Modernizing the Trusted Workforce for the 21st Century Act of 2019

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 314 To improve the processing and oversight by the Federal Government of security clearances and background investigations, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JANUARY 31, 2019 Mr. WARNER introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Select Committee on Intelligence A BILL To improve the processing and oversight by the Federal Government of security clearances and background inves- tigations, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Modernizing the Trusted Workforce for the 21st Century 5 Act of 2019’’. 6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 7 this Act is as follows: 8 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Definitions. VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:33 Feb 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\S314.IS S314 tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 314 IS Sec. 3. Reports and plans relating to security clearances and background inves- tigations. Sec. 4. Improving the process for security clearances. Sec. 5. Goals for promptness of determinations regarding security clearances. Sec. 6. Security Executive Agent. Sec. 7. Report on unified, simplified, Governmentwide standards for positions of trust and security clearances. Sec. 8. Report on clearance in person concept. Sec. 9. Budget request documentation on funding for background investiga- tions. Sec. 10. Reports on reciprocity for security clearances inside of departments and agencies. Sec. 11. Intelligence community reports on security clearances. Sec. 12. Periodic report on positions in the intelligence community that can be conducted without access to classified information, networks, or facilities. Sec. 13. Information sharing program for positions of trust and security clear- ances. Sec. 14. Report on protections for confidentiality of whistleblower-related com- munications. SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 1 In this Act: 2 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT- 3 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com- 4 mittees’’ means— 5 (A) the congressional intelligence commit- 6 tees; 7 (B) the Committee on Armed Services of 8 the Senate; 9 (C) the Committee on Appropriations of 10 the Senate; 11 (D) the Committee on Homeland Security 12 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; 13 (E) the Committee on Armed Services of 14 the House of Representatives; 15 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:44 Feb 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S314.IS S314 tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 314 IS (F) the Committee on Appropriations of 1 the House of Representatives; 2 (G) the Committee on Homeland Security 3 of the House of Representatives; and 4 (H) the Committee on Oversight and Re- 5 form of the House of Representatives. 6 (2) APPROPRIATE INDUSTRY PARTNERS.—The 7 term ‘‘appropriate industry partner’’ means a con- 8 tractor, licensee, or grantee (as defined in section 9 101(a) of Executive Order 12829 (50 U.S.C. 3161 10 note; relating to National Industrial Security Pro- 11 gram)) that is participating in the National Indus- 12 trial Security Program established by such Executive 13 Order. 14 (3) CONGRESSIONAL INTELLIGENCE COMMIT- 15 TEES.—The term ‘‘congressional intelligence com- 16 mittees’’ has the meaning given such term in section 17 3 of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 18 3003). 19 (4) CONTINUOUS VETTING.—The term ‘‘contin- 20 uous vetting’’ has the meaning given such term in 21 Executive Order 13467 (50 U.S.C. 3161 note; relat- 22 ing to reforming processes related to suitability for 23 Government employment, fitness for contractor em- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:33 Feb 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S314.IS S314 tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 314 IS ployees, and eligibility for access to classified na- 1 tional security information). 2 (5) COUNCIL.—The term ‘‘Council’’ means the 3 Security, Suitability, and Credentialing Performance 4 Accountability Council established pursuant to such 5 Executive Order, or any successor entity. 6 (6) INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY.—The term 7 ‘‘intelligence community’’ has the meaning given 8 such term in section 3 of the National Security Act 9 of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003). 10 (7) SUITABILITY AND CREDENTIALING EXECU- 11 TIVE AGENT.—The term ‘‘Suitability and Credential- 12 ing Executive Agent’’ means the Director of the Of- 13 fice of Personnel Management acting as the Suit- 14 ability and Credentialing Executive Agent in accord- 15 ance with Executive Order 13467 (50 U.S.C. 3161 16 note; relating to reforming processes related to suit- 17 ability for Government employment, fitness for con- 18 tractor employees, and eligibility for access to classi- 19 fied national security information), or any successor 20 entity. 