ML20204G579
| ML20204G579 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 12/21/1983 |
| From: | Dircks W NRC OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR OPERATIONS (EDO) |
| To: | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML19310E127 | List:
|
| References | |
| FRN-51FR40438, RULE-PR-73, TASK-PINV, TASK-SE A-C27-2-1, AC27-2-02, AC27-2-1, AC27-2-2, SECY-83-517, NUDOCS 8401120582 | |
| Download: ML20204G579 (35) | |
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\\ i $>.. i.,{:E r ~~ r ;#3 SEcY-83-517 December 21, 1983 POL.C1 bSSU2 (Notation Vote)
For:
The Colunissioners From:
William J. Dircks Executive Director for Operations subject:
LEGISLATION TO GAIN LICENSEE ACCESS TO FBI CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORDS Purcose:
To present for Commission consideration proposed legislation necessary to graat nuclear power reactor licensees access to FBI criminal history records for use in employee screening programs.
Criminal' histories obtained as a result of this legislation will serve to significantly improve licensee access authorization 4
programs.
Discussion:
An important element in protecting against the insider threat at nuclear po%r reactors is the background investigation (BI) conducted on individuals requiring unescorted access to protected and vital areis.
Background investigations provide an indication of employee reliability, stability, and trustworthiness.
An individual's criminal history record is a crucial component of a Bl. A 1981 Department of Justice report
- indicates that only ten states provide authority for private employer access to the national criminal history files maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation; another seven states provide a mechanism for approval / disapproval of private requests for CONTACTS:
c) j) F)9-T. R. Allen or L
, g} r-b P. Dwyer: SGPR c
42-74010 6
Mf, (
R. Fonner, ELD d
49-28692
- Criminal Justice Infonnation Policy-Privacy and the Private Emoloyer,
!!ureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice,1981.
,- *[.
Tha Commissioners,
this information.
Most of such checks by nuclear power reactor licensees are limited to state or local files which do not include an individual's past criminal record in other areas of the country.
The proposed legislation (Enclosure A), if enacted, would allow all nuclear power reactor licensees access to the FBI criminal history files.
Through access to these national files a licensee can obtain more complete criminal histories.
Local criminal.
history data is susceptible to omission of infor-mation generated in other jurisdictions. This infonnation can be a crucial factor in the determi '
nation to grant or deny an individual's unescorted facility access.
Alternatives to legislation have been investiga-ted by the staff.
Such alternatives have included
- 1) arrangement for an interagency memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the NRC and FBI allowing licensee access to the FBI files, and 2) provision for the NRC Division of Security to handle the-requests an'd processing of the criminal history data on behalf of the licensees.
These alternatives were rejected for the following reasons:
- 1) The' FBI would not agree to a MOU, stating that authorizing legis-lation was necessary to gain access to criminal files, and 2) involwement of the NRC's Division of Security raised questTons of legality under the Privacy Act in transmittal and evaluation of criminal history data.
It should be noted that the FBI data in question is in a noticed and published FBI system of records.
As such, that information is protected by the Privacy Act of 1974 Therefore, if the NRC receives informa-tion from that data base, then the same Privacy Act protection and limits on disclosure will apply.
This could be an administrative and resource burden on the NRC. Additionally, under the Atomic Energy Act, the Division of Security's authority to evaluate data would derive from i1611(2) which is not appropriate for this purpose, (See Authority for Access to or Control Over SpeciaTTuclear Material, C.I-80-37, 12 NRC 528, p. 536, 1980).
The staff has recently received the endorsement of the Department of Justice (00J) for enactment of 4
The Commissioners -
legislation authorizing licensee access to criminal history information (see Enclosure B).
Such access has been obtained in the past for the securities and commodity industries through congressional enactment of authorizing federal law. As noted in the Depart-ment of Justice letter, in comparison to access for the securities industry, access for NRC licensees is eminently justified.
It should be noted that 00J had previously objected to an industry-sponsored bill that also dealt with criminal history access (S.1589).
That bill did not pass in the 98th Congress. 00J's concerns at that time were mainly directed at pro-visions which are not contained in the newly proposed legislation.
The FBI will require that criminal history check requests from licensees be funneled through an inter-mediary organization to minimize the. number of points of contact with the Bureau, and to simplify billing of licensees.
The staff is working with industry and professional groups to establish an appropriate mechanism to accomplish this.
The CRGR washtriefed on this legislation on June 1, 1983 as part of the Insider Safeguards Rules briefing.
Thh impact of this legislation on, the FBI is judged to be minimal.
The estimated increase in the number of record checks per year resulting fran the legis-lation is 11,000; this represents a 0.18% increase in the number of criminal history record checks currently conducted by that agency.
The staff has prepared the appropriate congressional correspondence along with an analysis of the legis-lation for submittal to the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.
This is included as Enclosure B.
Recommendations:
That the Commission:
1.
Approve the proposed legislation as set forth in Enclosure A.
h e
The Ccmissioners '
2.
Submit the legislation for congressional action.
(Enclosure B)
Scheduling:
The Staff requests scheduling at an early policy session.
s Wi liam rcks Executive Director' for Operations
Enclosures:
A.
Proposed Legislation 8.
Package for Submittal to Congress O
Commissioners' comments or consent should be provided directly
.d to the Office of the Secretary by c.o.b. Friday, January 13, 1984.
Commission Staff Office comments. if'.any, should be submitted to the Commissioners NLT Fridawr January 6, 1984, with an information copy to the Office of the Secretary.
If the paper is of such a nature that it requires additional time for analytical review and comment, the Commissioners and the Secretariat should be apprised of when comments m' ay be expected.
DISTRIBUTION:
Commissioners OGC OPE
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OCA OIA OPA REGIONAL OFFICES EDO ELD SECY
DRAFT BILL To provide federally licensed and regulated nuclear power facilities access to certain Federal criminal history records.
Be it enacted, by the Senate and House of Reoresentatives of the UnitedStatesofAmericainCongressassemb$ed, that the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2011 et seo.1 is amended by adding at the end thereof a new section 112 as follows:
"SEC 112 i
Every person about to be licensed or licensed pursuant to sections s
103 or 104b to operate a utilization f acility shall require that each individual allowed unescorted accesgttb the facility be fingerprinted and shall cause such fingerprints to be submitted to the Attorney General of
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the United States through a person or persons designated.by the Conmission in consultation with the Attorney General for identification and appropriate processing. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the. licensee may receive from the Attorney General the results of such search.
The Commis-
. sion, by rule, may relieve persons from the obligations imposed by this section, upon specified terms, conditiiiis, and periods, if the Commission finds that such action is consistent with its responsibilities to promote the common defense and security and to protect the health and safety of the public."
ENCLOSURE A l
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The Honorable David A. Stockman '
Director Office of Management and Budget Washington, DC 20503
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Dear Mr. Stockman:
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Enclosed is a proposed letter of transmittal to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House fransmitting a bill which would provide federally licensed and regul.ated nuclear' power facilit'f es access to certain Federal criminal ' history records.
LicensA'e access tosthe criminal history records maintained by the FBI is necessary in order for the licensee to perform comprehensive background investigations on nuclear power reactor employees.
Such background inves-tigations c,an provide an indication of an individual's reliability and trustworthiness-and hence, can help misimize the possibility of malicious.
acts at a facility that could endanger the public health and safety.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is, therefore, proposing ' legislation which would add a new 1112 to the Atomic Engrgy Act of 1954 as amended authorizing licensee access to FBI criminal history files.
It is our understanding that_0MB informally reviewed this legislation in mid-1983 at the request of the Justi5e Department and indicated, at that
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ENCLOSURE B h
e
2-time, no objection to the submission of this proposal from the standpoint of the Administration's program. We would appreciate your advice on whether this determination is final or if additional OM8 analysis is required.
Sincerely, Nunzio J. Palladino Chainnan
Enclosure:
Proposed ltr to President of the Senate and Speaker of the House with encl.
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Dear Mr. President (Mr. Speaker):
Transmitted herewith is a Nuclear Regulatory Commission proposal in the form of a draft bill to amend the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended to provide federally licensed and regulated nuclear power facilities access to certain Federal criminal history records. Attachment 1 is the draft bill; attachment 2 is a summary of the draft bill; and attachment 3 sets forth an analysis of the proposed legislation.
The proposed legislation is intended to serve the following purposes:
- 1) Provide NRC nuclear power plant licensees with FBI criminal history records for the purpose of granting unescorted access to areas of nuclear power plants vital to safe operation.
- 2) Enable nuclear power plant licensees to conduct.,
more rigorous criminal history checks of employees by providing them national (ps opposed to regional) criminal history data.
- 3) Help ensure the trustworthiness and reliability of individuals employed at nuclear power plants.
The amendment will add a new section 112 to the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended.
It provides authority not previously specified in the Act.
, This proposed amendment is modeled after existing law that requires securi-ties brokers to fingerprint and secure record checks by the. FBI, (Sec.14(f),
P.L. 94-29, 15 U.S.C. 78(f)).
F rt.....i. vf4his,le91srlatiort wMl -assist the NRC in-its mission of -
protecting.the public health and safety through regulation of the ENCLOSURE 1
-2_
- quclear power industry. The intent of our safeguards program at nuclear power-plants is to protect against acts of radiological sabotage from being' carried out by either external adversary groups or the malevolent i ns i de r'.'
We have become increasingly aware of the difficulty in protecting against malicious acts undertaken by the disgruntled or unstable employee.
This legislation will provide our licensees with a major tool needed to perform a comprehensive background investigation on employees prior to granting them unescorted access to the most vital areas of nuclear power plants. Such background investigations can help insure the reliability and trustworthiness of such individuals.
At present, only a few nuclear poweh plant licensees have statucary access.
to the national criminal history files maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Most licensee's access is limited to state o,r local files which do not include an individual's4past criminal record in other regions or locations of the country. We consider this inadequate. Accordingly, it appears appropriate to provide NRC nuclear power plant licensees with access to FBI criminal history files by adding a new section 112 to the Atomic Energy Act.
The Department of Justice endorses the proposed legislation (Enclosure 4);
the Office of Management and Budget has no objection to the submittal of the proposal fran the standpoint of the Administration's programs.
Sincerely.
Nunzio J. Palladino Chairman
Enclosures:
1.
Draft Bill 2.
Analysis of Oraft Bill 3.
Comoarative Draft Bill 4
00J Endorsement of Draf t Bill l
ORAFT BILL
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To provide federally licensed and regulated nuclear power facilities' access to certain Federal criminal history records.
Be it enacted, by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, that the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end thereof a new section 112 as follows:
"SEC 112 Every person about to be licensed or licensed pursuant to sections 103 or 104b to operate a utilization facility shall require that each individual allowed unescorted accesg to the facility be fingerprinted and
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shall cause such fingerprints to be submitted to the Attorney General of the United States through a person or pqrsons designated.by the Commission in consultation with the Attorney General for identification and appropriate processing.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the licensee may receive from the Attorney General the results of such search.
The Commis-sion, by rule, may relieve persons from the obligations imposed by this section, upon specified terms, conditions, and periods, if the Commission finds that such action is consistent with its responsibilities to promote the common defense and security and to protect the health and safety of the pubilc."
ATTACHMENT I to ENCLOSURE 1
s.
SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS OF PR0 POSED LEGISLATION The first subsection of the proposed legislation, the addition of 112 to the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 as amended, allows NRC nuclear power plant licensees to fingerprint employees and to submit the finger-prints to the FBI through the Attorney General of the United States so that criminal history checks may be made. The option of escorting an individual requiring facility access is available should the conduct of a fingerprint check be delayed or inappropriate, (such as for a short-term temporary employee). The authccity includes those persons with construction permits who are about to be issued operating licenses so that they may have their access programs.in place at the time power plant operations begin.
In the development of the legislation, the FBI requested the use of an intermediary party in processing pe fingerprint checks.
This is of benefit to the FBI by enabling them to work with one party instead of a large number of licensees. The words "...through a person or persons designated by the Comission in consultation with the Attorney General
" convey this information. An interest group that represents the nuclear industry has agreed to set up an organization to assume the role of FBI / licensee intermediary.
The next subsection of the legislation authorizes the licensees to receive the FBI criminal history data and use it as part of an employee background investigation. At the Conunission's option, licensees may be relieved from fingerprinting certain individuals as the Commission sees fi t. Any such relief is required to be set forth in NRC regulation.
