OMB Approves CI Security Clearance ICR

Yesterday the OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affair (OIRA) announced that it had approved an information collection request (ICR) from DHS National Programs and Protection Directorate (NPPD) for information collected to support the Critical Infrastructure/Key Private Sector Clearance Program (CI PSCP). This is the security clearance program for members of the Sector Coordinating Council (SCC) and selected representatives of various private sector critical infrastructure organizations.

This is a revision of an existing ICR (1670-0013). There were significant changes made to the collection burden estimates for this revision. The estimated number of annual information collection requests was increased from 450 to 500 to reflect the increase in submissions to this program in 2013 and 2014. According to the ICR approval notice OMB is reporting that the hours burden for this collection has increased from 75 hours to 833 hours. That is almost certainly a misprint because the supporting information provided by NPPD to OIRA (pg 6) indicates that the total hour burden for this ICR is only 83.33 hour (500 x 10 minutes/submission). This reflects no change in the per request burden estimate.

Commentary

As various threat information sharing programs start to come on-line or expand, this program at DHS will also likely see and expansion of the number of security clearance requests. Depending on how those programs are structured, DHS will expand this collection effort or initiate new ones. One would like to think that they would use the same form as the current program which would lead to an expansion of the expected burden numbers for this ICR.

Bills Introduced – 1-22-15

There were 130 bills introduced in the House and Senate yesterday. Of those only two might be of specific interest to readers of this blog:

HR 490 - To provide for a strategic plan to reform and improve the security clearance and background investigation processes of the Federal Government, and for other purposes. Rep. Lynch, Stephen F. [D-MA-8]

HR 505 - To establish a Hazardous Materials Information Advisory Committee to develop standards for the use of electronic shipping papers for the transportation of hazardous materials, and for other purposes. Rep. Lipinski, Daniel [D-IL-3]

HR 490 will only be of specific interest if it includes requirements for non-governmental security clearances. The rules governing the issuance of security clearances for government employees and contractors are slightly different from those issued for the purely private sector.

HR 4022 Introduced – Security Clearances

As I noted last week Rep Lynch (D,MA) introduced HR 4022, the Security Clearance Reform Act of 2014. While this bill does not actually apply to security clearances provided to individuals in the private sector (other than contractors working for the federal government), this bill, if passed, should make the security clearance process more effective and in the long run, make it easier for private sector security clearances to be processed in a timely manner.

Strategic Plan

Section 2 of the bill would require the President to develop a strategic plan for updating the security clearance investigation process. Among other things that plan would address:

• The development and establishment of a continuous evaluation or monitoring system {§2(b)(1)};

• Ensuring that the background of each cleared individual is monitored on a continual basis {§2(b)(2)(A)};

• Ensuring the effective, efficient, and timely completion of background investigations relating to a covered individual’s eligibility for a security clearance {§2(b)(3)};

• Improving the procedures to require information sharing between agencies {§2(b)(4)};

• Enhancing methods for reducing or eliminating manual processes with respect to security clearance background investigations, and automating and integrating the elements of such investigations and adjudication processes {§2(b)(6)};

• Reducing or eliminating the use of databases and information sources that cannot be accessed and processed electronically, or modify such databases and information sources to enable electronic access and processing {§2(b)(7)); and

• Increasing the use of digitally processed fingerprints as a substitute for ink or paper prints to reduce error rates and improve portability of data {§2(b)(8)}.

Moving Forward

This bill is being introduced by the Ranking Member of  Federal Workforce Subcommittee of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and is co-sponsored by the Ranking Member of the Committee. In some committee that might ensure that the bill would get at least a hearing. I don’t think that this applies to this controversial committee.

This bill was introduced still born.

