Taking Responsibility Using Secured Technologies Act of 2016

Bill: 114-s-3135
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Gardner, Cory [R-CO]
Introduced: 2016-07-06
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Subjects: Department of State

Elections, voting, political campaign regulation

Federal officials

Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management

Government ethics and transparency, public corruption

Intelligence activities, surveillance, classified information
Latest action: action_date: 2016-07-06
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

Summaries:
action_date: 2016-07-06
action_desc: Introduced in Senate
text: <p><b>Taking Responsibility Using Secured Technologies Act of 2016</b></p> <p>This bill expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton should have any security clearance she holds revoked and should be denied access to classified information unless she earns the legal right to such access, and (2) any of her colleagues who demonstrated extreme carelessness in their handling of classified information should no longer have access to that information. </p> <p>The bill prohibits granting a security clearance to, and requires revocation of the security clearance of, any federal officer or employee who has exercised extreme carelessness in the handling of classified information. </p> <p>The bill also amends a provision of the federal criminal code that subjects to criminal penalties anyone entrusted with, or having lawful possession or control of, national defense information who, through gross negligence, permits that information to be removed from its proper place of custody or delivered to anyone or to be lost, stolen, abstracted, or destroyed. The bill explicitly states that &quot;gross negligence,&quot; for these purposes, includes extreme or reckless carelessness.</p>

tv_txt: II 114th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 3135 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES July 6, 2016 Mr. Gardner (for himself, Mr. Cornyn , Mrs. Capito , Mr. Scott , Mr. Risch , Mr. Roberts , Mr. Heller , Ms. Ayotte , Mr. Barrasso , Mr. Perdue , and Mr. Isakson ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs A BILL To prohibit any officer or employee of the Federal Government who has exercised extreme carelessness in the handling of classified information from being granted or retaining a security clearance.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Taking Responsibility Using Secured Technologies Act of 2016 . 2. Findings; sense of Congress (a) Findings Congress finds the following: (1) On July 5, 2016, the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (in this section referred to as the FBI ), James B. Comey, made a statement relating to the investigation into the use of a personal e-mail system by Hillary Clinton during the period that she was Secretary of State. (2) The FBI found evidence that Secretary Clinton and her colleagues were extremely careless in handling very sensitive, highly classified information. (3) The FBI also found that any reasonable individual in the position of Secretary Clinton, or in the position of the Federal employees with whom Secretary Clinton was corresponding about these matters, should have known that using an unclassified system was inappropriate when conducting classified conversations. (4) Because of the conduct of Secretary Clinton and her colleagues, the FBI concluded that it is possible that hostile actors gained access to the e-mail account of Secretary Clinton. (5) In similar circumstances, other individuals who engaged in this kind of activity would often face adverse consequences, including security or administrative sanctions. (6) Presidential candidates typically receive classified briefings even if the candidates lack the requisite security clearance. (b) Sense of Congress It is the sense of Congress that— (1) Secretary Clinton should— (A) have any security clearance that she holds revoked; and (B) be denied access to classified information unless and until she earns the legal right to such access; and (2) colleagues of Secretary Clinton who demonstrated extreme carelessness in their handling of classified information should no longer have access to that information. 3. Security clearances with respect to individuals who have mishandled classified information (a) Granting of clearances No officer or employee of the Federal Government who has exercised extreme carelessness in the handling of classified information may be granted a security clearance. (b) Revocation of clearances The security clearance of any officer or employee of the Federal Government who has exercised extreme carelessness in the handling of classified information shall be revoked. 4. Definition of gross negligence Section 793(f) of title 18, United States Code, is amended— (1) by inserting (1) after (f) ; (2) by striking (1) through and inserting (A) through ; (3) by striking (2) having and inserting (B) having ; and (4) by adding at the end the following: (2) In this subsection, the term gross negligence includes extreme or reckless carelessness. .