DHS Reform Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 8791 To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to make certain reforms to the Department of Homeland Security, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES NOVEMBER 19, 2020 Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi (for himself, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. LANGEVIN, Mr. PAYNE, Miss RICE of New York, Mr. CORREA, Ms. UNDERWOOD, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Ms. TITUS, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, and Mrs. DEMINGS) intro- duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Home- land Security, and in addition to the Committees on Oversight and Re- form, the Judiciary, and Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consider- ation of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to make certain reforms to the Department of Homeland Secu- rity, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Department of Homeland Security Reform Act of 2020’’ 5 or the ‘‘DHS Reform Act of 2020’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:14 Nov 29, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8791.IH H8791 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 8791 IH (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 1 this Act is as follows: 2 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. TITLE I—HEADQUARTERS REFORMS Subtitle A—Leadership Reforms Sec. 101. Departmental leadership. Sec. 102. Succession reforms. Sec. 103. Resolution of intra-departmental disputes. Sec. 104. Office of Strategy, Policy, and Plans. Sec. 105. Office of Inspector General. Sec. 106. Office of Public Affairs. Sec. 107. Office of Legislative Affairs. Sec. 108. Office of Partnership and Engagement. Sec. 109. Chief Privacy Officer. Sec. 110. Chief Financial Officer. Sec. 111. Chief Information Officer. Sec. 112. Chief Procurement Officer. Sec. 113. Chief Security Officer. Sec. 114. Chief Data Officer. Sec. 115. Officer for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. Sec. 116. The Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office. Sec. 117. Coordinator for unmanned aircraft systems countermeasures. Sec. 118. Department of Homeland Security counterterrorism advisory board. Sec. 119. Department of Homeland Security leadership council. Sec. 120. School security coordinating council. Subtitle B—Workforce Reforms Sec. 131. Chief human capital officer. Sec. 132. Employee engagement steering committee and action plan. Sec. 133. Annual employee award program. Sec. 134. Department of Homeland Security rotation program. Sec. 135. Homeland security rotational cybersecurity research program at the Coast Guard Academy. Sec. 136. Department of Homeland Security intelligence and cybersecurity di- versity fellowship program. Sec. 137. Cyber talent management system reporting. Sec. 138. Acquisition workforce. Sec. 139. Acquisition professional career program. Sec. 140. Security clearance management and administration. Sec. 141. Fitness information transparency. Sec. 142. Independent investigation of disciplinary outcomes. Sec. 143. Rights for transportation security officers. TITLE II—LAW ENFORCEMENT ACCOUNTABILITY REFORMS Subtitle A—De-Escalation Sec. 201. De-escalation, use of force, and body-worn camera policy. Sec. 202. De-escalation training. Sec. 203. Less lethal tactics assessment. VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:14 Nov 29, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H8791.IH H8791 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 8791 IH Sec. 204. Requests relating to department of homeland security personnel or equipment. Sec. 205. Best practices to reduce incidents of excessive or unauthorized force. Sec. 206. Department of Homeland Security component insignia required. Sec. 207. FLETC advisory board. Sec. 208. Department of Homeland Security support for the national network of fusion centers. Subtitle B—Securing of Firearms and Other Sensitive Assets Sec. 221. Definitions. Sec. 222. Inclusion of securing firearms and other sensitive assets in respon- sibilities of Under Secretary for Management. Sec. 223. Management directive. Sec. 224. Component responsibilities. Sec. 225. Personal property asset management Inspector General review. Subtitle C—Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers Sec. 231. FLETC research and development. Sec. 232. Reporting on basic training programs of the Department of Home- land Security. TITLE III—ACQUISITION REFORMS Subtitle A—Authorities Sec. 301. Definitions. Sec. 302. Acquisition authorities for Office of Program Accountability and Risk Management. Sec. 303. Acquisition authorities for technical support offices. Sec. 304. Acquisition authorities for Under Secretary for Management. Sec. 305. Acquisition authorities for Under Secretary for Strategy, Policy, and Plans. Sec. 306. Acquisition authorities for Chief Information Officer. Subtitle B—Requirements and Oversight Sec. 321. Acquisition documentation. Sec. 