The U.S. House of Representatives recently advanced the Fusion Center Enhancement Act, which aims to improve communication between the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies when detecting and responding to terrorist threats.
The bill was authored by Rep. Lou Barletta (R-PA) and advanced the House by voice vote.
Fusion centers are defined as two or more agencies that share resources and information regarding terrorist and criminal activity. The bill will seek to improve fusion center cooperation by directing DHS to ensure its components are providing information and personnel to fusion centers to better cooperate with state and local officials. In addition, it requires DHS to coordinate with fusion centers and state homeland security advisors in carrying out responsibilities and requires DHS to submit a report to Congress on its efforts to meet those requirements.
“After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, state and local governments created fusion centers as a way to communicate federal homeland security information to state and local law enforcement officials, as well as fuse state and locally collected information with federal intelligence,” Barletta said. “This bill adds important requirements and accountability in how the Department of Homeland Security interacts and shares information.”
Barletta previously introduced this bill during the 114th Congress, which passed the House but was not considered by the Senate. The bill now awaits a floor vote in the Senate.