[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 192 (Tuesday, October 4, 2016)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 68289-68292]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-24066]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 192 / Tuesday, October 4, 2016 /
Presidential Documents
___________________________________________________________________
Title 3--
The President
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Executive Order 13741 of September 29, 2016
Amending Executive Order 13467 To Establish the
Roles and Responsibilities of the National Background
Investigations Bureau and Related Matters
By the authority vested in me as President by the
Constitution and the laws of the United States of
America, it is hereby ordered as follows:
Section 1. Executive Order 13467 of June 30, 2008, is
amended as follows:
(a) The preamble is replaced with the following:
``By the authority vested in me as President by the
Constitution and the laws of the United States of
America, including 5 U.S.C. 3301 and 7103(b), and in
order to strengthen and ensure a secure, efficient,
timely, reciprocal, and aligned system for
investigating and determining suitability or fitness
for Government employment, contractor employee fitness,
eligibility for access to classified information or to
hold a sensitive position, and authorization to be
issued a Federal credential, while taking appropriate
account of title III of Public Law 108-458, it is
hereby ordered as follows:''
(b) Section 1.1 is amended to read as follows:
``Section 1.1. Policy: Executive branch policies and
procedures relating to suitability, contractor or
Federal employee fitness, eligibility to hold a
sensitive position, authorization to be issued a
Federal credential for access to federally controlled
facilities and information systems, and eligibility for
access to classified information shall be aligned using
consistent standards to the extent possible, shall
provide for reciprocal recognition, and shall ensure
cost-effective, timely, and efficient protection of the
national interest, while providing fair treatment to
those upon whom the Federal Government relies to
conduct the Nation's business and protect national
security. Further, the Government's systems and
processes for conducting these background
investigations and managing sensitive investigative
information must keep pace with technological
advancements, regularly integrating current best
practices, to better anticipate, detect, and counter
malicious activities and threats posed by external or
internal actors who may seek to do harm to the
Government's personnel, property, or information. To
help fulfill these responsibilities, there shall be a
primary executive branch investigative service provider
whose mission is to provide effective, efficient, and
secure background investigations for the Federal
Government.''
(c) Sections 1.3(k) and (l) are redesignated as
sections 1.3(l) and (m).
(d) A new section 1.3(k) is added to read as
follows: ``(k) ``National Background Investigations
Bureau'' (NBIB) means the National Background
Investigations Bureau, established within the Office of
Personnel Management with responsibility for conducting
effective, efficient, and secure personnel background
investigations pursuant to law, rule, regulation, or
Executive Order.''
(e) Section 2.2(b) is amended to read as follows:
``(b) The Deputy Director for Management, Office of
Management and Budget, shall serve as Chair of the
Council and shall have authority, direction, and
control over the Council's functions. Membership on the
Council shall include the Suitability Executive Agent,
the Security Executive Agent, and the Under Secretary
of Defense for Intelligence of the Department of
Defense. These four officials collectively shall
constitute ``the Suitability and Security Clearance
Performance Accountability Council Principals.'' The
Director of
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the National Background Investigations Bureau shall
also serve as a member of the Council. The Chair shall
select a Vice Chair to act in the Chair's absence. The
Chair shall have authority to designate officials from
additional agencies who shall serve as members of the
Council. Council membership shall be limited to Federal
Government employees in leadership positions.''
(f) Section 2.4 is redesignated as section 2.5, and
a new section 2.4 is added to read as follows:
``Sec. 2.4. Roles and Responsibilities of the National
Background Investigations Bureau and the Department of
Defense.
(a) The National Background Investigations Bureau
shall:
``(1) serve as the primary executive branch service provider for
background investigations for eligibility for access to classified
information; eligibility to hold a sensitive position; suitability or, for
employees in positions not subject to suitability, fitness for Government
employment; fitness to perform work for or on behalf of the Government as a
contractor employee; and authorization to be issued a Federal credential
for logical and physical access to federally controlled facilities and
information systems;
``(2) provide effective, efficient, and secure personnel background
investigations for the Federal Government;
``(3) provide the Council information, to the extent permitted by law, on
matters of performance, timeliness, capacity, information technology
modernization, continuous performance improvement, and other relevant
aspects of NBIB operations;
``(4) be headquartered in or near Washington, District of Columbia;
``(5) have dedicated resources, including but not limited to a senior
privacy official;
``(6) institutionalize interagency collaboration and take advantage of
expertise across the executive branch;
``(7) continuously improve investigative operations, emphasizing
information accuracy and protection, and regularly integrate best
practices, including those identified by subject matter experts from
industry, academia, or other relevant sources;
``(8) conduct personnel background investigations in accordance with
uniform and consistent policies, procedures, standards, and requirements
established by the Security Executive Agent and the Suitability Executive
Agent; and
``(9) conduct other personnel background investigations as authorized by
law, rule, regulation, or Executive Order.
