HR 3815 RFSSCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

July 31, 2008CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental AffairsCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to require the Secretary of Homeland Security to make full and efficient use of open source information to develop and disseminate open source homeland security information products, and for other purposes.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ‘Homeland Security Open Source Information Enhancement Act of 2008’. CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.Congress finds the following:(1) The Internet has profoundly expanded the amount, significance, and accessibility of all types of information, but the Department of Homeland Security has not sufficiently expanded its use of such information to produce analytical products.(2) Open source products can be shared with Federal, State, local, and tribal law enforcement, the American public, the private sector, and foreign allies because of their unclassified nature.(3) The Department of Homeland Security is responsible for providing open source products to consumers consistent with existing Federal open source information guidelines.SEC. 3. FULL AND EFFICIENT USE OF OPEN SOURCE INFORMATION.

(a) In General- Subtitle A of title II of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 121 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘SEC. 210F. FULL AND EFFICIENT USE OF OPEN SOURCE INFORMATION.

‘(a) Responsibilities of Secretary- TDefinition of Open Source Information- In this section, the term ‘open source information’ means publicly available information that can be lawfully obtained by a member of the public by request, purchase, or observation. CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(b) Responsibilities of Secretary- In coordination with the Assistant Deputy Director of National Intelligence for Open Source and the Director of National Intelligence, the Secretary shall establish an open source collection, analysis, and dissemination program within the Department. ThisOffice of Intelligence and Analysis. The program shall make full and efficient use of open source information to develop and disseminate open source alerts, warnings, and other intelligence products.‘(b) Open Source Products- The Secretary shall ensure that among the open source products that the Department generates, there relating to the mission of the Department. CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(c) Intelligence Analysis- The Secretary shall be a specific focus on open source products that--‘(1) analyze news and developments related to foreign terrorist organizations including how the threat of such organizations is relevant to homeland security;‘(2) analyze the risks and vulnerabilities to the Nation’s critical infrastructure;‘(3) analyze terrorist tactics and techniques to include recommendations on how to identify patterns of terrorist activity and behavior allowing State, local and tribal first responders to allocate resources appropriately; and‘(4) utilize, as appropriate, computerensure that the Department makes full and efficient use of open source information in carrying out paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 201(d). CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(d) Dissemination- based electronic visualization and animation tools that combine imagery, sound, and written material into unclassified open source intelligence products.‘(c) Sharing Results of Analysis- The Secretary shall share the unclassified results of such analysis withmake open source information of the Department available to appropriate Federalofficers of the Federal Government, State, local, tribaland tribal governments, and private-sector officials.‘(dentities, using systems and networks for the dissemination of homeland security information. CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(e) Protection of Privacy- CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(1) COMPLIANCE WITH OTHER LAWS- The Secretary shall ensure that the manner in which open source information is gathered and disseminated by the Department complies with the Constitution, section 552a of title 5, United States Code (popularly knowncommonly referred to as the Privacy Act of 1974), provisions of law enacted by the E-Government Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-347), and all other relevant Federal laws. CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(e) Inspector General Report2) DESCRIPTION IN ANNUAL REPORT BY CHIEF PRIVACY OFFICER- The Inspector General of the DepartmentChief Privacy Officer of the Department shall audit the use and dissemination of open source information by the Department to evaluate the effectiveness of the Department’s activities and to ensure that it is consistentinclude in the annual report submitted to Congress under section 222 an assessment of compliance by Federal departments and agencies with the procedures established by the Secretary or a designee of the Secretary for the operation of the Department’s open source program and with Federal open source information and intelligence guidelines promulgated by the Director of National Intelligence.‘(f) Open Source Information Defined- In this section the term ‘open source information’ means information that is publicly available and that can be used and disseminatlaws described in a timely manner to an appropriate audience for the purpose of addressing a specific homeland requirement.‘(g) Authorization of Appropriations- There is authorized to be appropriated for each of fiscal years 2009 through 2013 such sumsparagraph (1), as may be necessary to carry out this secthey relate to the use of open source information.’. CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) ClericalTechnical and Conforming Amendment- The table of contents in section 1(b) of such Actthe Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. et seq.) is amended by adding at the end of the itemsinserting after the item relating to such subtitleection 210E the following: CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘Sec. 210F. Full and efficient use of open source information.’. CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 4. PRIVACY AND CIVIL LIBERTIES IMPACT ASSESSMENT.Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Privacy Officer and the Officer for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties of the Department of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Chief Privacy Officer and Civil Liberties Protection Officer of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, shall submit to the Secretary of Calendar No. 1051 CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

To amend the Homeland Security, the Director of National Intelligence, the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate, the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives, and the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, a privacy and civil liberties impact assessment of the Department of Homeland Security’s open source program, including information on the collection, analysis, and dissemination of any information on United States persons.SEC. 5. OPEN SOURCE INFORMATION DEFINED.In this Act the term ‘open source information’ has the meaning that term has in section 203 of Homeland Security Act of 2002, as amended by this Act.Passed the House of Representatives July 30, 2008.Attest:LORRAINE C. MILLER,Clerk. to require the Secretary of Homeland Security to make full and efficient use of open source information to develop and disseminate open source homeland security information products, and for other purposes.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink