To reform and improve personnel security, insider threat detection and prevention, and physical security.

SA 1944. Mr. TESTER submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to
amendment SA 1463 proposed by Mr. McCain to the bill H.R. 1735, to
authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2016 for military activities
of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for
defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military
personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which
was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the end of subtitle G of title X, add the following:

SEC. 1085. REFORM AND IMPROVEMENT OF PERSONNEL SECURITY,
INSIDER THREAT DETECTION AND PREVENTION, AND
PHYSICAL SECURITY.

(a) Personnel Security and Insider Threat Protection in
Department of Defense.--
(1) Plans and schedules.--Consistent with the Memorandum of
the Secretary of Defense dated March 18, 2014, regarding the
recommendations of the reviews of the Washington Navy Yard
shooting, the Secretary of Defense shall develop plans and
schedules--
(A) to implement a continuous evaluation capability for the
national security population for which clearance
adjudications are conducted by the Department of Defense
Central Adjudication Facility, in coordination with the
Director of the Office of Personnel Management, the Director
of National Intelligence, and the Director of the Office of
Management and Budget;
(B) to produce a Department-wide insider threat strategy
and implementation plan, which includes--
(i) resourcing for the Defense Insider Threat Management
and Analysis Center (DITMAC) and component insider threat
programs, and
(ii) alignment of insider threat protection programs with
continuous evaluation capabilities and processes for
personnel security;
(C) to centralize the authority, accountability, and
programmatic integration responsibilities, including fiscal
control, for personnel security and insider threat protection
under the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence;
(D) to align the Department's consolidated Central
Adjudication Facility under the Under Secretary of Defense
for Intelligence;
(E) to develop a defense security enterprise reform
investment strategy to ensure a consistent, long-term focus
on funding to strengthen all of the Department's security and
insider threat programs, policies, functions, and information
technology capabilities, including detecting threat behaviors
conveyed in the cyber domain, in a manner that keeps pace
with evolving threats and risks;
(F) to resource and expedite deployment of the Identity
Management Enterprise Services Architecture (IMESA); and
(G) to implement the recommendations contained in the study
conducted by the Director of Cost Analysis and Program
Evaluation required by section 907 of the National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014 (Public Law 113-66; 10
U.S.C. 1564 note), including, specifically, the
recommendations to centrally manage and regulate Department
of Defense requests for personnel security background
investigations.
(2) Reporting requirement.--Not later than 180 days after
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of
Defense shall submit to the appropriate committees of
Congress a report describing the plans and schedules required
under paragraph (1).
(b) Physical and Logical Access.--Not later than 270 days
after the date of the enactment of this Act--
(1) the Secretary of Defense shall define physical and
logical access standards, capabilities, and processes
applicable to all personnel with access to Department of
Defense installations and information technology systems,
including--
(A) periodic or regularized background or records checks
appropriate to the type of physical or logical access
involved, the security level, the category of individuals
authorized, and the level of access to be granted;
(B) standards and methods for verifying the identity of
individuals seeking access; and
(C) electronic attribute-based access controls that are
appropriate for the type of access and facility or
information technology system involved;
(2) the Director of the Office of Management and Budget and
the Chair of the Performance Accountability Council, in
coordination with the Secretary of Defense, the Director of
the Office of Personnel Management, and the Administrator of
General Services, and in consultation with representatives
from organizations representing Federal and contractor
employees who each have access to more than 1 secured
facility, shall design a capability to share and apply
electronic identity information across the Government to
enable real-time, risk-managed physical and logical access
decisions; and
(3) the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, in
conjunction with the Director of the Office of Personnel
Management and in consultation with representatives from
organizations representing Federal and contractor employees
who each have access to more than 1 secured facility, shall
establish investigative and adjudicative standards for the
periodic or regularized reevaluation of the eligibility of an
individual to retain credentials issued pursuant to Homeland
Security Presidential Directive 12 (dated August 27, 2004),
as appropriate, but not less frequently than the
authorization period of the issued credentials.
(c) Security Enterprise Management.--Not later than 180
days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of
the Office of Management and Budget shall--
(1) formalize the Security, Suitability, and Credentialing
Line of Business;

[[Page S3962]]

