IIB 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3505 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 3, 2015 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and 

Governmental Affairs 

AN ACT 

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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Department of Home3 land Security Clearance Management and Administration 

4 Act’’. 

5 SEC. 2. SECURITY CLEARANCE MANAGEMENT AND ADMIN6 ISTRATION. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title VII of the Homeland Secu8 rity Act of 2002 is amended— 

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

10 341) the following: 

11 ‘‘Subtitle A—Headquarters 

12 Activities’’; 

13 and 

14 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub15 title: 

16 ‘‘Subtitle B—Security Clearances 

17 ‘‘SEC. 711. DESIGNATION OF NATIONAL SECURITY SEN18 SITIVE AND PUBLIC TRUST POSITIONS. 

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

20 designation of the sensitivity level of national security po21 sitions (pursuant to part 1400 of title 5, Code of Federal 

22 Regulations, or similar successor regulation) be conducted 

23 in a consistent manner with respect to all components and 

24 offices of the Department, and consistent with Federal 

25 guidelines. 


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

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

3 designation tools throughout the Department and provide 

4 training to appropriate staff of the Department on such 

5 utilization. Such training shall include guidance on factors 

6 for determining eligibility for access to classified informa7 tion and eligibility to hold a national security position. 

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

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

10 every 5 years thereafter, the Secretary shall review all sen11 sitivity level designations of national security positions 

12 (pursuant to part 1400 of title 5, Code of Federal Regula13 tions, or similar successor regulation) at the Department. 

14 ‘‘(b) DETERMINATION.—If during the course of a re15 view required under subsection (a), the Secretary deter16 mines that a change in the sensitivity level of a position 

17 that affects the need for an individual to obtain access 

18 to classified information is warranted, such access shall 

19 be administratively adjusted and an appropriate level peri20 odic reinvestigation completed, as necessary. 

21 ‘‘(c) CONGRESSIONAL REPORTING.—Upon comple22 tion of each review required under subsection (a), the Sec23 retary shall report to the Committee on Homeland Secu24 rity of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

25 on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the 


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

2 number of positions by classification level and by compo3 nent and office of the Department in which the Secretary 

4 made a determination in accordance with subsection (b) 

5 to— 

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

7 ‘‘(2) no longer require access to classified infor8 mation; or 

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

10 to classified information. 

11 ‘‘SEC. 713. AUDITS. 

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

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

14 the Department shall conduct regular audits of compliance 

15 of the Department with part 1400 of title 5, Code of Fed16 eral Regulations, or similar successor regulation. 

17 ‘‘SEC. 714. REPORTING. 

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

19 through fiscal year 2021 submit to the Committee on 

20 Homeland Security of the House of Representatives and 

21 the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 

22 Affairs of the Senate a report on the following: 

23 ‘‘(1) The number of denials, suspensions, rev24 ocations, and appeals of the eligibility for access to 


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1 classified information of an individual throughout 

2 the Department. 

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

4 reported action under paragraph (1). 

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

6 whether by a component, office, or headquarters of 

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

8 and description of the grounds for each such action. 

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

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

11 individual for whom eligibility for access to classified 

12 information was denied, suspended, revoked, or ap13 pealed, and the number of years that each such indi14 vidual was eligible for access to such information. 

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

16 180 days, an explanation for such duration. 

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

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

19 publicly available, but may include a classified annex for 

20 any sensitive or classified information if necessary. 

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

22 AND REVOCATION. 

23 ‘‘Not later than 1 year after the date of the enact24 ment of this section, the Secretary, in consultation with 

25 the Homeland Security Advisory Committee, shall develop 


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1 a plan to achieve greater uniformity within the Depart2 ment with respect to the adjudication of eligibility of an 

3 individual for access to classified information that are con4 sistent with the Adjudicative Guidelines for Determining 

5 Access to Classified Information published on December 

6 29, 2005, or similar successor regulation. The Secretary 

7 shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Security of 

8 the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

9 Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Sen10 ate the plan. The plan shall consider the following: 

11 ‘‘(1) Mechanisms to foster greater compliance 

12 with the uniform Department adjudication, suspen13 sion, denial, and revocation standards by the head of 

14 each component and office of the Department with 

15 the authority to adjudicate access to classified infor16 mation. 

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

18 panel responsible for final national security clear19 ance denial and revocation determinations that is 

20 comprised of designees who are career, supervisory 

21 employees from components and offices of the De22 partment with the authority to adjudicate access to 

23 classified information and headquarters, as appro24 priate. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 716. DATA PROTECTION. 

2 ‘‘The Secretary shall ensure that all information re3 ceived for the adjudication of eligibility of an individual 

4 for access to classified information that is consistent with 

5 the Adjudicative Guidelines for Determining Access to 

6 Classified Information published on December 29, 2005, 

7 or similar successor regulation, and is protected against 

8 misappropriation. 

9 ‘‘SEC. 717. REFERENCE. 

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

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

12 components and offices of the Department.’’. 

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

14 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 is amended— 

15 (1) by inserting before the item relating to sec16 tion 701 the following new item: 

‘‘Subtitle A—Headquarters Activities’’; 

17 and 

18 (2) by inserting after the item relating to sec19 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. 


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‘‘Sec. 716. Data protection. 

‘‘Sec. 717. Reference.’’. 

Passed the House of Representatives November 2, 

2015. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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