21 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:44 Feb 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S314.IS S314 tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 314 IS SEC. 3. REPORTS AND PLANS RELATING TO SECURITY 1 CLEARANCES AND BACKGROUND INVESTIGA- 2 TIONS. 3 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con- 4 gress that— 5 (1) ensuring the trustworthiness and security of 6 the workforce, facilities, and information of the Fed- 7 eral Government is of the highest priority to na- 8 tional security and public safety; 9 (2) the President and Congress should priori- 10 tize the modernization of the personnel security 11 framework to improve its efficiency, effectiveness, 12 and accountability; 13 (3) the current system for security clearance, 14 suitability and fitness for employment, and creden- 15 tialing lacks efficiencies and capabilities to meet the 16 current threat environment, recruit and retain a 17 trusted workforce, and capitalize on modern tech- 18 nologies; and 19 (4) changes to policies or processes to improve 20 this system should be vetted through the Council to 21 ensure standardization, portability, and reciprocity 22 in security clearances across the Federal Govern- 23 ment. 24 (b) ACCOUNTABILITY PLANS AND REPORTS.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:44 Feb 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S314.IS S314 tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 314 IS (1) PLANS.—Not later than 90 days after the 1 date of the enactment of this Act, the Council shall 2 submit to the appropriate congressional committees 3 and make available to appropriate industry partners 4 the following: 5 (A) A plan, with milestones, to reduce the 6 background investigation inventory to 200,000, 7 or an otherwise sustainable steady-level, by the 8 end of year 2020. Such plan shall include notes 9 of any required changes in investigative and ad- 10 judicative standards or resources. 11 (B) A plan to consolidate the conduct of 12 background investigations associated with the 13 processing for security clearances in the most 14 effective and efficient manner between the Na- 15 tional Background Investigation Bureau and 16 the Defense Security Service, or a successor or- 17 ganization. Such plan shall address required 18 funding, personnel, contracts, information tech- 19 nology, field office structure, policy, governance, 20 schedule, transition costs, and effects on stake- 21 holders. 22 (2) REPORT ON THE FUTURE OF PERSONNEL 23 SECURITY.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:44 Feb 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S314.IS S314 tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 314 IS (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 1 days after the date of the enactment of this 2 Act, the Chairman of the Council, in coordina- 3 tion with the members of the Council, shall sub- 4 mit to the appropriate congressional committees 5 and make available to appropriate industry 6 partners a report on the future of personnel se- 7 curity to reflect changes in threats, the work- 8 force, and technology. 9 (B) CONTENTS.—The report submitted 10 under subparagraph (A) shall include the fol- 11 lowing: 12 (i) A risk framework for granting and 13 renewing access to classified information. 14 (ii) A discussion of the use of tech- 15 nologies to prevent, detect, and monitor 16 threats. 17 (iii) A discussion of efforts to address 18 reciprocity and portability. 19 (iv) A discussion of the characteristics 20 of effective insider threat programs. 21 (v) An analysis of how to integrate 22 data from continuous evaluation, insider 23 threat programs, and human resources 24 data. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:44 Feb 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S314.IS S314 tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 314 IS (vi) Recommendations on interagency 1 governance. 2 (3) PLAN FOR IMPLEMENTATION.—Not later 3 than 180 days after the date of the enactment of 4 this Act, the Chairman of the Council, in coordina- 5 tion with the members of the Council, shall submit 6 to the appropriate congressional committees and 7 make available to appropriate industry partners a 8 plan to implement the report’s framework and rec- 9 ommendations submitted under paragraph (2)(A). 10 (4) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATIONS.—Not less 11 frequently than quarterly, the Security Executive 12 Agent shall make available to the public a report re- 13 garding the status of the disposition of requests re- 14 ceived from departments and agencies of the Federal 15 Government for a change to, or approval under, the 16 Federal investigative standards, the national adju- 17 dicative guidelines, continuous evaluation, or other 18 national policy regarding personnel security. 19 SEC. 4. IMPROVING THE PROCESS FOR SECURITY CLEAR- 20 ANCES. 21 (a) REVIEWS.