IV

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. RES. 166

Establishing a House Security Office.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MAY 4, 1993

Mr. HYDE submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the

Committee on House Administration

RESOLUTION

Establishing a House Security Office.

1 Resolved,

2 SECTION 1. ESTABLISHMENT.

3 (a) There is established, within the Office of the

4 Clerk of the House (hereinafter referred to as the

5 ‘‘Clerk’’), the Office of House Security (hereinafter re6 ferred to as the ‘‘Office’’), which shall be headed by a di7 rector of House Security (hereinafter referred to as the

8 ‘‘Director’’). The Office shall be under the policy direction

9 of the majority and minority leaders of the House, and

10 shall be under the administrative direction and supervision

11 of the Clerk.
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1 (b)(1) The Director shall be appointed by the Speak2 er after consultation with the minority leader. The Clerk

3 shall fix the compensation of the Director. Any appoint4 ment under this subsection shall be made solely on the

5 basis of fitness to perform the duties of the position and

6 without regard to political affiliation.

7 (2) The Director, with the approval of the Clerk, and

8 after consultation with the chairman and ranking member

9 of the Committee on House Administration, may establish

10 such policies and procedures as may be necessary to carry

11 out the provisions of this resolution. One year from the

12 effective date of this resolution, the Director shall submit

13 an annual report to the majority and minority leaders and

14 the chairman and ranking member of the Committee on

15 House Administration on the status of security matters

16 and the handling of classified information in the House,

17 and the progress of the Office in achieving the mandates

18 of this resolution.

19 SEC. 2. PERSONNEL AND COMPENSATION.

20 (a) The Clerk shall appoint and fix the compensation

21 of such personnel as may be necessary to carry out the

22 provisions of this resolution. The Director, with the ap23 proval of the Clerk, shall prescribe the duties and respon24 sibilities of such personnel. If a Director is not appointed,

25 the Office shall be headed by an Acting Director. The
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1 Clerk shall appoint and fix the compensation of the Acting

2 Director.

3 (b) The majority and minority leaders of the House

4 may each designate a majority staff assistant and a minor5 ity staff assistant to serve as their liaisons to the Office.

6 Upon such designation, the Clerk shall appoint and fix the

7 compensation of the majority and minority liaison assist8 ants.

9 SEC. 3. RESPONSIBILITIES.

10 (a) The Office is authorized to develop, establish, and

11 carry out policies and procedures with respect to such

12 matters as—

13 (1) the receipt, control, transmission, storage,

14 destruction, or other handling of classified informa15 tion addressed to the United States House of Rep16 resentatives, the Speaker of the House, or Members

17 and employees of the House;

18 (2) the processing of security clearance requests

19 and renewals for officers and employees of the

20 House;

21 (3) establishing and maintaining a current and

22 centralized record of security clearances held by offi23 cers and employees of the House, and developing

24 recommendations for reducing the number of clear25 ances held by such employees;
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1 (4) consulting and presenting briefings on secu2 rity matters and the handling of classified informa3 tion for the benefit of Members and employees of the

4 House;

5 (5) maintaining an active liaison on behalf of

6 the House, or any committee thereof, with all de7 partments and agencies of the United States on se8 curity matters; and

9 (6) conducting periodic review of the practices

10 and procedures employed by all offices of the House

11 for the handling of classified information.

12 (b) Within 180 days after the Director takes office,

13 he shall develop, after consultation with the Clerk, a

14 House Security Manual, to be printed and distributed to

15 all House offices. The House Security Manual will pre16 scribe the policies and procedures of the Office, and set

17 forth regulations for all other House offices for the han18 dling of classified information.

19 (c) Within 90 days after taking office, the Director

20 shall conduct a survey to determine the number of officers

21 and employees of the House that have security clearances

22 and report the findings of the survey to the Speaker and

23 minority leader and Clerk of the House together with rec24 ommendations regarding the feasibility of reducing the

25 number of employees with such clearances.
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1 (d) The Office shall have authority—

2 (1) to provide appropriate facilities in the Unit3 ed States Capitol for hearings of committees of the

4 House at which restricted data or other classified in5 formation is to be presented and discussed; and

6 (2) to establish and operate a central repository

7 in the United States Capitol for the safeguarding of

8 classified information for which the Office is respon9 sible; which shall include the classified records, tran10 scripts, and materials of all closed sessions of the

11 House.

12 SEC. 4. HOUSE PERMANENT SELECT COMMITTEE ON IN13 TELLIGENCE EXEMPTION.

14 Nothing in this resolution shall apply to the Perma15 nent Select Committee on Intelligence.

16 SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.

17 This resolution shall take effect on January 1, 1994.

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