II 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1276 

To increase oversight of the Revolving Fund of the Office of Personnel 

Management, strengthen the authority to terminate or debar employees 

and contractors involved in misconduct affecting the integrity of security 

clearance background investigations, enhance transparency regarding the 

criteria utilized by Federal departments and agencies to determine when 

a security clearance is required, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 10, 2013 

Mr. TESTER (for himself, Mrs. MCCASKILL, Mr. PORTMAN, Mr. JOHNSON of 

Wisconsin, and Mr. COBURN) introduced the following bill; which was 

read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and 

Governmental Affairs 

A BILL 

To increase oversight of the Revolving Fund of the Office 

of Personnel Management, strengthen the authority to 

terminate or debar employees and contractors involved 

in misconduct affecting the integrity of security clearance 

background investigations, enhance transparency regarding the criteria utilized by Federal departments and 

agencies to determine when a security clearance is required, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Security Clearance 

3 Oversight and Reform Enhancement Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. OVERSIGHT OF THE REVOLVING FUND OF THE OF5 FICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT. 

6 Section 1304(e) of title 5, United States Code, is 

7 amended— 

8 (a) in paragraph (1), in the first sentence, by insert9 ing before the period the following: ‘‘, and for the cost 

10 of audits, investigations, and oversight activities relating 

11 to the fund and the functions financed by the fund, con12 ducted by the Inspector General of the Office’’; and 

13 (b) in paragraph (5), by adding at the end the fol14 lowing: ‘‘Each budget submitted under this paragraph 

15 shall include an estimate from the Inspector General of 

16 the Office of the amount required to pay the reasonable 

17 expenses to adequately audit, investigate, and perform 

18 other oversight activities relating to the fund and the func19 tions financed by the fund for the applicable fiscal year, 

20 which shall not exceed 0.33 percent of the total budgetary 

21 authority requested in the budget estimates submitted to 

22 Congress by the Office for that fiscal year.’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. TERMINATION AND DEBARMENT OF INDIVIDUALS 

2 INVOLVED IN MISCONDUCT AFFECTING THE 

3 INTEGRITY OF THE BACKGROUND INVES4 TIGATIONS PROGRAM OF THE OFFICE OF 

5 PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT. 

6 (a) TERMINATION AND DEBARMENT.—The Office of 

7 Personnel Management shall terminate or debar an indi8 vidual employed or contracted by the Office of Personnel 

9 Management if the Office of Personnel Management deter10 mines, based upon a preponderance of the evidence, that 

11 the individual was involved in misconduct affecting the in12 tegrity of the background investigations program of the 

13 Office of Personnel Management, including, but not lim14 ited to— 

15 (1) falsification of a background investigation 

16 report; 

17 (2) fraud relating to a background investigation 

18 report; 

19 (3) failure to review a background investigation 

20 report; 

21 (4) impersonation of a Federal law enforcement 

22 officer; or 

23 (5) abuse of authority relating to the employ24 ment or contract by the Office of Personnel Manage25 ment. 


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1 (b) PROCEDURES FOR DETERMINATION OF TERMI2 NATION AND DEBARMENT.— 

3 (1) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROCEDURES.—The 

4 Office of Personnel Management shall establish pro5 cedures under which the Office of Personnel Man6 agement shall determine whether an employee or 

7 contractor should be terminated or debarred under 

8 subsection (a). 

9 (2) DUE PROCESS.—Notwithstanding chapters 

10 5 and 75 of title 5, United States Code, the proce11 dures established under paragraph (1) shall ensure 

12 that— 

13 (A) the employee or contractor is provided 

14 with notice and opportunity to be heard; and 

15 (B) the determination whether to termi16 nate, debar, or reinstate the employee or con17 tractor is made expeditiously. 

18 SEC. 4. DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE GUIDANCE 

19 ON DETERMINATIONS OF POSITIONS REQUIR20 ING A SECURITY CLEARANCE. 

21 (a) GUIDANCE.—Not later than 180 days after the 

22 date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of National 

23 Intelligence shall issue guidance for the departments and 

24 agencies of the Federal Government to be used by such 

25 departments and agencies to— 


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1 (1) determine whether the occupant of a posi2 tion requires a security clearance for the perform3 ance of the duties of such position; and 

4 (2) periodically review and, if necessary, revise 

5 the designation of a position as requiring a security 

6 clearance for the performance of the duties of such 

7 position. 

8 (b) PROCEDURES.—The guidance described under 

9 subsection (a) shall include such procedures for the dis10 charge of the guidance as the Director of National Intel11 ligence considers appropriate. 

Æ 


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