Title: Member SECURE Act
Policy area: Congress

Summary:
Member Security Clearance Updates Required for Everyone Act or the Member SECURE Act
This bill restricts Members of Congress who do not hold a top secret (or higher) security clearance from accessing information classified at the Sensitive Compartmented Information level. The bill also requires the Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper of the Senate and the Sergeant at Arms of the House of Representatives to implement information systems that enable Members of Congress and staff with appropriate security clearances to securely access classified information.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8623 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8623

 To require that Members of Congress hold a security clearance at the 
      level of top secret or higher to obtain access to Sensitive 
           Compartmented Information, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 29, 2022

 Mr. Phillips introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                   Committee on House Administration

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To require that Members of Congress hold a security clearance at the 
      level of top secret or higher to obtain access to Sensitive 
           Compartmented 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 ``Member Security Clearance Updates 
Required for Everyone Act'' or the ``Member SECURE Act''.

SEC. 2. SECURITY CLEARANCE REQUIREMENT FOR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.

    (a) In General.--A Member of Congress who does not hold a security 
clearance at the level of top secret or higher that grants the Member 
access to Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) may not be provided 
access to any material classified at the SCI level or higher.
    (b) Special Rule for Interim Security Clearance.--A Member of 
Congress who applies for a security clearance described in subsection 
(a) shall be granted an interim security clearance that grants the 
Member access to SCI until a final determination with respect to the 
security clearance of the Member has been made pursuant to subsection 
(c).
    (c) Final Determination With Respect to Security Clearance.--With 
respect to an application for a security clearance described in 
subsection (a) submitted by a Member of Congress--
            (1) the final determination of the application shall be 
        made pursuant to a vote of the appropriate ethics committee 
        after the committee receives the background investigation for 
        such Member under subsection (d); and
            (2) such security clearance shall be granted to the Member 
        only by an affirmative vote of a majority of the members of the 
        appropriate ethics committee.
    (d) Expedited Background Investigations Processing.--With respect 
to an application for a security clearance described in subsection (a) 
submitted by a Member of Congress, the appropriate background 
investigations department of the Central Intelligence Agency shall, to 
the greatest extent possible, ensure the expedited completion of the 
background investigation required for the appropriate ethics committee 
to make a final determination for such application.
    (e) Implementation of Secure Information Systems Procedures.--Not 
later than 360 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper of the Senate and the Sergeant at Arms 
of the House of Representatives shall, with respect to each House, 
develop and implement information systems procedures with the same 
level of security and protection of sensitive information as the Secure 
Internet Protocol Router Network used to manage access to sensitive 
information for personnel of the Department of Defense for the purpose 
of enabling Members of Congress and staff with the appropriate security 
clearance to securely gain access to such sensitive information.
    (f) Definitions.--In this section, the following definitions apply:
            (1) Member of congress.--The term ``Member of Congress'' 
        includes a Delegate or Resident Commissioner to the Congress.
            (2) Appropriate ethics committee.--The term ``appropriate 
        ethics committee'' means--
                    (A) in the case of an application for a security 
                clearance described in subsection (a) submitted by a 
                Member of the Senate, the Select Committee on Ethics of 
                the Senate; and
                    (B) in the case of an application for a security 
                clearance described in subsection (a) submitted by a 
                Member of the House of Representatives, the Committee 
                on Ethics of the House of Representatives.
    (g) Effective Date.--This requirements under this section shall 
take effect 360 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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