H.R. 1711: DHS Intelligence and Analysis Oversight and Transparency Act

The bill, known as the DHS Intelligence and Analysis Oversight and Transparency Act, aims to improve oversight of the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Office of Intelligence and Analysis. Here are the key components of the bill:

Annual Audit Requirement

The bill mandates that the Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis within the DHS must conduct an audit of the office's information systems and bulk data on an annual basis. This process is to begin within 180 days of the bill's passage and will continue every year thereafter.

Definitions

In the bill, some important terms are defined:

• Appropriate congressional committees: This refers to specific committees in both the House of Representatives and the Senate that will oversee the audits.
• Bulk data: This refers to large quantities of data collected without specific filters, often including data that may not provide useful intelligence or operational insights.
• Discriminants: These are identifiers or selection parameters used to filter the data collected.

Notification and Reporting Requirements

Following the completion of each audit, the Under Secretary is required to:

• Notify the relevant congressional committees within 30 days if the office begins analyzing any new bulk data set, including details about its terms and conditions.
• Provide updates within 30 days for any changes to the terms and conditions related to the bulk data set.

Additionally, the Under Secretary must submit a report to Congress detailing the audit's findings within 30 days after each audit concludes.

Government Accountability Office (GAO) Review

The bill also stipulates that the GAO must evaluate the implementation of the annual audit requirement no later than four years after the bill is enacted. This review will assess challenges faced in implementing the audit and provide recommendations for improvement.

Clerical Amendments

Finally, the bill includes a clerical amendment to the table of contents of the Homeland Security Act to reflect the new section concerning the annual audit.

Relevant Companies

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