322. Acquisition review board. Sec. 323. Suspension and debarment program. Sec. 324. Requirements to buy certain items related to national security inter- ests according to certain criteria. Sec. 325. Prohibition on operation or procurement of foreign-made unmanned aircraft systems. Subtitle C—Acquisition Program Management Accountability and Transparency Sec. 331. Congressional notification for major acquisition programs. Sec. 332. Acquisition reports. TITLE IV—OTHER REFORMS Sec. 401. Quadrennial homeland security review. Sec. 402. Limitations regarding secretarial authorities associated with the pro- tection of public property. Sec. 403. Biometric enterprise management. VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:14 Nov 29, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H8791.IH H8791 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 8791 IH Sec. 404. Enhanced departmental oversight of certain intelligence matters. Sec. 405. Privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties coordination required. Sec. 406. Department-wide social media policy. Sec. 407. Propaganda prohibited. Sec. 408. Limits on expenses for a swearing-in ceremony. Sec. 409. Conflict of interest awareness and reporting. Sec. 410. Mentor-prote´ge´ program. Sec. 411. Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUS) homeland secu- rity partnerships. Sec. 412. Children’s technical expert. Sec. 413. Modification of Secretary’s reorganization authority. Sec. 414. Definitions. TITLE I—HEADQUARTERS 1 REFORMS 2 Subtitle A—Leadership Reforms 3 SEC. 101. DEPARTMENTAL LEADERSHIP. 4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 102 of the Homeland Se- 5 curity Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 112) is amended— 6 (1) in subsection (c), in the matter preceding 7 paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘through the Office of 8 State and Local Coordination (established under sec- 9 tion 801)’’ and inserting ‘‘through the Office of 10 Partnership and Engagement’’; and 11 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub- 12 section: 13 ‘‘(h) HEADQUARTERS.— 14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is in the Department 15 a Headquarters. 16 ‘‘(2) COMPONENTS.—The Headquarters shall 17 include each of the following: 18 ‘‘(A) The Office of the Secretary, which 19 shall include— 20 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:14 Nov 29, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8791.IH H8791 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 8791 IH ‘‘(i) the Deputy Secretary; 1 ‘‘(ii) the Associate Secretary; 2 ‘‘(iii) the Chief of Staff; and 3 ‘‘(iv) the Executive Secretary. 4 ‘‘(B) The Management Directorate, includ- 5 ing the Office of the Chief Financial Officer, 6 Federal Protective Service, and Office of Bio- 7 metric Identity Management. 8 ‘‘(C) The Science and Technology Direc- 9 torate. 10 ‘‘(D) The Office of Strategy, Policy, and 11 Plans. 12 ‘‘(E) The Office of the General Counsel. 13 ‘‘(F) The Office of the Chief Privacy and 14 FOIA Officer. 15 ‘‘(G) The Office for Civil Rights and Civil 16 Liberties. 17 ‘‘(H) The Office of Operations Coordina- 18 tion. 19 ‘‘(I) The Office of Intelligence and Anal- 20 ysis. 21 ‘‘(J) The Office of Legislative Affairs. 22 ‘‘(K) The Office of Public Affairs. 23 ‘‘(L) The Office of the Inspector General. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:14 Nov 29, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8791.IH H8791 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 8791 IH ‘‘(M) The Office of the Citizenship and 1 Immigration Services Ombudsman. 2 ‘‘(N) The Countering Weapons of Mass 3 Destruction Office. 4 ‘‘(O) The Office of Partnership and En- 5 gagement. 6 ‘‘(P) The Ombudsman for Border and Im- 7 migration Enforcement Related Concerns.’’. 8 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 103(a) of 9 the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 113(a)) is 10 amended— 11 (1) in the subsection heading, by inserting ‘‘; 12 ASSISTANT SECRETARIES AND OTHER OFFICERS’’ 13 after ‘‘UNDER SECRETARIES’’; 14 (2) in paragraph (1)— 15 (A) by inserting after subparagraph (A) 16 the following subparagraph (B) and making 17 conforming changes: 18 ‘‘(B) An Associate Secretary of Homeland 19 Security, who shall be the Secretary’s second 20 assistant for purposes of subchapter III of 21 chapter 33 of title 5, United States Code and 22 shall, on behalf of the Secretary, direct, author- 23 ize, and control U. S. Customs and Border Pro- 24 tection, U.S. Immigration and Customs En- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:14 Nov 29, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8791.IH H8791 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 8791 IH forcement, United States Secret Service, and 1 Federal Protective Service, and, in consultation 2 with the Deputy Secretary, the law enforcement 3 activities in other Department components.’’; 4 and 5 (B) by amending subparagraph (I) to read 6 as follows: 7 ‘‘(I) An Administrator of the Transpor- 8 tation Security Administration.’’; 9 (3) by amending paragraph (2) to read as fol- 10 lows: 11 ‘‘(2) APPOINTMENTS.