HR 1 IH
110th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1
To provide for the implementation of the recommendations of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 5, 2007
Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi (for himself, Mr. LANTOS, Mr. SKELTON,
Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. ACKERMAN, Mr. ALLEN, Mr. ALTMIRE, Mr. ANDREWS, Mr.
ARCURI, Mr. BACA, Mr. BAIRD, Ms. BALDWIN, Ms. BEAN, Mr. BECERRA, Ms.
BERKLEY, Mr. BERMAN, Mr. BERRY, Mr. BISHOP of New York, Mr. BLUMENAUER,
Ms. BORDALLO, Mr. BOREN, Mr. BOSWELL, Mr. BOUCHER, Ms. BOYDA of Kansas,
Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania, Mr. BRALEY of Iowa, Mr. BUTTERFIELD, Mrs.
CAPPS, Mr. CAPUANO, Mr. CARDOZA, Mr. CARNAHAN, Mr. CARNEY, Ms. CASTOR,
Mr. CHANDLER, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, Ms. CLARKE, Mr. CLAY, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr.
CLYBURN, Mr. COHEN, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. COOPER, Mr. COSTELLO, Mr.
COURTNEY, Mr. CROWLEY, Mr. CRAMER, Mr. CUELLAR, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. DAVIS
of Illinois, Mr. DAVIS of Alabama, Mrs. DAVIS of California, Mr.
DEFAZIO, Ms. DEGETTE, Mr. DELAHUNT, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. DICKS, Mr.
DOGGETT, Mr. DONNELLY, Mr. DOYLE, Mr. ELLISON, Mr. ELLSWORTH, Mr.
EMANUEL, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. ETHERIDGE, Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA, Mr. FARR, Mr.
FATTAH, Mr. FILNER, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Ms. GIFFORDS, Mr. AL
GREEN of Texas, Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. HALL of New
York, Mr. HARE, Ms. HARMAN, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Ms. HERSETH, Mr.
HIGGINS, Mr. HILL, Mr. HINCHEY, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. HODES, Mr. HOLDEN, Mr.
HOLT, Mr. HONDA, Ms. HOOLEY, Mr. HOYER, Mr. INSLEE, Mr. ISRAEL, Mr.
JACKSON of Illinois, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE
JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. KAGEN, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr.
KILDEE, Mr. KIND, Mr. KLEIN of Florida, Mr. KUCINICH, Mr. LAMPSON, Mr.
LANGEVIN, Mr. LARSEN of Washington, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, Ms. LEE,
Mr. LEVIN, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mr. LOEBSACK, Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of
California, Mrs. LOWEY, Mr. LYNCH, Mr. MAHONEY of Florida, Mrs. MALONEY
of New York, Mr. MARKEY, Ms. MATSUI, Ms. MCCOLLUM of Minnesota, Mr.
MCDERMOTT, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. MCINTYRE, Mr. MCNERNEY, Mr. MCNULTY, Mr.
MEEHAN, Mr. MEEK of Florida, Mr. MICHAUD, Ms. MILLENDER-MCDONALD, Mr.
GEORGE MILLER of California, Mr. MITCHELL, Mr. MOORE of Kansas, Mr.
MORAN of Virginia, Mr. MURPHY of Connecticut, Mr. CHRISTOPHER MURPHY of
Pennsylvania, Mr. NADLER, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Ms. NORTON, Mr. OBERSTAR,
Mr. OBEY, Mr. OLVER, Mr. ORTIZ, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. PASTOR,
Mr. PAYNE, Mr. PERLMUTTER, Mr. POMEROY, Mr. PRICE of North Carolina,
Mr. RAHALL, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. REYES, Mr. RODRIGUEZ, Mr. ROSS, Mr.
ROTHMAN, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. RUPPERSBERGER, Mr. RUSH, Mr. RYAN of
Ohio, Mr. SALAZAR, Ms. LINDA T. SANCHEZ of California, Mr. SARBANES,
Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. SCOTT of
Virginia, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. SESTAK, Ms. SHEA-PORTER, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr.
SHULER, Mr. SIRES, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Ms. SOLIS,
Mr. SPACE, Mr. SPRATT, Mr. STARK, Mr. STUPAK, Ms. SUTTON, Mrs.
TAUSCHER, Mr. THOMPSON of California, Mr. TIERNEY, Mrs. JONES of Ohio,
Mr. UDALL of Colorado, Mr. UDALL of New Mexico, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Ms.
VELAZQUEZ, Mr. WALZ of Minnesota, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Ms. WATERS,
Ms. WATSON, Mr. WAXMAN, Mr. WEINER, Mr. WELCH of Vermont, Mr. WEXLER,
Mr. WILSON of Ohio, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. WU, Mr. WYNN, Mr. YARMUTH, and Mr.
HINOJOSA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Homeland Security, and in addition to the Committees on
Energy and Commerce, the Judiciary, Select Intelligence (Permanent
Select), Foreign Affairs, Transportation and Infrastructure, Oversight
and Government Reform, and Ways and Means, 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 implementation of the recommendations of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States.
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 `Implementing the 9/11 Commission Recommendations Act of 2007'.
SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS.
The table of contents for this Act is as follows:
Sec. 2. Table of contents.
TITLE I--RISK-BASED ALLOCATION OF HOMELAND SECURITY GRANTS
Sec. 101. First responders homeland security funding.
TITLE II--ENSURING COMMUNICATIONS INTEROPERABILITY FOR FIRST RESPONDERS
Sec. 201. Improve Communications for Emergency Response Grant Program.
TITLE III--STRENGTHENING USE OF A UNIFIED INCIDENT COMMAND DURING EMERGENCIES
Sec. 301. National exercise program design.
Sec. 302. National exercise program model exercises.
Sec. 303. Responsibilities of Regional Administrators of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
TITLE IV--STRENGTHENING AVIATION SECURITY
Sec. 401. Installation of in-line baggage screening equipment.
Sec. 402. Aviation security capital fund.
Sec. 403. Airport checkpoint screening explosive detection.
Sec. 404. Strengthening explosive detection at airport screening checkpoints.
Sec. 405. Extension of authorization of aviation security funding.
Sec. 406. Inspection of cargo carried aboard passenger aircraft.
Sec. 407. Appeal and redress process for passengers wrongly delayed or prohibited from boarding a flight.
Sec. 408. Transportation Security Administration personnel management.
Sec. 409. Strategic plan to test and implement advanced passenger prescreening system.
TITLE V--STRENGTHENING THE SECURITY OF CARGO CONTAINERS
Sec. 501. Requirements relating to entry of containers into the United States.
TITLE VI--STRENGTHENING EFFORTS TO PREVENT TERRORIST TRAVEL
Subtitle A--Human Smuggling and Trafficking Center Improvements
Sec. 601. Strengthening the capabilities of the Human Smuggling and Trafficking Center.
Subtitle B--International Collaboration to Prevent Terrorist Travel
Sec. 611. Report on international collaboration to
increase border security, enhance global document security, and
exchange terrorist information.
Subtitle C--Biometric Border Entry and Exit System
Sec. 621. Submittal of plan on biometric entry and exit verification system implementation.
TITLE VII--IMPROVING INTELLIGENCE AND INFORMATION SHARING WITH LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AND FIRST RESPONDERS
Subtitle A--Fusion and Law Enforcement Education and Teaming (FLEET) Grant Program
Sec. 702. FLEET Grant program.
Subtitle B--Border Intelligence Fusion Center Program
Sec. 712. Establishment of Border Intelligence Fusion Center Program.
Subtitle C--Homeland Security Information Sharing Enhancement
Sec. 722. Homeland Security Advisory System.
Sec. 723. Homeland security information sharing.
Subtitle D--Homeland Security Information Sharing Partnerships
Sec. 732. State, Local, and Regional Information Fusion Center Initiative.
Sec. 733. Homeland Security Information Sharing Fellows Program.
Subtitle E--Homeland Security Intelligence Offices Reorganization
Sec. 741. Departmental reorganization.
Sec. 742. Intelligence components of Department of Homeland Security.
Sec. 743. Office of Infrastructure Protection.
TITLE VIII--PROTECTING PRIVACY AND CIVIL LIBERTIES WHILE EFFECTIVELY FIGHTING TERRORISM
Subtitle A--Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Boards
Sec. 803. Making the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board independent.
Sec. 804. Requiring all members of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board be confirmed by the Senate.
Sec. 805. Subpoena power for the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board.
Sec. 806. Reporting requirements.
Subtitle B--Enhancement of Privacy Officer Authorities
Sec. 812. Authorities of the privacy officer of the Department of Homeland Security.
TITLE IX--IMPROVING CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE SECURITY
Sec. 901. Vulnerability assessment and report on critical infrastructure information.
Sec. 902. National Asset Database and the National At-Risk Database.
TITLE X--TRANSPORTATION SECURITY PLANNING AND INFORMATION SHARING
Sec. 1001. Strategic transportation security information sharing.
Sec. 1002. Transportation security strategic planning.
TITLE XI--PRIVATE SECTOR PREPAREDNESS
Sec. 1101. Participation of private sector organizations in emergency preparedness and response activities.
TITLE XII--PREVENTING WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION PROLIFERATION AND TERRORISM
Subtitle A--Repeal and Modification of Limitations on Assistance for Prevention of WMD Proliferation and Terrorism
Sec. 1211. Repeal and modification of limitations on
assistance for prevention of weapons of mass destruction proliferation
and terrorism.
Subtitle B--Proliferation Security Initiative
Sec. 1221. Proliferation Security Initiative improvements and authorities.
Sec. 1222. Authority to provide assistance to cooperative countries.
Subtitle C--Assistance to Accelerate Programs to Prevent Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism
Sec. 1231. Findings; statement of policy.
Sec. 1232. Authorization of appropriations for the Department of Defense Cooperative Threat Reduction Program.
Sec. 1233. Authorization of appropriations for the
Department of Energy programs to prevent weapons of mass destruction
proliferation and terrorism.
Subtitle D--Office of the United States Coordinator for the
Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism
Sec. 1241. Office of the United States Coordinator for
the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and
Terrorism.
Sec. 1242. Request for corresponding Russian coordinator.
Subtitle E--Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism
Sec. 1251. Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism.
Sec. 1254. Responsibilities.
Sec. 1256. Nonapplicability of Federal Advisory Committee Act.
TITLE XIII--NUCLEAR BLACK MARKET COUNTER-TERRORISM ACT
Subtitle A--Sanctions for Transfers of Nuclear Enrichment,
Reprocessing, and Weapons Technology, Equipment, and Materials
Involving Foreign Persons and Terrorists
Sec. 1311. Authority to impose sanctions on foreign persons.
Sec. 1312. Presidential notification on activities of foreign persons.
Subtitle B--Further Actions Against Corporations Associated With Sanctioned Foreign Persons
Sec. 1322. Campaign by United States Government officials.
Subtitle C--Rollback of Nuclear Proliferation Networks
Sec. 1331. Nonproliferation as a condition of United States assistance.
Sec. 1332. Report on identification of nuclear proliferation network host countries.
Sec. 1333. Suspension of arms sales licenses and deliveries to nuclear proliferation host countries.
TITLE XIV--9/11 COMMISSION INTERNATIONAL IMPLEMENTATION
Sec. 1401. Short title; table of contents.
Subtitle A--Quality Educational Opportunities in Arab and Predominantly Muslim Countries.
Sec. 1411. Findings; Policy.
