Terrorist Watchlist Data Accuracy and Transparency Act

Sponsor: Bennie G. Thompson (Democratic-MS)August 15, 2025

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Introduced

In Committee

Passed One Chamber

Passed Both Chambers

Signed into Law

Referred to the Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence.

Requires new checks to fix errors on government terrorism watchlists.

This bill would make the Department of Homeland Security check its terrorism watchlist nominations for errors before sending them out. It would also regularly audit existing entries, especially for U.S. citizens, to ensure accuracy. This aims to reduce mistakes that could wrongly place people on lists like the No Fly List.

What Would Change

Today, the Department of Homeland Security does not have explicit rules to check every new nomination for terrorism watchlists for errors before it's sent out. This bill would require DHS to do these initial checks, conduct annual audits of U.S. citizens on the list, and perform monthly random audits of all entries. If errors are found, DHS would have to notify other agencies within 24 hours to fix them.

Key Provisions

Requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to review all new nominations for the terrorist watchlist for errors before sending them to the FBI.
Requires DHS to annually audit all U.S. citizens on the watchlist to ensure accuracy and proper criteria.
Requires DHS to set up a monthly random audit program for all watchlist nominations.
Requires DHS to tell the FBI and National Counterterrorism Center within 24 hours if an audit finds an error, asking for a correction.
Requires DHS to talk with FBI or National Counterterrorism Center leaders if a requested correction isn't made within 30 days.

View on Congress.gov

HR 4971 · 119th Congress · August 15, 2025 · AI Summary by gemini-2.5-flash · 10/10

Terrorist Watchlist Data Accuracy and Transparency Act

What Would Change

Key Provisions

Lobbying Activity