(2) submit a report to the appropriate congressional
committee that describes plans--
(A) for oversight by the Office of Management and Budget of
activities of the executive branch of the Government for
personnel security, suitability, and credentialing;
(B) to designate enterprise shared services to optimize
investments;
(C) to define and implement data standards to support
common electronic access to critical Government records; and
(D) to reduce the burden placed on Government data
providers by centralizing requests for records access and
ensuring proper sharing of the data with appropriate
investigative and adjudicative elements.
(d) Reciprocity Management.--Not later than 2 years after
the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office
of Personnel Management, in consultation with the Director of
the Office of Management and Budget, the Director of National
Intelligence, and the Secretary of Defense, shall enhance the
Central Verification System to--
(1) serve as the reciprocity management system for the
Government; and
(2) ensure that the Central Verification System is aligned
with continuous evaluation and other enterprise reform
initiatives.
(e) Reporting Requirements Implementation.--Not later than
180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the
Director of National Intelligence, the Director of the Office
of Management and Budget, the Director of the Office of
Personnel Management, and the Secretary of Defense shall
jointly develop a plan to--
(1) implement the Security Executive Agent Directive on
common, standardized employee and contractor security
reporting requirements;
(2) establish and implement uniform reporting requirements
for employees and Federal contractors, according to risk,
relative to the safety of the workforce and protection of the
most sensitive information of the Government; and
(3) ensure that reported information is shared
appropriately.
(f) Access to Criminal History Records for National
Security and Other Purposes.--
(1) Definition.--Section 9101(a) of title 5, United States
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(7) The terms `Security Executive Agent' and `Suitability
Executive Agent' mean the Security Executive Agent and the
Suitability Executive Agent, respectively, established under
Executive Order 13467 (73 Fed. Reg. 38103), or any successor
thereto.''.
(2) Covered agencies.--Section 9101(a)(6) of title 5,
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``(G) The Department of Homeland Security.
``(H) The Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
``(I) An Executive agency that--
``(i) is authorized to conduct background investigations
under a Federal statute; or
``(ii) is delegated authority to conduct background
investigations in accordance with procedures established by
the Security Executive Agent or the Suitability Executive
Agent under subsection (b) or (c)(iv) of section 2.3 of
Executive Order 13467 (73 Fed. Reg. 38103), or any successor
thereto.
``(J) A contractor that conducts a background investigation
on behalf of an agency described in subparagraphs (A) through
(I).''.
(3) Applicable purposes of investigations.--Section
9101(b)(1) of title 5, United States Code, is amended--
(A) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) through (D) as
clauses (i) through (iv), respectively, and adjusting the
margins accordingly;
(B) in the matter preceding clause (i), as redesignated--
(i) by striking ``the head of'';
(ii) by inserting ``all'' before ``criminal history record
information''; and
(iii) by striking ``for the purpose of determining
eligibility for any of the following:'' and inserting ``, in
accordance with Federal Investigative Standards jointly
promulgated by the Suitability Executive Agent and Security
Executive Agent, for the purpose of--
``(A) determining eligibility for--'';
(C) in clause (i), as redesignated--
(i) by striking ``Access'' and inserting ``access''; and
(ii) by striking the period and inserting a semicolon;
(D) in clause (ii), as redesignated--
(i) by striking ``Assignment'' and inserting
``assignment''; and
(ii) by striking the period and inserting ``or
positions;'';
(E) in clause (iii), as redesignated--
(i) by striking ``Acceptance'' and inserting
``acceptance''; and
(ii) by striking the period and inserting ``; or'';
(F) in clause (iv), as redesignated--
(i) by striking ``Appointment'' and inserting
``appointment'';
(ii) by striking ``or a critical or sensitive position'';
and
(iii) by striking the period and inserting ``; or''; and
(G) by adding at the end the following:
``(B) conducting a basic suitability or fitness assessment
for Federal or contractor employees, using Federal
Investigative Standards jointly promulgated by the Security
Executive Agent and the Suitability Executive Agent in
accordance with--
``(i) Executive Order 13467 (73 Fed. Reg. 38103), or any
successor thereto; and
``(ii) the Office of Management and Budget Memorandum
`Assignment of Functions Relating to Coverage of Contractor
Employee Fitness in the Federal Investigative Standards',
dated December 6, 2012;
``(C) credentialing under the Homeland Security
Presidential Directive 12 (dated August 27, 2004); and
``(D) Federal Aviation Administration checks required
under--
``(i) the Federal Aviation Administration Drug Enforcement
Assistance Act of 1988 (subtitle E of title VII of Public Law
100-690; 102 Stat. 4424) and the amendments made by that Act;
or
``(ii) section 44710 of title 49.''.
(4) Biometric and biographic searches.--Section 9101(b)(2)
of title 5, United States Code, is amended to read as
follows:
``(2)(A) A State central criminal history record depository
shall allow a covered agency to conduct both biometric and
biographic searches of criminal history record information.
``(B) Nothing in subparagraph (A) shall be construed to
prohibit the Federal Bureau of Investigation from requiring a
request for criminal history record information to be
accompanied by the fingerprints of the individual who is the
subject of the request.''.
(5) Use of most cost-effective system.--Section 9101(e) of
title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end
the following:
``(6) If a criminal justice agency is able to provide the
same information through more than 1 system described in
paragraph (1), a covered agency may request information under
subsection (b) from the criminal justice agency, and require
the criminal justice agency to provide the information, using
the system that is most cost-effective for the Federal
Government.''.
(6) Sealed or expunged records; juvenile records.--
(A) In general.--Section 9101(a)(2) of title 5, United
States Code, is amended--
(i) in the first sentence, by inserting before the period
the following: ``, and includes any analogous juvenile
records''; and
(ii) by striking the third sentence and inserting the
following: ``The term includes those records of a State or
locality sealed pursuant to law if such records are
accessible by State and local criminal justice agencies for
the purpose of conducting background checks.''.
(B) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of Congress that
the Federal Government should not uniformly reject applicants
for employment with the Federal Government or Federal
contractors based on--
(i) sealed or expunged criminal records; or
(ii) juvenile records.
(7) Interaction with law enforcement and intelligence
agencies abroad.--Section 9101 of title 5, United States
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(g) Upon request by a covered agency and in accordance
with the applicable provisions of this section, the Deputy
Assistant Secretary of State for Overseas Citizens Services
shall make available criminal history record information
collected by the Deputy Assistant Secretary with respect to
an individual who is under investigation by the covered
agency regarding any interaction of the individual with a law
enforcement agency or intelligence agency of a foreign
country.''.
(8) Clarification of security requirements for contractors
conducting background investigations.--Section 9101 of title
5, United States Code, as amended by this subsection, is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``(h) If a contractor described in subsection (a)(6)(J)
uses an automated information delivery system to request
criminal history record information, the contractor shall
comply with any necessary security requirements for access to
that system.''.
(9) Clarification regarding adverse actions.--Section 7512
of title 5, United States Code, is amended--
(A) in subparagraph (D), by striking ``or'';
(B) in subparagraph (E), by striking the period and
inserting ``, or''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(F) a suitability action taken by the Office under
regulations prescribed by the Office, subject to the rules
prescribed by the President under this title for the
administration of the competitive service.''.
(10) Annual report by suitability and security clearance
performance accountability council.--Section 9101 of title 5,
United States Code, as amended by this subsection, is amended
by adding at the end the following:
``(i) The Suitability and Security Clearance Performance
Accountability Council established under Executive Order
13467 (73 Fed. Reg. 38103), or any successor thereto, shall
submit to the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, the Committee on
Appropriations, and the Select Committee on Intelligence of
the Senate, and the Committee on Armed Services, the
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, the Committee
on Appropriations, and the Permanent Select Committee on
Intelligence of the House of Representatives, an annual
report that--
``(1) describes efforts of the Council to integrate
Federal, State, and local systems for sharing criminal
history record information;
``(2) analyzes the extent and effectiveness of Federal
education programs regarding criminal history record
information;