Sec. 1412. International Arab and Muslim Youth Opportunity Fund.
Sec. 1413. Annual report to Congress.
Sec. 1414. Extension of program to provide grants to
American-sponsored schools in Arab and predominantly Muslim Countries
to provide scholarships.
Subtitle B--Democracy and Development in Arab and Predominantly Muslim Countries
Sec. 1421. Promoting democracy and development in the Middle East, Central Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia.
Sec. 1422. Middle East Foundation.
Subtitle C--Restoring United States Moral Leadership
Sec. 1431. Advancing United States interests through public diplomacy.
Sec. 1432. Expansion of United States scholarship, exchange, and library programs in Arab and predominantly Muslim countries.
Sec. 1433. United States policy toward detainees.
Subtitle D--Strategy for the United States Relationship With Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia
TITLE I--RISK-BASED ALLOCATION OF HOMELAND SECURITY GRANTS
SEC. 101. FIRST RESPONDERS HOMELAND SECURITY FUNDING.
(a) In General- The Homeland Security Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-296; 6 U.S.C. 361 et seq.) is amended--
(1) in section 1(b) in the table of contents by
striking the items relating to the second title XVIII, as added by
section 501(b)(3) of Public Law 109-347, and inserting the following:
`TITLE XIX--DOMESTIC NUCLEAR DETECTION OFFICE
`Sec. 1901. Domestic Nuclear Detection Office.
`Sec. 1902. Mission of Office.
`Sec. 1904. Testing authority.
`Sec. 1905. Relationship to other Department entities and Federal agencies.
`Sec. 1906. Contracting and grant making authorities.';
(2) by redesignating the second title XVIII, as added by section 501(a) of Public Law 109-347, as title XIX;
(3) in title XIX (as so redesignated)--
(A) by redesignating sections 1801 through 1806 as sections 1901 through 1906, respectively;
(B) in section 1904(a) (6 U.S.C. 594(a)), as so redesignated, by striking `section 1802' and inserting `section 1902'; and
(C) in section 1906 (6 U.S.C. 596), as so
redesignated, by striking `section 1802(a)' each place it appears and
inserting `section 1902(a)';
(4) in section 1(b) in the table of contents by adding at the end the following:
`TITLE XX--FUNDING FOR FIRST RESPONDERS
`Sec. 2002. Faster and Smarter Funding for First Responders.
`Sec. 2003. Covered grant eligibility and criteria.
`Sec. 2004. Risk-based evaluation and prioritization.
`Sec. 2005. Use of funds and accountability requirements.';
(5) by adding at the end the following:
`TITLE XX--FUNDING FOR FIRST RESPONDERS
`SEC. 2001. DEFINITIONS.
`(1) COVERED GRANT- The term `covered grant' means any grant to which this title applies under section 2002.
`(2) DIRECTLY ELIGIBLE TRIBE- The term `directly eligible tribe' means any Indian tribe or consortium of Indian tribes that--
`(A) meets the criteria for inclusion in the
qualified applicant pool for Self-Governance that are set forth in
section 402(c) of the Indian Self-Determination and Education
Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 458bb(c));
`(B) employs at least 10 full-time personnel in a
law enforcement or emergency response agency with the capacity to
respond to calls for law enforcement or emergency services; and
`(C)(i) is located on, or within 5 miles of, an international border or waterway;
`(ii) is located within 5 miles of a facility designated as high-risk critical infrastructure by the Secretary;
`(iii) is located within or contiguous to one of the 50 largest metropolitan statistical areas in the United States; or
`(iv) has more than 1,000 square miles of Indian
country, as that term is defined in section 1151 of title 18, United
States Code.
`(3) ELEVATIONS IN THE THREAT ALERT LEVEL- The term
`elevations in the threat alert level' means any designation (including
those that are less than national in scope) that raises the homeland
security threat level to either the highest or second highest threat
level under the Homeland Security Advisory System referred to in
section 201(d)(7).
`(4) FIRST RESPONDER- The term `first responder' shall have the same meaning as the term `emergency response provider'.
`(5) INDIAN TRIBE- The term `Indian tribe' means any
Indian tribe, band, nation, or other organized group or community,
including any Alaskan Native village or regional or village corporation
as defined in or established pursuant to the Alaskan Native Claims
Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), that is recognized as eligible
for the special programs and services provided by the United States to
Indians because of their status as Indians.
`(6) REGION- The term `region' means--
`(A) any geographic area consisting of all or parts
of 2 or more contiguous States that have a combined population of at
least 1,650,000 or have an area of not less than 20,000 square miles,
and that, for purposes of an application for a covered grant, is
represented by 1 or more governments or governmental agencies within
such geographic area, and that is established by law or by agreement of
2 or more such governments or governmental agencies in a mutual aid
agreement; or
`(B) any other combination of contiguous local
government units (including such a combination established by law or
agreement of two or more governments or governmental agencies in a
mutual aid agreement) that is formally certified by the Secretary as a
region for purposes of this Act with the consent of--
`(i) the State or States in which they are
located, including a multi-State entity established by a compact
between two or more States; and
`(ii) the incorporated municipalities, counties, and parishes that they encompass.
`(7) TERRORISM PREPAREDNESS- The term `terrorism
preparedness' means any activity designed to improve the ability to
prevent, prepare for, respond to, mitigate against, or recover from
threatened or actual terrorist attacks.
`(8) CAPABILITIES- The term `capabilities' shall have the same meaning that term has under title VIII.
`SEC. 2002. FASTER AND SMARTER FUNDING FOR FIRST RESPONDERS.
`(a) Covered Grants- This title applies to grants provided
by the Department to States, urban areas, regions, or directly eligible
tribes for the primary purpose of improving the ability of first
responders to prevent, prepare for, respond to, mitigate against, or
recover from threatened or actual terrorist attacks, especially those
involving weapons of mass destruction, administered under the following:
`(1) STATE HOMELAND SECURITY GRANT PROGRAM- The State
Homeland Security Grant Program of the Department, or any successor to
such grant program.
`(2) URBAN AREA SECURITY INITIATIVE- The Urban Area
Security Initiative of the Department, or any successor to such grant
program.
`(3) LAW ENFORCEMENT TERRORISM PREVENTION PROGRAM- The
Law Enforcement Terrorism Prevention Program of the Department, or any
successor to such grant program.
`(b) Excluded Programs- This title does not apply to or
otherwise affect the following Federal grant programs or any grant
under such a program:
`(1) NONDEPARTMENT PROGRAMS- Any Federal grant program that is not administered by the Department.
`(2) FIRE GRANT PROGRAMS- The fire grant programs
authorized by sections 33 and 34 of the Federal Fire Prevention and
Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2229, 2229a).
`(3) EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PLANNING AND ASSISTANCE
ACCOUNT GRANTS- The Emergency Management Performance Grant program and
the Urban Search and Rescue Grants program authorized by title VI of
the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42
U.S.C. 5195 et seq.); the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing
and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act,
2000 (113 Stat. 1047 et seq.); and the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act
of 1977 (42 U.S.C. 7701 et seq.).
`SEC. 2003. COVERED GRANT ELIGIBILITY AND CRITERIA.
`(1) STATE, REGION, OR DIRECTLY ELIGIBLE TRIBE- Any
State, region, or directly eligible tribe shall be eligible to apply
for a covered grant under the programs referred to in paragraphs (1)
and (3) of section 1802(a).
`(2) HIGH-THREAT URBAN AREAS- Any urban area that is
determined by the Secretary to be a high-threat urban areas shall be
eligible to apply for a covered grant referred to in paragraph (2) of
section 1802(a).
`(b) Grant Criteria- The Secretary shall award covered
grants to assist States and local governments in achieving,
maintaining, and enhancing the capabilities for terrorism preparedness
established by the Secretary.
`(c) Submission of State Preparedness Report-
`(1) SUBMISSION REQUIRED- The Secretary shall require
that any State applying to the Secretary for a covered grant must
submit State Preparedness Report specified in section 652(c) of the
Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2007 (Public Law
109-295).
`(2) CONSULTATION- The State report submitted under
paragraph (1) shall be developed in consultation with and subject to
appropriate comment by local governments and first responders within
the State.
`(d) Consistency With State Plans-
`(1) IN GENERAL- The Secretary shall ensure that each
covered grant is used to supplement and support, in a consistent and
coordinated manner, the applicable State homeland security report or
plan.
`(2) APPROVAL OF PLAN BY SECRETARY- The Secretary may
not award any covered grant to a State unless the Secretary has
approved the applicable State homeland security plan.
`(3) REVISIONS- A State may revise the applicable State
homeland security plan approved by the Secretary under this subsection,
subject to approval of the revision by the Secretary.
`(e) Application for Grant-
`(1) IN GENERAL- Except as otherwise provided in this
subsection, any State, urban area, region, or directly eligible tribe
may apply for a covered grant by submitting to the Secretary an
application at such time, in such manner, and containing such
information as is required under this subsection, or as the Secretary
may reasonably require.
`(2) DEADLINES FOR APPLICATIONS AND AWARDS- All
applications for covered grants must be submitted at such time as the
Secretary may reasonably require for the fiscal year for which they are
submitted. The Secretary shall award covered grants pursuant to all
approved applications for such fiscal year as soon as practicable, but
not later than March 1 of such year.
`(3) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS- All funds awarded by the
Secretary under covered grants in a fiscal year shall be available for
obligation through the end of the subsequent fiscal year.
`(4) MINIMUM CONTENTS OF APPLICATION- The Secretary
shall require that each applicant include in its application, at a
minimum--
`(A) the purpose for which the applicant seeks
covered grant funds and the reasons why the applicant needs the covered
grant to meet the capabilities for terrorism preparedness within the
State, urban area, region, or directly eligible tribe to which the
application pertains;
`(B) a description of how, by reference to the
applicable State homeland security plan or plans under subsection (c),
the allocation of grant funding proposed in the application, including,
where applicable, the amount not passed through under section
2005(g)(1), would assist in fulfilling the capabilities for terrorism
preparedness specified in such plan or plans;
`(C) a statement of whether a mutual aid agreement applies to the use of all or any portion of the covered grant funds;
`(D) if the applicant is a State, a description of
how the State plans to allocate the covered grant funds to local
governments and Indian tribes;
`(E) if the applicant is a region--
`(i) a precise geographical description of the
region and a specification of all participating and nonparticipating
local governments within the geographical area comprising that region;
`(ii) a specification of what governmental
entity within the region will administer the expenditure of funds under
the covered grant; and
`(iii) a designation of a specific individual to serve as regional liaison;
`(F) a capital budget showing how the applicant intends to allocate and expend the covered grant funds;
`(G) if the applicant is a directly eligible tribe, a designation of a specific individual to serve as the tribal liaison; and
`(H) a statement of how the applicant intends to meet the matching requirement, if any, that applies under section 2005(g)(2).
`(5) REGIONAL APPLICATIONS-
`(A) RELATIONSHIP TO STATE APPLICATIONS- A regional application--
`(i) shall be coordinated with an application submitted by the State or States of which such region is a part;
`(ii) shall supplement and avoid duplication with such State application; and
`(iii) shall address the unique regional
aspects of such region's terrorism preparedness needs beyond those
provided for in the application of such State or States.
