March 11 (legislative day, March 10), 2025
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
To require the Under Secretary of the Science and Technology Directorate of the Department of Homeland Security to develop a Department-wide policy and process to safeguard research and development from unauthorized access to or disclosure of sensitive information in research and development acquisitions, and for other purposes.
Section 1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Research Security and Accountability in DHS Act
.
Sec. 2. Safeguarding sensitive research in the Department of Homeland Security
(a) In general
Section 302 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 182) is amended—
(1)
in paragraph (13), by striking and
after the semicolon;
(2)
in paragraph (14), by striking the period and inserting ; and
; and
(3)
by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
(15)
developing, in coordination with appropriate agency officials, a Department-wide policy and process to safeguard research and development from unauthorized access to or disclosure of sensitive information in research and development acquisitions.
(b) GAO report
(1) In general
Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate a report on how the Department of Homeland Security has complied with National Security Presidential Memorandum–33 (NSPM–33) and adopted the National Science and Technology Council’s 2022 implementation guidance.
(2) Elements
The report required under paragraph (1) shall address the following:
(A)
How the Department of Homeland Security has complied with disclosure requirements outlined in NSPM–33, and how violations are reported to the relevant executive agencies, including in the intelligence community (as such term is defined in section 3(4) of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003(4)).
(B)
Coordination and compliance with guidelines established by the National Science Foundation, the National Science Technology Council, the Office of Science and Technology Policy, and other executive agencies regarding Federal research security.
(C)
The role of the Science and Technology Directorate of the Department regarding establishing a research security framework for research and development projects across the Department.
(c) Congressional briefing
Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall provide to the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate a briefing addressing the development of policies and processes to safeguard Department of Homeland Security research and development in accordance with paragraph (15) of section 302 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 182), as added by subsection (a).