IIB 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6374 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
SEPTEMBER 5, 2018 
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs 
AN ACT 
To require the Department of Homeland Security to stream-
line Federal contractor fitness determinations, and for 
other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fitness Information 
Transparency Act of 2018’’ or the ‘‘FIT Act’’. 
SEC. 2. REQUIREMENT TO STREAMLINE FITNESS DETER-
MINATIONS. 
(a) CONSOLIDATION OF FITNESS STANDARDS.—Not 
later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of 
this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security, acting 
through the Chief Security Officer of the Department of 
Homeland Security, shall— 
(1) coordinate with the heads of components of 
the Department to review and consolidate all Fed-
eral contractor fitness standards used by the De-
partment and its components in order to issue a uni-
form set of fitness standards that reflect public trust 
concerns which correspond to each position risk 
level; 
(2) require the Department and the heads of its 
components to use such uniform fitness standards 
that correspond to the relevant position risk level as 
the basis for fitness determinations for a contractor 
employee; and 
(3) publish such uniform fitness standards that 
correspond to each such position risk level on the 
public website of the Department and cause the 
same to be printed in the Federal Register. 
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(b) DEVIATION FROM UNIFORM FITNESS STAND-
ARDS.—The Secretary of Homeland Security, acting 
through the Chief Security Officer of the Department of 
Homeland Security, may authorize the Department or a 
component of the Department to deviate from the uniform 
fitness standards issued pursuant to subsection (a) on a 
position-by-position basis if— 
(1) the Secretary publishes in writing on the 
public website of the Department and causes the 
same to be printed in the Federal Register a certifi-
cation that contains— 
(A) a determination that such uniform fit-
ness standards are not sufficient to protect in-
formation, systems, or facilities of the Depart-
ment the unauthorized disclosure of which or 
unauthorized access to which could reasonably 
be expected to cause substantial damage to the 
integrity and efficiency of the Department; and 
(B) a description of approved additional 
fitness standards and a list to which positions 
such deviation applies; or 
(2) exigent circumstances created by a presi-
dential declaration of a major disaster issued pursu-
ant to section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Dis-
aster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 
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U.S.C. 5170) require such deviation to mitigate 
staffing shortages for the duration of such declara-
tion. 
(c) RECIPROCITY.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Chief Security Officer 
of the Department of Homeland Security shall im-
plement a process to ensure fitness determinations 
made by the Department are uniformly accepted 
throughout the Department and its components. 
(2) SUFFICIENCY.—The Secretary of Homeland 
Security, acting through the Chief Security Officer 
of the Department of Homeland Security, may, as 
appropriate, deem a favorably adjudicated personnel 
security investigation sufficient to satisfy a require-
ment to complete a contractor fitness determination 
under this section. 
(d) FITNESS ADJUDICATION STATUS UPDATES.— 
Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of 
this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security, acting 
through the Chief Security Officer of the Department of 
Homeland Security and in coordination with heads of the 
components of the Department, shall implement a uniform 
process to— 
(1) provide, not less frequently than monthly, 
contractor representatives certified pursuant to sub-
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section (e)(1) access to information regarding the 
status of fitness determinations for Department con-
tractor employees relevant to such contractor rep-
resentatives; and 
(2) collect each fiscal quarter data to allow the 
Department and its components and contractor rep-
resentatives to assess average fitness investigation, 
adjudication, and determination processing times for 
each component of the Department, including infor-
mation regarding the parameters used to calculate 
each such average. 
(e) CERTIFICATION.—Before the implementation of 
the uniform process described in subsection (d), the Sec-
retary of Homeland Security, acting through the Chief Se-
curity Officer of the Department of Homeland Security, 
shall— 
(1) certify that each contractor representative 
receiving information from such process has received 
information regarding practices relating to the ade-
quate protection of personally identifiable informa-
tion and has acknowledged in writing to adhere to 
such practices; and 
(2) consult with the Director of the Office of 
Personnel Management to ensure that such process 
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is consistent with current best practices across the 
Federal Government. 
(f) APPLICABILITY OF SECTION 44936 OF TITLE 49, 
UNITED STATES CODE.—No authority or policy created 
by or issued pursuant to this section shall apply to employ-
ees or contractors of an air carrier, foreign air carrier, 
or airport operator subject to employment investigations 
pursuant to section 44936 of title 49, United States Code. 
(g) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 180 
days after the publication of uniform fitness standards de-
scribed in subsection (a) and annually thereafter for four 
years, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall submit 
to the Committee on Homeland Security and the Com-
mittee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House 
of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Secu-
rity and Governmental Affairs of the Senate a report con-
taining— 
(1) the number of deviation requests under sub-
section (b) made to the Chief Security Officer of the 
Department of Homeland Security, including— 
(A) the number of deviation requests ap-
proved and the corresponding justification for 
each such deviation from such fitness stand-
ards; and 
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(B) the number of deviation requests de-
nied and the corresponding justification for 
each such denial; 
(2) information regarding the number and aver-
age duration of Federal contractor fitness deter-
minations for each component of the Department; 
(3) information regarding the use of programs 
or policies that allow contractors to begin work prior 
to the completion of a fitness determination; 
(4) to the extent practicable, the number of in-
dividuals who, during the preceding calendar year, 
received an unfavorable fitness determination from 
the Department by reason of an affiliation with or 
membership in an organization dedicated to ter-
rorism; 
(5) to the extent practicable, the number of in-
dividuals who, during the preceding calendar year, 
received a favorable fitness determination from the 
Department despite an affiliation with or member-
ship in an organization dedicated to terrorism; 
(6) information regarding the degree to which 
fitness determinations made by the Department and 
its components or other Federal agencies are recog-
nized on a reciprocal basis by the Department and 
its components pursuant to subsection (c)(1); 
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(7) information regarding the degree to which 
suitability and fitness determinations for Federal ap-
plicants and appointees made by the Department 
and its components or other Federal agencies are 
recognized on a reciprocal basis by the Department 
and its components; and 
(8) information regarding the degree to which 
the Secretary, acting through the Chief Security Of-
ficer of the Department, uses the authority under 
subsection (c)(2). 