`(B) STATE REVIEW AND SUBMISSION- To ensure the
consistency required under subsection (d) and the coordination required
under subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, an applicant that is a region
must submit its application to each State of which any part is included
in the region for review and concurrence prior to the submission of
such application to the Secretary. The regional application shall be
transmitted to the Secretary through each such State within 30 days of
its receipt, unless the Governor of such a State notifies the
Secretary, in writing, that such regional application is inconsistent
with the State's homeland security plan and provides an explanation of
the reasons therefor.
`(C) DISTRIBUTION OF REGIONAL AWARDS- If the
Secretary approves a regional application, then the Secretary shall
distribute a regional award to the State or States submitting the
applicable regional application under subparagraph (B), and each such
State shall, not later than the end of the 45-day period beginning on
the date after receiving a regional award, pass through to the region
all covered grant funds or resources purchased with such funds, except
those funds necessary for the State to carry out its responsibilities
with respect to such regional application: Provided, That in no such
case shall the State or States pass through to the region less than 80
percent of the regional award.
`(D) CERTIFICATIONS REGARDING DISTRIBUTION OF GRANT
FUNDS TO REGIONS- Any State that receives a regional award under
subparagraph (C) shall certify to the Secretary, by not later than 30
days after the expiration of the period described in subparagraph (C)
with respect to the grant, that the State has made available to the
region the required funds and resources in accordance with subparagraph
(C).
`(E) DIRECT PAYMENTS TO REGIONS- If any State fails
to pass through a regional award to a region as required by
subparagraph (C) within 45 days after receiving such award and does not
request or receive an extension of such period under section
2006(h)(2), the region may petition the Secretary to receive directly
the portion of the regional award that is required to be passed through
to such region under subparagraph (C).
`(F) REGIONAL LIAISONS- A regional liaison designated under paragraph (4)(E)(iii) shall--
`(i) coordinate with Federal, State, local,
regional, and private officials within the region concerning terrorism
preparedness;
`(ii) develop a process for receiving input
from Federal, State, local, regional, and private sector officials
within the region to assist in the development of the regional
application and to improve the region's access to covered grants; and
`(iii) administer, in consultation with State,
local, regional, and private officials within the region, covered
grants awarded to the region.
`(6) TRIBAL APPLICATIONS-
`(A) SUBMISSION TO THE STATE OR STATES- To ensure
the consistency required under subsection (d), an applicant that is a
directly eligible tribe must submit its application to each State
within the boundaries of which any part of such tribe is located for
direct submission to the Department along with the application of such
State or States.
`(B) OPPORTUNITY FOR STATE COMMENT- Before awarding
any covered grant to a directly eligible tribe, the Secretary shall
provide an opportunity to each State within the boundaries of which any
part of such tribe is located to comment to the Secretary on the
consistency of the tribe's application with the State's homeland
security plan. Any such comments shall be submitted to the Secretary
concurrently with the submission of the State and tribal applications.
`(C) FINAL AUTHORITY- The Secretary shall have
final authority to determine the consistency of any application of a
directly eligible tribe with the applicable State homeland security
plan or plans, and to approve any application of such tribe. The
Secretary shall notify each State within the boundaries of which any
part of such tribe is located of the approval of an application by such
tribe.
`(D) TRIBAL LIAISON- A tribal liaison designated under paragraph (4)(G) shall--
`(i) coordinate with Federal, State, local, regional, and private officials concerning terrorism preparedness;
`(ii) develop a process for receiving input
from Federal, State, local, regional, and private sector officials to
assist in the development of the application of such tribe and to
improve the tribe's access to covered grants; and
`(iii) administer, in consultation with State, local, regional, and private officials, covered grants awarded to such tribe.
`(E) LIMITATION ON THE NUMBER OF DIRECT GRANTS- The
Secretary may make covered grants directly to not more than 20 directly
eligible tribes per fiscal year.
`(F) TRIBES NOT RECEIVING DIRECT GRANTS- An Indian
tribe that does not receive a grant directly under this section is
eligible to receive funds under a covered grant from the State or
States within the boundaries of which any part of such tribe is
located, consistent with the homeland security plan of the State as
described in subsection (c). If a State fails to comply with section
2006(g)(1), the tribe may request payment under section 2006(h)(3) in
the same manner as a local government.
`(7) EQUIPMENT STANDARDS- If an applicant for a covered
grant proposes to upgrade or purchase, with assistance provided under
the grant, new equipment or systems that do not meet or exceed any
applicable national voluntary consensus standards established by the
Secretary, the applicant shall include in the application an
explanation of why such equipment or systems will serve the needs of
the applicant better than equipment or systems that meet or exceed such
standards.
`SEC. 2004. RISK-BASED EVALUATION AND PRIORITIZATION.
`(a) Prioritization of Grant Applications-
`(1) FACTORS TO BE CONSIDERED- The Secretary shall
evaluate and annually prioritize all pending applications for covered
grants based upon the degree to which they would, by achieving,
maintaining, or enhancing the capabilities of the applicants on a
nationwide basis, lessen the threat to, vulnerability of, and
consequences for persons (including transient commuting and tourist
populations) and critical infrastructure. Such evaluation and
prioritization shall be based upon the most current risk assessment
available by the Office of Intelligence Analysis and the Office of
Infrastructure Protection of the threats of terrorism against the
United States. In establishing criteria for evaluating and prioritizing
applications for covered grants, the Secretary shall coordinate with
the National Advisory Council established under section 508, the
Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the United States
Fire Administrator, the Chief Intelligence Officer of the Department,
the Assistant Secretary for Infrastructure Protection, and other
Department officials as determined by the Secretary.
`(2) CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE SECTORS- The Secretary
specifically shall consider threats of terrorism against the following
critical infrastructure sectors in all areas of the United States,
urban and rural:
`(A) Agriculture and food.
`(B) Banking and finance.
`(C) Chemical industries.
`(D) The defense industrial base.
`(G) Government facilities.
`(H) Postal and shipping.
`(I) Public health and health care.
`(J) Information technology.
`(L) Transportation systems.
`(O) Commercial facilities.
`(P) National monuments and icons.
The order in which the critical infrastructure sectors
are listed in this paragraph shall not be construed as an order of
priority for consideration of the importance of such sectors.
`(3) TYPES OF THREAT- The Secretary specifically shall
consider the following types of threat to the critical infrastructure
sectors described in paragraph (2), and to populations in all areas of
the United States, urban and rural:
`(C) Radiological threats.
`(I) Any other threats based on proximity to specific past acts of terrorism or the known activity of any terrorist group.
The order in which the types of threat are listed in
this paragraph shall not be construed as an order of priority for
consideration of the importance of such threats.
`(4) CONSIDERATION OF ADDITIONAL FACTORS- The Secretary
shall take into account any other specific threat to a population
(including a transient commuting or tourist population) or critical
infrastructure sector that the Board has determined to exist. In
evaluating the threat to a population or critical infrastructure
sector, the Secretary shall give greater weight to threats of terrorism
based upon their specificity and credibility, including any pattern of
repetition.
`(5) MINIMUM AMOUNTS- After evaluating and prioritizing
grant applications under paragraph (1), the Department shall ensure
that, for each fiscal year--
`(A) each of the States, other than the Virgin
Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands, that
has an approved State homeland security plan receives no less than 0.25
percent of the funds available for covered grants for that fiscal year
for purposes of implementing its homeland security plan;
`(B) each of the States, other than the Virgin
Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands, that
has an approved State homeland security plan and that meets one or both
of the additional high-risk qualifying criteria under paragraph (6)
receives no less than 0.45 percent of the funds available for covered
grants for that fiscal year for purposes of implementing its homeland
security plan;
`(C) the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and
the Northern Mariana Islands each receives no less than 0.08 percent of
the funds available for covered grants for that fiscal year for
purposes of implementing its approved State plan; and
`(D) directly eligible tribes collectively receive
no less than 0.08 percent of the funds available for covered grants for
such fiscal year for purposes of addressing the needs identified in the
applications of such tribes, consistent with the homeland security plan
of each State within the boundaries of which any part of any such tribe
is located, except that this clause shall not apply with respect to
funds available for a fiscal year if the Secretary receives less than 5
applications for such fiscal year from such tribes or does not approve
at least one such application.
`(6) ADDITIONAL HIGH-RISK QUALIFYING CRITERIA- For
purposes of paragraph (5)(B), additional high-risk qualifying criteria
consist of--
`(A) having a significant international land border; or
`(B) adjoining a body of water within North America through which an international boundary line extends.
`(b) Effect of Regional Awards on State Minimum- Any
regional award, or portion thereof, provided to a State under section
2003(e)(5)(C) shall not be considered in calculating the minimum State
award under subsection (a)(5) of this section.
`(c) Relationship to Other Programs- This section shall be
carried out in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human
Services. Nothing in this section affects the scope of authority of the
Secretary of Health and Human Services, including such authority under
the Public Health Service Act.
`SEC. 2005. USE OF FUNDS AND ACCOUNTABILITY REQUIREMENTS.
`(a) In General- A covered grant may be used for--
`(1) purchasing or upgrading equipment, including computer hardware and software, to enhance terrorism preparedness;
`(2) exercises to strengthen terrorism preparedness;
`(3) training for prevention (including detection) of,
preparedness for, response to, or recovery from attacks involving
weapons of mass destruction, including training in the use of equipment
and computer software;
`(4) developing or updating State homeland security
plans, risk assessments, mutual aid agreements, and emergency
management plans to enhance terrorism preparedness;
`(5) establishing or enhancing mechanisms for sharing terrorism threat information;
`(6) systems architecture and engineering, program
planning and management, strategy formulation and strategic planning,
life-cycle systems design, product and technology evaluation, and
prototype development for terrorism preparedness purposes;
`(7) additional personnel costs resulting from--
`(A) elevations in the threat alert level of the
Homeland Security Advisory System by the Secretary, or a similar
elevation in threat alert level issued by a State, region, or local
government with the approval of the Secretary;
`(B) travel to and participation in exercises and training in the use of equipment and on prevention activities;
`(C) the temporary replacement of personnel during
any period of travel to and participation in exercises and training in
the use of equipment and on prevention activities; and
`(D) the hiring of staff to serve as intelligence analysts to strengthen information and intelligence sharing capabilities;
`(8) the costs of equipment (including software) required to receive, transmit, handle, and store classified information;
`(9) protecting critical infrastructure against
potential attack by the addition of barriers, fences, gates, and other
such devices that are constructed consistent with the requirements of
section 6(j)(9) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency
Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5196(j)(9), except that the cost of such
measures may not exceed the greater of--
`(A) $1,000,000 per project; or
`(B) such greater amount as may be approved by the
Secretary, which may not exceed 10 percent of the total amount of the
covered grant;
`(10) the costs of commercially available interoperable
communications equipment (that, where applicable, is based on national,
voluntary consensus standards) that the Secretary, in consultation with
the Assistant Secretary for Emergency Communications, deems best suited
to facilitate interoperability, coordination, and integration between
and among emergency communications systems, and that complies with
prevailing grant guidance of the Department for interoperable
communications;
`(11) educational curricula development for first responders to ensure that they are prepared for terrorist attacks;
`(12) training and exercises to assist public
elementary and secondary schools in developing and implementing
programs to instruct students regarding age-appropriate skills to
prevent, prepare for, respond to, mitigate against, or recover from an
act of terrorism;
`(13) paying of administrative expenses directly
related to administration of the grant, except that such expenses may
not exceed 3 percent of the amount of the grant;
`(14) Public safety answering points;
`(15) paying for the conduct of any activity permitted
under the Law Enforcement Terrorism Prevention Program, or any such
successor to such program; and
`(16) other appropriate activities as determined by the Secretary.
