Restoration of Freedom of Information Act of 2003

[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2526 Introduced in House (IH)]

108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2526

  To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-296) to
   provide for the protection of voluntarily furnished confidential
                  information, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 19, 2003

 Mr. Frank of Massachusetts (for himself and Mr. Udall of New Mexico)
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Government Reform, and in addition to the Select Committee on Homeland
Security, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in
   each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the
                jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

  To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-296) to
   provide for the protection of voluntarily furnished confidential
                  information, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Restoration of Freedom of
Information Act of 2003''.

SEC. 2. PROTECTION OF VOLUNTARILY FURNISHED CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION.

    Title II of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-296)
is amended by striking subtitle B and inserting the following:

    ``Subtitle B--Protection of Voluntarily Furnished Confidential
                              Information

``SEC. 211. PROTECTION OF VOLUNTARILY FURNISHED CONFIDENTIAL
              INFORMATION.

    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Critical infrastructure.--The term `critical
        infrastructure' has the meaning given that term in section
        1016(e) of the USA PATRIOT ACT of 2001 (42 U.S.C. 5195c(e)).
            ``(2) Furnished voluntarily.--
                    ``(A) Definition.--The term `furnished voluntarily'
                means a submission of a record that--
                            ``(i) is made to the Department in the
                        absence of authority of the Department
                        requiring that record to be submitted; and
                            ``(ii) is not submitted or used to satisfy
                        any legal requirement or obligation or to
                        obtain any grant, permit, benefit (such as
                        agency forbearance, loans, or reduction or
                        modifications of agency penalties or rulings),
                        or other approval from the Government.
                    ``(B) Benefit.--In this paragraph, the term
                `benefit' does not include any warning, alert, or other
                risk analysis by the Department.
    ``(b) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a
record pertaining to the vulnerability of and threats to critical
infrastructure (such as attacks, response, and recovery efforts) that
is furnished voluntarily to the Department shall not be made available
under section 552 of title 5, United States Code, if--
            ``(1) the provider would not customarily make the record
        available to the public; and
            ``(2) the record is designated and certified by the
        provider, in a manner specified by the Department, as
        confidential and not customarily made available to the public.
    ``(c) Records Shared With Other Agencies.--
            ``(1) In general.--
                    ``(A) Response to request.--An agency in receipt of
                a record that was furnished voluntarily to the
                Department and subsequently shared with the agency
                shall, upon receipt of a request under section 552 of
                title 5, United States Code, for the record--
                            ``(i) not make the record available; and
                            ``(ii) refer the request to the Department
                        for processing and response in accordance with
                        this section.
                    ``(B) Segregable portion of record.--Any reasonably
                segregable portion of a record shall be provided to the
                person requesting the record after deletion of any
                portion which is exempt under this section.
            ``(2) Disclosure of independently furnished records.--
        Notwithstanding paragraph (1), nothing in this section shall
        prohibit an agency from making available under section 552 of
        title 5, United States Code, any record that the agency
        receives independently of the Department, regardless of whether
        or not the Department has a similar or identical record.
    ``(d) Withdrawal of Confidential Designation.--The provider of a
record that is furnished voluntarily to the Department under subsection
(b) may at any time withdraw, in a manner specified by the Department,
the confidential designation.
    ``(e) Procedures.--The Secretary shall prescribe procedures for--
            ``(1) the acknowledgement of receipt of records furnished
        voluntarily;
            ``(2) the designation, certification, and marking of
        records furnished voluntarily as confidential and not
        customarily made available to the public;
            ``(3) the care and storage of records furnished
        voluntarily;
            ``(4) the protection and maintenance of the confidentiality
        of records furnished voluntarily; and
            ``(5) the withdrawal of the confidential designation of
        records under subsection (d).
    ``(f) Effect on State and Local Law.--Nothing in this section shall
be construed as preempting or otherwise modifying State or local law
concerning the disclosure of any information that a State or local
government receives independently of the Department.
    ``(g) Report.--
            ``(1) Requirement.--Not later than 18 months after the date
        of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the
        United States shall submit to the committees of Congress
        specified in paragraph (2) a report on the implementation and
        use of this section, including--
                    ``(A) the number of persons in the private sector,
                and the number of State and local agencies, that
                furnished voluntarily records to the Department under
                this section;
                    ``(B) the number of requests for access to records
                granted or denied under this section; and
                    ``(C) such recommendations as the Comptroller
                General considers appropriate regarding improvements in
                the collection and analysis of sensitive information
                held by persons in the private sector, or by State and
                local agencies, relating to vulnerabilities of and
                threats to critical infrastructure, including the
                response to such vulnerabilities and threats.
            ``(2) Committees of congress.--The committees of Congress
        specified in this paragraph are--
                    ``(A) the Committees on the Judiciary and
                Governmental Affairs of the Senate; and
                    ``(B) the Committees on the Judiciary and
                Government Reform and Oversight of the House of
                Representatives.
            ``(3) Form.--The report shall be submitted in unclassified
        form, but may include a classified annex.''.

SEC. 3. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.

    The table of contents for the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (Public
Law 107-296) is amended by striking the matter relating to subtitle B
of title II and inserting the following:
                              ``Subtitle B--Protection of Voluntarily
                                        Furnished Confidential
                                        Information.
                              ``Sec. 211. Protection of Voluntarily
                                        Furnished Confidential
                                        Information.''.
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