[DOCID: f:hr763.110]
From the House Reports Online via GPO Access
[wais.access.gpo.gov]
110th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session 110-763
======================================================================
HOMELAND SECURITY OPEN SOURCE INFORMATION ENHANCEMENT ACT OF 2008
_______
July 21, 2008.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, from the Committee on Homeland Security,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 3815]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Homeland Security, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 3815) 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, having considered the same, report
favorably thereon with an amendment and recommend that the bill
as amended do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
Purpose and Summary.............................................. 3
Background and Need for Legislation.............................. 3
Hearings......................................................... 4
Committee Consideration.......................................... 4
Committee Votes.................................................. 4
Committee Oversight Findings..................................... 5
New Budget Authority, Entitlement Authority, and Tax Expenditures 5
Congressional Budget Office Estimate............................. 5
Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives............ 6
Congressional Earmarks, Limited Tax Benefits, and Limited Tariff
Benefits....................................................... 6
Federal Mandates Statement....................................... 6
Advisory Committee Statement..................................... 6
Constitutional Authority Statement............................... 6
Applicability to Legislative Branch.............................. 6
Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation................... 7
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............ 8
Committee Correspondence......................................... 9
The amendment is as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Homeland Security Open Source
Information Enhancement Act of 2008''.
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:
``SEC. 210F. FULL AND EFFICIENT USE OF OPEN SOURCE INFORMATION.
``(a) Responsibilities of Secretary.--The Secretary shall establish
an open source collection, analysis, and dissemination program within
the Department. This program shall make full and efficient use of open
source information to develop and disseminate open source intelligence
products.
``(b) Open Source Products.--The Secretary shall ensure that among
the open source products that the Department generates, there 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, computer-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 with appropriate Federal, State,
local, tribal, and private-sector officials.
``(d) Protection of Privacy.--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 known 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.
``(e) Inspector General Report.--The Inspector General 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 consistent 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 disseminated 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 sums as
may be necessary to carry out this section.''.
(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
subtitle the following:
``Sec. 210F. Full and efficient use of open source information.''.
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 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.
Purpose and Summary
The purpose of H.R. 3815 is 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.
Background and Need for Legislation
In the 21st Century, detailed data about almost anything or
anyone is accessible on the Internet. Although much of this
information is for social or commercial use, some of it may be
helpful to terrorists as they plot attacks against the
homeland. Put simply, there is a world of publicly available
information online that terrorists might exploit to cause death
and extreme damage to the Nation's critical infrastructure.
Open source information is a valuable source of data about
terrorists themselves that must be fully integrated into the
intelligence cycle to ensure that policymakers are fully and
completely informed about threats. It therefore should be
viewed not only as a supplement to classified data but also as
a potential source of valuable intelligence that can make the
Nation safer. Open source has the added benefit of being open,
unclassified information that can be shared rapidly with State,
local, and tribal law enforcement and other first preventers
without the need for security clearances.
Unfortunately, the Department of Homeland Security has not
sufficiently exploited this type of information as part of its
effort to provide its meaningful products to its customers. The
Department must dedicate the time and resources to analyzing
open source information and creating unclassified intelligence
products based on it that help police, sheriffs, and other
first responders--and the public--take appropriate preventative
and preparedness action.
H.R. 3815 accordingly directs the Department to establish a
program specializing in this work with a particular emphasis on
building privacy and civil liberties safeguards into its
processes. The unclassified intelligence products that it will
generate will enhance the Nation's counter-terrorism and
infrastructure protection efforts.
Hearings
No hearings were held on H.R. 3815, however the Committee
held oversight hearings on the use of open source information.
In the 109th Congress, on June 21, 2005, the Subcommittee
on Intelligence, Information Sharing, and Terrorism Risk
Assessment held a hearing entitled ``Using Open-Source
Information Effectively.'' The Subcommittee received testimony
from Dr. John C. Gannon, Vice President for Global Analysis,
BAE Systems, Information Technology; Mr. Eliot Jardines,
President, Open Source Publishing, Inc.; and Mr. Joe Onek,
Senior Policy Analyst, Open Society Institute.
