[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 126 (Wednesday, July 26, 2017)]
[House]
[Pages H6327-H6328]
SECURELY EXPEDITING CLEARANCES THROUGH REPORTING TRANSPARENCY ACT OF
2017
Mr. MITCHELL. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 3210) to require the Director of the National Background
Investigations Bureau to submit a report on the backlog of personnel
security clearance investigations, and for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 3210
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 ``Securely Expediting
Clearances Through Reporting Transparency Act of 2017'' or
the ``SECRET Act of 2017''.
SEC. 2. REPORT ON BACKLOG OF PERSONNEL SECURITY CLEARANCE
INVESTIGATIONS.
Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this
Act, and quarterly thereafter for 5 years, the Director of
the National Background Investigations Bureau of the Office
of Personnel Management shall submit to Congress a report on
the backlog of security clearance investigations that
includes--
(1) the size of the personnel security clearance
investigation process backlog; and
(2) the average length of time, for each sensitivity level,
to carry out an initial investigation and a periodic
investigation.
SEC. 3. REPORT ON SECURITY CLEARANCE INVESTIGATIONS OF
PERSONNEL OF THE EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE
PRESIDENT.
Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this
Act, the Director of the National Background Investigations
Bureau of the Office of Personnel Management shall submit to
Congress a report that explains the process for conducting
and adjudicating security clearance investigations for
personnel of the Executive Office of the President, including
White House personnel.
SEC. 4. REPORT ON DUPLICATIVE COSTS.
Not later than 120 days after the date of enactment of
this Act, the Director of the National Background
Investigations Bureau of the Office of Personnel Management
shall submit to Congress a report on the cost of duplicating
resources under the control or direction of the National
Background Investigations Bureau for implementation of the
plan referenced in section 951(a)(1) of the National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (10 U.S.C. 1564 note).
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Michigan (Mr. Mitchell) and the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Connolly)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Michigan.
General Leave
Mr. MITCHELL. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and
include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Michigan?
There was no objection.
Mr. MITCHELL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I rise today in support of H.R. 3210, the SECRET Act of 2017,
introduced by my colleague, the gentleman from California (Mr. Knight).
Mr. Speaker, the backlog of security clearance investigations causes
tremendous waste for Federal employees and contractors and jeopardizes
our national security.
There are thousands of jobs waiting to be filled in important
national security positions and at least as many qualified Americans
eagerly ready to fill them, but they can't, because they are waiting on
their background investigation.
As of June 2017, the backlog stood at 650,000 clearances for
employees, new hires, and contractors waiting either for an
investigation or a reinvestigation. Many of those people are unable to
perform their jobs while waiting, leading to contract delays and a pure
waste of time.
Mr. Speaker, in order to fix the problem, you have to start by
understanding the problem. Fixing the background investigation backlog
requires information on the size, scope, and nature of the problem.
Currently, Congress receives information about the size of the
backlog through briefings--only through briefings. We receive no
regular data on the backlog and have no way to track progress over
time.
My colleagues from California and Virginia, Representative Knight and
Representative Gerald Connolly, authored this bipartisan bill to
provide Congress the information it needs to assess these backlog
investigations.
H.R. 3210, Securely Expediting Clearances Through Reporting
Transparency Act, requires a simple quarterly report from the National
Background Investigations Bureau known as NBIB.
The report will disclose the size of the backlog and the average
length of an investigation broken down by level of clearance.
Additionally, this bill requires two nonpartisan reports to help
Congress plan potential reforms to the background investigation
security clearance process.
NBIB will be required to issue a report describing the general
security clearance procedure in the Executive Office of the President.
The bill also requires NBIB to issue a report on the duplicative costs
that would likely arise from transferring responsibility for background
investigations to the Department of Defense.
Like the quarterly backlog report, this report will help Congress
determine whether proposed options to reduce the backlog would do so or
actually would increase it.
This bill is an important first step in addressing the security
clearance investigation backlog, thereby reducing waste and increasing
our Nation's security.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan good
government bill.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. CONNOLLY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Michigan for his remarks.
Congressman Steve Knight and I introduced H.R. 3210, the Securely
Expediting Clearances Through Reporting Transparency Act, or SECRET, to
enable Congress to monitor the efficiency of the background
investigation process. This bipartisan bill was passed unanimously by
the Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
H.R. 3210 imposes a commonsense requirement on the National
Background Investigations Bureau to report to Congress on backlogs that
develop in the background investigation process.
Backlogs have plagued us in the past, as my friend from Michigan just
said. In 2004, when the Department of Defense was the lead agency
performing background investigations, the Government Accountability
Office determined the backlog was 375 days, more than 1 year. Over
100,000 new investigations or reinvestigations were delayed by that
backlog.
In response, Congress transferred responsibility for those
investigations to the Office of Personnel Management, and more
recently, created the National Background Investigations Bureau within
the Office of Personnel Management.
H.R. 3210 will provide Congress with the transparency needed to
conduct oversight of the National Background Investigations Bureau and
to help prevent backlogs like that in the future.
I am also pleased that the bill includes an amendment I offered in
committee to require a report to Congress on duplicative costs to
assist us in making decisions that protect taxpayers.
Last year, a provision in the National Defense Authorization Act
asked the Department of Defense to develop a separate plan, to transfer
responsibility for those background investigations of DOD personnel to
the Pentagon instead of the National Background Investigations Bureau.
The Bureau would continue to perform other background investigations
for all the other government agencies, except the Pentagon. If that
plan were implemented, resources and capabilities that are currently
under the direction of the Bureau would have to be duplicated by the
Department of Defense.