`(b) Prohibited Uses- Funds provided as a covered grant may not be used--
`(1) to supplant State or local funds;
`(2) to construct buildings or other physical facilities;
`(4) for any State or local government cost-sharing contribution.
`(c) Intelligence Analysts- An individual hired to serve as
an intelligence analyst under subsection (a)(7)(D) must meet at least
one of the following criteria:
`(1) The individual has successfully completed training
that meets the standards of the International Association of Law
Enforcement Intelligence Analysts to ensure baseline proficiency in
intelligence analysis and production.
`(2) The individual has previously served in a Federal intelligence agency as an intelligence analyst for at least two years.
`(d) Multiple-Purpose Funds- Nothing in this section shall
be construed to preclude State and local governments from using covered
grant funds in a manner that also enhances first responder preparedness
for emergencies and disasters unrelated to acts of terrorism, if such
use assists such governments in achieving capabilities for terrorism
preparedness established by the Secretary.
`(e) Reimbursement of Costs-
`(1) PAID-ON-CALL OR VOLUNTEER REIMBURSEMENT- In
addition to the activities described in subsection (a), a covered grant
may be used to provide a reasonable stipend to paid-on-call or
volunteer first responders who are not otherwise compensated for travel
to or participation in training covered by this section. Any such
reimbursement shall not be considered compensation for purposes of
rendering such a first responder an employee under the Fair Labor
Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.).
`(2) PERFORMANCE OF FEDERAL DUTY- An applicant for a
covered grant may petition the Secretary for the reimbursement of the
cost of any activity relating to prevention (including detection) of,
preparedness for, response to, or recovery from acts of terrorism that
is a Federal duty and usually performed by a Federal agency, and that
is being performed by a State or local government (or both) under
agreement with a Federal agency.
`(f) Assistance Requirement- The Secretary may not require
that equipment paid for, wholly or in part, with funds provided as a
covered grant be made available for responding to emergencies in
surrounding States, regions, and localities, unless the Secretary
undertakes to pay the costs directly attributable to transporting and
operating such equipment during such response.
`(g) Flexibility in Unspent Homeland Security Grant Funds-
Upon request by the recipient of a covered grant, the Secretary may
authorize the grantee to transfer all or part of funds provided as the
covered grant from uses specified in the grant agreement to other uses
authorized under this section, if the Secretary determines that such
transfer is in the interests of homeland security.
`(h) State, Regional, and Tribal Responsibilities-
`(1) PASS-THROUGH- The Secretary shall require a
recipient of a covered grant that is a State to obligate or otherwise
make available to local governments, first responders, and other local
groups, to the extent required under the State homeland security plan
or plans specified in the application for the grant, not less than 80
percent of the grant funds, resources purchased with the grant funds
having a value equal to at least 80 percent of the amount of the grant,
or a combination thereof, by not later than the end of the 45-day
period beginning on the date the grant recipient receives the grant
funds.
`(A) IN GENERAL- The Federal share of the costs of
an activity carried out with a covered grant to a State, region, or
directly eligible tribe awarded after the 2-year period beginning on
the date of the enactment of this section shall not exceed 75 percent.
`(B) INTERIM RULE- The Federal share of the costs
of an activity carried out with a covered grant awarded before the end
of the 2-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this
section shall be 100 percent.
`(C) IN-KIND MATCHING- Each recipient of a covered
grant may meet the matching requirement under subparagraph (A) by
making in-kind contributions of goods or services that are directly
linked with the purpose for which the grant is made, including, but not
limited to, any necessary personnel overtime, contractor services,
administrative costs, equipment fuel and maintenance, and rental space.
`(3) CERTIFICATIONS REGARDING DISTRIBUTION OF GRANT
FUNDS TO LOCAL GOVERNMENTS- Any State that receives a covered grant
shall certify to the Secretary, by not later than 30 days after the
expiration of the period described in paragraph (1) with respect to the
grant, that the State has made available for expenditure by local
governments, first responders, and other local groups the required
amount of grant funds pursuant to paragraph (1).
`(4) QUARTERLY REPORT ON HOMELAND SECURITY SPENDING-
The Federal share described in paragraph (2)(A) may be increased by up
to 2 percent for any State, region, or directly eligible tribe that,
not later than 30 days after the end of each fiscal quarter, submits to
the Secretary a report on that fiscal quarter. Each such report must
include, for each recipient of a covered grant or a pass-through under
paragraph (1)--
`(A) the amount obligated to that recipient in that quarter;
`(B) the amount expended by that recipient in that quarter; and
`(C) a summary description of the items purchased by such recipient with such amount.
`(5) ANNUAL REPORT ON HOMELAND SECURITY SPENDING- Each
recipient of a covered grant shall submit an annual report to the
Secretary not later than 60 days after the end of each Federal fiscal
year. Each recipient of a covered grant that is a region must
simultaneously submit its report to each State of which any part is
included in the region. Each recipient of a covered grant that is a
directly eligible tribe must simultaneously submit its report to each
State within the boundaries of which any part of such tribe is located.
Each report must include the following:
`(A) The amount, ultimate recipients, and dates of
receipt of all funds received under the grant during the previous
fiscal year.
`(B) The amount and the dates of disbursements of
all such funds expended in compliance with paragraph (1) or pursuant to
mutual aid agreements or other sharing arrangements that apply within
the State, region, or directly eligible tribe, as applicable, during
the previous fiscal year.
`(C) How the funds were utilized by each ultimate recipient or beneficiary during the preceding fiscal year.
`(D) The extent to which capabilities identified in
the applicable State homeland security plan or plans were achieved,
maintained, or enhanced as the result of the expenditure of grant funds
during the preceding fiscal year.
`(E) The extent to which capabilities identified in the applicable State homeland security plan or plans remain unmet.
`(6) INCLUSION OF RESTRICTED ANNEXES- A recipient of a
covered grant may submit to the Secretary an annex to the annual report
under paragraph (5) that is subject to appropriate handling
restrictions, if the recipient believes that discussion in the report
of unmet needs would reveal sensitive but unclassified information.
`(i) Incentives to Efficient Administration of Homeland Security Grants-
`(1) PENALTIES FOR DELAY IN PASSING THROUGH LOCAL
SHARE- If a recipient of a covered grant that is a State fails to pass
through to local governments, first responders, and other local groups
funds or resources required by subsection (g)(1) within 45 days after
receiving funds under the grant, the Secretary may--
`(A) reduce grant payments to the grant recipient
from the portion of grant funds that is not required to be passed
through under subsection (g)(1);
`(B) terminate payment of funds under the grant to
the recipient, and transfer the appropriate portion of those funds
directly to local first responders that were intended to receive
funding under that grant; or
`(C) impose additional restrictions or burdens on the recipient's use of funds under the grant, which may include--
`(i) prohibiting use of such funds to pay the grant recipient's grant-related overtime or other expenses;
`(ii) requiring the grant recipient to
distribute to local government beneficiaries all or a portion of grant
funds that are not required to be passed through under subsection
(g)(1); or
`(iii) for each day that the grant recipient
fails to pass through funds or resources in accordance with subsection
(g)(1), reducing grant payments to the grant recipient from the portion
of grant funds that is not required to be passed through under
subsection (g)(1), except that the total amount of such reduction may
not exceed 20 percent of the total amount of the grant.
`(2) EXTENSION OF PERIOD- The Governor of a State may
request in writing that the Secretary extend the 45-day period under
section 2003(e)(5)(E) or paragraph (1) for an additional 15-day period.
The Secretary may approve such a request, and may extend such period
for additional 15-day periods, if the Secretary determines that the
resulting delay in providing grant funding to the local government
entities that will receive funding under the grant will not have a
significant detrimental impact on such entities' terrorism preparedness
efforts.
`(3) PROVISION OF NON-LOCAL SHARE TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT-
`(A) IN GENERAL- The Secretary may upon request by
a local government pay to the local government a portion of the amount
of a covered grant awarded to a State in which the local government is
located, if--
`(i) the local government will use the amount
paid to expedite planned enhancements to its terrorism preparedness as
described in any applicable State homeland security plan or plans;
`(ii) the State has failed to pass through funds or resources in accordance with subsection (g)(1); and
`(iii) the local government complies with subparagraphs (B) and (C).
`(B) SHOWING REQUIRED- To receive a payment under this paragraph, a local government must demonstrate that--
`(i) it is identified explicitly as an ultimate recipient or intended beneficiary in the approved grant application;
`(ii) it was intended by the grantee to receive
a severable portion of the overall grant for a specific purpose that is
identified in the grant application;
`(iii) it petitioned the grantee for the funds
or resources after expiration of the period within which the funds or
resources were required to be passed through under subsection (g)(1);
and
`(iv) it did not receive the portion of the overall grant that was earmarked or designated for its use or benefit.
`(C) EFFECT OF PAYMENT- Payment of grant funds to a local government under this paragraph--
`(i) shall not affect any payment to another local government under this paragraph; and
`(ii) shall not prejudice consideration of a
request for payment under this paragraph that is submitted by another
local government.
`(D) DEADLINE FOR ACTION BY SECRETARY- The
Secretary shall approve or disapprove each request for payment under
this paragraph by not later than 15 days after the date the request is
received by the Department.
`(j) Reports to Congress- The Secretary shall submit an
annual report to Congress by January 31 of each year covering the
preceding fiscal year--
`(1) describing in detail the amount of Federal funds
provided as covered grants that were directed to each State, region,
and directly eligible tribe in the preceding fiscal year;
`(2) containing information on the use of such grant funds by grantees; and
`(A) the Nation's progress in achieving,
maintaining, and enhancing the capabilities established by the
Secretary as a result of the expenditure of covered grant funds during
the preceding fiscal year; and
`(B) an estimate of the amount of expenditures
required to attain across the United States the essential capabilities
established by the Secretary.'.
TITLE II--ENSURING COMMUNICATIONS INTEROPERABILITY FOR FIRST RESPONDERS
SEC. 201. IMPROVE COMMUNICATIONS FOR EMERGENCY RESPONSE GRANT PROGRAM.
(a) Establishment- Title V of the Homeland Security Act of
2002 (6 U.S.C. 311 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the
following new section:
`SEC. 522. IMPROVE COMMUNICATIONS FOR EMERGENCY RESPONSE GRANT PROGRAM.
`(a) Establishment- The Secretary, acting through the
Director of the Office of Grants and Training and in coordination with
the Director for Emergency Communications, shall establish the Improve
Communications for Emergency Response Grant Program to make grants to
States and regions to carry out initiatives to improve interoperable
emergency communications, including initiatives to achieve solutions to
statewide, regional, national, and, where appropriate, international
interoperability.
`(b) Use of Grant Funds- A State or region receiving a
grant under this section may use the grant for short-term or long-term
goals for improving interoperable emergency communications, including
interoperability within that State or region, and to assist with--
`(1) statewide or regional communications planning;
`(2) design and engineering for interoperable emergency communications systems;
`(3) procurement and installation of interoperable emergency communications equipment;
`(4) interoperable emergency communications exercises;
`(5) modeling and simulation exercises for operational command and control functions;
`(6) technical assistance and training for interoperable emergency communications; and
`(7) other activities determined by the Secretary to be integral to interoperable emergency communications.
