
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
[wais.access.gpo.gov]
[Laws in effect as of January 23, 2000]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 23, 2000 and December 4, 2001]
[CITE: 42USC2165]

 
                 TITLE 42--THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE
 
          CHAPTER 23--DEVELOPMENT AND CONTROL OF ATOMIC ENERGY
 
                        Division A--Atomic Energy
 
                  SUBCHAPTER XI--CONTROL OF INFORMATION
 
Sec. 2165. Security restrictions


(a) On contractors and licensees

    No arrangement shall be made under section 2051 of this title, no 
contract shall be made or continued in effect under section 2061 of this 
title, and no license shall be issued under section 2133 or 2134 of this 
title, unless the person with whom such arrangement is made, the 
contractor or prospective contractor, or the prospective licensee agrees 
in writing not to permit any individual to have access to Restricted 
Data until the Director of the Office of Personnel Management shall have 
made an investigation and report to the Commission on the character, 
associations, and loyalty of such individual, and the Commission shall 
have determined that permitting such person to have access to Restricted 
Data will not endanger the common defense and security.

(b) Employment of personnel; access to Restricted Data

    Except as authorized by the Commission or the General Manager upon a 
determination by the Commission or General Manager that such action is 
clearly consistent with the national interest, no individual shall be 
employed by the Commission nor shall the Commission permit any 
individual to have access to Restricted Data until the Director of the 
Office of Personnel Management shall have made an investigation and 
report to the Commission on the character, associations, and loyalty of 
such individual, and the Commission shall have determined that 
permitting such person to have access to Restricted Data will not 
endanger the common defense and security.

(c) Acceptance of investigation and clearance granted by other 
        Government agencies

    In lieu of the investigation and report to be made by the Director 
of the Office of Personnel Management pursuant to subsection (b) of this 
section, the Commission may accept an investigation and report on the 
character, associations, and loyalty of an individual made by another 
Government agency which conducts personnel security investigations, 
provided that a security clearance has been granted to such individual 
by another Government agency based on such investigation and report.

(d) Investigations by FBI

    In the event an investigation made pursuant to subsections (a) and 
(b) of this section develops any data reflecting that the individual who 
is the subject of the investigation is of questionable loyalty, the 
Director of the Office of Personnel Management shall refer the matter to 
the Federal Bureau of Investigation for the conduct of a full field 
investigation, the results of which shall be furnished to the Director 
of the Office of Personnel Management for his information and 
appropriate action.

(e) Presidential investigation

    (1) If the President deems it to be in the national interest he may 
from time to time determine that investigations of any group or class 
which are required by subsections (a), (b), and (c) of this section be 
made by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
    (2) In the case of an individual employed in a program known as a 
Special Access Program or a Personnel Security and Assurance Program, 
any investigation required by subsections (a), (b), and (c) of this 
section shall be made by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

(f) Certification of specific positions for investigation by FBI

    Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (a), (b), and (c) of 
this section, a majority of the members of the Commission shall certify 
those specific positions which are of a high degree of importance or 
sensitivity, and upon such certification, the investigation and reports 
required by such provisions shall be made by the Federal Bureau of 
Investigation.

(g) Investigation standards

    The Commission shall establish standards and specifications in 
writing as to the scope and extent of investigations, the reports of 
which will be utilized by the Commission in making the determination, 
pursuant to subsections (a), (b), and (c) of this section, that 
permitting a person access to restricted data will not endanger the 
common defense and security. Such standards and specifications shall be 
based on the location and class or kind of work to be done, and shall, 
among other considerations, take into account the degree of importance 
to the common defense and security of the restricted data to which 
access will be permitted.

(h) War time clearance

    Whenever the Congress declares that a state of war exists, or in the 
event of a national disaster due to enemy attack, the Commission is 
authorized during the state of war or period of national disaster due to 
enemy attack to employ individuals and to permit individuals access to 
Restricted Data pending the investigation report, and determination 
required by subsection (b) of this section, to the extent that and so 
long as the Commission finds that such action is required to prevent 
impairment of its activities in furtherance of the common defense and 
security.

(Aug. 1, 1946, ch. 724, title I, Sec. 145, as added Aug. 30, 1954, ch. 
1073, Sec. 1, 68 Stat. 942; amended Pub. L. 85-681, Sec. 5, Aug. 19, 
1958, 72 Stat. 633; Pub. L. 87-206, Sec. 6, Sept. 6, 1961, 75 Stat. 476; 
Pub. L. 87-615, Sec. 10, Aug. 29, 1962, 76 Stat. 411; 1978 Reorg. Plan 
No. 2, Sec. 102, eff. Jan. 1, 1979, 43 F.R. 36037, 92 Stat. 3783; 
renumbered title I, Pub. L. 102-486, title IX, Sec. 902(a)(8), Oct. 24, 
1992, 106 Stat. 2944; Pub. L. 106-65, div. C, title XXXI, Sec. 3144(a), 
Oct. 5, 1999, 113 Stat. 934.)