ATTACHMENT 2 to ENCLOSURE 1
_2 This provision is intended for use with classes of employees not requiring access to power reactor vital areas or during reactor cold shutdown periods when construction or maintenance personnel may be allowed temporary access to vital equipment or areas.
For purposes of clarity, the term " utilization facility" as used in the draft bill means nuclear power plant.
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l COMPARATIVE ORAFT BILL
- ATOMIC ENERGY ACT OF 1954, AS AMENDED To provide federally licensed 'and regulated nuclear power f'acilities
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access to certain Federal criminal history records.
Se it enacted, by the Senate and House of Represenatatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, that the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2011 et, seq.) is amended by adding at the end thereof a new section 112 as follows:
e e
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a "SEC 112 Every person about to be licensed or licensed pursuant to sections i.
103 or 104b to operate a utilization facility shall recuire that each individual allowed unescorted access to the facility be fingerprinted and shall cause such fingerrrints to be* submitted to the Attorney General of the United States through a person or persons designated by the Commis-sion in consultation with the Attorney General for identification and appropriate processing.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the licensee may receive from the Attorney General the results of such search.
The Commission, by r'ule, may relieve persons from the obligation imposed by this section, upon specified terms, conditions, and periods, if the i
Commission finds that such action is consistent with its responsibilities to promote the common defense and security and to protect the health and safety-of the public."
i e
Deletions are cracketed and additions are underscored.
ATTACHMENT 3 to ENCLOSURE 1
U..i. Departmint ot' Justice r*
W.'f V-Office of Legislativ2 Afairs ome.. tine udse : ut.,
y connen ws*=sme. o.c Jono August 31, 1983 Honorable Nunzio J.-Palladino Chairman Nuclear Regulatory ' Commission Room H-1114 Macomic Building 1717 H Street, N.W.
Washington, D. C.
20555
Dear Mr. Chairman:
This is in response to the request of the Commission for the views of the Department of Justice with respect to a propos-ed amendment to che Atomic Energy Act of 1954, 42 U.S.C.
2011 et
_ seq., to provide for limited criminal history checks of persoFs
- allowed unescorted access to nuclear facilities.
As you know, we strongly support the efforts of the Commis-sion to maintain high, security standards at nuclear facilities and feel chac this is a matter of utmost importance.
Obviously, any security failure could have potencially devastating conse-quences for public safety, the. environment and our energy-pro-duction capacity.
We appreciap,e the steps you have caken to enhance security at nuclear plants and are pleased to have been able to work with security officers of the Commission to develop new proposed legislation, a copy of which is enclosed.
In summary, this proposal would require the fingerprinting of persons allowed unrestricted access to nuclear facilities.
Fingerprints so obtained would then be submitted to the Depart-ment of Justice for comparison with the Criminal File or the Identification Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Such'a comparison provides a highly reliable means of identifying persons with criminal records.
With access to such criminal history data, the' Commission will be in a better position to make informed decisions regarding security clearances.
We believe this can significantly enhance security at nuclear facilities.
Providing agencies with access to FBI records, of course, is not a novel concept.
The scacute authorizing maintenance of criminal history
- files, 28 U.S.C.
- 534, expressly contemplaces exchan Under ge of FBI criminal history information with other agencies.
Sec. 14(f) of Pubite Law 94-29 (15 U.S.C. 78(f)) securities brokers are required to fingerprint and secure records checks by the FBI in connection with partners, directors, officers and employees of brokerage houses.
In fact, the enclosed draf t bill is modeled upon chts provision of existing law.
ATTACHMENT 4 to ENCLOSURE 1
o.
The Congress has also specifically authorized fingerprinting and criminal history checks with respect to certain bank employ-ees-(P.L.92-544),
certain persons involved in the trading of commodities futures (7 U.S.C.
12a) and certain farm labor con-tractors (29 U.S.C. 1812(4)).
Without denigrating the importance of security in connection with these various fiduciary activities, the importance of security in connection with operation of nuclear power plants would appear much greater than with respect to,the fiduciary activities already covered by law.
We believe, there-fore, that this proposal is eminently justifiable.