`(c) Region Defined- For the purposes of this section, the
term `region' means any combination of contiguous local government
units, including such a combination established by law or mutual aid
agreement between two or more local governments or governmental
agencies.'.
(b) Authorization of Appropriations- There is authorized to
be appropriated to the Secretary of Homeland Security for grants under
section 522 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, as added by
subsection (a)--
(1) such sums as may be necessary for the first fiscal year that begins after the later of--
(A) the date on which the Secretary of Homeland
Security completes and submits to Congress the National Emergency
Communications Plan required under section 1802 of the Homeland
Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 572);
(B) the date on which the Secretary of Homeland
Security completes and submits to Congress the first baseline
interoperability assessment required under section 1803 of such Act (6
U.S.C. 573); or
(C) the date on which the Secretary of Homeland
Security, after consultation with the Director of Emergency
Communications, determines and notifies Congress that substantial
progress has been made towards the development and promulgation of
voluntary consensus-based interoperable communications standards
pursuant to section 1801(c)(11) of such Act (6 U.S.C. 571(c)(11)); and
(2) such sums as may be necessary for each subsequent fiscal year.
(c) Clerical Amendment- The table of contents in section
1(b) of that Act is amended by inserting after the item relating to
section 521 the following:
`Sec. 522. Improve Communications for Emergency Response Grant Program.'.
TITLE III--STRENGTHENING USE OF A UNIFIED INCIDENT COMMAND DURING EMERGENCIES
SEC. 301. NATIONAL EXERCISE PROGRAM DESIGN.
Section 648(b)(2)(A) of the Department of Homeland Security
Appropriations Act, 2007 (Public Law 109-295) is amended by striking
clauses (iv) and (v) and inserting the following:
`(iv) designed to provide for systematic
evaluation of readiness and enhance operational understanding of the
Incident Command System and relevant mutual aid agreements;
`(v) designed to address the unique requirements of populations with special needs; and
`(vi) designed to include the prompt
development of after-action reports and plans for quickly incorporating
lessons learned into future operations; and'.
SEC. 302. NATIONAL EXERCISE PROGRAM MODEL EXERCISES.
Section 648(b)(2)(B) of the Department of Homeland Security
Appropriations Act, 2007 (Public Law 109-295) is amended by striking so
much as precedes clause (i) and inserting the following:
`(B) shall include a selection of model exercises
that State, local, and tribal governments can readily adapt for use,
and shall provide assistance to State, local, and tribal governments
with the design, implementation, and evaluation of exercises, whether a
model exercise program or an exercise designed locally, that--'.
SEC. 303. RESPONSIBILITIES OF REGIONAL ADMINISTRATORS OF THE FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY.
Section 507(c)(2) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002
(enacted by section 611 of the Department of Homeland Security
Appropriations Act, 2007 (Public Law 109-295)) is amended by striking
`and' after the semicolon at the end of subparagraph (H), by
redesignating subparagraph (I) as subparagraph (J), and by inserting
after subparagraph (H) the following:
`(I) assisting State, local, or tribal governments,
where appropriate, to pre-identify and evaluate suitable sites where a
multi-jurisdictional unified command system can be quickly established
if the need for such a system arises; and'.
TITLE IV--STRENGTHENING AVIATION SECURITY
SEC. 401. INSTALLATION OF IN-LINE BAGGAGE SCREENING EQUIPMENT.
Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this
Act, the Secretary for Homeland Security shall submit to the
appropriate congressional committees the cost sharing study described
in section 4019(d) of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention
Act of 2004 (118 Stat. 3722), together with the Secretary's analysis of
the study, a list of provisions of the study the Secretary intends to
implement, and a plan and schedule for implementation of such listed
provisions.
SEC. 402. AVIATION SECURITY CAPITAL FUND.
(a) In General- Section 44923(h)(1) of title 49, United
States Code, is amended in the second sentence by striking `2007' and
inserting `2011'.
(b) Discretionary Grants- Section 44923(h)(3) of such title
is amended by striking `for a fiscal year, $125,000,000' and inserting
`, $125,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2004, 2005, and 2006 and such
sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2007 through 2011'.
SEC. 403. AIRPORT CHECKPOINT SCREENING EXPLOSIVE DETECTION.
Section 44940 of title 49, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in subsection (d)(4) by inserting `, other than subsection (i),' before `except to'; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
`(i) Checkpoint Screening Security Fund-
`(1) ESTABLISHMENT- There is established in the
Department of Homeland Security a fund to be known as the `Checkpoint
Screening Security Fund'.
`(2) DEPOSITS- In fiscal year 2008, after amounts are
made available under section 44923(h), the next $250,000,000 derived
from fees received under subsection (a)(1) shall be available to be
deposited in the Fund.
`(3) FEES- The Secretary of Homeland Security shall
impose the fee authorized by subsection (a)(1) so as to collect at
least $250,000,000 in fiscal year 2008 for deposit into the Fund.
`(4) AVAILABILITY OF AMOUNTS- Amounts in the Fund shall
be available until expended for the research, development, purchase,
deployment, and installation of equipment to improve the ability of
security screening personnel at screening checkpoints to detect
explosives.'.
SEC. 404. STRENGTHENING EXPLOSIVE DETECTION AT AIRPORT SCREENING CHECKPOINTS.
Not later than 7 days after the date of enactment of this
Act, the Assistant Secretary for Homeland Security (Transportation
Security Administration) shall submit to the appropriate congressional
committees the strategic plan described in the section amended by
section 4013(a) of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act
of 2004 (118 Stat. 3719).
SEC. 405. EXTENSION OF AUTHORIZATION OF AVIATION SECURITY FUNDING.
Section 48301(a) of title 49, United States Code, is
amended by striking `and 2006' and inserting `2006, 2007, 2008, 2009,
2010, and 2011'.
SEC. 406. INSPECTION OF CARGO CARRIED ABOARD PASSENGER AIRCRAFT.
(a) In General- Section 44901 of title 49, United States Code, is amended--
(1) by redesignating subsections (g) and (h) as subsections (h) and (i), respectively; and
(2) by inserting after subsection (f) the following:
`(g) Air Cargo on Passenger Aircraft-
`(1) IN GENERAL- Not later than 3 years after the date
of enactment of the Implementing the 9/11 Commission Recommendations
Act of 2007, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall establish a
system to inspect 100 percent of cargo transported on passenger
aircraft operated by an air carrier or foreign air carrier in air
transportation or intrastate air transportation to ensure the security
of all such passenger aircraft carrying cargo.
`(2) MINIMUM STANDARDS- The system referred to in
paragraph (1) shall require, at a minimum, that equipment, technology,
procedures, and personnel are used to inspect cargo carried on
passenger aircraft to provide a level of security equivalent to the
level of security for the inspection of passenger checked baggage as
follows:
`(A) 35 percent of such cargo is so inspected by the end of fiscal year 2007.
`(B) 65 percent of such cargo is so inspected by the end of fiscal year 2008.
`(C) 100 percent of such cargo is so inspected by the end of fiscal year 2009.
`(A) INTERIM FINAL RULE- The Secretary of Homeland
Security may issue an interim final rule as a temporary regulation to
implement this subsection without regard to the provisions of chapter 5
of title 5.
`(i) IN GENERAL- If the Secretary issues an
interim final rule under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall issue,
not later than one year after the effective date of the interim final
rule, a final rule as a permanent regulation to implement this
subsection in accordance with the provisions of chapter 5 of title 5.
`(ii) FAILURE TO ACT- If the Secretary does not
issue a final rule in accordance with clause (i) on or before the last
day of the 1-year period referred to in clause (i), the interim final
rule issued under subparagraph (A) shall not be effective after the
last day of such period.
`(iii) SUPERCEDING OF INTERIM FINAL RULE- The
final rule issued in accordance with this subparagraph shall supersede
the interim final rule issued under subparagraph (A).
`(4) REPORT- Not later than 1 year after the date of
establishment of the system under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall
transmit to Congress a report that describes the system.'.
(b) Assessment of Exemptions-
(1) TSA ASSESSMENT OF EXEMPTIONS-
(A) IN GENERAL- Not later than 120 days after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall
submit to the appropriate committees of Congress and to the Comptroller
General a report regarding an assessment of each exemption granted for
inspection of air cargo and an analysis to assess the risk of
maintaining such exemption.
(B) CONTENTS- The report referred to in subparagraph (A) shall include--
(i) the rationale for each exemption;
(ii) what percentage of cargo is not screened as a result of each exemption;
(iii) the impact of each exemption on aviation security;
(iv) the projected impact on the flow of
commerce of eliminating each exemption, respectively, should the
Secretary choose to take such action; and
(v) plans and rationale for maintaining, changing, or eliminating each exemption.
(2) GAO ASSESSMENT- Not later than 120 days after the
date on which the report under paragraph (1) is submitted, the
Comptroller General shall review the report and provide to Congress an
assessment of the methodology of determinations made by the Secretary
for maintaining, changing, or eliminating an exemption.
SEC. 407. APPEAL AND REDRESS PROCESS FOR PASSENGERS WRONGLY DELAYED OR PROHIBITED FROM BOARDING A FLIGHT.
(a) In General- Subtitle C of title IV of the Homeland
Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 231 et. seq.) is amended by adding at
the end the following:
`SEC. 432. APPEAL AND REDRESS PROCESS FOR PASSENGERS WRONGLY DELAYED OR PROHIBITED FROM BOARDING A FLIGHT.
`(a) In General- The Secretary shall establish a timely and
fair process for individuals who believe they have been delayed or
prohibited from boarding a commercial aircraft because they were
wrongly identified as a threat under the regimes utilized by the
Transportation Security Administration, the Bureau of Customs and
Border Protection, or any other Department entity.
`(b) Office of Appeals and Redress-
`(1) ESTABLISHMENT- The Secretary shall establish an
Office of Appeals and Redress to oversee the process established by the
Secretary pursuant to subsection (a).
`(2) RECORDS- The process established by the Secretary
pursuant to subsection (a) shall include the establishment of a method
by which the Office of Appeals and Redress, under the direction of the
Secretary, will be able to maintain a record of air carrier passengers
and other individuals who have been misidentified and have corrected
erroneous information.
`(3) INFORMATION- To prevent repeated delays of a
misidentified passenger or other individual, the Office of Appeals and
Redress shall--
`(A) ensure that the records maintained under this
subsection contain information determined by the Secretary to
authenticate the identity of such a passenger or individual; and
`(B) furnish to the Transportation Security
Administration, the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection, or any
other appropriate Department entity, upon request, such information as
may be necessary to allow such agencies to assist air carriers in
improving their administration of the advanced passenger prescreening
system and reduce the number of false positives.
`(4) INITIATION OF APPEAL AND REDRESS PROCESS AT
AIRPORTS- The Office of Appeals and Redress shall establish at each
airport at which the Department has a significant presence a process to
allow air carrier passengers to begin the appeals process established
pursuant to subsection (a) at the airport.'.
(b) Clerical Amendment- The table of contents in section
1(b) of such Act is amended by inserting after the item relating to
section 430 the following:
`Sec. 432. Appeal and redress process for passengers wrongly delayed or prohibited from boarding a flight.'.
SEC. 408. TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADMINISTRATION PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT.
