Sec. 417. Intelligence Community Counterintelligence Offices

1,269 words·~6 min read·/bill/118/hr/3932/rh/section-417

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The Director of National Intelligence, acting through the Director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, shall seek to enter into an agreement with the head of a designated Federal department or agency under which the Director of National Intelligence and the head of the designated Federal department or agency shall establish within the designated Federal department or agency an office, which shall be known as an Intelligence Community Counterintelligence Office , in accordance with this section.

Each office established under this subsection within a department or agency shall be physically located within the headquarters of the department or agency and within reasonable proximity to the offices of the agency or departmental leadership. The Director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center shall be responsible for the protection of classified information and for the establishment and enforcement of all security-related controls within an Intelligence Community Counterintelligence Office.

The head of an Intelligence Community Counterintelligence Office established within a designated Federal department or agency pursuant to this section shall be the Director of the Intelligence Community Counterintelligence Office of the department or agency who is appointed by the Director of National Intelligence. The Director of the Intelligence Community Counterintelligence Office shall— be supervised and subject to performance evaluations by the Director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, in consultation with the head of the department or agency; be an employee of the intelligence community with significant counterintelligence experience; and serve for a period of 3 years.

The Director of an Intelligence Community Counterintelligence Office at a designated Federal department or agency shall carry out the following responsibilities: Serving as the head of the Intelligence Community Counterintelligence Office of the department or agency, with supervisory responsibility for the Office and any other personnel assigned to the Office. Advising the head of the department or agency on counterintelligence and intelligence information. Ensuring that counterintelligence threat information and, as appropriate, finished intelligence on topics related to the functions of the department or agency, are provided to appropriate personnel of the department or agency without delay.

Ensuring critical intelligence relevant to the head of the department or agency is requested and disseminated in a timely manner. Establishing, as appropriate, mechanisms for collaboration through which department or agency subject matter experts, including those without security clearances, can share information and expertise with the intelligence community. Correlating and evaluating counterintelligence threats identified within intelligence community reporting, in coordination with the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, and providing appropriate dissemination of such intelligence to officials of the department or agency with a need-to-know.

Advising the head of the agency or department on methods to improve the counterintelligence posture of the agency or department. Where appropriate, supporting the agency or department leadership in engaging with the National Security Council. In coordination with the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, establishing counterintelligence partnerships to improve the counterintelligence defense of the department or agency. Each Intelligence Community Counterintelligence Office established within a department or agency shall have a Deputy Director who is appointed by the head of the department or agency, in coordination with the Director of National Intelligence.

The Deputy Director shall— be supervised and subject to performance evaluations by the head of the department or agency, in consultation with the Director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center; be a current or former employee of the department or agency with significant experience within such agency or department; and serve at the pleasure of the head of the department or agency. Each Intelligence Community Counterintelligence Office shall have such other employees as the Director of National Intelligence, in consultation with the head of the department or agency, determines appropriate.

Employment at an Intelligence Community Counterintelligence Office is an intelligence community joint duty assignment. A permanent change of station to an Intelligence Community Counterintelligence Office shall be for a period of not less than 2 years. The Director of the Intelligence Community Counterintelligence Office of a department or agency shall be responsible for the supervision and management of employees assigned to the Office of that department or agency, including employees assigned by program elements of the intelligence community and other Federal departments and agencies, as appropriate.

The Director of National Intelligence shall reimburse a program element of the intelligence community or a Federal department or agency for any permanent change of station employee assigned to the Office of that element, department, or agency from amounts authorized to be appropriated for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Employees assigned to an Intelligence Community Counterintelligence Office under this paragraph shall operate under the authorities of the Director of National Intelligence for the duration of their assignment or period of employment within the Office, except for temporary duty assignment employees.

An employee who accepts employment at an Intelligence Community Counterintelligence Office during the 120-day period after the date of the establishment of the Office shall receive an incentive payment, which shall be payable by the Director of National Intelligence, in an amount equal to 10 percent of the base annual pay of the employee. Such an employee who completes 2 years of service in such Office may receive an incentive payment in an amount equal to 10 percent of the base annual pay of the employee if the Director of the Office determines the performance of the employee is exceptional.

An employee who receives an incentive payment or payments under clause

(i)for accepting employment in an Intelligence Community Counterintelligence Office may receive an additional incentive payment or payments if the employee accepts employment at a different Intelligence Community Counterintelligence Office. Such payments shall be made under the same terms and conditions as payments under clause (i), except that the amount of each incentive payment shall be 5 percent of the base annual pay of the employee. An employee is only eligible for an incentive payment under clause

(i)or

(ii)if the employee enters into an agreement with the Director of National Intelligence to serve in the Intelligence Community Counterintelligence Office for a period of at least 2 years. Amounts authorized to be appropriated for the National Intelligence Program of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence may be made available for— the renovation, furnishing, and equipping of a Federal building, as necessary, to meet the security and operational requirements of an Intelligence Community Counterintelligence Office; the provision of connectivity to the Intelligence Community Counterintelligence Office of a Federal department or agency that is located within the building of that department or agency to enable briefings, secure audio and video communications, and collaboration between employees of the department or agency and the intelligence community at the unclassified, secret, and top secret levels; the provision of other information technology systems and devices, such as computers, printers, and phones, for use by employees of an Intelligence Community Counterintelligence Office; the assignment of employees of the intelligence community to support the operation of an Intelligence Community Counterintelligence Office; and the provision of other personal services necessary for the operation of an Intelligence Community Counterintelligence Office. Not later than January 1, 2025, the Director of National Intelligence shall seek to establish, in accordance with this section, an Intelligence Community Counterintelligence Office within the Department of Agriculture. Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of National Intelligence shall submit to the congressional intelligence committees a report on the plan to establish the Office required under paragraph (1). Such report shall include the costs and schedule associated with establishing such Office. In this section, the term designated Federal department or agency means the Department of Agriculture.