H.R. 3210 would require a report to Congress on the cost of those
duplicative resources and efforts. For Congress
[[Page H6328]]
to make an informed choice on who should be responsible for conducting
background investigations, we have got to know the costs.
Finally, the Oversight Committee also adopted an amendment offered by
my friend and colleague, the Congressman from Illinois (Mr.
Krishnamoorthi), that would require a report on the process for
performing and adjudicating background investigations for personnel in
the Executive Office of the President.
This would help Congress ensure that those with access to the most
sensitive information in the White House are thoroughly vetted.
And I thank the gentleman for his thoughtful amendment which also
passed unanimously in our committee.
Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of H.R. 3210. I am proud to be the
original Democratic cosponsor.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. MITCHELL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from
California (Mr. Knight), the sponsor of the bill.
Mr. KNIGHT. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank Mr. Connolly for his
help and his partnership in the SECRET Act. Today, I rise in support of
this straightforward bipartisan legislation, the SECRET Act, or
Securely Expediting Clearances Through Reporting Transparency Act.
I am proud to say that this bill originated from concerns voiced by
my constituents. California's 25th District serves as a hub for many
national security programs, and by extension, requires a highly
skilled, security-cleared industrial base and workforce. But this
doesn't just affect southern California. This is a national issue and
must be addressed now.
Many employers are either unable to recruit workers due to excessive
backlog of security clearance investigations or are forced to place
employees in unfulfilling positions while they wait unacceptable
amounts of time for their investigations to be completed.
{time} 1415
Mr. Speaker, we are fortunate to live in a country with selfless
citizens who seek to serve our Nation in critical national security
positions and work towards safety at home and abroad. We need these
bright minds to solve incredibly difficult problems and develop the
next generation of American-made technology. We should reward them for
choosing to work toward something greater than themselves, not punish
them with jobs they don't want just because our bureaucracies can't
move fast enough.
I introduced the SECRET Act so Congress can do its job of oversight
better. The transparency afforded in this bill will better inform us of
how substantial the security clearance backlog is and how long it takes
for investigations to be completed. Equipped with that information, we
will hold the executive branch accountable and keep our country safe.
I thank Chairman Gowdy and his committee staff for the diligent work
on this bill, and I urge my colleagues for their support.
Mr. CONNOLLY. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague and friend, Mr.
Knight, for this bill. His leadership is really critical.
In my district, like his, thousands and thousands of jobs are open
because of this issue. We simply haven't gotten the security clearances
done in an expeditious way. We want them thorough, but we also,
frankly, want our national security being addressed at full throttle,
and that means full employment in these jobs.
I couldn't agree more with his sentiments, and I thank him again for
his leadership.
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from
Illinois (Mr. Krishnamoorthi), my friend and colleague and one of the
up-and-coming stars of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Virginia
for yielding, and I thank Mr. Knight and Mr. Mitchell for their
leadership on this. I also want to thank Ranking Member Elijah Cummings
for all that he has done to try to get the answers about executive
branch background checks.
For over 6 months, various Oversight and Government Reform Committee
members have been working to get basic answers from the White House
about its process for granting security clearances. In a February 2017
hearing, my colleague, Congresswoman Plaskett, asked the Director of
the National Background Investigations Bureau if any senior
administration officials with access to sensitive material were under
criminal investigation. Chairman Chaffetz specifically asked the Office
of Personnel Management to get back to Representative Plaskett about
her request. Unfortunately, neither OPM nor NBIB have answered these
basic questions. That is why I am pleased that the Oversight and
Government Reform Committee unanimously adopted my amendment during
consideration of H.R. 3210 last week.
My amendment is very simple. It requires the NBIB to report to
Congress on the process for conducting and adjudicating security
clearances at the White House.
This bill is a necessary first step for Congress to conduct the
oversight necessary to ensure that all personnel in the U.S.
Government, regardless of administration, regardless of office,
regardless of the President who happens to be in office at the time,
will be thoroughly vetted and will not pose a threat to our national
security.
I encourage all Members to support this bipartisan bill.
Mr. MITCHELL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, this issue that Mr. Krishnamoorthi refers to is an issue
that spans administrations and requires attention not for partisan
matters, but for the safety and security of our country.
I am pleased with the amendment. I supported the amendment in
committee, and, as noted, it did pass unanimously.
The reason I support this bill is because it pursues some commonsense
goals. Think about it: 650,000 outstanding requests, and the only way
we get information on that is we get a briefing, no routine reporting.
I have no further speakers, and I reserve the balance of my time to
close.
Mr. CONNOLLY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Michigan for those comments, and
I again thank him for his leadership. I thank Mr. Knight for his vision
for this bill. I am pleased to be an original cosponsor, and I am
pleased to make sure this was shepherded through committee on a
unanimous vote.
I think we all recognize the criticality of classified background
checking to make sure people trusted with our Nation's secrets, in
fact, have been properly checked and vetted. But, on the other hand,
backlogs hurt our national security, and so expediting it and
accelerating reporting on it are really critical, it seems to me, for
both intelligence, homeland security, and defense work that protects
our citizens.
This is a very important step forward, and I urge its passage.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. MITCHELL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, as I noted, I am new here in Congress, and I was
astonished to find that we had no routine reporting on security
clearances. I was astonished to find how much of a backlog we face and
the damage it is doing to national security inefficiency.
I support this bill because it pursues a commonsense goal:
transparency and efficient operation of the government. I support the
amendment on transparency on oversight of the clearances in the White
House because I think it is something that should have happened a long
time ago.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to adopt the bill, and I yield back
the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Mitchell) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 3210, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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