On April 24, 2008, the Subcommittee on Intelligence,
Information Sharing, and Terrorism Risk Assessment held a
hearing entitled ``Moving Beyond the First Five Years: Evolving
the Office of Intelligence and Analysis to Better Serve State,
Local, and Tribal Needs.'' The Subcommittee received testimony
from Mr. Matthew Bettenhausen, Executive Director, California
Office of Homeland Security, State of California; Ms. Juliette
Kayyem, Under Secretary for Homeland Security, Executive Office
of Public Safety and Security, Commonwealth of Massachusetts;
and Mr. Frank J. Cilluffo, Director and Associate Vice
President, Homeland Security Policy Institute, The George
Washington University.
Committee Consideration
H.R. 3815 was introduced in the House on October 10, 2007,
by Mr. Perlmutter and seven original co-sponsors, and referred
solely to the Committee on Homeland Security. Within the
Committee, H.R. 3815 was referred the Subcommittee on
Intelligence, Information Sharing, and Terrorism Risk
Assessment.
On June 11, 2008, the Subcommittee on Intelligence,
Information Sharing, and Terrorism Risk Assessment considered
H.R. 3815 and ordered the measure favorably forwarded to the
Full Committee for consideration, amended, by the unanimous
consent.
The following amendment was offered:
An Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute offered by
Ms. Harman (#1), was AGREED TO by unanimous consent.
On June 26, 2008, the Committee on Homeland Security
considered H.R. 3815 and ordered the measure to be reported to
the House favorably, as amended, by voice vote.
The following amendment was offered:
An Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute offered by
Mr. Perlmutter (#1); was AGREED TO by unanimous consent
pursuant.
Committee Votes
Clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives requires the Committee to list the recorded
votes on the motion to report legislation and amendments
thereto.
No recorded votes occurred during Committee consideration.
Committee Oversight Findings
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, the Committee has held oversight
hearings and made findings that are reflected in this report.
New Budget Authority, Entitlement Authority, and Tax Expenditures
In compliance with clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules
of the House of Representatives, the Committee finds that H.R.
3815, the Homeland Security Open Source Information Enhancement
Act of 2008, would result in no new or increased budget
authority, entitlement authority, or tax expenditures or
revenues.
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, July 10, 2008.
Hon. Bennie G. Thompson,
Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 3815, the Homeland
Security Open Source Information Enhancement Act of 2008.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Mark
Grabowicz.
Sincerely,
Robert A. Sunshine
(For Peter R. Orszag, Director).
Enclosure.
H.R. 3815--Homeland Security Open Source Information Enhancement Act of
2008
H.R. 3815 would authorize the appropriation of whatever
sums are necessary for each of fiscal years 2009 through 2013
for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to establish a
program to collect and analyze open source (publicly available)
information and disseminate reports and other products based on
that analysis. The bill would direct the department to focus
those efforts on foreign terrorist organizations and
vulnerabilities of the nation's infrastructure. Based on
information from DHS, CBO expects that the department would
hire about 10 people to carry out the activities required by
the bill. We estimate that the additional staff would cost
about $1 million annually over the 2009-2013 period, assuming
the availability of appropriated funds.
Enacting the bill would not affect direct spending or
revenues. H.R. 3815 contains no intergovernmental or private-
sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal
governments.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Mark Grabowicz.
This estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, H.R. 3815 contains the following
general performance goals, and objectives, including outcome
related goals and objectives authorized.
The primary goal of H.R. 3815 is to establish an open
source program within the Department of Homeland Security to
provide accurate, actionable, and timely unclassified
intelligence products to its State, local, tribal, and private
sector partners--and the public--in order to strengthen the
Nation's prevention and preparedness posture. At the same time,
the Department should become a key provider of homeland
security relevant open source intelligence products to the rest
of the Federal Intelligence Community in order to maximize
situational awareness of threats. In that way, the Department's
open source program could have a powerful impact in informing
the Nation's overall homeland and national security efforts. To
ensure the quality of its products, the Department will be
expected to make the information needs of its customers the
starting point of its open source work.
Congressional Earmarks, Limited Tax Benefits, and Limited Tariff
Benefits
In compliance with rule XXI of the Rules of the House of
Representatives, this bill, as reported, contains no
congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff
benefits as defined in clause 9(d), 9(e), or 9(f) of the rule
XXI.
Federal Mandates Statement
The Committee adopts as its own the estimate of Federal
mandates prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office pursuant to section 423 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform
Act.
Advisory Committee Statement
No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b)
of the Federal Advisory Committee Act were created by this
legislation.