[[Page S3963]]

``(3) provides an update on the implementation of best
practices for sharing criminal history record information,
including ongoing limitations experienced by investigators
working for or on behalf of a covered agency with respect to
access to State and local criminal history record
information; and
``(4) provides a description of limitations on the sharing
of information relevant to a background investigation, other
than criminal history record information, between--
``(A) investigators working for or on behalf of a covered
agency; and
``(B) State and local law enforcement agencies.''.
(11) GAO report on enhancing interoperability and reducing
redundancy in federal critical infrastructure protection
access control, background check, and credentialing
standards.--
(A) In general.--Not later than 6 months after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United
States shall submit to the congressional defense committees,
the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of
Representatives, and the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs of the Senate a report on the background
check, access control, and credentialing requirements of
Federal programs for the protection of critical
infrastructure and key resources.
(B) Contents.--The Comptroller General shall include in the
report required under subparagraph (A)--
(i) a summary of the major characteristics of each such
Federal program, including the types of infrastructure and
resources covered;
(ii) a comparison of the requirements, whether mandatory or
voluntary in nature, for regulated entities under each such
program to--

(I) conduct background checks on employees, contractors,
and other individuals;
(II) adjudicate the results of a background check,
including the utilization of a standardized set of
disqualifying offenses or the consideration of minor, non-
violent, or juvenile offenses; and
(III) establish access control systems to deter
unauthorized access, or provide a security credential for any
level of access to a covered facility or resource;

(iii) a review of any efforts that the Screening
Coordination Office of the Department of Homeland Security
has undertaken or plans to undertake to harmonize or
standardize background check, access control, or
credentialing requirements for critical infrastructure and
key resource protection programs overseen by the Department;
and
(iv) recommendations, developed in consultation with
appropriate stakeholders, regarding--

(I) enhancing the interoperability of security credentials
across critical infrastructure and key resource protection
programs;
(II) eliminating the need for redundant background checks
or credentials across existing critical infrastructure and
key resource protection programs;
(III) harmonizing, where appropriate, the standards for
identifying potentially disqualifying criminal offenses and
the weight assigned to minor, nonviolent, or juvenile
offenses in adjudicating the results of a completed
background check; and
(IV) the development of common, risk-based standards with
respect to the background check, access control, and security
credentialing requirements for critical infrastructure and
key resource protection programs.

(g) Definitions.--In this section--
(1) the term ``appropriate committees of Congress'' means--
(A) the congressional defense committees;
(B) the Select Committee on Intelligence and the Committee
on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate;
and
(C) the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, the
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and the
Committee on Homeland Security of the House of
Representatives; and
(2) the term ``Performance Accountability Council'' means
the Suitability and Security Clearance Performance
Accountability Council established under Executive Order
13467 (73 Fed. Reg. 38103), or any successor thereto.
______