Homeland Security Information Sharing Enhancement Act of 2006 - Amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to require the Under Secretary for Information and Analysis to implement a Homeland Security Advisory System to provide advisories and alerts regarding threats to homeland security. Requires such an advisory or alert to: (1) include information on protective measures and countermeasures; (2) be limited in scope to a specific region, locality, or economic sector; and (3) not use color designations as the exclusive means of specifying threat conditions.
Directs the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to: (1) integrate and standardize the information of the Department's intelligence components into a Department information-sharing environment; and (2) designate, for each such component, an information-sharing and knowledge management officer.
Requires the Under Secretary to: (1) establish Department-wide procedures for the review and analysis of information gathered from state, local, tribal, and private-sector sources; (2) develop mechanisms to provide analytical and operational feedback; (3) provide Department employees training and educational opportunities; and (4) evaluate how employees of the Office of Intelligence and Analysis and the Department's intelligence components are utilizing homeland security information.
Directs the Secretary, acting through the Chief Intelligence Officer, to establish a comprehensive information technology architecture for such Office.
Makes the Secretary the executive branch official responsible for disseminating homeland security-related terrorist threat information to state and local government and tribal officials and the private sector. Prohibits any federal official from issuing a homeland security-related analysis, advisory, or alert without the Secretary's approval, with exceptions.
[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5001 Introduced in House (IH)]
109th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5001
To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to enhance homeland security
information sharing, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 16, 2006
Mr. Simmons (for himself and Ms. Zoe Lofgren of California) introduced
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Homeland
Security
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to enhance homeland security
information sharing, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Homeland Security Information
Sharing Enhancement Act of 2006''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS ON DISSEMINATION OF HOMELAND SECURITY-RELATED
INFORMATION.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Section 201(d)(1) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002
gives the Department of Homeland Security authority to access,
receive, and analyze law enforcement information, intelligence
information, and other information from Federal, State, and
local government agencies--including law enforcement agencies--
and to integrate such information in order to detect, identify,
and assess terrorist threats to the homeland.
(2) Section 201(d)(4) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002
likewise gives the Department the power to ensure ``timely and
efficient access'' to these categories of information in order
to effectively discharge its information sharing
responsibilities.
(3) Section 102A(f)(1)(B)(iii) of the National Security Act
of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 403-1(f)(1)(B)(iii)), as amended by section
1011 of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of
2004, prohibits the Director of National Intelligence from
disseminating information directly to State and local
government officials.
(4) Under section 119(f)(1)(E) of the National Security Act
of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 404o(f)(1)(E)), as amended, the Director of
the National Counterterrorism Center supports the
responsibilities of the Department of Homeland Security to
disseminate terrorism information.
(5) Section 201(d)(9) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002
gives the Department of Homeland Security the responsibility to
disseminate information analyzed by the Department to other
Federal, State, and local agencies with responsibilities
relating to homeland security ``in order to assist in the
deterrence, prevention, preemption of, or response to,
terrorist attacks. . .''.
(6) Section 201(d)(11) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002
(6 U.S.C. 121(d)(11)) explicitly gives the Department the
responsibility to ensure ``appropriate exchanges of
information, including law enforcement-related information,
relating to threats of terrorism against the United States''.
(7) Section 201(d)(14) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002
gives the Department the responsibility ``to establish and
utilize . . . a secure communications and information
technology infrastructure . . . in order to access, receive,
and analyze data'' and to disseminate that data to State,
local, and tribal law enforcement agencies as appropriate.
SEC. 3. HOMELAND SECURITY ADVISORY SYSTEM.
(a) In General.--Subtitle A of title II of the Homeland Security
Act of 2002 is amended by adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 203. HOMELAND SECURITY ADVISORY SYSTEM.
``(a) Requirement.--The Under Secretary for Information and
Analysis shall implement a Homeland Security Advisory System in
accordance with this section to provide public advisories and alerts
regarding threats to homeland security, including national, regional,
local, and economic sector advisories and alerts, as appropriate.
``(b) Required Elements.--The Under Secretary, under the System--
``(1) shall include, in each advisory and alert regarding a
threat, information on appropriate protective measures and
countermeasures that may be taken in response to the threat;
``(2) shall, whenever possible, limit the scope of each
advisory and alert to a specific region, locality, or economic
sector believed to be at risk; and
``(3) shall not, in issuing any advisory or alert, use
color designations as the exclusive means of specifying the
homeland security threat conditions that are the subject of the
advisory or alert.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents in section 1(b) of
such Act is amended by adding at the end of the items relating to
subtitle A of title II the following:
``Sec. 203. Homeland Security Advisory System.''.
SEC. 4. HOMELAND SECURITY INFORMATION SHARING.
(a) In General.--Subtitle A of title II of the Homeland Security
Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 121 et seq.), as amended by section 3, is further
amended by adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 204. HOMELAND SECURITY INFORMATION SHARING.
``(a) Information Sharing Environment.--Consistent with section
1016 of the National Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act
of 2004 (6 U.S.C. 485), the Secretary shall integrate and standardize
the information of the intelligence components of the Department into a
Department information sharing environment, to be administered by the
Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis.
``(b) Information Sharing and Knowledge Management Officers.--For
each intelligence component of the Department, the Secretary shall
designate an information sharing and knowledge management officer who
shall report to the Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis with
respect to coordinating the different systems used in the Department to
gather and disseminate homeland security information.
