Sam Farr: “Today, I rise to offer an amendment which strengthens the process for granting security clearances to those working in…”

“Today, I rise to offer an amendment which strengthens the process for granting security clearances to those working in the intelligence community through a continuous evaluation process. This amendment directs the National Intelligence Director to provide the intelligence and defense committees a report on the status of its current efforts for continuous evaluation of security clearance holders, including a timeline for its rollout. The report will also provide a cost-benefit analysis of DNI's efforts to similar efforts that are being carried on in the Department of Defense. We learned, after the tragic shooting in the Navy Yard in September 2013, the DOD should continuously evaluate these personnel, rather than do it every once every 5 years. Clearance starts by an initial vetting that determines a person's suitability and eligibility to have access to classified material by examining the person's past and making a judgment on future reliability. Now, once cleared, a continuous evaluation process is designed to examine a person's behavior to ensure its continued reliability. Congress directed the DOD to create a process that would be a governmentwide solution for continuous personnel security evaluations. This solution is called ACES, Automated Continuous Evaluation System. Now, the Director of National Intelligence is also seeking its own capability for continuous evaluation.…”