Department of Homeland Security Component Privacy Officer Act of 2009

Floor Speech

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY COMPONENT PRIVACY OFFICER ACT OF 2009 -- (House of Representatives - March 24, 2009)

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Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume

I rise today in support of H.R. 1617, the Department of Homeland Security Component Privacy Officer Act of 2009. Introduced by my committee colleague, Chris Carney, this bill is identical to H.R. 5170, which passed the House by voice vote last summer.

H.R. 1617 directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to designate a privacy officer in each of the Department's components, including the Transportation Security Administration, the Citizenship and Immigration Services, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, FEMA, Customs and Border Protection, the Coast Guard, the Office of Intelligence and Analysis, the Science and Technology Directorate, and the National Protection and Programs Directorate.

Each of these privacy officers would be responsible for implementing the Department's privacy policy at the component level and would report directly to both the component head and the Department's Chief Privacy Officer.

We can all agree on the importance of ensuring privacy issues are considered and addressed when the Department's programs are developed and implemented. That is why I am pleased that the Department, under former Secretary Chertoff's leadership, has already taken the steps to establish privacy officers at the component level. The bill we are considering today will further strengthen these positions by statutorily mandating them and their roles and responsibilities.

I hope the committee will work to craft an authorization bill for the Department this year to address issues such as this one and to ensure the Department has all the necessary tools to achieve its vital mission. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 1617.

I reserve the balance of my time.

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