Homeland Security Information Sharing Act (Introduced in the House)
HR 4598 IH
107th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 4598
To provide for the sharing of homeland security information by Federal intelligence and law enforcement agencies with State and local entities. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
APRIL 25, 2002 Mr. CHAMBLISS (for himself, Ms. HARMAN, Mr. GOSS, Ms. PELOSI, Mr. SENSENBRENNER, Mr. SMITH of Texas, Mr. BISHOP, Mr. CONDIT, Mr. HOEKSTRA, Mr. ROEMER, Mr. BURR of North Carolina, Mr. REYES, Mr. BEREUTER, Mr. BOSWELL, Mr. PETERSON of Minnesota, Mr. CRAMER, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. ROGERS of Michigan, Mr. FRANK, Mr. BARR of Georgia, Mr. FROST, Mr. SULLIVAN, Mr. BALDACCI, Mr. SESSIONS, Mr. DEUTSCH, Mr. TIERNEY, and Ms. HART) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Intelligence (Permanent Select), and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To provide for the sharing of homeland security information by Federal intelligence and law enforcement agencies with State and local entities. 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 Act'.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND SENSE OF CONGRESS.
(a) FINDINGS- The Congress finds the following:
(1) The Federal Government is required by the Constitution to protect every State from invasion, which includes terrorist attack.
(2) The Federal Government relies on State and local personnel to protect against terrorist attack.
(3) The Federal Government collects, creates, manages, and protects sensitive information to enhance national security.
(4) Some homeland security information is needed by the State and local personnel to prevent and prepare for terrorist attack.
(5) The needs of State and local personnel to have access to relevant homeland security information to combat terrorism must be reconciled with the need to preserve the protected status of such information and to protect the sources and methods used to acquire such information.
(6) Granting security clearances to certain State and local personnel is one way to facilitate the sharing of information regarding specific terrorist threats among Federal, State, and local levels of government.
(7) Methods exist to declassify, redact, or otherwise adapt classified information so it may be shared with State and local personnel without the need for granting additional security clearances.
(8) State and local personnel have capabilities and opportunities to gather information on suspicious activities and terrorist threats not possessed by the Federal intelligence agencies.
(9) The intelligence community and State and local governments and agencies in other jurisdictions may benefit from such information.
(10) Federal, State, and local governments and intelligence, law enforcement, and other emergency preparation and response agencies must act in partnership to maximize the benefits of information gathering and analysis to prevent and respond to terrorist attacks.
(11) Information systems, including the National Law Enforcement Telecommunications System and the Terrorist Threat Warning System, have been established for rapid sharing of sensitive and unclassified information among Federal, State, and local entities.
(12) Increased efforts to share homeland security information should avoid duplicating existing information systems.
(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS- It is the sense of Congress that Federal, State, and local entities should share homeland security information to the maximum extent practicable.
SEC. 3. FACILITATING HOMELAND SECURITY INFORMATION SHARING PROCEDURES.
(a) PRESIDENTIAL PROCEDURES FOR DETERMINING EXTENT OF SHARING OF HOMELAND SECURITY INFORMATION-
(1) The President shall prescribe procedures under which relevant Federal agencies determine--
(A) whether, how, and to what extent homeland security information may be shared with appropriate State and local personnel, and with which such personnel may it be shared; and
(B) to the extent such information is in classified form, whether, how, and to what extent to declassify (or remove classified information from, as appropriate) such information, and with which such personnel may it be shared after such declassification (or removal).
(2) The President shall ensure that such procedures apply to each element of the intelligence community and that the requisite technology is available.
(3) Such procedures shall not change the substantive requirements for the classification and treatment of classified information.
(4) Such procedures shall not change the requirements and authorities to protect sources and methods.
(b) PROCEDURES FOR SHARING OF HOMELAND SECURITY INFORMATION-
(1) Under procedures prescribed jointly by the Director of Central Intelligence and the Attorney General, each element of the intelligence community shall, through information sharing systems, share homeland security information with appropriate State and local personnel to the extent such information may be shared, as determined in accordance with subsection (a), together with assessments of the credibility of such information.
