,i #aaith ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #gdce ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,february #i1 #bjbf,mr4 ,magaziner 7for himself and ,mr4 ,thompson of ,mississippi7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,homeland ,security ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,homeland ,security ,act of #bjjb to establish an ,intelligence ,transparency and ,oversight ,program ,office and ,intelligence ,ombuds within the ,department of ,homeland ,security1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,,dhs ,intelligence ,transparency and ,oversight ,program ,office and ,ombuds ,act4 #b4 ,establishment of the transparency and oversight program office and intelligence ombuds 7a7 ,in general ,title ,,vii of the ,homeland ,security ,act of #bjjb 7#f ,u4,s4,c4 #cda et seq47 is amended by adding at the end the following new section3 #gad4 ,intelligence transparency and oversight program office2 ,ombuds 7a7 ,establishment 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary shall establish within the ,department an ,intelligence ,transparency and ,oversight ,program ,office 7in this section referred to as the ,office7 to carry out the following3 7,a7 ,review and assess information concerning intelligence activities of the ,department1 including relating to the timeliness1 objectivity1 and independence from political considerations of such activities4 7,b7 ,facilitate departmental decisions regarding making information publicly available in a manner that enhances public understanding of such activities4 7#b7 ,ombuds ,the ,office shall be headed by an ,ombuds1 who shall-- 7,a7 be a senior1 career employee2 7,b7 not hold any other position within the ,department2 7,c7 have a background in-- 7i7 intelligence2 7ii7 civil rights enforcement2 and 7iii7 addressing matters of intelligence timeliness1 objectivity1 and politicization2 7,d7 report directly to the ,under ,secretary for ,intelligence and ,analysis2 and 7,e7 report directly to ,congress with respect to any urgent concerns4 7b7 ,duties of the ,ombuds ,the ,ombuds shall have the following duties3 7#a7 ,serve1 in consultation with the ,privacy ,officer appointed under section #bbb and the ,officer for ,civil ,rights and ,civil ,liberties1 as the ,department's principal advisor regarding the following3 7,a7 ,safeguarding objectivity in intelligence activities of the ,department4 7,b7 ,ensuring such activities are independent from political considerations4 7#b7 ,remain current and well-informed of issues affecting intelligence activities4 7#c7 ,promote awareness among intelligence components of the ,department of the requirement that all intelligence activities of the ,department shall be-- 7,a7 conducted in a manner consistent with the protection of privacy rights1 civil rights1 and civil liberties2 and 7,b7 objective and independent from political considerations4 7#d7 ,provide1 without fear of retaliation1 confidential forums to hear and help resolve individual and organizational concerns regarding intelligence activities of the ,department1 including relating to real or perceived occurrences of civil rights or civil liberties abuses1 or politicization of analysis1 biased reporting1 or lack of objectivity in intelligence collection or analysis4 7#e7 ,initiate reviews and make recommendations to the heads of the intelligence components of the ,department1 as appropriate1 related to the matters described in paragraph 7#d74 7#f7 ,facilitate departmental decisions regarding making information publicly available in a manner that enhances public understanding of the intelligence activities of the ,department1 while continuing to protect information when disclosure of such information would harm homeland security4 7#g7 ,ensure that the functions performed by the ,ombuds are complementary to existing functions within the ,department4 7c7 ,coordination with intelligence components of the ,department 7#a7 ,in general ,the heads of the intelligence components of the ,department shall each establish procedures to provide formal responses to recommendations submitted to such officials by the ,ombuds pursuant to subsection 7b77#e7 within #fj days of receiving such recommendations4 7#b7 ,access to information ,the ,secretary shall establish procedures to provide the ,ombuds access to all departmental information necessary to execute the responsibilities of the ,ombuds under this section4 ,the ,ombuds may submit to the ,secretary a request for such information1 and not later than #fj days after receiving such a request1 the ,secretary shall provide the ,ombuds with such information4 7d7 ,annual reports ,not later than one year after the enactment of this ,act and annually thereafter1 the ,ombuds shall submit to the ,committee on ,homeland ,security and the ,permanent ,select ,committee on ,intelligence of the ,house of ,representatives and the ,committee on ,homeland ,security and ,governmental ,affairs and the ,select ,committee on ,intelligence of the ,senate a report on its activities1 findings1 and recommendations of the ,ombuds over the immediately preceding #ab-month period4 7e7 ,definition ,in this section the term intelligence activity means the collection1 gathering1 processing1 analysis1 production1 or dissemination of information1 including homeland security information1 terrorism information1 and weapons of mass destruction information4 4 7b7 ,clerical amendment ,the table of contents in section #a7;b7 of the ,homeland ,security ,act of #bjjb is amended by inserting after the item relating to section #gac the following new item3 ,sec4 #gad4 ,intelligence transparency and oversight program office2 ,ombuds4 4