``(c) State, Local, and Private-Sector Sources of Information.--
``(1) Establishment of business processes.--The Under
Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis shall establish
Department-wide procedures for the review and analysis of
information gathered from State, local, tribal, and private-
sector sources and, as appropriate, integrate such information
into the information gathered by the Department and other
department and agencies of the Federal Government.
``(2) Feedback.--The Secretary shall develop mechanisms to
provide analytical and operational feedback to any State,
local, tribal, and private-sector entities that gather
information and provide such information to the Secretary.
``(d) Training and Evaluation of Employees.--
``(1) Training.--The Under Secretary shall provide to
employees of the Department opportunities for training and
education to develop an understanding of the definition of
homeland security information, how information available to
them as part of their duties might qualify as homeland security
information, and how information available to them is relevant
to the Office of Intelligence and Analysis.
``(2) Evaluations.--The Under Secretary shall, on an
ongoing basis, evaluate how employees of the Office of
Intelligence and Analysis and the intelligence components of
the Department are utilizing homeland security information and
participating in the Department information sharing
environment.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents in section 1(b) of
such Act is further amended by adding at the end of the items relating
to such subtitle the following:
``Sec. 204. Homeland security information sharing.''.
(c) Establishment of Comprehensive Information Technology Network
Architecture.--
(1) 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 new section:
``SEC. 205. COMPREHENSIVE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY NETWORK ARCHITECTURE.
``(a) Establishment.--The Secretary, acting through the Chief
Intelligence Officer, shall establish a comprehensive information
technology network architecture for the Office of Intelligence and
Analysis.
``(b) Network Model.--The comprehensive information technology
network architecture established under subsection (a) shall, to the
extent possible, incorporate the approaches, features, and functions of
the network proposed by the Markle Foundation in reports issued in
October 2002 and December 2003, known as the System-wide Homeland
Security Analysis and Resource Exchange (SHARE) Network.
``(c) Comprehensive Information Technology Network Architecture
Defined.--the term `comprehensive information technology network
architecture' means an integrated framework for evolving or maintaining
existing information technology and acquiring new information
technology to achieve the strategic goals and information resources
management goals of the Office of Information and Analysis.''.
(2) Clerical amendment.--The table of contents in section
1(b) of such Act is amended by adding at the end of the items
relating to such subtitle the following:
``Sec. 205. Comprehensive information technology network
architecture.''.
(3) Reports.--
(A) Report on implementation of plan.--Not later
than 360 days after the date of the enactment of this
Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall submit to
the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Homeland
Security of the House of Representatives a report
containing a plan to implement the comprehensive
information technology network architecture for the
Office of Intelligence and Analysis of the Department
of Homeland Security required under section 209 of the
Homeland Security Act of 2002, as added by paragraph
(1). Such report shall include the following:
(i) Priorities for the development of the
comprehensive information technology network
architecture and a rationale for such
priorities.
(ii) An explanation of how the various
components of the comprehensive information
technology network architecture will work
together and interconnect.
(iii) A description of the technology
challenges that the Office of Intelligence and
Analysis will face in implementing the
comprehensive information technology network
architecture.
(iv) A description of technology options
that are available or are in development that
may be incorporated into the comprehensive
technology network architecture, the
feasibility of incorporating such options, and
the advantages and disadvantages of doing so.
(v) An explanation of any security
protections to be developed as part of the
comprehensive information technology network
architecture.
(vi) A description of any safeguards for
civil liberties and privacy to be built into
the comprehensive information technology
network architecture.
(vii) An operational best practices plan.
(B) Progress report.--Not later than 180 days after
the date on which the report is submitted under
subparagraph (A), the Secretary of Homeland Security
shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on
Homeland Security of the House of Representatives a
report on the progress of the Secretary in developing
the comprehensive information technology network
architecture required under section 209 of the Homeland
Security Act of 2002, as added by paragraph (1).
(d) Intelligence Component Defined.--Section 2 of the Homeland
Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101) is amended by adding at the end the
following new paragraph:
``(17) The term `intelligence component of the Department'
means any directorate, agency, or element of the Department
that gathers, receives, analyzes, produces, or disseminates
homeland security information except--
``(A) a directorate, agency, or element of the
Department that is required to be maintained as a
distinct entity under this Act; or
``(B) any personnel security, physical security,
document security, or communications security program
within any directorate, agency, or element of the
Department.''.
SEC. 5. AUTHORITY FOR DISSEMINATING HOMELAND SECURITY-RELATED
INFORMATION.
(a) In General.--Title I of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6
U.S.C. 111 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 104. AUTHORITY FOR DISSEMINATING HOMELAND SECURITY-RELATED
INFORMATION.
``(a) Primary Authority.--Except as provided in subsection (b), the
Secretary or the Secretary's designee shall be the executive branch
official responsible for disseminating homeland security-related
terrorist threat information to State and local government and tribal
officials and the private sector.
``(b) Prior Approval Required.--No Federal official may issue any
homeland security-related analysis, advisory, or alert without the
Secretary's prior approval, except--
``(1) in exigent circumstances under which it is essential
that the information be communicated immediately; or
``(2) when such analysis advisory or alert is issued to
Federal, State, local, or tribal law enforcement officials for
the purpose of assisting them in any aspect of the
administration of criminal justice.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents in section 1(b) of
such Act is amended by adding at the end of the items relating to such
title the following:
``Sec. 104. Authority for disseminating homeland security-related
information.''.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Homeland Security.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Intelligence, Information Sharing, and Terrorism Risk Assessment.
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