                            Prior Provisions

    Provisions similar to this section were contained in section 
1810(b)(5) of this title, prior to the general amendment and renumbering 
of act Aug. 1, 1946, by act Aug. 30, 1954.


                               Amendments

    1999--Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 106-65 designated existing provisions as 
par. (1) and added par. (2).
    1962--Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 87-615 struck out the comma after 
``investigation''.
    1961--Subsecs. (c), (d). Pub. L. 87-206 added subsec. (c) and 
redesignated former subsecs. (c) and (d) as (d) and (e), respectively.
    Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 87-206 redesignated former subsec. (d) as (e) 
and amended provisions by substituting ``determine that'' for ``cause 
investigations'', inserting reference to subsection (c) of this section 
and striking out ``instead of by the Civil Service Commission'' after 
``Federal Bureau of Investigation''. Former subsec. (e) redesignated 
(f).
    Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 87-206 redesignated former subsec. (e) as (f) 
and amended provisions by inserting reference to subsection (c) of this 
section and striking out ``instead of by the Civil Service Commission'' 
after ``Federal Bureau of Investigation''. Former subsec. (f) 
redesignated (g).
    Subsecs. (g), (h). Pub. L. 87-206 redesignated former subsec. (f) as 
(g) and amended provisions by substituting ``, the reports of which will 
be utilized by the Commission in making the determination, pursuant to 
subsections (a), (b), and (c) of this section, that permitting a person 
access to restricted data will not endanger the common defense and 
security'' for ``to be made by the Civil Service Commission pursuant to 
subsections (a) and (b) of this section.'' Former subsec. (g) 
redesignated (h).
    1958--Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 85-681 added subsec. (g).


                   Implementation of Subsection (e)(2)

    Pub. L. 106-65, div. C, title XXXI, Sec. 3144(b), (c), Oct. 5, 1999, 
113 Stat. 934, provided that:
    ``(b) Compliance.--The Director of the Federal Bureau of 
Investigation shall have 18 months from the date of the enactment of 
this Act [Oct. 5, 1999] to meet the responsibilities of the Bureau under 
subsection e.(2) of section 145 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 [42 
U.S.C. 2165(e)(2)], as added by subsection (a).
    ``(c) Report.--(1) Not later than six months after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Director of the Federal Bureau of 
Investigation shall submit to the committees specified in paragraph (2) 
a report on the implementation of the responsibilities of the Bureau 
under subsection e.(2) of that section. That report shall include the 
following:
        ``(A) An assessment of the capability of the Bureau to execute 
    the additional clearance requirements, to include additional post-
    initial investigations.
        ``(B) An estimate of the additional resources required, to 
    include funding, to support the expanded use of the Bureau to 
    conduct the additional investigations.
        ``(C) The extent to which contractor personnel are and would be 
    used in the clearance process.
    ``(2) The committees referred to in paragraph (1) are the following:
        ``(A) The Committee on Armed Services and the Select Committee 
    on Intelligence of the Senate.
        ``(B) The Committee on Armed Services and the Permanent Select 
    Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives.''

                          Transfer of Functions

    ``Director of the Office of Personnel Management'' and ``his'' 
substituted for ``Civil Service Commission'' and ``its'', respectively, 
in subsecs. (a) to (d), pursuant to Reorg. Plan No. 2 of 1978, Sec. 102, 
43 F.R. 36037, 92 Stat. 3783, set out under section 1101 of Title 5, 
Government Organization and Employees, which transferred all functions 
vested by statute in United States Civil Service Commission to Director 
of Office of Personnel Management (except as otherwise specified), 
effective Jan. 1, 1979, as provided by section 1-102 of Ex. Ord. No. 
12107, Dec. 28, 1978, 44 F.R. 1055, set out under section 1101 of Title 
5.
    Atomic Energy Commission abolished and functions transferred by 
sections 5814 and 5841 of this title. See also Transfer of Functions 
notes set out under those sections.


                            Cross References

    Arms control and disarmament security restrictions, see section 2585 
of Title 22, Foreign Relations and Intercourse.

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in sections 2163, 2166, 2201, 2455, 
7383a of this title.
