[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1248 Introduced in House (IH)]
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115th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1248
To amend the National Security Act of 1947 to prohibit individuals who
threaten to destroy the Government from participating in or attending
meetings of the National Security Council, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 28, 2017
Mr. Espaillat (for himself, Ms. Lee, Mr. Lewis of Georgia, and Mr.
Raskin) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Armed Services, and in addition to the Committees on
Foreign Affairs, Intelligence (Permanent Select), and Oversight and
Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall
within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the National Security Act of 1947 to prohibit individuals who
threaten to destroy the Government from participating in or attending
meetings of the National Security Council, 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 ``Make Our Government Safe Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Steve Bannon was appointed to serve as chief strategist
and senior counselor to the President in January 2017 and was
appointed, via executive order, to the National Security
Council on January 28, 2017.
(2) Under section 101 of the National Security Act of 1947
(50 U.S.C. 3021), the National Security Council is responsible
for the integration of domestic, foreign, and military policies
relating to the national security so as to enable the military
services and the other departments and agencies of the
Government to cooperate more effectively in matters involving
the national security.
(3) To participate in highly sensitive meetings of the
National Security Council, it is a prerequisite to have the
highest available security clearances, including access to
compartmented information.
(4) Question 23.9 on United States Government Standard Form
86, which all applicants seeking a security clearance must
submit, asks: ``have you ever advocated any acts of terrorism
or activities designed to overthrow the U.S. Government by
force?''
(5) Question 29.4 asks: ``have you ever been a member of an
organization dedicated to the use of violence or force to
overthrow the United States Government . . .''
(6) Question 29.6 asks: ``have you ever knowingly engaged
in activities designed to overthrow the United States
Government by force?''
(7) Steve Bannon has made numerous inflammatory statements
in support of overthrowing the United States Government.
(8) In an interview dated August 22, 2016, Bannon referred
to himself as a ``Leninist'', saying ``Lenin . . . wanted to
destroy the state, and that's my goal too. I want to bring
everything crashing down, and destroy all of today's
establishment''.
(9) The Director of the National Background Investigations
Bureau, Charles Phalen, Jr., testified before the Committee on
Oversight and Government Reform of the House of Representatives
on February 2, 2017, about the process to investigate
applicants for security clearances.
(10) In response to questions from Ranking Member Elijah E.
Cummings, Director Phalen agreed that calling oneself a
Leninist would cause concerns during the background check
process for a security clearance, saying ``It would, and the
investigator should pursue that avenue of discussion with the
subject as to what that means.''.
(11) In response to a specific question about someone whose
goal was to ``destroy the state,'' Director Phalen responded
``That would elicit a very strong line of questioning with that
individual and with others to determine what he means by that
so that we can give a full picture to the adjudicator.''.
(12) When asked what would happen if Bannon denied making
these statements, Director Phalen responded that background
check investigators would ``determine what the truth is''.
SEC. 3. PROHIBITION OF INDIVIDUALS WHO THREATEN TO DESTROY THE
GOVERNMENT FROM PARTICIPATING IN OR ATTENDING NATIONAL
SECURITY COUNCIL MEETINGS.
(a) Prohibition.--Section 101(c) of the National Security Act of
1947 (50 U.S.C. 3021(c)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (2), by striking ``The President'' and
inserting ``Except as provided in paragraph (3), the
President''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(3) Individuals who threaten to destroy the government.--
Any individual who threatens to destroy the Government,
including in speech, written form, or through action, may not
participate in or attend any meeting of the Council or any
meeting of the Principal's Committee.''.
(b) Effective Date.--Paragraph (3) of subsection (c) of section 101
of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3021) shall take effect
on the date that is 30 days after the date of the enactment of this
Act.
SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING THE SUSPENSION OF SECURITY
CLEARANCES FOR FEDERAL EMPLOYEES WHO THREATEN TO DESTROY
THE STATE.
It is the sense of Congress that the head of a department or agency
of the Federal Government that issues a security clearance for an
employee, including for an employee of the Executive Office of the
President, should consider suspending the security clearance of the
employee, if the employee threatens or has threatened to destroy the
State or to take hostile actions against the United States, to ensure
such employee does not pose a threat to the United States.
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