Title: Protect the National Security Council From Political Interference Act of 2017
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
Protect the National Security Council From Political Interference Act of 2017
This bill amends the National Security Act of 1947 to prohibit the President from designating any individual whose primary or predominant responsibility is political in nature to serve as a member of the National Security Council (NSC) or to regularly attend or participate in NSC meetings or meetings convened under the auspices of the NSC, including Principals Committee meetings. Organized under presidential memorandum, the Principals Committee is a cabinet-level senior interagency forum chaired by the National Security Advisor or the Homeland Security Advisor to consider policies that affect U.S. national security interests.
The bill expresses the sense of Congress that no limitations should be imposed on the ability of the Director of National Intelligence or the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, or their designees, to attend any Principals Committee meeting convened under the auspices of the NSC or any other senior interagency meeting convened to consider policy issues that affect U.S. national security interests.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 804 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 804

  To amend the National Security Act of 1947 to protect the National 
 Security Council from political interference, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 1, 2017

  Mrs. Murphy of Florida (for herself, Ms. Velazquez, Mr. Beyer, Mr. 
       Higgins of New York, Ms. Clarke of New York, Ms. Clark of 
  Massachusetts, Ms. Bordallo, Mr. Blumenauer, Ms. Meng, Mr. Scott of 
    Virginia, Mr. Moulton, Ms. McCollum, Mr. Vargas, Ms. Moore, Mr. 
Schrader, Ms. Rosen, Ms. Lee, Mr. Foster, Mr. Garamendi, Mr. Cardenas, 
   Ms. Shea-Porter, Mr. Kind, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Ms. Castor of 
 Florida, Mr. Tonko, Mr. Serrano, Mr. Welch, Ms. Speier, Mr. Cuellar, 
 Ms. Pingree, Mr. Cicilline, Ms. Bonamici, Mr. Ted Lieu of California, 
 Mr. Nadler, Mr. Ben Ray Lujan of New Mexico, Ms. Matsui, Mr. Crowley, 
Mr. Himes, Mr. DeFazio, Mr. Cohen, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. Soto, Mr. Costa, 
    Mr. Ruppersberger, Ms. Sinema, Ms. Judy Chu of California, Mr. 
 McGovern, Mr. Kilmer, Mr. Raskin, Mr. Brown of Maryland, Mr. Smith of 
     Washington, Mr. Polis, Mr. Correa, Mr. Evans, Ms. Brownley of 
    California, Ms. Roybal-Allard, Mr. Takano, and Mr. Swalwell of 
 California) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
   Committee on Armed Services, and in addition to the Committees on 
 Foreign Affairs, and Intelligence (Permanent Select), for a period to 
      be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
                          committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the National Security Act of 1947 to protect the National 
 Security Council from political interference, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Protect the National Security 
Council From Political Interference Act of 2017''.

SEC. 2. PROTECTION OF NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL FROM POLITICAL 
              INTERFERENCE.

    (a) Limitation on National Security Council Membership.--Section 
101(c) of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3021) is 
amended--
            (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ``The President may 
        designate'' and inserting ``Except as provided in paragraph 
        (3), the President may designate''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(3) Prohibition on membership of political officers.--The 
        President may not designate any individual whose primary or 
        predominant responsibility is political in nature to serve as a 
        member of the Council or otherwise to regularly attend or 
        participate in meetings of the Council or meetings convened 
        under the auspices of the Council, including Principals 
        Committee meetings.''.
    (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that no 
limitations should be imposed on the ability of the Director of 
National Intelligence or the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, or 
their designees, to attend any Principals Committee meeting convened 
under the auspices of the National Security Council or any other senior 
interagency meeting convened for the purpose of considering policy 
issues that affect the national security interests of the United 
States.
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