Barletta bill to improve law enforcement access to secure information sharing facilities

A bill that requires the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to maintain an inventory of facilities certified to store classified information and enhance information sharing amongst law enforcement entities was recently advanced by the U.S. House of Representatives.

The bill, the Department of Homeland Security Classified Facility Inventory Act, was introduced by U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta (R-PA).

A recent report from the Inspector General of the Intelligence Community, DHS, and the Department of Justice found that DHS personnel lacked sufficient access to Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities (SCIF), which enable department personnel to share classified information in the field without the risk of information being intercepted by a third party.

Barletta’s legislation will specifically require greater transparency and information sharing on the locations of all SCIFs certified by DHS to store classified intelligence or systems above the secret level. It also reduces wasteful spending by requiring the department to update a list of all SCIFs to ensure no new facilities are unnecessarily invested in.

“Our local law enforcement officers are the first line of defense against terrorism,” Barletta said. We know it will be the police officer on the streets of Hazleton, Shamokin, or Shippensburg, not some analyst in Washington, who will recognize when a member of our community has radicalized or been recruited by a gang or terrorist sect.”

The legislation also acts as a compliment to a previous Barletta bill, the Fusion Center Enhancement Act, which clarifies and strengthens the partnership between DHS and the national fusion center network, where law enforcement personnel can share resources and collaborate on counter-terrorism and counter-crime operations.

“Far too often I’ve heard complaints that federal officials do not take local information seriously, simply because someone has not been able to obtain a certain security clearance,” Barletta said. “This bill eliminates unnecessary roadblocks that could prevent or delay efforts to protect our communities.”