Washington, DC – On Wednesday evening, the United States Senate unanimously passed legislation sponsored by Chairman Blake Farenthold (R-TX) and Ranking Member Stephen F. Lynch of the Subcommittee on Federal Workforce to better ensure that security clearance investigations will be subject to meaningful federal oversight. Regarding Senate passage of H.R. 2860, the OPM IG Act (Office of Personnel Management Inspector General Act), Congressman Lynch stated:
“I am thrilled to hear that my colleagues in the Senate have passed H.R. 2860, the OPM IG Act. The tragic shooting at the Washington Navy Yard involving Aaron Alexis again made clear that it is imperative for the federal government to conduct rigorous oversight of agency background check investigations. Towards this end, the OPM IG Act will provide critical resources to allow the federal government to audit and investigate key background check programs including the Federal Investigative Service, which performs over 90% of background investigations for federal agencies. This bill is important for our national security and I am pleased that it is now headed to President Obama’s desk for his signature. I would like to thank Chairman Farenthold for working together with me on this issue, and Chairman Darryl Issa and Ranking Member Elijah Cummings for their support of this important legislation.”
The Farenthold-Lynch bill also passed the House of Representatives on January 14th by a vote of 418-0.