Department of Homeland Security Component Privacy Officer Act of 2008

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY COMPONENT PRIVACY OFFICER ACT OF 2008 -- (House of Representatives - July 29, 2008)

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Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this measure and yield myself as much time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 5170, the Department of Homeland Security Component Privacy Officer Act of 2008.

The Department's Chief Privacy Officer was the first ever statutorily created Federal Privacy Officer. The creation of this Office served as the ``gold standard'' for other Federal agencies to follow.

Along those same lines, this bill advances the committee's authorization process by improving DHS and making it the first Federal agency to have statutorily created privacy officers in its component agencies. Hopefully, this will put the Department at the forefront of individual privacy protection.

Under the current structure, the Chief Privacy Officer has to rely on component agencies--such as TSA, Customs and Border Protection and FEMA--for information concerning programs and policy that impact privacy rights. Sometimes this information is shared, sometimes it's not. When it's not, the risk includes spending valuable taxpayer funds on programs that may become stalled or cancelled due to privacy concerns or missteps.

The component agencies are the pulse of the Department of Homeland Security. Most homeland security efforts stem from component agency actions. Privacy officers need to be where the action is happening, not waiting for a phone call after decisions have already been made.

Establishing privacy officers in the component agencies that make up the Department of Homeland Security is the first step in ensuring that privacy protections are in place at the beginning of the process.

Under the leadership of Management, Investigations and Oversight Subcommittee chairman, Mr. Carney, this legislation is informed by Government Accountability Office findings, internal discussions with the Department's Office of Privacy, and publications released by the DHS Chief Privacy Officer.

H.R. 5170 requires the component privacy officers to, among other things,
serve as the main point of contact between their component head and the DHS Chief Privacy Officer; draft and review Privacy Impact Assessments and Federal Register notices published by their component; monitor the component's compliance with all applicable Federal privacy laws and regulations; and conduct supervision of programs, regulations, policies, procedures or guidelines to ensure the component's protection of privacy.

As a result, Mr. Speaker, of the committee's oversight and its commitment to the authorization process, this bill would ensure that privacy considerations are integrated into the decision-making process at all of the DHS components.

I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this legislation that is not only critical to privacy rights, but the security of our country as well.

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