(a) Elimination of Certain Personnel Management Authorities- Effective 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act--
(1) section 111(d) of the Aviation and Transportation
Security Act (49 U.S.C. 44935 note) is repealed and any authority of
the Secretary of Homeland Security derived from such section 111(d)
shall terminate;
(2) any personnel management system, to the extent
established or modified pursuant to such section 111(d) (including by
the Secretary through the exercise of any authority derived from such
section 111(d)) shall terminate; and
(3) the Secretary shall ensure that all TSA employees
are subject to the same personnel management system as described in
subsection (e)(1) or (e)(2).
(b) Establishment of Certain Uniformity Requirements-
(1) SYSTEM UNDER SUBSECTION (e)(1)- The Secretary
shall, with respect to any personnel management system described in
subsection (e)(1), take any measures which may be necessary to provide
for the uniform treatment of all TSA employees under such system.
(2) SYSTEM UNDER SUBSECTION (e)(1)- Section 9701(b) of title 5, United States Code, is amended--
(A) by striking `and' at the end of paragraph (4);
(B) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (5) and inserting `; and'; and
(C) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
`(6) provide for the uniform treatment of all TSA
employees (as defined in section 408(d) of the Implementing the 9/11
Commission Recommendations Act of 2007).'.
(A) PROVISIONS RELATING TO A SYSTEM UNDER
SUBSECTION (e)(1)- Any measures necessary to carry out paragraph (1)
shall take effect 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
(B) PROVISIONS RELATING TO A SYSTEM UNDER
SUBSECTION (e)(2)- Any measures necessary to carry out the amendments
made by paragraph (2) shall take effect 90 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act or, if later, the commencement date of the system
involved.
(1) REPORT REQUIRED- Not later than 6 months after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Government Accountability Office
shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs of the Senate a report on--
(A) the pay system that applies with respect to TSA employees as of the date of the enactment of this Act; and
(B) any changes to such system which would be made
under any regulations which have been prescribed under chapter 97 of
title 5, United States Code.
(2) MATTERS FOR INCLUSION- The report required under paragraph (1) shall include--
(A) a brief description of each pay system described in paragraphs (1)(A) and (1)(B), respectively;
(B) a comparison of the relative advantages and disadvantages of each of those pay systems; and
(C) such other matters as the Government Accountability Office considers appropriate.
(d) TSA Employee Defined- In this section, the term `TSA employee' means an individual who holds--
(1) any position which was transferred (or the
incumbent of which was transferred) from the Transportation Security
Administration of the Department of Transportation to the Department of
Homeland Security by section 403 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002
(6 U.S.C. 203); or
(2) any other position within the Department of
Homeland Security the duties and responsibilities of which include
carrying out one or more of the functions that were transferred from
the Transportation Security Administration of the Department of
Transportation to the Secretary by such section.
(e) Personnel Management System Described- A personnel management system described in this subsection is--
(1) any personnel management system, to the extent that
it applies with respect to any TSA employees by virtue of section
114(n) of title 49, United States Code; and
(2) any human resources management system, established under chapter 97 of title 5, United States Code.
SEC. 409. STRATEGIC PLAN TO TEST AND IMPLEMENT ADVANCED PASSENGER PRESCREENING SYSTEM.
Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of
the Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall submit to Congress a
plan that--
(1) describes the system to be utilized for the
Department of Homeland Security to assume the performance of comparing
passenger information, as defined by the Assistant Secretary of
Homeland Security (Transportation Security Administration), to the
automatic selectee and no fly lists, utilizing appropriate records in
the consolidated and integrated terrorist watchlist maintained by the
Federal Government;
(2) provides a projected timeline for each phase of testing and implementation of the system;
(3) explains how the system will be integrated with the prescreening system for passenger on international flights; and
(4) describes how the system complies with section 552a of title 5, United States Code.
TITLE V--STRENGTHENING THE SECURITY OF CARGO CONTAINERS
SEC. 501. REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO ENTRY OF CONTAINERS INTO THE UNITED STATES.
(a) Requirements- Section 70116 of title 46, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
`(c) Requirements Relating to Entry of Containers-
`(1) IN GENERAL- A container may enter the United States, either directly or via a foreign port, only if--
`(A) the container is scanned with equipment that
meets the standards established pursuant to paragraph (2)(A) and a copy
of the scan is provided to the Secretary; and
`(B) the container is secured with a seal that
meets the standards established pursuant to paragraph (2)(B), before
the container is loaded on the vessel for shipment to the United States.
`(2) STANDARDS FOR SCANNING EQUIPMENT AND SEALS-
`(A) SCANNING EQUIPMENT- The Secretary shall
establish standards for scanning equipment required to be used under
paragraph (1)(A) to ensure that such equipment uses the best-available
technology, including technology to scan a container for radiation and
density and, if appropriate, for atomic elements.
`(B) SEALS- The Secretary shall establish standards
for seals required to be used under paragraph (1)(B) to ensure that
such seals use the best-available technology, including technology to
detect any breach into a container and identify the time of such breach.
`(C) REVIEW AND REVISION- The Secretary shall--
`(i) review and, if necessary, revise the
standards established pursuant to subparagraphs (A) and (B) not less
than once every two years; and
`(ii) ensure that any such revised standards require the use of technology, as soon as such technology becomes available, to--
`(I) identify the place of a breach into a container;
`(II) notify the Secretary of such breach before the container enters the Exclusive Economic Zone of the United States; and
`(III) track the time and location of the container during transit to the United States, including by truck, rail, or vessel.
`(D) DEFINITION- In subparagraph (C), the term
`Exclusive Economic Zone of the United States' has the meaning given
the term `Exclusive Economic Zone' in section 2101(10a) of this title.'.
(b) Authorization of Appropriations- There are authorized
to be appropriated to carry out section 70116(c) of title 46, United
States Code, as added by subsection (a) of this section, such sums as
may be necessary for each of the fiscal years 2008 through 2013.
(c) Regulations; Application-
(A) INTERIM FINAL RULE- Consistent with the results
of and lessons derived from the pilot system implemented under section
231 of the SAFE Port Act (Public Law 109-347), the Secretary of
Homeland Security shall issue an interim final rule as a temporary
regulation to implement section 70116(c) of title 46, United States
Code, as added by subsection (a) of this section, not later than 180
days after the date of the submission of the report under section 231
of the SAFE Port Act, without regard to the provisions of chapter 5 of
title 5, United States Code.
(B) FINAL RULE- The Secretary shall issue a final
rule as a permanent regulation to implement section 70116(c) of title
46, United States Code, as added by subsection (a) of this section, not
later than one year after the date of the submission of the report
under section 231 of the SAFE Port Act, in accordance with the
provisions of chapter 5 of title 5, United States Code. The final rule
issued pursuant to that rulemaking may supersede the interim final rule
issued pursuant to subparagraph (A).
(2) PHASED-IN APPLICATION-
(A) IN GENERAL- The requirements of section
70116(c) of title 46, United States Code, as added by subsection (a) of
this section, apply with respect to any container entering the United
States, either directly or via a foreign port, beginning on--
(i) the end of the 3-year period beginning on
the date of the enactment of this Act, in the case of a container
loaded on a vessel destined for the United States in a country in which
more than 75,000 twenty-foot equivalent units of containers were loaded
on vessels for shipping to the United States in 2005; and
(ii) the end of the 5-year period beginning on
the date of the enactment of this Act, in the case of a container
loaded on a vessel destined for the United States in any other country.
(B) EXTENSION- The Secretary may extend by up to
one year the period under clause (i) or (ii) of subparagraph (A) for
containers loaded in a port, if the Secretary--
(i) finds that the scanning equipment required
under section 70116(c) of title 46, United States Code, as added by
subsection (a) of this section, is not available for purchase and
installation in the port; and
(ii) at least 60 days prior to issuing such extension, transmits such finding to the appropriate congressional committees.
(d) International Cargo Security Standards- The Secretary,
in consultation with the Secretary of State, is encouraged to promote
and establish international standards for the security of containers
moving through the international supply chain with foreign governments
and international organizations, including the International Maritime
Organization and the World Customs Organization.
(e) International Trade and Other Obligations- In carrying
out section 70116(c) of title 46, United States Code, as added by
subsection (a) of this section, the Secretary shall consult with
appropriate Federal departments and agencies and private sector
stakeholders to ensure that actions under such section do not violate
international trade obligations or other international obligations of
the United States.
TITLE VI--STRENGTHENING EFFORTS TO PREVENT TERRORIST TRAVEL
Subtitle A--Human Smuggling and Trafficking Center Improvements
SEC. 601. STRENGTHENING THE CAPABILITIES OF THE HUMAN SMUGGLING AND TRAFFICKING CENTER.
(a) In General- The Secretary, acting through the Assistant
Secretary of Homeland Security for United States Immigration and
Customs Enforcement, shall provide to the Human Smuggling and
Trafficking Center (in this section referred to as the `Center') the
administrative support and funding required for its maintenance,
including funding for personnel, leasing of office space, supplies,
equipment, technology, training, and travel expenses necessary for the
Center to carry out its mission.
(b) Staffing of the Center-
(1) IN GENERAL- Funding provided under subsection (a)
shall be used for the hiring of for not fewer than 30 full-time
equivalent staff for the Center, to include the following:
(B) One Deputy Director for Smuggling.
(C) One Deputy Director for Trafficking.
(D) One Deputy Director for Terrorist Travel.
(E) Not fewer than 15 intelligence analysts or Special Agents, to include the following:
(i) Not fewer than ten such analysts or Agents
shall be intelligence analysts or law enforcement agents who shall be
detailed from entities within the Department of Homeland Security with
human smuggling and trafficking related responsibilities, as determined
by the Secretary.
(ii) Not fewer than one full time professional
staff detailee from each of the United States Coast Guard, United
States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, United States Customs and
Border Protection, Transportation Security Administration, and the
Office of Intelligence and Analysis.
(2) REQUIREMENTS- Intelligence analysts or Special
Agents detailed to the Center under paragraph (1)(E) shall have at
least three years experience related to human smuggling or human
trafficking.
(3) DURATION OF ASSIGNMENT- An intelligence analyst or
Special Agent detailed to the Center under paragraph (1)(E) shall be
detailed for a period of not less than two years.
(c) Funding Reimbursement- In operating the Center, the
Secretary of Homeland Security shall act in accordance with all
applicable requirements of the Economy Act (31 U.S.C. 1535), and shall
seek reimbursement from the Attorney General and the Secretary of
State, in such amount or proportion as is appropriate, for costs
associated with the participation of the Department of Justice and the
Department of State in the operation of the Center.
(d) Development of Plan- The Secretary of Homeland Security shall develop a plan for the Center that--
(1) defines the roles and responsibilities of each Department participating in the Center;
(2) describes how the Department of Homeland Security
shall utilize its resources to ensure that the Center uses intelligence
to focus and drive its efforts;
(3) describes the mechanism for the sharing of
information from United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement and
United States Customs and Border Protection field offices to the Center;
(4) describes the mechanism for the sharing of homeland
security information from the Center to the Office of Intelligence and
Analysis, including how such sharing shall be consistent with section
1016(b) of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004
(Public Law 108-458);
(5) establishes reciprocal security clearance status to
other participating agencies in the Center in order to ensure full
access to necessary databases;
(6) establishes or consolidates networked systems for the Center; and
(7) ensures that the assignment of personnel to the
Center from agencies of the Department of Homeland Security is
incorporated into the civil service career path of such personnel.
(e) Memorandum of Understanding- The Secretary of Homeland
Security shall execute with the Attorney General a Memorandum of
Understanding in order to clarify cooperation and coordination between
United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Federal
Bureau of Investigation regarding issues related to human smuggling,
human trafficking, and terrorist travel.
