Title: Protect America's Secrets Act
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
Protect America's Secrets Act
This bill amends the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 to prevent a federal employee, including an employee in the Executive Office of the President, from being granted access to information on highly sensitive programs unless the employee: (1) has been determined to be eligible for access by the head of an agency or designated official based upon a full personnel security investigation and a favorable adjudication, (2) has a demonstrated need-to-know, and (3) has signed an approved nondisclosure agreement.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5057 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5057

 To amend the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 
   to limit access to classified information, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 15, 2018

  Mrs. Murphy of Florida (for herself, Mr. Moulton, and Mr. Panetta) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                    Oversight and Government Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 
   to limit access to classified information, 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 America's Secrets Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) Pursuant to Executive Order 12968 of 1995, ``[t]he 
        national interest requires that certain information be 
        maintained in confidence through a system of classification in 
        order to protect our citizens, our democratic institutions, and 
        our participation within the community of nations.''.
            (2) Executive Order 12968 states that ``no employee shall 
        be granted access to classified information unless that 
        employee has been determined to be eligible in accordance with 
        this order and to possess a need-to-know.''.
            (3) Executive Order 12968 further provides that employees 
        shall not be granted access to classified information unless 
        they--
                    (A) have been determined to be eligible for access 
                by agency heads or designated officials based upon a 
                favorable adjudication of an appropriate investigation 
                of the employee's background;
                    (B) have a demonstrated need-to-know; and
                    (C) have signed an approved nondisclosure 
                agreement.
            (4) Intelligence Community Directive 704 of 2008 states 
        that ``Heads of IC Elements or designees may determine that it 
        is in the national interest to authorize temporary access to 
        SCI [Sensitive Compartmented Information] and other controlled 
        access program information, subject to the following 
        requirements--temporary access approvals shall be granted only 
        during national emergencies, hostilities involving United 
        States personnel, or in exceptional circumstances when official 
        functions must be performed . . . . In any case, temporary 
        access shall not exceed one year.''.
            (5) Public reports indicate that members of the President's 
        staff have been granted access to highly sensitive information 
        without favorably adjudicated security clearances, and that 
        interim access has been granted such clearances have been 
        extended for more than a year while the investigations 
        continue.

SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) no employee of the Federal Government, including those 
        in the Executive Office of the President, should be granted 
        access to highly sensitive information without a favorably 
        adjudicated clearance; and
            (2) the fact that members of the President's staff had 
        access to the President's Daily Brief and the most highly 
        sensitive information in the United States Government, without 
        a fully adjudicated clearance, creates a double standard in the 
        Federal branch; undermines the integrity of the clearance 
        system; and potentially threatens United States national 
        security.

SEC. 4. REQUIREMENT.

    Section 3001 of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention 
Act of 2004 (Public Law 108-458) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)(1)(A), by inserting before the semi-
        colon at the end the following: ``, including the Executive 
        Office of the President''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(k) Restrictions on Access to Highly Sensitive Programs.--
            ``(1) Requirement.--No employee shall be granted access to 
        information on any highly sensitive program, including 
        information contained in any briefing (including the 
        President's Daily Brief) provided by any element of the 
        intelligence community to the President, unless the employee 
        has--
                    ``(A) been determined to be eligible for access by 
                the head of an agency or designated official based upon 
                a full personnel security investigation and a favorable 
                adjudication;
                    ``(B) a demonstrated need-to-know; and
                    ``(C) signed an approved nondisclosure agreement.
            ``(2) Application.--Paragraph (1) shall be applied so as to 
        prohibit any employee with an interim security clearance and 
        for whom the applicable adjudicating agency has not made a 
        final determination from gaining access to information on any 
        highly sensitive program.
            ``(3) Temporary access not effected.--Notwithstanding the 
        requirements of this subsection, temporary access to higher 
        classification levels may be granted as outlined in section 2.3 
        of Executive Order 12986 (or any successor Executive order).
            ``(4) Definition of employee.--For purposes of this 
        subsection, the term `employee' means an individual, other than 
        the President and Vice President--
                    ``(A) employed by, detailed or assigned to, an 
                agency, including members of the Armed Forces;
                    ``(B) an expert or consultant to an agency;
                    ``(C) an industrial or commercial contractor, 
                licensee, certificate holder, or grantee of an agency, 
                including all subcontractors;
                    ``(D) a personal services contractor; or
                    ``(E) any other category of person who acts for or 
                on behalf of an agency as determined by the appropriate 
                agency head.''.
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