``(b) The Secretary of Defense shall design,
develop, deploy, operate, secure, defend, and
continuously update and modernize, as necessary,
background investigation information technology systems
that support all Federal background investigation
processes conducted by the National Background
Investigations Bureau. Design and operation of the
information technology systems for the National
Background Investigations Bureau shall comply with
applicable information technology standards and, to the
extent practicable, ensure security and
interoperability with other Federal background
investigation information technology systems. The
Secretary of Defense shall operate the database in the
information technology systems containing appropriate
data relevant to the granting, denial, or revocation of
a security clearance or access pertaining to military,
civilian, or Government contractor personnel, see 50
U.S.C. 3341(e), consistent with and following an
explicit delegation from the Director of the Office of
Personnel Management pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 1104.
``(c) Delegations and designations of investigative
authority in place on the date of establishment of the
National Background Investigations Bureau shall remain
in effect until amended or revoked. The National
Background
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Investigations Bureau, through the Director of the
Office of Personnel Management, shall be subject to the
oversight of the Security Executive Agent in the
conduct of investigations for eligibility for access to
classified information or to hold a sensitive national
security position; and to the oversight of the
Suitability Executive Agent in the conduct of
investigations of suitability or fitness for Government
employment and logical and physical access, as provided
in section 2.3 of this order. The Council shall hold
the National Background Investigations Bureau
accountable for the fulfillment of the responsibilities
set forth in section 2.4(a) of this order.''
Sec. 2. Updating Governance, Authorities, Roles, and
Responsibilities. (a) Within 90 days of the date of
this order, and building on the strength of the current
Suitability and Security Clearance Performance
Accountability Council and Executive Agent governance
structure, the Council shall review and update
executive-level authorities across the vetting
enterprise to clarify and de-conflict existing
authorities, to assign new responsibilities where gaps
may exist, and to address necessary governance changes.
(b) Specifically, the Council shall submit to the
President a recommendation to:
(i) update, clarify, or replace Executive Orders (such as Executive Order
10450 of April 27, 1953, as amended, or Executive Order 12968 of August 2,
1995, as amended) as necessary to accommodate adding new entities into the
current governance structure, and to reflect changes to policies,
governance, or operational structure; and
(ii) consolidate multiple authorities (such as Executive Order 10450 of
April 27, 1953, as amended, or Executive Order 13467 of June 30, 2008) and
reaffirm or clarify existing roles and responsibilities in new or existing
Executive Orders.
(c) The Council's submission shall include, but
will not be limited to, the appropriate means to:
(i) create a Credentialing Executive Agent with responsibility for policy
and oversight of credentialing matters that parallels the respective
authorities and responsibilities of the Security and Suitability Executive
Agents, which will clarify, align, and consolidate credentialing authority
under a single Executive Agent;
(ii) make explicit the Suitability Executive Agent's oversight role;
(iii) de-conflict Security Executive Agent and Suitability Executive Agent
authorities;
(iv) establish a definition of ``vetting'' as the overarching construct for
investigations and the decisions based on them, inclusive of security,
suitability or fitness, and credentialing; and
(v) establish clear lanes of responsibility for new overarching enterprise-
wide needs for example, acquisition, funding models, data security
requirements, and contracting, and the respective roles of the Security,
Suitability, and Credentialing Line of Business; and the Enterprise
Investment Board.
Sec. 3. Amendment to Executive Order 12171. Executive
Order 12171 of November 19, 1979, as amended, is
further amended by striking ``The Federal Investigative
Services Division'' in section 1-216 and inserting in
lieu thereof:
``Agencies or subdivisions of the Office of
Personnel Management:
(a) The Federal Investigative Services.
(b) The National Background Investigations Bureau.
(c) Units with a primary Suitability Executive
Agent mission, including adjudicating suitability
investigations and conducting related policy, advisory
services, operations support, and agency oversight.
(d) Units with a primary mission of engineering,
information technology, and cybersecurity support for
personnel background investigations and
adjudications.''
Sec. 4. General Provisions. (a) This order shall be
implemented consistent with applicable law and subject
to the availability of appropriations.
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(b) If any provision of this order or the
application of such provision is held to be invalid,
the remainder of this order shall not be affected.
(c) This order is not intended to, and does not,
create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural,
enforceable at law or in equity by any party against
the United States, its departments, agencies, or
entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any
other person.
(Presidential Sig.)
THE WHITE HOUSE,
September 29, 2016.
[FR Doc. 2016-24066
Filed 10-3-16; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3295-F7-P