—Not later than 180 days after the 22 date of the enactment of this Act, the Security Executive 23 Agent, in coordination with the members of the Council, 24 shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:44 Feb 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S314.IS S314 tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 314 IS and make available to appropriate industry partners a re- 1 port that includes the following: 2 (1) A review of whether the information re- 3 quested on the Questionnaire for National Security 4 Positions (Standard Form 86) and by the Federal 5 Investigative Standards prescribed by the Office of 6 Personnel Management and the Office of the Direc- 7 tor of National Intelligence appropriately supports 8 the adjudicative guidelines under Security Executive 9 Agent Directive 4 (known as the ‘‘National Security 10 Adjudicative Guidelines’’). Such review shall include 11 identification of whether any such information cur- 12 rently collected is unnecessary to support the adju- 13 dicative guidelines. 14 (2) An assessment of whether such Question- 15 naire, Standards, and guidelines should be revised to 16 account for the prospect of a holder of a security 17 clearance becoming an insider threat. 18 (3) Recommendations to improve the back- 19 ground investigation process by— 20 (A) simplifying the Questionnaire for Na- 21 tional Security Positions (Standard Form 86) 22 and increasing customer support to applicants 23 completing such Questionnaire; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:44 Feb 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S314.IS S314 tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 314 IS (B) using remote techniques and central- 1 ized locations to support or replace field inves- 2 tigation work; 3 (C) using secure and reliable digitization of 4 information obtained during the clearance proc- 5 ess; 6 (D) building the capacity of the back- 7 ground investigation labor sector; and 8 (E) replacing periodic reinvestigations with 9 continuous evaluation techniques in all appro- 10 priate circumstances. 11 (b) POLICY, STRATEGY, AND IMPLEMENTATION.— 12 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment 13 of this Act, the Security Executive Agent shall, in coordi- 14 nation with the members of the Council, establish the fol- 15 lowing: 16 (1) A policy and implementation plan for the 17 issuance of interim security clearances. 18 (2) A policy and implementation plan to ensure 19 contractors are treated consistently in the security 20 clearance process across agencies and departments 21 of the United States as compared to employees of 22 such agencies and departments. Such policy shall 23 address— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:44 Feb 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S314.IS S314 tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 314 IS (A) prioritization of processing security 1 clearances based on the mission the contractors 2 will be performing; 3 (B) standardization in the forms that 4 agencies issue to initiate the process for a secu- 5 rity clearance; 6 (C) digitization of background investiga- 7 tion-related forms; 8 (D) use of the polygraph; 9 (E) the application of the adjudicative 10 guidelines under Security Executive Agent Di- 11 rective 4 (known as the ‘‘National Security Ad- 12 judicative Guidelines’’); 13 (F) reciprocal recognition of clearances 14 across agencies and departments of the United 15 States, regardless of status of periodic reinves- 16 tigation; 17 (G) tracking of clearance files as individ- 18 uals move from employment with an agency or 19 department of the United States to employment 20 in the private sector; 21 (H) collection of timelines for movement of 22 contractors across agencies and departments; 23 (I) reporting on security incidents and job 24 performance, consistent with section 552a of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:44 Feb 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S314.IS S314 tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 314 IS title 5, United States Code (commonly known 1 as the ‘‘Privacy Act of 1974’’), that may affect 2 the ability to hold a security clearance; 3 (J) any recommended changes to the Fed- 4 eral Acquisition Regulations (FAR) necessary 5 to ensure that information affecting contractor 6 clearances or suitability is appropriately and ex- 7 peditiously shared between and among agencies 8 and contractors; and 9 (K) portability of contractor security clear- 10 ances between or among contracts at the same 11 agency and between or among contracts at dif- 12 ferent agencies that require the same level of 13 clearance. 14 (3) A strategy and implementation plan that— 15 (A) provides for periodic reinvestigations 16 as part of a security clearance determination 17 only on an as-needed, risk-based basis; 18 (B) includes actions to assess the extent to 19 which automated records checks and other con- 20 tinuous evaluation methods may be used to ex- [Text truncated for display. 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