Thompson Introduces Legislation to Protect DHS Seal After Two Charged with Impersonating Homeland Security Agents in April
(WASHINGTON) – Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, introduced the Department of Homeland Security Seal Protection Act (H.R. 7778) which bolsters the ability of the Department to prevent or pursue action against individuals, organizations, or businesses that fraudulently use the DHS seal to misrepresent endorsement or approval by the Department and harm the public. The DHS seal signifies the authoritativeness of the Federal government’s critical homeland security mission to items or documents to which it is affixed. Under current law, it lacks specific statutory protections conferred to the seals of other Federal departments and agencies.
Examples of misappropriation of the DHS seal include a tornado shelter manufacturer using the seal to endorse its products, a website using the seal to advertise medical examinations, and online retailers selling face masks displaying the seal during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“With the recent infiltration of the Secret Service by individuals impersonating DHS officers, it is clear the Department needs express authority to protect its seal so it can pursue action against those who unlawfully misappropriate it. With its diverse national security mission, DHS needs the protections that other Federal departments and agencies have – and should have had when the Department was created in 2003. I thank the Department for proposing this legislation and I look forward to the Committee considering it later this week.”
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