Earlier this month we brought to you our comprehensive round-up of all of the security clearance policy changes and highlights of 2014. Here’s a round-up of things that didn’t happen.
Legislation That Died When the 113th Congress Ended
SCARE Act
Had it been enacted the Security Clearance Accountability Reform and Enhancement Act (S. 1744) would have required OPM to (1) terminate or place on administrative leave an OPM employee for falsifying investigative reports and (2) debar or suspend a contractor for intentional involvement in similar misconduct.
The act would have required the review and updating of guidance for (1) position sensitivity designations; (2) quality controls; and (3) periodic reviews of position sensitivity designations.
Security Clearance Reform Act of 2014
Had it been enacted H.R. 4022 would have required the President to submit to Congress a strategic plan to improve security clearance and background investigation activities, including continuous evaluation. It would have required that all final quality reviews of background investigations, all investigations for Top Secret clearances, and all interviews of clearance applicants be done by federal employees. It would have also required OPM to report to Congress any criminal justice agencies that refuse to provide criminal records to OPM and would have reduced criminal justice grant funding to those agencies.
CORRECT Act
Had it been enacted the Clearance and Over-Classification Reform and Reduction Act (H.R. 5240) would have decreased the number of security clearances, as well as the amount of classified information. It would have addressed privacy concern related to continuous evaluation and required improvement of the background investigation process.
Enhanced Security Clearance Act
Had it been enacted H.R. 5482 would have required a plan to eliminate backlogs of overdue periodic reinvestigations (PRs), instituted new intervals for PRs using automated record checks twice every five years, and required enhanced personnel security programs for security reviews, including the use of cyber-vetting and data mining.
Prevent Conflict of Interest with Contractors Act
Had it been enacted S. 2061 would have precluded contracts or contract extensions for conducting quality reviews of background investigation fieldwork services or background investigation support services, if the contractor is performing the services to be reviewed.