§11001 — Title 5 Government Organization and Employees | U.S. Code

Summary

The Director of National Intelligence must require each agency to set up a stronger security-check program for people who can access classified information or hold sensitive jobs. Agencies must start the program no later than the earlier of: 5 years after the enactment of the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016, or the date the Director says the backlog of overdue periodic reinvestigations of covered individuals is cleared. The program must pull together relevant data from government, public, and commercial sources, including consumer reporting agencies and social media. That data can include criminal or civil case information, financial details like creditworthiness, publicly available material that might show risky behavior or divided loyalties, and entries on terrorist or criminal watch lists from federal, state, local, or international bodies. Agency heads must run automated checks at least 2 times every 5 years (more often for some people), use random or aperiodic checks so everyone gets at least two checks in each 5-year span after the program starts, wait until a 120-day notice period ends before doing a review, act if checks find problems, tell covered individuals what they must report, and keep the ability to weigh information or follow broader reinvestigation orders. These checks are additional to investigations under section 3001 of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (50 U.S.C. 3341). “Agency” — meaning given in section 3001 of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (50 U.S.C. 3341). “Consumer reporting agency” — meaning in section 603 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a). “Covered individual” — an agency employee or contractor eligible for classified access or a sensitive position. “Enhanced personnel security program” — the program agencies put in place under the Director’s direction.

Title 5, §11001

Government Organization and Employees — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The Director of National Intelligence shall direct each agency to implement a program to provide enhanced security review of covered individuals—

(1)in accordance with this section; and

(2)not later than the earlier of—

(A)the date that is 5 years after the date of the enactment of the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016; or

(B)the date on which the backlog of overdue periodic reinvestigations of covered individuals is eliminated, as determined by the Director of National Intelligence.

(b)(1)The enhanced personnel security program of an agency shall integrate relevant and appropriate information from various sources, including government, publicly available, and commercial data sources, consumer reporting agencies, social media, and such other sources as determined by the Director of National Intelligence.

(2)Information obtained and integrated from sources described in paragraph (1) may include—

(A)information relating to any criminal or civil legal proceeding;

(B)financial information relating to the covered individual, including the credit worthiness of the covered individual;

(C)publicly available information, whether electronic, printed, or other form, including relevant security or counterintelligence information about the covered individual or information that may suggest ill intent, vulnerability to blackmail, compulsive behavior, allegiance to another country, change in ideology, or that the covered individual lacks good judgment, reliability, or trustworthiness; and

(D)data maintained on any terrorist or criminal watch list maintained by any agency, State or local government, or international organization.

(c)(1)(A)The enhanced personnel security program of an agency shall require that, not less than 2 times every 5 years, the head of the agency shall conduct or request the conduct of automated record checks and checks of information from sources under subsection (b) to ensure the continued eligibility of each covered individual to access classified information and hold a sensitive position unless more frequent reviews of automated record checks and checks of information from sources under subsection (b) are conducted on the covered individual.

(B)Except for a covered individual who is subject to more frequent reviews to ensure the continued eligibility of the covered individual to access classified information and hold a sensitive position, the reviews under subparagraph (A) shall consist of random or aperiodic checks of covered individuals, such that each covered individual is subject to at least 2 reviews during the 5-year period beginning on the date on which the agency implements the enhanced personnel security program of an agency, and during each 5-year period thereafter.

(C)A review of the information relating to the continued eligibility of a covered individual to access classified information and hold a sensitive position under subparagraph (A) may not be conducted until after the end of the 120-day period beginning on the date the covered individual receives the notification required under paragraph (3).

(2)The head of an agency shall take appropriate action if a review under paragraph (1) finds relevant information that may affect the continued eligibility of a covered individual to access classified information and hold a sensitive position.

(3)The head of an agency shall ensure that each covered individual is adequately advised of the types of relevant security or counterintelligence information the covered individual is required to report to the head of the agency.

(4)Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to affect the authority of an agency to determine the appropriate weight to be given to information relating to a covered individual in evaluating the continued eligibility of the covered individual.

(5)Nothing in this subsection shall be construed as limiting the authority of the President to direct or perpetuate periodic reinvestigations of a more comprehensive nature or to delegate the authority to direct or perpetuate such reinvestigations.

(6)Reviews conducted under paragraph (1) are in addition to investigations and reinvestigations conducted pursuant to section 3001 of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (50 U.S.C. 3341).

(d)In this section—

(1)the term “agency” has the meaning given that term in section 3001 of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (50 U.S.C. 3341);

(2)the term “consumer reporting agency” has the meaning given that term in section 603 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a);

(3)the term “covered individual” means an individual employed by an agency or a contractor of an agency who has been determined eligible for access to classified information or eligible to hold a sensitive position; and

(4)the term “enhanced personnel security program” means a program implemented by an agency at the direction of the Director of National Intelligence under subsection (a).

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The date of the enactment of the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016, referred to in subsec. (a)(2)(A), is the date of enactment of div. M of Pub. L. 114–113, which was approved Dec. 18, 2015.

Amendments

2023—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 118–31, § 7327(b)(1), redesignated subsec. (e) as (d) and struck out former subsec. (d) which provided for review by the Inspector General of each agency of the enhanced personnel security program. Subsec. (d)(3), (4). Pub. L. 118–31, § 7327(b)(2), inserted “and” after the semicolon at end of par. (3) and substituted a period for “; and” at end of par. (4). Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 118–31, § 7327(b)(1)(B), redesignated subsec. (e) as (d). 2019—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 116–92 substituted “Review” for “Audit” in heading and “review” for “audit” in text of pars. (1) and (2).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Resolution of Backlog of Overdue Periodic Reinvestigations Pub. L. 114–113, div. M, title III, § 306(b), Dec. 18, 2015, 129 Stat. 2916, provided that: “(1) In general.—The Director of National Intelligence shall develop and implement a plan to eliminate the backlog of overdue periodic reinvestigations of covered individuals. “(2) Requirements.—The plan developed under paragraph (1) shall—“(A) use a risk-based approach to—“(i) identify high-risk populations; and “(ii) prioritize reinvestigations that are due or overdue to be conducted; and “(B) use random automated record checks of covered individuals that shall include all covered individuals in the pool of individuals subject to a one-time check. “(3) Definitions.—In this subsection:“(A) The term ‘covered individual’ means an individual who has been determined eligible for access to classified information or eligible to hold a sensitive position. “(B) The term ‘periodic reinvestigations’ has the meaning given such term in section 3001(a)(7) of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (50 U.S.C. 3341(a)(7)).”

§11001 Enhanced Personnel Security Programs