(h) SUITABILITY STATUS UPDATES.—Not later than 
1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
Chief Security Officer of the Department of Homeland Se-
curity, in consultation with the Chief Human Capital Offi-
cer of the Department, shall develop a plan to provide 
Federal applicants and appointees with suitability and fit-
ness determination status updates similar to updates pro-
vided to contractor representatives under subsection (d). 
(i) EXIGENT CIRCUMSTANCES FITNESS DETERMINA-
TION REVIEW.—The Chief Security Officer of the Depart-
ment of Homeland Security may conduct an immediate 
review of a contractor employee’s fitness determination 
when a contractor employee has engaged in violent acts 
against individuals, property, or public spaces based on 
the contractor employee’s association with persons or or-
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ganizations that advocate, threaten, or use force or vio-
lence, or any other illegal or unconstitutional means, in 
an effort to prevent others from exercising their rights 
under the Constitution or laws of the United States or 
of any State, based on factors including, at a minimum, 
race, religion, national origin, or disability. 
(j) NO ADDITIONAL FUNDS AUTHORIZED.—No addi-
tional funds are authorized to be appropriated to carry 
out this Act. This Act shall be carried out using amounts 
otherwise appropriated. 
(k) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) CONTRACTOR.—The term ‘‘contractor’’ has 
the meaning given such term in section 7101 of title 
41, United States Code. 
(2) CONTRACTOR EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘con-
tractor employee’’ means an individual who performs 
work for or on behalf of any Federal agency under 
a contract and who, in order to perform the work 
specified under such contract, will require access to 
facilities, information, information technology sys-
tems, staff, or other assets of the Department of 
Homeland Security, and who could, by the nature of 
the access or duties of such individual, adversely af-
fect the integrity or efficiency of the Department. 
Such contracts include the following: 
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(A) Personal services contracts. 
(B) Contracts between any non-Federal 
entity and the Department. 
(C) Sub-contracts between any non-Fed-
eral entity and another non-Federal entity to 
perform work related to the primary contract 
with the Department. 
(3) CONTRACTOR REPRESENTATIVE.—The term 
‘‘contractor representative’’ means a person em-
ployed by a contractor who is designated in writing 
by an authorized official of a contractor as respon-
sible for managing and communicating with the De-
partment of Homeland Security or its components 
on behalf of such contractor on matters relating to 
fitness determinations, and is certified pursuant to 
subsection (e)(1) regarding the adequate protection 
of personally identifiable information. 
(4) EXCEPTED SERVICE.—The term ‘‘excepted 
service’’ has the meaning given such term in section 
2103 of title 5, United States Code. 
(5) FITNESS.—The term ‘‘fitness’’ means the 
level of character and conduct necessary for an indi-
vidual to perform work for or on behalf of a Federal 
agency in the excepted service, other than a position 
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subject to a suitability determination or as a non-
appropriated fund instrumentality employee. 
(6) FITNESS DETERMINATION.—The term ‘‘fit-
ness determination’’ means a decision by a Federal 
agency that an individual does or does not have the 
required level of character and conduct necessary to 
perform work for or on behalf of a Federal agency 
in the excepted service, other than a position subject 
to a suitability determination, as a contractor em-
ployee, or as a nonappropriated fund instrumentality 
employee. 
(7) INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY.—The term 
‘‘information technology’’ has the meaning given 
such term in section 11101 of title 40, United 
States Code. 
(8) NONAPPROPRIATED
FUND
INSTRUMEN-
TALITY
EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘nonappropriated 
fund instrumentality employee’’ has the meaning 
given such term in section 1587(a)(1) of title 10, 
United States Code. 
(9) PERSONNEL
SECURITY
INVESTIGATION.— 
The term ‘‘personnel security investigation’’ has the 
meaning given such term in subsection (a) of section 
3001 of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Pre-
vention Act of 2004 (50 U.S.C. 3341). 
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(10) SUITABILITY DETERMINATION.—The term 
‘‘suitability determination’’ has the meaning given 
such term in section 731.101 of title 5, Code of Fed-
eral Regulations. 
(11) 
TERRORISM.—The 
term 
‘‘terrorism’’ 
means any criminal acts that involve violence or are 
dangerous to human life and appear to be intended 
to intimidate or coerce a civilian population to influ-
ence the policy of a government by intimidation or 
coercion, or to affect the conduct of a government by 
mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping. 
Passed the House of Representatives September 4, 
2018. 
Attest: 
KAREN L. HAAS, 
Clerk. 
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