Department of Homeland Security Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012
Latest action. Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 520.
Department of Homeland Security Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 - Title I: Policy, Management, and Efficiency - (Sec. 101) Amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (HSA) to establish in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) the position of Under Secretary for Policy, which shall serve as the principal policy advisor to the Secretary of DHS and shall conduct long-range, risk-based, strategic planning for DHS.
(Sec. 102) Directs the Secretary of DHS to designate a DHS official to coordinate efforts to counter homegrown violent Islamic extremism in the United States, including the violent ideology of Al Qaeda and its affiliated groups.
Requires the designated DHS official to report to the House Committee on Homeland Security and the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs (Homeland Security Committees) detailing: (1) departmental strategy and activities to counter homegrown violent Islamic extremism; (2) the division of responsibilities for countering such extremism; (3) the strategy to monitor open source messaging that incites violence, including websites that disseminate videos and other materials calling for violent activities; (4) the number of DHS employees and the amount of funding dedicated by DHS to countering such extremism; (5) the type of DHS-sponsored activities and training for states and local governments for countering such extremism; and (6) the metrics used to measure the effectiveness of DHS programs or activities for countering such extremism.
(Sec. 103) Includes as DHS chief operating officers, the Chief Financial Officer, the Chief Procurement Officer, the Chief Information Officer, the Chief Human Capital Officer, the Chief Administrative Officer, and the Chief Security Officer.
Grants the chief operating officers direct authority over their respective counterparts in the components of DHS to ensure that such components comply with the laws, rules, regulations, and departmental policies that such officers are responsible for implementing.
(Sec. 104) Expands the DHS Office of International Affairs, which is to be headed by the Assistant Secretary for International Affairs. Sets forth the responsibilities of the Assistant Secretary, including the coordination of international functions within DHS and the development of a strategic plan for DHS international activities and programs to support DHS overseas programs. Requires the Office to provide the Homeland Security Committees an annual accounting of all DHS assets, including personnel, deployed outside the United States.
The summary continues for 161 more paragraphs. Read it in full on Congress.gov
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Reported to House amended, Part I" stage on December 20, 2012. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on December 21, 2012: Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 520.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 112th Congress (2011-12), 283 of the 10,618 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.7 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
PETER KING (R-NY) introduced it on October 6, 2011, and 12 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 12 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on October 6, 2011, 5453 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 5011 days ago, on December 21, 2012.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 112th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2013 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers