Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Security Clearance Portability for Departing Servicemembers Act of 2022”.
Security Clearance Portability for Departing Servicemembers Act of 2022
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Defense to make certain improvements relating to security clearances for recently separated members of the Armed Forces and retired civilian employees of the Department of Defense, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Security clearances for recently separated members of the Armed Forces and retired civilian employees of the Department of Defense
Improvements— Except as provided in subsection (b), beginning on the date on which a covered individual separates from the Armed Forces or retires from the Department of Defense (as the case may be), if the Secretary of Defense determines that the covered individual held a security clearance immediately prior to such separation or retirement and requires a security clearance of an equal or lower level for employment as a covered contractor, the Secretary shall—
during the one-year period following such date, treat the previously held security clearance as an active security clearance for purposes of such employment; and
during the two-year period following the conclusion of the period specified in paragraph (1), ensure that the adjudication of any request submitted by the covered employee for the reactivation of the previously held security clearance for purposes of such employment is completed by not later than 180 days after the date of such submission.
Exceptions—
In general— Subsection (a) shall not apply with respect to a former member of the Armed Forces—
who separated from the Armed Forces under other than honorable conditions; or
whose previously held security clearance is, or was as of the date of separation of the former member, under review as a result of one or more potentially disqualifying factors or conditions that have not been fully investigated or mitigated.
Clarification of review exception— The exception specified in paragraph (1)(B) shall not apply with respect to a routine periodic reinvestigation or a continuous vetting investigation in which no potentially disqualifying factors or conditions have been found.
Definitions— In this section:
The term “covered contractor” means a contractor personnel who carries out work under a contract with the Department of Defense or an element of the intelligence community.
The term “covered individual” means a former member of the Armed Forces or a former civilian employee of the Department of Defense.
The term “intelligence community” has the meaning given that term in section 3 of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003).