Sponsors (3)
The bill improves national security and oversight by standardizing counterintelligence training and certification for classified access, but it risks slowing member and staff access to classified materials and adds administrative costs.
Federal Members, officers, and staff with classified access will get standardized counterintelligence training, reducing insider risk to national security and strengthening protection of classified information.
House offices will have clear certification deadlines and an auditable record of who is authorized for classified access, improving oversight and accountability for access to classified material.
Newly trained incoming Members who recently completed equivalent training are exempted from duplicative training, letting them receive classified briefings and perform oversight more quickly.
Members who miss the certification deadline are barred from classified access, which can delay their ability to receive classified briefings and to perform congressional oversight.
Officers and staff may face up to 180-day restrictions on classified access after completing training, potentially disrupting staff support for classified work and slowing legislative or oversight activities.
House offices and the Sergeant-at-Arms will incur time and administrative costs to run the training program and track certifications, imposing burdens on congressional offices and taxpayers.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires House security‑clearance holders to complete Sergeant‑at‑Arms–administered counterintelligence and classified‑information protection training each Congress and file certificates or lose access.
Official title: Requiring certain Members, officers, and employees of the House of Representatives to complete a program of training in counterintelligence and classified information protection each Congress, and for other purposes.
Introduced April 30, 2026 by Pat Fallon · Last progress April 30, 2026
Requires House members, delegates, resident commissioners, officers, and House employees who hold security clearances and access classified information to complete a Sergeant‑at‑Arms–administered counterintelligence and classified‑information protection training program each Congress and to file certificates of completion. Individuals who completed the Committee’s new member orientation in that Congress are exempt; failure to certify suspends access to classified material until certification requirements are met.