—The following Assistant 12 Secretaries shall be appointed by the President or 13 the Secretary, as the case may be, without the ad- 14 vice and consent of the Senate: 15 ‘‘(A) PRESIDENTIAL APPOINTMENTS.—The 16 Department shall have the following positions 17 appointed by the President: 18 ‘‘(i) The Assistant Secretary for Pub- 19 lic Affairs. 20 ‘‘(ii) The Assistant Secretary for Leg- 21 islative Affairs. 22 ‘‘(iii) The Assistant Secretary for the 23 Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction 24 Office. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:14 Nov 29, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8791.IH H8791 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 8791 IH ‘‘(iv) The Chief Medical Officer. 1 ‘‘(B) SECRETARIAL APPOINTMENTS.—The 2 Secretary shall appoint an Assistant Secretary 3 for Partnership and Engagement and, within 4 the Office of Strategy, Policy and Plans, an As- 5 sistant Secretary for International Affairs in 6 addition to five assistant secretaries with di- 7 vided responsibility for the following areas: 8 ‘‘(i) Strategy. 9 ‘‘(ii) Threat prevention, including tar- 10 geted violence. 11 ‘‘(iii) Integration. 12 ‘‘(iv) Border. 13 ‘‘(v) Immigration, including immigra- 14 tion statistics. 15 ‘‘(vi) Cybersecurity and infrastructure 16 security. 17 ‘‘(vii) Screening and vetting, including 18 biometrics. 19 ‘‘(viii) Law enforcement. 20 ‘‘(ix) Foreign investment and trade.’’; 21 and 22 (4) by adding at the end the following new 23 paragraphs: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:14 Nov 29, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8791.IH H8791 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 8791 IH ‘‘(3) LIMITATION ON ESTABLISHMENT OF AS- 1 SISTANT SECRETARY POSITIONS.—No Assistant Sec- 2 retary position may be established in addition to the 3 positions provided for by this section unless such po- 4 sition is authorized by a statute enacted after the 5 date of the enactment of this paragraph. 6 ‘‘(4) UNDER SECRETARY FOR MANAGEMENT.— 7 The Under Secretary for Management shall serve a 8 five-year term.’’. 9 SEC. 102. SUCCESSION REFORMS. 10 Amend section 103(g) of the Homeland Security Act 11 as follows: 12 (1) In paragraph (1), strike ‘‘neither the Sec- 13 retary nor Deputy Secretary is’’ and insert ‘‘the Sec- 14 retary, Deputy Secretary, and Associate Secretary 15 are not’’. 16 (2) In paragraph (2), insert ‘‘(A)’’ before ‘‘such 17 other officers’’ and strike and replace remaining text 18 with the following: 19 ‘‘(A) such other official of the Department 20 in further order of succession to serve as Acting 21 Secretary in a manner that requires such offi- 22 cial to have served in the Department for at 23 least 90 days prior to such designation in either 24 the position of the head of a component or in 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:14 Nov 29, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8791.IH H8791 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 8791 IH another position by and with the advice and 1 consent of the Senate, or in the event that an 2 official meeting this criteria is not available, in 3 a manner that requires such official to have 4 served for at least 90 days prior to such des- 5 ignation in the Senior Executive Service within 6 the Department; and 7 ‘‘(B) such other official of the Department 8 to serve as the acting head of a component, in 9 the event that the head of a component vacates 10 the position, in a manner that requires such of- 11 ficial to have served for at least 90 days prior 12 to such designation in the Senior Executive 13 Service.’’. 14 SEC. 103. RESOLUTION OF INTRA-DEPARTMENTAL DIS- 15 PUTES. 16 Insert at the end of section 103 of the Homeland Se- 17 curity Act the following: 18 ‘‘(h) INTRA-DEPARTMENTAL DISPUTES.—On behalf 19 of the Secretary, the Deputy Secretary shall have author- 20 ity to resolve any intra-Departmental disputes that may 21 arise between two or more components where one compo- 22 nent is under the purview of the Associate Secretary. The 23 Associate Secretary may appeal a resolution issued by the 24 Deputy Secretary to the Secretary.’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:14 Nov 29, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8791.IH H8791 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 8791 IH SEC. 104. OFFICE OF STRATEGY, POLICY, AND PLANS. 1 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 709 of the Homeland Se- 2 curity Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 349) is amended— 3 (1) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the 4 following: ‘‘The Office of Strategy, Policy, and Plans 5 shall include an Assistant Secretary for Inter- 6 national Affairs and at least five assistant secre- 7 taries within the Office of Strategy, Policy, and 8 Pl [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]