10 U.S.C. § 1564 — Security clearance investigations

(a) Expedited process. The Secretary of Defense may prescribe a process to speed up background investigations needed to grant security clearances for (1) Department of Defense personnel and contractor personnel doing sensitive duties critical to national security; and (2) an individual who applies for a qualified Department of Defense employee position requiring a security clearance and who is (A) a service member retired or separated, or expected to be retired or separated, for a physical disability under chapter 61 of this title; (B) the spouse of a service member who retires or is separated after January 7, 2011, for a physical disability caused by a wound, injury, or illness incurred or aggravated in the line of duty, as determined by the Secretary concerned; or (C) the spouse of a service member who dies after January 7, 2011, from a wound, injury, or illness incurred or aggravated in the line of duty, as determined by the Secretary concerned. (b) Required features. The process must (1) quantify the background-investigation requirements for granting clearances to Department of Defense personnel and contractors; (2) categorize personnel by how sensitive their duties are and how critical those duties are to national security; and (3) prioritize investigations based on those categories. (c) Reinvestigation or readjudication of certain individuals. (1) The Secretary of Defense must conduct an investigation or adjudication under subsection (a) for an individual described in paragraph (2). The Secretary of Homeland Security must do so for an individual described in paragraph (3), when (A) a court with proper jurisdiction convicts the individual of (i) sexual assault, (ii) sexual harassment, (iii) fraud against the United States, or (iv) another violation that the relevant Secretary determines makes the individual vulnerable to blackmail or raises serious concern about the person’s ability to hold a clearance; or (B) a commanding officer determines that the individual committed an offense described in subparagraph (A). (2) An individual covered by this paragraph, other than one in paragraph (3), has a clearance and is (A) a flag officer, (B) a general officer, or (C) a Department of Defense Senior Executive Service employee. (3) An individual covered by this paragraph has a clearance and is (A) a Coast Guard flag officer or (B) a Coast Guard Senior Executive Service employee in a career-reserved position. (4) The relevant Secretary must ensure that relevant information from the preceding year about the conviction or determination is entered into Federal law-enforcement records and clearance databases, whether or not the individual has retired, resigned, been discharged, released, or otherwise left the armed forces. The information must also be sent, as appropriate, to other Federal agencies. (5) In this subsection: (A) “Sexual assault” includes rape, sexual assault, forcible sodomy, aggravated sexual contact, abusive sexual contact, and attempts to commit those offenses, as those terms are defined in chapter 47 of this title, the Uniform Code of Military Justice. (B) “Sexual harassment” has the meaning given in section 1561 of this title; this section does not define it. (C) “Fraud against the United States” means a violation of section 932 of this title, article 132 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. (d) Annual review. The Secretary must review the subsection (a) process every year and revise it as necessary in relation to ongoing Department of Defense missions. (e) Consultation. The Secretary must consult the Secretaries of the military departments and the heads of Defense Agencies in carrying out this section. (f) Sensitive duties. Duties do not have to involve classified activities or matters to be considered sensitive and critical to national security under this section. (g) Use of appropriated funds. The Secretary of Defense may use funds authorized for Department of Defense operation and maintenance to conduct investigations under this section for people described in subsection (a)(2).