President Signs Into Law Hassan Bill to Help Department of Homeland Security Better Identify Potential Terrorist Threats

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump this week signed into law legislation, introduced by Senator Maggie Hassan, that will help the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) better identify potential terrorist threats.

Until now, agencies within the Department of Homeland Security – such as the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and Secret Service – use many different data systems that contain information on individuals who could pose threats. The DHS Data Framework Act, introduced in the House of Representatives by Republican Representative Will Hurd of Texas, would ensure that analysts at DHS can quickly and efficiently access data from any of the Department’s agencies.

“This week the President signed into law legislation that will help improve homeland security and keep Americans safe by streamlining the process at DHS to identify terrorist threats,” Senator Hassan said. “With this new law, the hard-working analysts at DHS will no longer have to sort through multiple databases across the Department to find the information they need to help keep America safe, secure, and free. I thank Representative Hurd for working across the aisle with me to push this commonsense legislation across the finish line.”

The DHS Data Framework Act will require DHS to establish a central data framework to help cut down on the processing time of data searches. The bill would also instruct DHS to ensure that only DHS analysts with appropriate clearances may use the system and that DHS analysts using the data framework are appropriately trained in safeguarding sensitive and personal information and are fully briefed on DHS’s civil rights and civil liberties policies. The bill also allows DHS to exclude any information that would jeopardize sources and methods, compromise a criminal or national security investigation, or would not serve a clear operational purpose. For more information, click here.

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