(f) Coordination With the Office of Intelligence and
Analysis- The Office of Intelligence and Analysis, in coordination with
the Center, shall submit to Federal, State, local, and tribal law
enforcement and other relevant agencies periodic reports regarding
terrorist threats related to human smuggling, human trafficking, and
terrorist travel.
Subtitle B--International Collaboration to Prevent Terrorist Travel
SEC. 611. REPORT ON INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION TO INCREASE
BORDER SECURITY, ENHANCE GLOBAL DOCUMENT SECURITY, AND EXCHANGE
TERRORIST INFORMATION.
(a) Report Required- Not later than 270 days after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State and the Secretary
of Homeland Security, in conjunction with the Director of National
Intelligence and the heads of other appropriate Federal departments and
agencies, shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a
report on efforts of the Government of the United States to collaborate
with international partners and allies of the United States to increase
border security, enhance global document security, and exchange
terrorist information.
(b) Contents- The report required by subsection (a) shall outline--
(1) all presidential directives, programs, and
strategies for carrying out and increasing United States Government
efforts described in subsection (a);
(2) the goals and objectives of each of these efforts;
(3) the progress made in each of these efforts; and
(4) the projected timelines for each of these efforts to become fully functional and effective.
(c) Definition- In this section, the term `appropriate congressional committees' means--
(1) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on
Homeland Security, the Committee on the Judiciary, and the Permanent
Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives; and
(2) the Committee on Foreign Relations, the Committee
on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, the Committee on the
Judiciary, and the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate.
Subtitle C--Biometric Border Entry and Exit System
SEC. 621. SUBMITTAL OF PLAN ON BIOMETRIC ENTRY AND EXIT VERIFICATION SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION.
Not later than 7 days after the date of the enactment of
this Act, the Secretary for Homeland Security shall submit to the
Committee on Homeland Security and the Committee on the Judiciary and
the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and the
Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate the plan developed by the
Secretary under section 7208(c) of the Intelligence Reform and
Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (8 U.S.C. 1365b(c)(2)) to accelerate
the full implementation of an automated biometric entry and exit data
system.
TITLE VII--IMPROVING INTELLIGENCE AND INFORMATION SHARING WITH LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AND FIRST RESPONDERS
Subtitle A--Fusion and Law Enforcement Education and Teaming (FLEET) Grant Program
SEC. 701. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The intelligence component of a State, local, or
regional fusion center (in this title referred to generally as `fusion
centers') focuses on the intelligence process, in which information is
collected, integrated, evaluated, analyzed, and disseminated. The
Federal Government and nontraditional sources of intelligence
information--such as public safety entities at the State, local, and
tribal levels, and private sector organizations--all possess valuable
information that when `fused' with law enforcement data and properly
analyzed at fusion centers can provide law enforcement officers with
specific and actionable intelligence about terrorist and related
criminal activity.
(2) Participation by local and tribal law enforcement
officers and intelligence analysts in fusion centers helps secure the
homeland by involving such officers and analysts in the intelligence
process on a daily basis, by helping them build professional
relationships across every level and discipline of government and the
private sector, and by ensuring that intelligence and other
information, including threat assessment, public safety, law
enforcement, public health, social service, and public works, is shared
throughout and among relevant communities. Such local and tribal
participation in fusion centers supports the efforts of all law
enforcement agencies and departments to anticipate, identify, monitor,
and prevent terrorist and related criminal activity.
(3) Some local and tribal law enforcement agencies and
departments, however, lack resources to participate fully in fusion
centers.
(4) Needs-based grant funding will maximize the
participation of local and tribal law enforcement agencies and
departments in fusion centers by reducing the costs associated with
detailing officers and intelligence analysts to fusion centers.
Consequently, such grant funding will not only promote the development
of more effective, resourceful, and situationally aware fusion centers,
but will also advance the cause of homeland security.
SEC. 702. FLEET GRANT PROGRAM.
(a) In General- Subtitle A of title II of the Homeland
Security Act of 2002 is further amended by adding at the end the
following new section:
`SEC. 203. FLEET GRANT PROGRAM.
`(a) Implementation Plan and Establishment-
`(1) IMPLEMENTATION PLAN- Not later than 90 days after
the date of the enactment of the Implementing the 9/11 Commission
Recommendations Act of 2007, the Secretary shall develop a Fusion and
Law Enforcement Education and Teaming Grant Program (in this section
referred to as the `FLEET Grant program') implementation plan and
submit to the appropriate congressional committees a copy of such plan.
In developing such plan, the Secretary shall consult with the Attorney
General, the Bureau of Justice Assistance, and the Office of Community
Oriented Policing of the Department of Justice and shall encourage the
participation of fusion centers and local and tribal law enforcement
agencies and departments in the development of such plan. Such plan
shall include--
`(A) a clear articulation of the purposes, goals, and specific objectives for which the program is being developed;
`(B) an identification of program stakeholders and an assessment of their interests in and expectations for the program;
`(C) a developed set of quantitative metrics to measure, to the extent possible, program output; and
`(D) a developed set of qualitative instruments
(e.g., surveys and expert interviews) to assess the extent to which
stakeholders believe their needs and expectations are being met by the
program.
`(2) ESTABLISHMENT- Not later than 180 days after the
enactment of the Implementing the 9/11 Commission Recommendations Act
of 2007, the Secretary shall implement and carry out a FLEET Grant
program under which the Secretary, in consultation with the Attorney
General, shall make grants to local and tribal law enforcement agencies
and departments specified by the Secretary, in consultation with the
Attorney General, for the purposes described in subsection (b). Subject
to subsection (g), each such grant shall be made for a two-year period.
`(b) Use of Grant Amounts-
`(1) IN GENERAL- A grant made to a local or tribal law
enforcement agency or department under subsection (a) shall be used to
enable such agency or department to detail eligible law enforcement
personnel to participate in a fusion center that serves the geographic
area in which such agency or department is located, and may be used for
the following purposes:
`(A) To hire new personnel, or to pay existing
personnel, to perform the duties of eligible law enforcement personnel
who are detailed to a fusion center during the absence of such detailed
personnel.
`(B) To provide appropriate training, as determined
and required by the Secretary, in consultation with the Attorney
General, for eligible law enforcement personnel who are detailed to a
fusion center.
`(C) To establish communications connectivity
between eligible law enforcement personnel who are detailed to a fusion
center and the home agency or department of such personnel in
accordance with all applicable laws and regulations.
`(2) MANDATORY PRIVACY AND CIVIL LIBERTIES TRAINING-
All eligible law enforcement personnel detailed to a fusion center
under the FLEET Grant Program shall undergo appropriate privacy and
civil liberties training that is developed, supported, or sponsored by
the Privacy Officer and the Officer for Civil Rights and Civil
Liberties in partnership with the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight
Board.
`(3) LIMITATION- A local or tribal law enforcement
agency or department participating in the FLEET Grant program shall
continue to provide a salary and benefits to any eligible law
enforcement personnel detailed to a fusion center, in the same amounts
and under the same conditions that such agency or department provides a
salary and benefits to such personnel when not detailed to a fusion
center. None of the funds provided by the FLEET grant program may be
used to carry out this paragraph.
`(4) ELIGIBLE LAW ENFORCEMENT PERSONNEL DEFINED- For
purposes of this section, the term `eligible law enforcement personnel'
means any local or tribal law enforcement officer or intelligence
analyst who meets each eligibility requirement specified by the
Secretary. Such eligibility requirements shall include a requirement
that the officer or analyst has at least two years of experience as a
law enforcement officer or intelligence analyst with the local or
tribal law enforcement agency or department selected to participate in
the FLEET Grant program.
`(1) IN GENERAL- No grant may be made under subsection
(a) unless an application for such grant has been submitted to, and
approved by, the Secretary, in consultation with the Attorney General.
Such an application shall be submitted in such form, manner, and time,
and shall contain such information, as the Secretary, in consultation
with the Attorney General, may prescribe by regulation or guidelines.
`(2) JOINT APPLICATIONS- A local or tribal law
enforcement agency or department may file a joint grant application to
detail eligible law enforcement personnel to a fusion center. Such
application shall be--
`(A) for a single detailed officer or intelligence
analyst, who shall be detailed to work at a fusion center on a
full-time basis; or
`(B) in the case of participating local and tribal
law enforcement agencies or departments for which a detail arrangement
described in subparagraph (A) is likely to result in hardship due to a
staffing shortage (as determined by the Secretary, in consultation with
the Attorney General), for several eligible law enforcement personnel
from multiple local or tribal law enforcement agencies or departments
in the same geographic area, who shall be detailed to a fusion center,
each on a part-time basis, as part of a shared detail arrangement, as
long as--
`(i) any hours worked by a detailed officer or
analyst at a fusion center in a shared detail arrangement shall be
counted toward the hourly shift obligations of such officer or analyst
at his or her local or tribal law enforcement agency or department; and
`(ii) no detailed officer or analyst working at
a fusion center in a shared detail arrangement shall be required to
regularly work more hours than the officer or analyst would otherwise
work if the officer or analyst was not participating in the shared
detail arrangement.
`(d) Distribution of Grants- In considering applications
for grants under subsection (a), the Secretary, in consultation with
the Attorney General, shall ensure that, to the extent practicable--
`(1) entities that receive such grants are
representative of a broad cross-section of local and tribal law
enforcement agencies and departments;
`(2) an appropriate geographic distribution of grants is made among urban, suburban, and rural communities; and
`(3) such grants are awarded based on consideration of any assessments of risk by the Department of Homeland Security.
`(e) Priority- The Secretary, in consultation with the
Attorney General, shall issue regulations regarding the use of a
sliding scale based on financial need to ensure that a local or tribal
law enforcement agency or department that is eligible to receive a
grant under subsection (a) and that demonstrates to the satisfaction of
the Secretary, in consultation with the Attorney General, that it is in
financial need (as determined by the Secretary, in consultation with
the Attorney General) receives priority in receiving funds under this
section.
`(1) IN GENERAL- Subject to paragraph (2), the portion
of the costs of a program, project, or activity funded by a grant made
to an entity under subsection (a) may not exceed 80 percent.
`(2) EXCEPTION- The Secretary, in consultation with the
Attorney General, may waive, wholly or in part, the requirement under
paragraph (1) of a non-Federal contribution to the costs of a program,
project, or activity if the entity receiving the grant for such
program, project, or activity can demonstrate to the satisfaction of
the Secretary, in consultation with the Attorney General, that it would
be a hardship for such entity to satisfy such requirement.
`(g) Renewal of Grants- A grant made to a local or tribal
law enforcement agency or department under subsection (a) may be
renewed on an annual basis for an additional year after the first
two-year period during which the entity receives its initial grant, if--
`(1) the entity can demonstrate to the satisfaction of
the Secretary, in consultation with the Attorney General, significant
progress in achieving the objectives of the application for the initial
grant involved; and
`(2) such renewal would not prevent another local or
tribal law enforcement agency or department that has applied for a
grant under subsection (a), has not previously received such a grant,
and that would otherwise qualify for such a grant, from receiving such
a grant, as determined by the Secretary, in consultation with the
Attorney General.