Bills Introduced – 02-10-14

Yesterday there were 17 bills introduced in the House and Senate; three of them were of possible specific interest to readers of this blog:

HR 4022 Latest Title: To provide for a strategic plan to reform and improve the security clearance and background investigation processes of the Federal Government, and for other purposes. Sponsor: Rep Lynch, Stephen F. (D,MA)

HR 4024 Latest Title: To protect navigable waters from contamination by chemical storage facilities, and for other purposes. Sponsor: Rep Capito, Shelley Moore (R,WV)

S 2007 Latest Title: A bill to amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to provide for regulating clinical and health software, and for other purposes. Sponsor: Sen Fischer, Deb (R,NE)

HR 4022 may, or may not, have any effect on security clearances for the private sector. If it does I’ll be looking at it in more detail once it is posted.

HR 4024 has a different title than S 1961 so it is probably a different response to the Freedom spill. In any case, I’ll certainly watch it here.

S 2007 may address cybersecurity issues related to medical software. We will have to wait until it is printed to be sure.

Congressional Hearings – Week of 6-16-13

The summer recess gets one week closer and only two spending bills have been passed in the House and none have been reported in the Senate. Of the four hearings this week of potential interest to the chemical safety/security or cybersecurity communities, only one deals with a spending bill. The other three deal with TWIC, rail safety, and the security clearance approval process.

Transportation Spending

The Subcommittee on Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies of the House Appropriations Committee will be holding a markup hearing Wednesday on the FY 2014 Transportation – HUD spending bill. We might expect to see transportation security and or safety measures included in this bill. There is no draft yet available for review on this bill.

TWIC

The Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security of the House Homeland Security Committee will be holding a hearing on Tuesday looking at “Threat, Risk and Vulnerability: The Future of the TWIC Program.” It looks like it will include a new GAO report on the TWIC program. The current witness list includes:

• Mr. Stephen M. Lord, U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO);

• Mr. Steve Sadler, Transportation Security Administration;

• Rear Admiral Joseph A. ServidioU.S. Coast Guard; and

• Mr. Marcus, Port of Houston Authority

Security Clearances

Two subcommittees of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee will be holding a hearing on Thursday looking at “Safeguarding our Nation's Secrets: Examining the Security Clearance Process”. This will be looking at the security clearance process for government employees and contractors, but the problems with that process have to be corrected before there is can be any efficiency increases in the process for approving security clearances for critical infrastructure organizations.

The witness list has not yet been finalized, but invitations have been sent to:

• Merton W. Miller, Office of Personnel Management;

• Patrick E. McFarland, IG Office of Personnel Management;

• Gene L. Dodaro, US GAO; and

• Stanley L. Sims, Defense Security Service

Rail Transportation Safety

The Subcommittee on Competitiveness, Innovation, and Export Promotion of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee will be holding a hearing on Wednesday looking at “Staying on Track: Next Steps in Improving Passenger and Freight Rail Safety”. The hearing will address recent high-profile rail accidents. No witness list is currently available

Missing Hearings

We are still waiting for the expected hearings on the West Fertilizer explosion and the related investigation conflicts between the ATF and the CSB. I am also expecting someone in Congress to take up the continuing issues between industry and ISCD concerning the CFATS personnel surety program.

Congressional Hearings – Week of 6-18-12

This week the House is back in Washington, but even with both houses of Congress in town we have to stretch some to find hearings that might be of interest to the chemical security and cybersecurity readers of this blog. There is another appropriations hearing and a look at the security clearance process.

Spending Bill

The House Appropriations Committee will be holding their final markup of the Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development Appropriations Bill on Tuesday. There will be nothing here directly mentioning security, either cyber or chemical, but there could chemical safety issues addressed that could have a potential to affect facility security matters; or maybe not. The Appropriations Committee gets proactive about the oddest things.

Security Clearances

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs will be holding a hearing on Thursday on security clearance reform. While there is no current provision in law or regulation requiring critical infrastructure organizations (outside of the defense industry sector) to have personnel hold security clearances, that is likely to change as it becomes for obvious that many such industries will potentially be subject to serious cyber-attack. Providing those entities access to classified intelligence information, necessary for their internal security programs, will require large numbers of security clearances to be issued. No witness list is available yet.