In closing, I should note that the enclosed draft bill was developed by Commission staff in consultation with the Department of Justice and is carefully drafted to accommodate the security needs of the Commission while minimizing (1) intrusions into the privacy of employees, and (2) burdens upon the resources of the FBI.
As noted above, our search of criminal history files will be limited to a records search of the FBI's Criminal File and will thus not intrude upon the privacy of persons whose finger-prints are on file with the FBI by virtue of military service, government employment or other matters unrelated to criminal activity.
Based upon ' he considerations set out above, the Department t
of Justice strongly supports the enclosed draft bill.
The Office of Management and Budget has advised this Department that there if no objection to the submission of this proposal from t stand-point of the Administration's program.
Si,nc e re ly,
l t aen a >fI 7
I Robert A. McConnell assistant Actorney General Enclosure 6
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NOTAT10N VOTE peg ircks Roe RsSPONSE SHFFT-
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SAMUEL J CHILK, SECRETARY OF THE COMMISS10N ho.d f.W(
/f FROM:
CHAIRMAN PALLADINO J
SUBJECT:
SECv-82-s17.- LEGISLATION TO GAIN LICENSEE ACCESS TO FBI CRIMINAL NISTORY RECORDS APPROVED v
DISAPPROVED ABSTAIN NOT PARTICIPATING REQUEST DISCUSSION
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COMMSiTS:
,As MODIFIED BY OGC's 3/15/84 MEMO.
I. M 2., M M V CG kk A,of w S blOHAlukt V/
f.f DAlt SECRETARIAT NOTE:
PLEASE ALs0 REsFOND TO AND/OR COMMENT ON OGC/0PE MEMORANDUM 1F ONE HAS 3EEN ISSUED ON THIS PAPER.
NRC-SECY FORM DEC, 80
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N 0 T A'T 1 O N V0TE anoe RESP 0t1SES"M
{ f,vi 1-f SAMUEL J. CHILK, SECRETARY OF THE COMMIS'SIOh pspY T0:
FROM:
COMMISSIONER ROBERTS
SUBJECT:
szcY-83-517 - troIstxTIOh To axIn'tIczassz Access TO FBI' CRIMINAL HISTORY RzCORDs
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APPROVED W'
DISAPPROVED ABSTAIN NOT PARTICIPATING REQUEST DISCUSSION COMMENTS:
With the following modifications:
- 1. Per OGC's March 15
- 2. Change penultimate sentence of the proposed draf t bill to read "..., for identification and appropriate search for the individual's criminal history record information (CHRI)."
- 3. Change the last sentence of the proposed draft bill to read
"...the conviction records."
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- 1) Alt
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ECPETARIAT NOTE:
PLEASE ALSO RESPO!!D TO AliD/OR COMMENT 014 OGC/0PE
_ MEMORANDUM IF oriE HAS SEEN ISSUED ON THIS PA?ER.
.Y.
A-CZ7-25PbGL Calendar No. 321 l $"r$7lI" l l
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NUCLEAR POWERPLANT SECURITY AND ANTITERRORISSI aCT OF 1985 i
i REPORT I
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l C05151ITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY UNITED STATES SENATE i
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S. 274, AS A31 ENDED l
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l Samwara 26 ilegislative day. Samusen 235 l>*1 -Ordered to be printed V 5 00vtRNMENT PalNitNO OFFICE 11410 0 W AAHINGTON : 199%
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CONDt!1 TEE ON THE JUDICIARY I
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$TROM THURsf0ND, hth Caronna C%airm j
j C!!ARLES Mcc M ATHIA$. Ja. Marytand JOSEPH R BIDEN Ja. Deta*are 1
PAUL LAX ALT. Nevada EDW ARD M KENNEDY. \\tauachautts l
ORRIN O HATClf. Utah ROBERT C 8YRD We Oronia i
sLAN K $!MP50N Wyoming HOW ARD M METZENBALM. Ohio JOHN P EA$T North Carohna DENNIS DeCONCINt. Arizona I
CHARLES E. GRAS $ LEY. !)wa P4 TRICK J LEAHY. Vermont l
JEREMIAH DENTON. Alanama HOWELL HEFLIN A14eama ARLEN $PECTER. Pennsylvania P AUL $1 MON. I:linois MITCil McCONNELL Kentuckr Demmis W intoo. Che/ Couwel and Star / Director Diama L. Waitauam. Geeral Couvel j
Denoman G Beammim. Cher Cleet I
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JEREM!AH DENTON. Alabama. Chairman i
ORRIN O HATCH. Utah PATRICK J LEAHY. Vermont I
I JOHN P EA$T. North Carchna DENNIS DeCONCINI. Antona
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CONTENTS i
Pwe I Purpow 1
II.iratement 1
!!! Ihstory of the legislation i
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IV Vote of the ecmmittee i
V Test of 5 274 as reported t
i VI Amendments.
