§3104 — Title 50 War and National Defense | U.S. Code

Summary

The President must send Congress a yearly report by February 1 about the security clearance process. For each clearance level, the report must say how many U.S. Government employees and how many government contractors had that clearance on October 1 of the previous year, and how many were approved for that clearance during the prior fiscal year. The President may count confidential and secret as one level, and top secret and higher as one level. The Director of National Intelligence must send a detailed report by March 1 to the congressional intelligence committees, the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, the House Committee on Homeland Security, and the House Committee on Oversight and Reform. Parts that concern the Department of Defense must also go to the Senate and House Armed Services Committees. The report must list, for each part of the intelligence community and separately for federal employees and contractors: total new background checks started, total periodic reinvestigations, numbers of initial and periodic decisions (how many were granted and how many were denied or revoked), pending cases by five time ranges (≤180 days; >180 days to <12 months; 12–<18 months; 18–<24 months; ≥24 months), reasons for any cases taking more than 12 months and how many involved a polygraph, and percentages for denials/revocations, incomplete information, and cases without enough information to decide. Reports must be unclassified but may include a classified annex.

Title 50, §3104

War and National Defense — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)(1)Not later than February 1 of each year, the President shall submit to Congress a report on the security clearance process. Such report shall include, for each security clearance level—

(A)the number of employees of the United States Government who—

(i)held a security clearance at such level as of October 1 of the preceding year; and

(ii)were approved for a security clearance at such level during the preceding fiscal year; and

(B)the number of contractors to the United States Government who—

(i)held a security clearance at such level as of October 1 of the preceding year; and

(ii)were approved for a security clearance at such level during the preceding fiscal year.

(2)For purposes of paragraph (1), the President may consider—

(A)security clearances at the level of confidential and secret as one security clearance level; and

(B)security clearances at the level of top secret or higher as one security clearance level.

(b)(1)(A)Not later than March 1 of each year, the Director of National Intelligence shall submit a report to the congressional intelligence committees, the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate, the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on Oversight and Reform of the House of Representatives regarding the security clearances processed by each element of the intelligence community during the preceding fiscal year.

(B)The Director shall submit to the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate and the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives such portions of the report submitted under subparagraph (A) as the Director determines address elements of the intelligence community that are within the Department of Defense.

(C)Each report submitted under this paragraph shall separately identify security clearances processed for Federal employees and contractor employees sponsored by each such element.

(2)Each report submitted under paragraph (1)(A) shall include, for each element of the intelligence community for the fiscal year covered by the report, the following:

(A)The total number of initial security clearance background investigations sponsored for new applicants.

(B)The total number of security clearance periodic reinvestigations sponsored for existing employees.

(C)The total number of initial security clearance background investigations for new applicants that were adjudicated with notice of a determination provided to the prospective applicant, including—

(i)the total number of such adjudications that were adjudicated favorably and granted access to classified information; and

(ii)the total number of such adjudications that were adjudicated unfavorably and resulted in a denial or revocation of a security clearance.

(D)The total number of security clearance periodic background investigations that were adjudicated with notice of a determination provided to the existing employee, including—

(i)the total number of such adjudications that were adjudicated favorably; and

(ii)the total number of such adjudications that were adjudicated unfavorably and resulted in a denial or revocation of a security clearance.

(E)The total number of pending security clearance background investigations, including initial applicant investigations and periodic reinvestigations, that were not adjudicated as of the last day of such year and that remained pending, categorized as follows:

(i)For 180 days or shorter.

(ii)For longer than 180 days, but shorter than 12 months.

(iii)For 12 months or longer, but shorter than 18 months.

(iv)For 18 months or longer, but shorter than 24 months.

(v)For 24 months or longer.

(F)For any security clearance determinations completed or pending during the year preceding the year for which the report is submitted that have taken longer than 12 months to complete—

(i)an explanation of the causes for the delays incurred during the period covered by the report; and

(ii)the number of such delays involving a polygraph requirement.

(G)The percentage of security clearance investigations, including initial and periodic reinvestigations, that resulted in a denial or revocation of a security clearance.

(H)The percentage of security clearance investigations that resulted in incomplete information.

(I)The percentage of security clearance investigations that did not result in enough information to make a decision on potentially adverse information.

(3)The report required under this subsection shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified annex.

(c)The reports required under subsections (a)(1) and (b) shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified annex.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Codification Section was formerly classified to section 415a–10 of this title prior to editorial reclassification and renumbering as this section.

Amendments

2019—Subsec. (a)(1)(C). Pub. L. 116–92, § 6609(b)(1), struck out subpar. (C) which related to security clearance investigations and determinations for each element of the intelligence community. Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 116–92, § 6609(b)(3), added subsec. (b). Former subsec. (b) redesignated (c). Subsec. (c). Pub L. 116–92, § 6609(b)(2), (4), redesignated subsec. (b) as (c) and substituted “subsections (a)(1) and (b)” for “subsection (a)(1)”. 2015—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 114–113, § 701(a)(1), (2), redesignated subsec. (b) as (a) and struck out former subsec. (a) which related to quadrennial audit of position requirements. Subsecs. (b), (c). Pub. L. 114–113, § 701(a)(2), (3), redesignated subsec. (c) as (b) and substituted “The reports required under subsection (a)(1)” for “The results required under subsection (a)(2) and the reports required under subsection (b)(1)”. Former subsec. (b) redesignated (a).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Change of Name

Committee on Oversight and Reform of House of Representatives changed to Committee on Oversight and Accountability of House of Representatives by House Resolution No. 5, One Hundred Eighteenth Congress, Jan. 9, 2023. Initial Audit Pub. L. 111–259, title III, § 367(a)(1)(B), Oct. 7, 2010, 124 Stat. 2704, provided that: “The first audit required to be conducted under section 506H(a)(1) of the National Security Act of 1947 [50 U.S.C. 3104(a)(1)], as added by subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, shall be completed not later than February 1, 2011.”

§3104 Reports on Security Clearances