§3352c — Title 50 War and National Defense | U.S. Code

Summary

The Council must change how security clearances are handled so that by December 31, 2021, 90% of decisions (except for certain groups named elsewhere in the law) meet these time goals: secret clearances are finished in 30 days or less, top secret clearances are finished in 90 days or less, and recognition of an equivalent clearance from another agency is done in 2 weeks or less. By the same date, routine reinvestigations done on a regular schedule must not apply to more than 10% of people who hold clearances. If the Council develops other performance measures that it certifies will give similar results, it may use those instead. If it does, it must notify the appropriate congressional committees within 30 days after it shares the measures with agencies. The Council must also deliver a plan to those congressional committees and to industry partners not later than 180 days after December 20, 2019, and that plan must include suggested interim milestones for 2019, 2020, and 2021.

Title 50, §3352c

War and National Defense — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The Council shall reform the security clearance process with the objective that, by December 31, 2021, 90 percent of all determinations, other than determinations regarding populations identified under section 3352b(b)(3)(C) of this title, regarding—

(1)security clearances—

(A)at the secret level are issued in 30 days or fewer; and

(B)at the top secret level are issued in 90 days or fewer; and

(2)reciprocity of security clearances at the same level are recognized in 2 weeks or fewer.

(b)The Council shall reform the security clearance process with the goal that by December 31, 2021, reinvestigation on a set periodicity is not required for more than 10 percent of the population that holds a security clearance.

(c)(1)If the Council develops a set of performance metrics that it certifies to the appropriate congressional committees should achieve substantially equivalent outcomes as those outlined in subsections (a) and (b), the Council may use those metrics for purposes of compliance within this provision.

(2)If the Council uses the authority provided by paragraph (1) to use metrics as described in such paragraph, the Council shall, not later than 30 days after communicating such metrics to departments and agencies, notify the appropriate congressional committees that it is using such authority.

(d)Not later than 180 days after December 20, 2019, the Council shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees and make available to appropriate industry partners a plan to carry out this section. Such plan shall include recommended interim milestones for the goals set forth in subsections (a) and (b) for 2019, 2020, and 2021.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2022—Subsecs. (c)(1), (d). Pub. L. 117–263 substituted “subsections (a) and (b)” for “subsections (b) and (c)”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Definitions For definitions of “Council”, “reciprocity”, “appropriate congressional committees”, and “appropriate industry partners”, referred to in text, see section 3352 of this title.

§3352c Goals for promptness of determinations regarding security clearances