Securely Expediting Clearances Through Reporting Transparency Act of 2018 2018-05-22 Public Law
Securely Expediting Clearances Through Reporting Transparency Act of 2018 or the SECRET Act of 2018

(Sec. 3) This bill requires the National Background Investigations Bureau (NBIB) within the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to report on its backlog of security clearance investigations. The report must include a backlog mitigation plan identifying the cause of, and making recommendations to remedy, the backlog.

(Sec. 4) The Executive Office of the President must report on the process for conducting and adjudicating security clearance investigations for the President's staff.

(Sec. 5) The OPM must report on the costs of maintaining comprehensive background investigations capability within both the NBIB and the Department of Defense, compared to the costs of sustaining a single government-wide background investigations enterprise.

(Sec. 6) The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) must report on: (1) the status of implementing government-wide continuous evaluation programs, (2) efforts by federal agencies to meet requirements for reciprocal recognition to access classified information, and (3) whether the schedule for processing security clearances should be modified.

(Sec. 7) The ODNI and the OPM must review and make recommendations to Congress and the President, as appropriate, to issue guidance to assist agencies in determining: (1) position sensitivity designation, and (2) the appropriate background investigation to initiate for each position designation. The President must report on any issues identified in, and the number of position designations revised as a result of, the review.

]]> 2018-05-07 House agreed to Senate amendment without amendment Securely Expediting Clearances Through Reporting Transparency Act of 2018 or the SECRET Act of 2018

(Sec. 3) This bill requires the National Background Investigations Bureau (NBIB) within the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to report on its backlog of security clearance investigations. The report must include a backlog mitigation plan identifying the cause of, and making recommendations to remedy, the backlog.

(Sec. 4) The Executive Office of the President must report on the process for conducting and adjudicating security clearance investigations for the President's staff.

(Sec. 5) The OPM must report on the costs of maintaining comprehensive background investigations capability within both the NBIB and the Department of Defense, compared to the costs of sustaining a single government-wide background investigations enterprise.

(Sec. 6) The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) must report on: (1) the status of implementing government-wide continuous evaluation programs, (2) efforts by federal agencies to meet requirements for reciprocal recognition to access classified information, and (3) whether the schedule for processing security clearances should be modified.

(Sec. 7) The ODNI and the OPM must review and make recommendations to Congress and the President, as appropriate, to issue guidance to assist agencies in determining: (1) position sensitivity designation, and (2) the appropriate background investigation to initiate for each position designation. The President must report on any issues identified in, and the number of position designations revised as a result of, the review.

]]> 2018-03-15 Passed Senate amended
Securely Expediting Clearances Through Reporting Transparency Act of 2018 or the SECRET Act of 2018

(Sec. 3) This bill requires the National Background Investigations Bureau (NBIB) within the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to report on its backlog of security clearance investigations. The report must include a backlog mitigation plan identifying the cause of, and making recommendations to remedy, the backlog.

(Sec. 4) The Executive Office of the President must report on the process for conducting and adjudicating security clearance investigations for the President's staff.

(Sec. 5) The OPM must report on the costs of maintaining comprehensive background investigations capability within both the NBIB and the Department of Defense, compared to the costs of sustaining a single government-wide background investigations enterprise.

(Sec. 6) The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) must report on: (1) the status of implementing government-wide continuous evaluation programs, (2) efforts by federal agencies to meet requirements for reciprocal recognition to access classified information, and (3) whether the schedule for processing security clearances should be modified.

(Sec. 7) The ODNI and the OPM must review and make recommendations to Congress and the President, as appropriate, to issue guidance to assist agencies in determining: (1) position sensitivity designation, and (2) the appropriate background investigation to initiate for each position designation. The President must report on any issues identified in, and the number of position designations revised as a result of, the review.

]]> 2017-11-27 Reported to Senate with amendment(s) Securely Expediting Clearances Through Reporting Transparency Act of 2017 or the SECRET Act of 2017

(Sec. 2) This bill requires the Office of Personnel Management's National Background Investigations Bureau (NBIB) to report on the backlog of security clearance investigations. The report must include a backlog mitigation plan identifying the cause of, and making recommendations to remedy, the backlog.

(Sec. 3) The Executive Office of the President must report on the process for conducting and adjudicating security clearance investigations for the President's staff.

(Sec. 4) The Office of Management and Budget must report on the costs of duplicating NBIB resources to implement a specified plan for the Department of Defense (DOD) to conduct security investigations for DOD personnel.

(Sec. 5) The NBIB must report on: (1) the status of implementing government-wide continuous evaluation programs, (2) efforts by federal agencies to meet requirements for reciprocal recognition to access classified information, (3) recommendations to improve background investigations, and (4) whether the schedule for processing security clearances should be modified.

(Sec. 6) The President must review and, if appropriate, update the guidance issued to assist agencies in determining: (1) position sensitivity designation, and (2) the appropriate background investigation to initiate for each position designation. The President must report on any issues identified in, and the number of position designations revised as a result of, the review.

]]> 2017-07-26 Passed House amended (This measure has not been amended since it was reported to the House on July 25, 2017. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

Securely Expediting Clearances Through Reporting Transparency Act of 2017 or the SECRET Act of 2017

(Sec. 2) This bill requires the Office of Personnel Management's National Background Investigations Bureau (NBIB) to report on the backlog of security clearance investigations.

(Sec. 3) Additionally, the NBIB must report on the process for conducting and adjudicating security clearance investigations for personnel in the Executive Office of the President.

(Sec. 4) Finally, the NBIB must report on the duplicative costs of implementing a plan for the Defense Security Service to conduct, after October 1, 2017, security investigations for Department of Defense (DOD) personnel whose investigations are adjudicated by DOD's Consolidated Adjudication Facility.

]]> 2017-07-25 Reported to House with amendment(s) Securely Expediting Clearances Through Reporting Transparency Act of 2017 or the SECRET Act of 2017

(Sec. 2) This bill requires the Office of Personnel Management's National Background Investigations Bureau (NBIB) to report on the backlog of security clearance investigations.

(Sec. 3) Additionally, the NBIB must report on the process for conducting and adjudicating security clearance investigations for personnel in the Executive Office of the President.

(Sec. 4) Finally, the NBIB must report on the duplicative costs of implementing a plan for the Defense Security Service to conduct, after October 1, 2017, security investigations for Department of Defense (DOD) personnel whose investigations are adjudicated by DOD's Consolidated Adjudication Facility.

]]> 2017-07-12 Introduced in House Securely Expediting Clearances Through Reporting Transparency Act of 2017 or the SECRET Act of 2017

This bill requires the Office of Personnel Management's National Background Investigations Bureau to report on the backlog of security clearance investigations.

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