(2) Each information sharing system through which information is shared under paragraph (1) shall--
(A) have the capability to transmit unclassified or classified information, though the procedures and recipients for each capability may differ;
(B) have the capability to restrict delivery of information to specified subgroups by geographic location, type of organization, position of a recipient within an organization, and a recipient's need to know such information;
(C) be configured to allow the efficient and effective sharing of information; and
(D) be accessible to appropriate State and local personnel.
(3) The procedures prescribed under paragraph (1) shall ensure, to the greatest extent practicable, that the information sharing system through which information is shared under such paragraph include existing information sharing systems, including, but not limited to, the National Law Enforcement Telecommunications System, the Regional Information Sharing System, and the Terrorist Threat Warning System of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
(4) Each element of the Federal intelligence and law enforcement communities, as well as the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives, the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate, the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives, the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate, and other congressional committees as appropriate, shall have access to each information sharing system through which information is shared under paragraph (1), and shall therefore have access to all information, as appropriate, shared under such paragraph.
(5) The procedures prescribed under paragraph (1) shall ensure that appropriate State and local personnel are authorized to use such information sharing systems--
(A) to access information shared with such personnel; and
(B) to share, with others who have access to such information sharing systems, the homeland security information of their own jurisdictions, which shall be marked appropriately as pertaining to potential terrorist activity.
(6) Under procedures prescribed jointly by the Director of Central Intelligence and the Attorney General, each element of the intelligence community shall review and assess the information shared under paragraph (5) and integrate such information with existing intelligence.
(c) SHARING OF CLASSIFIED INFORMATION WITH STATE AND LOCAL PERSONNEL-
(1) The President shall prescribe procedures under which Federal agencies may, to the extent the President considers necessary, share with appropriate State and local personnel homeland security information that remains classified or otherwise protected after the determinations prescribed under the procedures set forth in subsection (a).
(2) Such procedures may provide for sharing to be carried out through one or more of the following means:
(A) Carrying out security clearance investigations with respect to appropriate State and local personnel.
(B) Entering into nondisclosure agreements with appropriate State and local personnel.
(C) Increasing the use of information-sharing partnerships that include appropriate State and local personnel, such as the Joint Terrorism Task Forces of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Anti-Terrorism Task Forces of the Department of Justice, and regional Terrorism Early Warning Groups.
(d) RESPONSIBLE OFFICIALS- For each element of the intelligence community, the head of such element shall designate an official of such element to administer this Act with respect to such element.
(e) DEFINITIONS- As used in this section:
(1) The term `homeland security information' means any information possessed by a Federal, State, or local intelligence or law enforcement agency that--
(A) relates to the threat of terrorist activity;
(B) relates to the ability to prevent, interdict, or disrupt terrorist activity;
(C) would improve the identification or investigation of a suspected terrorist or terrorist organization; or
(D) would improve the response to a terrorist act.
(2) The term `intelligence community' has the meaning given such term in section 3(4) of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 401a(4)).
(3) The term `State and local personnel' means any of the following persons involved in prevention, preparation, or response for terrorist attack:
(A) State Governors, mayors, and other locally elected officials.
(B) State and local law enforcement personnel and firefighters.
(C) Public health and medical professionals.
(D) Regional, State, and local emergency management agency personnel, including State adjutant generals.
(E) Other appropriate emergency response agency personnel.
(F) Employees of private-sector entities that affect critical infrastructure, cyber, or economic security.
(4) The term `State' includes the District of Columbia and any commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United States.
SEC. 4. REPORT.
(a) REPORT REQUIRED- Not later than 6 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall submit to the congressional committees specified in subsection (b) a report on the implementation of this Act. The report shall include any recommendations for additional measures or appropriation requests, beyond the requirements of this Act, to increase the effectiveness of sharing of information among Federal, State, and local entities.
(b) SPECIFIED CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES- The congressional committees referred to in subsection (a) are the following committees:
(1) The Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives.
(2) The Select Committee on Intelligence and the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate.
SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out this Act.