Constitutional Authority Statement
Pursuant to clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, the Committee finds that the
Constitutional authority for this legislation is provided in
Article I, section 8, clause 1, which grants Congress the power
to provide for the common Defense of the United States.
Applicability to Legislative Branch
The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate
to the terms and conditions of employment or access to public
services or accommodations within the meaning of section
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act.
Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation
Section 1. Short title
This section states that this measure may be cited as the
``Homeland Security Open Source Information Act of 2007''.
Section 2. Findings
This section outlines a series of Congressional findings,
including that: (1) the Department of Homeland Security has not
sufficiently expanded its use of open source information to
produce open source analytical products; (2) open source
products can be easily shared with the Department's State,
local, and tribal partners, the private sector and the public
because of its unclassified nature; (3) more than three years
ago, the Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the
United States Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction identified
both the increasing importance of exploiting open source
information and the Federal Government's failure to do so; (4)
the Department has been specifically tasked with creating open
source products under existing Federal open source guidelines.
Section 3. Full and efficient use of open source information
This section modifies Title II of the Homeland Security Act
of 2002 (P.L. 107-296) by requiring the Secretary of Homeland
Security to establish an open source program at the Department
of Homeland Security that produces open source intelligence
products that: (1) analyze news reports and developments
related to foreign terrorist organizations including how the
threat 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, computer-based electronic
visualization and animation tools that combine imagery, sound,
and written material into unclassified open source intelligence
products. This section likewise requires the Secretary to share
these and other open source products with Federal, State,
local, tribal, and private sector customers and to ensure that
the manner in which open source material is gathered and
disseminated complies with the Constitution, the Privacy Act,
the E-Government Act and all other relevant laws.
This section further modifies Title II of the Homeland
Security Act of 2002 by requiring the Inspector General of the
Department to produce a report ensuring compliance with the
National Open Source Enterprise coordinated by the Director of
National Intelligence. It likewise defines ``open source
information'' and authorizes appropriations for the
Department's open source program.
The Committee believes that progress and efficacy of the
Department of Homeland Security's open source program should be
assessed on: (1) its inclusion of customer input into the open
source intelligence production process; (2) the degree to which
it is creating products that are easily accessible through
appropriate dissemination channels and recognizable as open
source; (3) the extent to which its products receive positive
feedback from the Department's customers at all levels of
government and in the private sector; (4) the actual role the
products are having in prevention and preparedness efforts,
including any role in preventing or responding to a terrorist
attack or other disaster; and (5) the extent to which privacy
and civil liberties safeguards are incorporated into the
production process.
Section 4. Privacy and civil liberties impact assessment
This section modifies Title II of the Homeland Security Act
of 2002 (P.L. 107-296) by requiring the Privacy Officer and the
Officer for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties of the Department
of Homeland Security to conduct a privacy and civil liberties
impact assessment of the Department's open source program
within 90 days of enactment.
Section 5. Definitions
This section defines terms used in this measure.
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (new matter is
printed in italic and existing law in which no change is
proposed is shown in roman):
HOMELAND SECURITY ACT OF 2002
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) * * *
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is
as follows:
* * * * * * *
TITLE II--INFORMATION ANALYSIS AND INFRASTRUCTURE PROTECTION
Subtitle A--Information and Analysis and Infrastructure Protection;
Access to Information
* * * * * * *
Sec. 210F. Full and efficient use of open source information.
* * * * * * *
TITLE II--INFORMATION ANALYSIS AND INFRASTRUCTURE PROTECTION
Subtitle A--Information and Analysis and Infrastructure Protection;
Access to Information
* * * * * * *
SEC. 210F. FULL AND EFFICIENT USE OF OPEN SOURCE INFORMATION.
(a) Responsibilities of Secretary.--The Secretary shall
establish an open source collection, analysis, and
dissemination program within the Department. This program shall
make full and efficient use of open source information to
develop and disseminate open source intelligence products.
(b) Open Source Products.--The Secretary shall ensure that
among the open source products that the Department generates,
there 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, computer-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 with appropriate
Federal, State, local, tribal, and private-sector officials.
(d) Protection of Privacy.--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 known 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.
(e) Inspector General Report.--The Inspector General 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 consistent
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 disseminated 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
sums as may be necessary to carry out this section.
* * * * * * *
Committee Correspondence
<all>