50 U.S.C. § 3352g — Requirement to authorize additional security clearances for certain contractors
submitted 3 years ago by Pub. L. 118-31 to r/title-50-WAR-AND-NATIONAL-DEFENSE · 856 words · no verdicts yet
This section creates a program allowing certain contractors to designate additional people who may apply for security clearances, subject to percentage and one-person limits. It also requires a study and plan, bars applications or clearances beyond the limits, and assigns the costs of those clearances to the contractors rather than the intelligence community.
(a) “Appropriate committees of Congress” means—(A) the congressional intelligence committees; (B) the Senate Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Defense; and (C) the House Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Defense. A “covered contract or agreement” is an agreement between an entity and an intelligence-community element whose performance requires a specified number of the entity’s covered persons to hold clearances. A “covered person” is a contractor or employee of the entity.
(b)(1) By April 1, 2024, the Director of National Intelligence must—(A) complete a study of whether it is feasible and advisable to create the program in subsection (c); (B) develop a plan to carry it out; and (C) submit to the appropriate committees a report on the study’s findings and the plan. (b)(2) The study must address, for contracts agreed to after December 22, 2023, how private entities would pay for additional employee clearances and how the intelligence community would receive those payments; the legal provisions that must change to fully implement subsection (c) and achieve that purpose; and other considerations the Director has for carrying out the program and achieving that purpose.
(c) Subject to subsection (d), the Director must establish a program under which—(1) an entity with a covered contract or agreement may designate additional covered persons who may submit security-clearance applications; (2) the authorized investigative and adjudicative agencies must investigate each applicant and decide whether the person is eligible for classified access; and, if that decision is favorable, decide—when a required covered person can no longer do the work—whether the additional person has a demonstrated need to know under Executive Order 12968 or Executive Order 10865, or a successor order, without another investigation; and (3) if the additional person receives a favorable need-to-know decision and signs an approved nondisclosure agreement, that person may perform the work in place of the covered person.
(d) For each covered contract or agreement, the additional number designated may not exceed the greater of 10 percent of the number of required clearances or one person. For an entity as a whole, the total additional number may not exceed the greater of 10 percent of the total required clearances under all its covered contracts or agreements or one person.
(e)(1) A covered person may not submit a security-clearance application, and a security clearance may not be granted under subsection (c), in excess of the applicable subsection (d) limit. (e)(2) An intelligence-community element may not bear any cost of granting or maintaining a clearance applied for under subsection (c)(1).
(f) Nothing in this section requires an intelligence-community element to give a covered person access to classified information if the person is not favorably found eligible for that access.
In this section:
The term “appropriate committees of Congress” means—
the congressional intelligence committees;
the Subcommittee on Defense of the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; and
the Subcommittee on Defense of the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives.
The term “covered contract or agreement”, with respect to an entity, means a contract or other agreement between that entity and an element of the intelligence community the performance of which requires a specified number of covered persons to hold a security clearance.
The term “covered person”, with respect to an entity, means a contractor or employee of that entity.
No later than April 1, 2024, the Director of National Intelligence shall—
complete a study on the feasibility and advisability of implementing a program to authorize additional security clearances for certain contractors as described in subsection (c);
develop a plan to implement the program described in subparagraph (A); and
submit to the appropriate committees of Congress—
a report on the findings of the Director with respect to the study completed pursuant to subparagraph (A); and
the plan developed pursuant to subparagraph (B).
The study completed pursuant to paragraph (1)(A) shall address the following:
For contracts agreed to after December 22, 2023, how private entities that contract with the intelligence community would make payments for additional clearances for their employees and how the intelligence community would receive payments.
A list of and changes to provisions of law required in order to fully implement the program required by subsection (c) and achieve the intent indicated in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph.
Such considerations as the Director may have for carrying out the program required by subsection (c) and achieving the intent indicated in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph.
Subject to the limitations described in subsection (d), the Director shall establish a program under which—
any entity that enters into a covered contract or agreement with an element of the intelligence community may designate an additional number of covered persons who may submit an application for a security clearance;
the appropriate authorized investigative agency and authorized adjudicative agency, as such terms are defined in section 3341(a) of this title, shall—
upon receiving such an application—
conduct an appropriate investigation of the background of the additional covered person; and
make a determination as to whether the additional covered person is eligible for access to classified information; and
if the determination under subparagraph (A)(ii) is favorable, upon any of the specified number of covered persons required to hold a security clearance for the performance of work under that covered contract or agreement becoming unable to perform such work, make a determination as to whether the additional covered person has a demonstrated need-to-know under Executive Order 12968 (60 Fed. Reg. 40245; relating to access to classified information), or any successor thereto, or Executive Order 10865 (25 Fed. Reg. 1583; relating to safeguarding classified information within industry), or any successor thereto (without requiring an additional investigation to be conducted under subparagraph (A)(i)); and
if the additional covered person receives a favorable determination regarding the need-to-know under paragraph (2)(B) and signs an approved nondisclosure agreement, the additional covered person may perform such work in lieu of such covered person.
The limitations described in this subsection are as follows:
The additional number designated by an entity under the program established pursuant to subsection (c) for each covered contract or agreement may not exceed the greater of the following:
10 percent of the number of security clearances required to be held by covered persons to perform work under the covered contract or agreement.
1 person.
The total additional number designated by an entity under the program established pursuant to subsection (c) may not exceed the greater of the following:
10 percent of the sum total number of security clearances required to be held by covered persons to perform work under all covered contracts or agreements of the entity.
1 person.
No application for a security clearance may be submitted by a covered person of an entity or granted pursuant to the program established under subsection (c) in excess of the limitations under subsection (d) applicable to such entity.
No head of an element of the intelligence community may bear any cost associated with granting or maintaining a security clearance the application for which is submitted pursuant to subsection (c)(1).
Nothing in this section may be construed as requiring the head of an element of the intelligence community to grant any covered person access to classified information if a favorable determination of eligibility to access such classified information is not made with respect to such person.
Source credit: (Pub. L. 118–31, div. G, title V, § 7505, Dec. 22, 2023, 137 Stat. 1084.)
- 2023Enacted · Pub. L. 118-31 · 137 Stat. 1084
A history note hasn’t been published yet. The record shows enactment by Pub. L. 118-31 on 2023-12-22.
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