6 VII section-bv wetion analvois Vill.Wenev views
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IX Regulatory impact statement i
1.1 X I'est # the leOslation 14 XI Changes in existing las 14 i
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o Calendar No. 321 99tu Coscatss i
Rrrent let S<suon SENATE 99 143 I
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NUCLEAR POWER PLANT SECURITY AND ANTITERRORISM ACT OF 1985 Santussa 26 +1egulatne day. $tntween 23>. th3 -Ordered to be printed Mr. TuunMoNo, from the Committee on the Judiciary, submitted the following REPORT (To accompany S 2~4. as am.ndedl The Committee on the Judiciary to which was referred the bill (S. 274), to provide for the national security by allowing access to certain Federal criminal history records, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon with amendments and recom-mends that the billlas amended) do pass.
I.Punross The purpose of the proposed Nuclear Power Plant Security and Anti terrorism Act is to provide for the national security by grant-ing nuclear power reactor licensees access to the national enminal history flies of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Br ewin
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s ta conduss. = hae k g==nl inveeuenaam on. ame endsind-ual havw uner.orted. access to a nuclear power facility, the bill will help te eneure that only individuals whf are reliable en+ trust-woethy have accese te erttiesity settetttetrerees t%eaLf signiffeant-ly impreyttter the securtty of tttet nucleer power focality.
II. STATEMEYr Currently, most background checks by nuclear power reactor li-censees are limited to state and local files. Unfortunately, those files do not include information about an individual's criminal record, if any, in other parts of the country. By allowing nuclear power reactor operators to have access to the FBI's criminal histo.
ry records files, they would be able to obtain more complete crimi-nal histones. That information is an essential element in the deter.
mmation of who should be granted unescorted access to nuclear fa-cilities.
<!)51-010 0 1
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2 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission tthe Commission) advises that there are 85 U S. nuclear reactor plants that produce and are licenwd for fitll power. There are Qve that are licensed for fuel loading and low power. These facilities currently produce approxi.
mately 13 percent of all U.S. electrical power. As of December 1984, 37 additional plants had been granted construction permits.
When those plants become operational, nuclear power will provide approximately 25 percent of all U.S. electrical power. Although in-creasingly vital for energy, nuclear facilities can also present a grave danger to the environment and to human life if they are not managed properly.
The Commenteesese han.inweeugated, more, than a doaandneidosite of.
suspected sebeemaru, by phememp6eyees. The incidents involved crit-ical valves in the wrong position, miswired electrical equipment, and other problem areas. A Commission report indicated that be-tween 1974 and 1982 there had been 32 possible deliberate acts of damage at 24 operating reactors and reacter construction sites, in-ciuding the dozen reported smee 1980.
Examples of incider.ta include instrument valves apparently de-liberately mispositioned in a vay that knocked out the steam gen-erator feed. water pump thus forcing the operator to reduce power
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immediately to keep the reactor from going into emergency shut-down. That incident happened on Stay 1,1982, at the Salem atomic power station in southern New Jersey. At the Beaver Valley plant near Pittsburgh, a valve norraally left in an open position was found closed, and the chain and padlock that secured the valve in the open position were missing. With the valve cloei, emergency cooling water would not have been available for high pressure in-jection into the core.
The Commission reported: "Sinee thua.wra ma,M*= of, n., m'W" Whthe,ms.thma,7 We thought, to homeossesbed madem"nA 1963 Corr. mission memorandum con-cluded that: "The major threat of sabotage to a nuclear plant is as-sociated with the insider." Store stringent employee screening pro-cedures might have prevented many incidents of that kind.
