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Department of Homeland Security Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Authorization Act

Floor Speech

Date: Dec. 9, 2019
Location: Washington, DC


I rise today in support of H.R. 4713, the Department of Homeland Security Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Authorization Act.

Mr. Speaker, this legislation will give the Department of Homeland Security Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties more tools to conduct its investigations.

The bill does not significantly broaden the authority of CRCL; it is intended to grant CRCL the authorities necessary to conduct meaningful inquiries into allegations of abuse of civil rights and civil liberties within DHS.

The bill specifically outlines mechanisms to ensure that there is coordination with other entities at DHS who conduct investigations of violations of civil rights. DHS already has numerous officers engaged in investigating such violations, and we want to ensure that the new authority granted to CRCL is not used to engage in duplicative activities or investigations.

H.R. 4713 also grants CRCL access to DHS documents on programs and operations, provides it with subpoena powers and the authority to administer an oath or take an affidavit. These authorities should be exercised only in the rarest of the circumstances and only after approval by the Secretary.

DHS and its components should view cooperation with CRCL as standard operating procedure and provide relevant documents when requested. However, in utilizing the authority provided, CRCL must also respect generally accepted exceptions to document production.

Finally, the bill requires the issuance of a report after an investigation. Although not required, I expect CRCL to seek the guidance of the Secretary and the components whenever possible during an investigation to ensure that it is conducted in a fair and equitable manner.

We have made some changes to the bill at the request of DHS. To the extent that DHS continues to have concerns, I encourage the majority to work with the Department as this bill moves to the Senate to address outstanding issues.

Mr. Speaker, I support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.
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Mr. HIGGINS of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close. I urge adoption of the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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