# 119-hr-9579: Department of Homeland Security Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Authorization Act

119-hr-9579, Department of Homeland Security Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Authorization Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Green, Al [D-TX-9] (D-TX); status in_committee (as of 2026-09-04).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9579
- As of: 2026-09-04
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-9579
- Congress: 119
- Title: Department of Homeland Security Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Authorization Act
- Status: in_committee
- Introduced: 2026-07-02
- Sponsor: Rep. Green, Al [D-TX-9] (D-TX)
- Cosponsors: 22
- Policy area: Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues
- Touches household money: no
- Last recorded action: 2026-09-04

## Summary

**Creates a Department-wide Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties at DHS.** The Officer reports directly to the Secretary and oversees civil rights and civil liberties across DHS policies, programs, and activities. - Communities and individuals affected by DHS actions gain a dedicated investigator and assessor. The Office will review alleged abuses and profiling across protected characteristics and run civil rights and civil liberties assessments before new DHS rules or activities are implemented. - DHS employees see centralized equal employment opportunity leadership. The Officer will lead EEO programs, manage and adjudicate complaints, drive workforce diversity efforts, and must report Office staffing and EEO activity. - Congress and the public get more transparency and oversight. The Office must publish redacted summaries of investigative recommendations, deliver an annual report to Congress by June 30, and the Comptroller General must review implementation within 2 years.

## Cosponsors (22)

- Rep. Bell, Wesley [D-MO-1] (D-MO), 2026-07-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Brownley, Julia [D-CA-26] (D-CA), 2026-07-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Carter, Troy A. [D-LA-2] (D-LA), 2026-07-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Chu, Judy [D-CA-28] (D-CA), 2026-07-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Clarke, Yvette D. [D-NY-9] (D-NY), 2026-07-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Crockett, Jasmine [D-TX-30] (D-TX), 2026-07-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Davis, Danny K. [D-IL-7] (D-IL), 2026-07-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Figures, Shomari [D-AL-2] (D-AL), 2026-07-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Goldman, Daniel S. [D-NY-10] (D-NY), 2026-07-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Grijalva, Adelita S. [D-AZ-7] (D-AZ), 2026-07-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. McIver, LaMonica [D-NJ-10] (D-NJ), 2026-07-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Meng, Grace [D-NY-6] (D-NY), 2026-07-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Moore, Gwen [D-WI-4] (D-WI), 2026-07-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Moulton, Seth [D-MA-6] (D-MA), 2026-07-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Randall, Emily [D-WA-6] (D-WA), 2026-07-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Thanedar, Shri [D-MI-13] (D-MI), 2026-07-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Thompson, Bennie G. [D-MS-2] (D-MS), 2026-07-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Wasserman Schultz, Debbie [D-FL-25] (D-FL), 2026-07-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Watson Coleman, Bonnie [D-NJ-12] (D-NJ), 2026-07-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Walkinshaw, James R. [D-VA-11] (D-VA), 2026-07-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Johnson, Julie [D-TX-32] (D-TX), 2026-07-15T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Mejia, Analilia [D-NJ-11] (D-NJ), 2026-08-10T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Civil-rights officers in DHS components: benefit, medium. This bill would require each DHS component to have a career civil-rights and civil-liberties officer that coordinates with the Department-level Officer. Operational components would have to name a career appointee from their staff for the role. Component officers would get timely access to material…
- DHS investigations and public reporting: benefit, medium. This bill would let the Officer investigate civil-rights complaints about DHS employees unless the Inspector General (IG) takes the case. The IG would have 7 days to say whether it will investigate. The Officer must give complainants a receipt notice within 30 days and tell them what action was tak…
- New DHS Civil Rights Office: benefit, medium. This bill would create an Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties at the Department of Homeland Security. The Officer would report directly to the Secretary and must be given staff, information, and access needed to do the job. The Office would oversee civil-rights and civil-liberties complianc…
- New DHS oversight and reporting: benefit, low. This bill would require the Officer to send an annual report to specific House and Senate committees by June 30 each year covering the prior fiscal year. The report must list assessments, engagement with affected communities, recommendations and their status, EEO and diversity activities, outreach,…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026
- 119-hr-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act
- 119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act
- 119-hr-20: Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2025
- 119-hr-2086: Rights for the TSA Workforce Act
- 119-hr-5390: FAMILY Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-9579 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/9579)

## Related
- [119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9877)
- [119-hr-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-51)
- [119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7973)
- [119-hr-20: Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-20)
- [119-hr-2086: Rights for the TSA Workforce Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2086)
- [119-hr-5390: FAMILY Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-5390)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9579 (as of 2026-09-04).