11 SEC. 3. COMPTROLLER GENERAL REVIEW. 12 Not later than 2 years after the date of the enact- 13 ment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United 14 States shall submit to Congress a report on subsection 15 (b)(11) of section 705 of the Homeland Security Act of 16 2002 (6 U.S.C. 345), as amended by section 2. 17 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:01 Mar 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S3433.IS S3433 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS