I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3505 

To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to improve the management 

and administration of the security clearance processes throughout the 

Department of Homeland Security, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 15, 2015 

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi introduced the following bill; which was referred 

to the Committee on Homeland Security 

A BILL 

To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to improve 

the management and administration of the security clearance processes throughout the Department of Homeland 

Security, 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Department of Home5 land Security Clearance Management and Administration 

6 Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. SECURITY CLEARANCE MANAGEMENT AND ADMIN2 ISTRATION. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title VII of the Homeland Secu4 rity Act of 2002 is amended— 

5 (1) by inserting before section 701 (6 U.S.C. 

6 341) the following: 

7 ‘‘Subtitle A—Headquarters 

8 Activities’’; 

9 and 

10 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub11 title: 

12 ‘‘Subtitle B—Security Clearances 

13 ‘‘SEC. 711. DESIGNATION OF NATIONAL SECURITY SEN14 SITIVE AND PUBLIC TRUST POSITIONS. 

15 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall require the 

16 designation of the sensitivity level of national security po17 sitions (pursuant to part 1400 of title 5, Code of Federal 

18 Regulations, or similar successor regulation) be conducted 

19 in a consistent manner with respect to all components and 

20 offices of the Department, and consistent with Federal 

21 guidelines. 

22 ‘‘(b) IMPLEMENTATION.—In carrying out subsection 

23 (a), the Secretary shall require the utilization of uniform 

24 designation tools throughout the Department and provide 

25 training to appropriate staff of the Department on such 

26 utilization. Such training shall include guidance on factors 


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1 for determining eligibility for access to classified informa2 tion and eligibility to hold a national security position. 

3 ‘‘SEC. 712. REVIEW OF POSITION DESIGNATIONS. 

4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than July 6, 2017, and 

5 every five years thereafter, the Secretary shall review all 

6 sensitivity level designations of national security positions 

7 (pursuant to part 1400 of title 5, Code of Federal Regula8 tions, or similar successor regulation) at the Department. 

9 ‘‘(b) DETERMINATION.—If during the course of a re10 view required under subsection (a), the Secretary deter11 mines that a change in the sensitivity level of a position 

12 that affects the need for an individual to obtain access 

13 to classified information is warranted, such access shall 

14 be administratively adjusted and an appropriate level peri15 odic reinvestigation completed, as necessary. 

16 ‘‘(c) CONGRESSIONAL REPORTING.—Upon comple17 tion of each review required under subsection (a), the Sec18 retary shall report to the Committee on Homeland Secu19 rity of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

20 on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the 

21 Senate on the findings of each such review, including the 

22 number of positions by classification level and by compo23 nent and office of the Department in which the Secretary 

24 made a determination in accordance with subsection (b) 

25 to— 


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1 ‘‘(1) require access to classified information; 

2 ‘‘(2) no longer require access to classified infor3 mation; or 

4 ‘‘(3) otherwise require a different level of access 

5 to classified information. 

6 ‘‘SEC. 713. AUDITS. 

7 ‘‘Beginning not later than 180 days after the date 

8 of the enactment of this section, the Inspector General of 

9 the Department shall conduct regular audits of compliance 

10 of the Department with part 1400 of title 5, Code of Fed11 eral Regulations, or similar successor regulation. 

12 ‘‘SEC. 714. REPORTING. 

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall annually 

14 through fiscal year 2021 submit to the Committee on 

15 Homeland Security of the House of Representatives and 

16 the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 

17 Affairs of the Senate a report on the following: 

18 ‘‘(1) The number of denials, suspensions, rev19 ocations, and appeals of the eligibility for access to 

20 classified information of an individual throughout 

21 the Department. 

22 ‘‘(2) The date and status or disposition of each 

23 reported action under paragraph (1). 

24 ‘‘(3) The identification of the sponsoring entity, 

25 whether by a component, office, or headquarters of 


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1 the Department, of each action under paragraph (1), 

2 and description of the grounds for each such action. 

3 ‘‘(4) Demographic data, including data relating 

4 to race, sex, national origin, and disability, of each 

5 individual for whom eligibility for access to classified 

6 information was denied, suspended, revoked, or ap7 pealed, and the number of years that each such indi8 vidual was eligible for access to such information. 

9 ‘‘(5) In the case of a suspension in excess of 

10 180 days, an explanation for such duration. 

11 ‘‘(b) FORM.—The report required under subsection 

12 (a) shall be submitted in unclassified form and be made 

13 publicly available, but may include a classified annex for 

14 any sensitive or classified information if necessary. 

15 ‘‘SEC. 715. UNIFORM ADJUDICATION, SUSPENSION, DENIAL, 

16 AND REVOCATION. 

17 ‘‘Not later than one year after the date of the enact18 ment of this section, the Secretary, in consultation with 

19 the Homeland Security Advisory Committee, shall develop 

20 a plan to achieve greater uniformity within the Depart21 ment with respect to the adjudication of eligibility of an 

22 individual for access to classified information that are con23 sistent with the Adjudicative Guidelines for Determining 

24 Access to Classified Information published on December 

25 29, 2005, or similar successor regulation. The Secretary 


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1 shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Security of 

2 the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

3 Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Sen4 ate the plan. The plan shall consider the following: 

5 ‘‘(1) Mechanisms to foster greater compliance 

6 with the uniform Department adjudication, suspen7 sion, denial, and revocation standards by the head of 

8 each component and office of the Department with 

9 the authority to adjudicate access to classified infor10 mation. 

11 ‘‘(2) The establishment of an internal appeals 

12 panel responsible for final national security clear13 ance denial and revocation determinations that is 

14 comprised of designees who are career, supervisory 

15 employees from components and offices of the De16 partment with the authority to adjudicate access to 

17 classified information and headquarters, as appro18 priate. 

19 ‘‘SEC. 716. DATA PROTECTION. 

20 ‘‘The Secretary shall ensure that all information re21 ceived for the adjudication of eligibility of an individual 

22 for access to classified information that is consistent with 

23 the Adjudicative Guidelines for Determining Access to 

24 Classified Information published on December 29, 2005, 


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1 or similar successor regulation, and is protected against 

2 misappropriation. 

3 ‘‘SEC. 717. REFERENCE. 

4 ‘‘Except as otherwise provided, for purposes of this 

5 subtitle, any reference to the ‘Department’ includes all 

6 components and offices of the Department.’’. 

7 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

8 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 is amended— 

9 (1) by inserting before the item relating to sec10 tion 701 the following new item: 

‘‘Subtitle A—Headquarters Activities’’; 

11 and 

12 (2) by inserting after the item relating to sec13 tion 707 the following new items: 

‘‘Subtitle B—Security Clearances 

‘‘Sec. 711. Designation of national security sensitive and public trust positions. 

‘‘Sec. 712. Review of position designations. 

‘‘Sec. 713. Audits. 

‘‘Sec. 714. Reporting. 

‘‘Sec. 715. Uniform adjudication, suspension, denial, and revocation. 

‘‘Sec. 716. Data protection. 

‘‘Sec. 717. Reference.’’. 

Æ 


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