`(h) Revocation or Suspension of Funding- If the Secretary,
in consultation with the Attorney General, determines that a grant
recipient under this section is not in substantial compliance with the
terms and requirements of an approved grant application submitted under
subsection (c), the Secretary, in consultation with the Attorney
General, may revoke or suspend funding of that grant, in whole or in
part. In the case of a revocation or suspension of funds under this
subsection based on a determination of fraud, waste, or abuse, with
respect to a grant recipient, such grant recipient shall be required to
refund the grant funds received under subsection (a) that are related
to such fraud, waste, or abuse, respectively.
`(1) REPORTS TO SECRETARY- Each local or tribal law
enforcement agency or department that receives a grant under subsection
(a) shall submit to the Secretary and the Attorney General a report for
each year such agency or department is a recipient of such grant. Each
such report shall include a description and evaluation of each program,
project, or activity funded by such grant.
`(2) REPORT TO CONGRESS- One year after the date of the
implementation of the FLEET grant program, and biannually thereafter,
the Secretary, in consultation with the Attorney General, shall submit
to the appropriate congressional committees a report describing the
implementation and progress of the FLEET Grant Program. Each such
report shall include the following:
`(A) A list of the local and tribal law enforcement agencies and departments receiving grants.
`(B) Information on the grant amounts awarded to each such agency or department.
`(C) Information on the programs, projects, and activities for which the grant funds are used.
`(D) An evaluation of the effectiveness of the
FLEET Grant program with respect to the cause of advancing homeland
security, including--
`(i) concrete examples of enhanced information
sharing and a description of any preventative law enforcement actions
taken based on such information sharing;
`(ii) an evaluation of the effectiveness of the detail arrangements with FLEET Grant program grant recipients;
`(iii) an evaluation of how the FLEET Grant program benefits the fusion centers;
`(iv) a description of how individual law
enforcement officers and intelligence analysts detailed to the fusion
centers benefit from the detail experience; and
`(v) an evaluation of how the detail of the law
enforcement officers and intelligence analysts assists the fusion
centers in learning more about criminal or terrorist organizations
operating within their areas of operation, including a description of
any homeland security information requirements that were developed, or
any homeland security information gaps that were filled, as a result of
the detail arrangement.
`(E) An analysis of any areas of need, with respect
to the advancement of homeland security, that could be addressed
through additional funding or other legislative action.
`(j) Customer Satisfaction Surveys- The Secretary, in
consultation with the Attorney General, shall create a mechanism for
State, local, and tribal law enforcement officers and intelligence
analysts who participate in the FLEET Grant program to fill out an
electronic customer satisfaction survey, on an appropriate periodic
basis, to assess the effectiveness of the FLEET Grant program with
respect to improving information sharing. The results of these
voluntary surveys shall be provided electronically to appropriate
personnel at the Office of Grants and Training of the Department and at
the Bureau of Justice Assistance and the Office of Community Oriented
Policing of the Department of Justice. The results of these customer
satisfaction surveys shall also be included in an appropriate format in
the reports described in subsection (i).
`(k) Continuation Assessment- Five years after the date of
the implementation of the FLEET Grant program, the Secretary, in
consultation with the Attorney General, shall submit to the appropriate
congressional committees a FLEET Grant program continuation assessment.
Such continuation assessment shall--
`(1) recommend whether Congress should continue to
authorize and fund the FLEET Grant program (as authorized under this
section or with proposed changes), and provide the reasoning for such
recommendation; and
`(2) if the Secretary recommends the continuation of the FLEET Grant program--
`(A) recommend any changes to the program which the
Secretary, in consultation with the Attorney General, has identified as
necessary to improve the program, and the reasons for any such changes;
`(B) list and describe legislative priorities for Congress relating to the continuation of the program; and
`(C) provide recommendations for the amounts of
funding that should be appropriated for the continuation of the program
in future fiscal years, including justifications for such amounts.
`(l) General Regulatory Authority- The Secretary, in
consultation with the Attorney General, may promulgate regulations and
guidelines to carry out this section.
`(m) Definitions- For the purposes of this section:
`(1) The term `local law enforcement agency or
department' means a local municipal police department or a county
sheriff's office in communities where there is no police department.
`(2) The term `tribal law enforcement agency or
department' means the police force of an Indian tribe (as such term is
defined in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education
Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b)) established and maintained by such a
tribe pursuant to the tribe's powers of self-government to carry out
law enforcement.'.
(b) Definition of Fusion Center- Section 2 of such Act is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
`(17) The terms `State, local, or regional fusion
center' and `fusion center' mean a State intelligence center or a
regional intelligence center that is the product of a collaborative
effort of at least two qualifying agencies that provide resources,
expertise, or information to such center with the goal of maximizing
the ability of such intelligence center and the qualifying agencies
participating in such intelligence center to provide and produce
homeland security information required to detect, prevent, apprehend,
and respond to terrorist and criminal activity. For purposes of the
preceding sentence, qualifying agencies include--
`(A) State, local, and tribal law enforcement authorities, and homeland and public safety agencies;
`(B) State, local, and tribal entities responsible for the protection of public health and infrastructure;
`(C) private sector owners of critical
infrastructure, as defined in section 1016(e) of the Uniting and
Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to
Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT ACT) Act of 2001 (42
U.S.C. 5195c(e));
`(D) Federal law enforcement and homeland security entities; and
`(E) other appropriate entities specified by the Secretary.'.
(c) Clerical Amendment- The table of contents in section
1(b) of such Act is amended by inserting after the item relating to
section 202 the following:
`Sec. 203. FLEET Grant Program.'.
Subtitle B--Border Intelligence Fusion Center Program
SEC. 711. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The United States has 216 airports, 143 seaports,
and 115 official land border crossings that are official ports of
entry. Screening all the people and goods coming through these busy
ports is an enormous resource challenge for the men and women of the
Department of Homeland Security (`Department') .
(2) Department personnel, including personnel from the
Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (`CBP') and U.S. Immigration
and Customs Enforcement (`ICE'), cannot be everywhere at all times to
ensure that terrorists, weapons of mass destruction, and other related
contraband are not being smuggled across the border in order to support
attacks against the United States.
(3) State, local, and tribal law enforcement personnel
are uniquely situated to help secure the border areas in their
respective jurisdictions by serving as `force multipliers'. To do so,
however, law enforcement officers need access to available border
intelligence developed by the Department. Such access shall help State,
local, and tribal law enforcement personnel deploy their resources most
effectively to detect and interdict terrorists, weapons of mass
destruction, and related contraband at United States borders.
(4) The Department has not yet developed a single,
easily accessible, and widely available system to consistently share
border intelligence and other information with its State, local, and
tribal law enforcement partners. It likewise has failed to establish a
process by which State, local, and tribal law enforcement personnel can
consistently share with the Department information that they obtain
that is relevant to border security.
(5) As a result, State, local, and tribal law
enforcement personnel serving jurisdictions along the northern and
southern borders typically depend upon personal relationships with CBP
and ICE personnel in their respective jurisdictions to get the
information they need. While personal relationships have helped in some
locales, they have not in others. This has led to an inconsistent
sharing of border intelligence from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.
(6) State, local, and regional fusion centers (`fusion centers') may help improve this situation.
(7) In the wake of the terrorist attacks of September
11, 2001, numerous State, local, and tribal authorities responsible for
the protection of the public and critical infrastructure established
fusion centers to help prevent terrorist attacks while at the same time
preparing to respond to and recover from a terrorist attack should one
occur.
(8) Most border States have some variation of a fusion center.
(9) In general, while the Federal Government has helped
to establish fusion centers through the Department's grants, a
substantial percentage of the financial burden to support ongoing
fusion center operations is borne by States and localities.
(10) The Department, and in particular, the
Department's Office of Intelligence and Analysis, has undertaken a
program through which it sends such office's personnel to fusion
centers to establish a Department presence at those centers. In so
doing, the hope is that such personnel will serve as a point of contact
for information being shared at fusion centers by State, local, and
tribal law enforcement personnel. Personnel at fusion centers hopefully
will also act as a channel for information being shared by the
Department itself.
(11) Border State, local, and tribal law enforcement
officers anticipate that fusion centers will be a critical source of
border intelligence from the Department. While the Department's border
intelligence products generated in the District of Columbia and
disseminated to fusion centers will undoubtedly be helpful, a far
richer source of border intelligence will likely come from CBP and ICE
personnel working locally in border jurisdictions themselves.
(12) Establishing a CBP and ICE presence at border
State fusion centers will help ensure the most consistent, timely, and
relevant flow of border intelligence to and from the Department and
State, local, and tribal law enforcement in border communities. Border
State fusion centers thus could serve as a tool to build upon the
personal relationships and information sharing that exists in some, but
not all, jurisdictions between CBP, ICE, and State, local, and tribal
law enforcement.
SEC. 712. ESTABLISHMENT OF BORDER INTELLIGENCE FUSION CENTER PROGRAM.
(a) In General- Subtitle A of title II of the Homeland
Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 121 et seq.) is further amended by
adding at the end the following new section:
`SEC. 204. BORDER INTELLIGENCE FUSION CENTER PROGRAM.
`(1) IN GENERAL- There is established in the Department
the Border Intelligence Fusion Center Program, to be administered by
the Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis, for the purpose of
stationing Bureau of Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Immigration
and Customs Enforcement officers or intelligence analysts in the fusion
centers of participating border States.
`(2) NEW HIRES- Funding provided under the Border
Intelligence Fusion Center Program shall be available to hire new CBP
and ICE officers or intelligence analysts to replace CBP and ICE
officers or intelligence analysts who are stationed at border State
fusion centers under this section.
`(1) IN GENERAL- The Secretary may develop qualifying
criteria for a border state fusion center's participation in the Border
Intelligence Fusion Center Program.
`(2) CRITERIA- Such criteria may include the following:
`(A) Whether the center focuses on a broad
counterterrorism and counter-criminal approach, and whether that broad
approach is pervasive through all levels of the organization.
`(B) Whether the center has sufficient numbers of
adequately trained personnel to support a broad counterterrorism and
counter-criminal mission.
`(C) Whether the center has access to relevant law
enforcement, private sector, open source, and national security data,
as well as the ability to share and analytically exploit such data for
actionable ends in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations.
`(D) The entity or entities providing financial support for the center's funding.
`(E) Whether the center's leadership is committed
to the fusion center's mission, and how the leadership sees the
center's role in terrorism prevention, mitigation, response, and
recovery.
`(c) Assignment- Wherever possible, not fewer than one CBP
officer or intelligence analyst and one ICE officer or intelligence
analyst shall be stationed at each participating border State fusion
center.
`(1) PRIOR WORK EXPERIENCE IN AREA- To be stationed at
a border State fusion center under this section, a CBP or ICE officer
shall have served as a CBP or ICE officer in the State in which the
fusion center where such officer shall be stationed is located for not
less than two years before such assignment in order to ensure that such
officer is familiar with the geography and people living in border
communities, as well as the State, local, and tribal law enforcement
agencies serving those communities.
`(2) INTELLIGENCE ANALYSIS, PRIVACY, AND CIVIL
LIBERTIES TRAINING- Before being stationed at a border State fusion
center under this section, a CBP or ICE officer shall undergo--
`(A) appropriate intelligence analysis training via
an intelligence-led policing curriculum that is consistent with the
standards and recommendations of the National Criminal Intelligence
Sharing Plan, the Department of Justice and Department Fusion Center
Guidelines, title 28, part 23, Code of Federal Regulations, as well as
any other training prescribed by the Under Secretary for Intelligence
and Analysis; and
`(B) appropriate privacy and civil lib