Social Media Use in Clearance Investigations Act of 2019

Floor Speech

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Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.

As chairman of the Subcommittee on National Security, I rise in strong support of H.R. 1065, the Social Media Use in Clearance Investigations Act, bipartisan legislation that I introduced earlier this month. It had passed this House previously, last session, with no opposition.

I commend our full committee chairman, Mr. Cummings of Maryland, for his continued leadership on this issue of security clearance reform and for his work to advance H.R. 1065 to the floor today.

I also thank the new ranking member of our subcommittee, Mr. Hice of Georgia, for his support as well.

In order to enhance the Federal security clearance process, H.R. 1065 will require the Office of Management and Budget to examine the extent to which Federal agencies are reviewing publicly available social media profiles as they conduct background investigations for security clearance applicants.

This bill will also require OMB to submit recommendations to Congress on how we can implement this examination of social media activity in clearance investigations across the Federal Government while also safeguarding individual privacy rights.

Our bipartisan oversight of the security clearance process has already revealed that Federal agencies have too often missed red flags in determining an individual's eligibility to access classified information and facilities. We need only recall the tragic shooting at the Washington Navy Yard in 2013 to underscore the devastating impact of a failure to effectively vet security clearance holders such as Aaron Alexis, a defense contractor with a marked history of gun violence who was still issued a secret-level clearance.

Chief among the recommendations offered by the interagency council that President Obama convened to identify lapses in security clearance reviews was the need for agencies to have ``access to relevant information from a variety of sources.''

As noted by William Evanina, the head of counterintelligence for the U.S. government since 2014, his quote is:

Social media has become an integral and very public part of the fabric of many Americans' daily lives. And we cannot ignore this important open source in our effort to safeguard our national interests.

Moreover, a public social media profile adds to the ``mosaic'' of a person and may reveal to background investigators evidence suggesting a change in ideology, ill intent, vulnerability to blackmail, and allegiance to another country.

The integration of social media into security clearance background investigations falls in line with the unprecedented exploitation of Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp, Telegram, and other networking services by terrorist organizations, including the Islamic State.

As reported by the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point, the prolific use of social media by terrorist groups has not only facilitated the dissemination of propaganda, but also served as a primary global recruitment and financing tool.

Foreign governments are also increasingly relying on social media to advance their espionage efforts. According to open source reports, Chinese spy agencies have routinely resorted to using fake LinkedIn accounts to try to recruit Americans with access to government and commercial secrets.

``60 Minutes'' recently reported that former CIA officer Kevin Mallory, who has been convicted on espionage charges, was first approached by his Chinese government handlers through the LinkedIn career networking site.

In advance of our 2016 subcommittee hearing on this issue, then- Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, directed Federal agencies to integrate public social media reviews into the security clearance process. While this directive was a step in the right direction, it has been incorporated quite unevenly and on a limited basis.

Our bill, H.R. 1065, will advance the full integration of this important reform to better ensure that our national security framework is adapting to evolving technologies much faster than the usual pace that is characteristic of the Federal Government.

I would note that, according to the annual job recruitment survey issued by CareerBuilder, an online employment resource, seven out of 10 private sector employers have already incorporated social media reviews into their hiring process.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his kind remarks in reference to this bill, and I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support H.R. 1065.

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