Currently, the FBI provides criminal history records checks only to government or private sn6! ties specincally authorized by statute.
The FBI originally disseminated criminal history records to state, city and county officials if authorized by s:stute, crdinance, or rule for applicants for employment or for a permit or license, as well as Supp. 713, y insured banks. However in Jfenard v. Afitchell. 328 F.
for Federall.25-728 ID.D.C.1971), rev'd. on other grounds 498 F.2d 101. (D.C. Cir.1974), a U.S. District Court interpreted the statute which authorizes the FBI to collect criminal records i28 U.S.C. 534) as containing an implicit prohibition of dissemination to private entities and to State and local noneriminal justice agencies. The FBI, accordingly, amended its regulations to prohibit criminal his-tory record dissemination to the general public or private sector employers, except in limited circumstances not relevant in this case.
The Stenard decision has, however, been partially superseded.
j Congress, in Public Law 92-544, authorized the FBI to disseminate criminal history records to ofncials of federally chartered or in-sured banking institutions and to officials of State and local gov-
3 ernments for purposes of employment and licensing decisions,if au-thortzed by State statute and approved by the Attorney General.
Following Public Law 92-544, Congress also authorized dissemina-tion to private entitie engaged in certain securities transactions, such as brokerage houses (15 U.S.C. section 78@
To prevent nuclear power facilities from becoming targets of ter.
rorists, extortionists, or saboteurs, the licensees must be given access to the data contained in the criminal history files of the FBI.
The criminal history records contain full fingerprint identifica-tion cards for individuals who have been arrested by Federal, state or local authorities. It is important to note that identification of the person arrested is based on a full set of tingerprints rather than a nams, social security number or other personal identifier.
Currently, the FBI maintains over 22 million arrests records broken into 1,200 fingerprint classification codes.
Because these records are based on a full fingerprint identifica-tion, the FBI, by comparing fingerprints, can positively identify a record as belonging to a certain individual thereby ensuring that h,
the person determining employment suitability does not attribute a criminal record to the wrong person. This procedure avoids prob-lems which could occur if an unsophisticated noncriminal justice user of criminal record information undertook a criminal record 1
check based on an individual's name and other identifiers. With a name check it is possible that a record could be attributed to the wrong person or, by merely using an alias, a criminal record might never be identified.
While the arrest data contained in these criminal history records is generally accurate, it is often incomplete. The FBI requires that law enforcement authorities submitting arrest data subsequently submit information concerning the disposition of the arrest. De-spite this requirement FBI experts have informed the Committee that this disposition data does not get forwarded to the FBIin close to 50 percent of the cases.*
Because of the incompleteness of this data, the Committee was faced with choosing between withholding from the Commission arrest data unaccompanied by disposition. This would protect the privacy and due process rights of prospective employees, but it would risk the failure to provide the operator important and rele-vant information concerning the prospective employee. Alternative-ly, the Committee could authorize the FBI to provide a complete arrest history record to the Commission, provided that the Commis-sion institutes a program to protect the rights of prospective em-ployees to correct and supplement the record and to limit the redissemination of the information supplied to the operator. After weighing the pros and cons of each approach, the Committee choose the latter course which is more fully outlined in the section.
by.sesction analysis, in written testimony endorsing S. 2470 ithe 98th Congress ver-sion of S. 274) lierzel H. E. Plaine, General Counsel of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, noted that the bill represented a means of
~2nT.I ".T.i al7$i,A7O*Ef07.lf!!.Y' N!c!dif/Er"iMUE.MEP,%
c hahed by the Of&e of Technology Aasenement ora *:TT.16L October. L34b
4 facilitating nuclear reactor licensee efforts to obtain criminal histo-ry records, and of promoting uniformity in industry conducted per.
sonnel screening programs.*
In testimony submitted to the Subcommittee on Security and Terrorism on June 13, 1985. Arthur E. Lundvall, vice president of the Baltimore Gas & Electric Co. and chairman of the Nuclear Power Executive Advisory Committee of the Edison Electric Insti-tute, noted that:
Nuclear powerplants have effective security programs that may include a system for psychological evaluation of potential employees and the conductfings of a background investigation that involves limited State and local police record checks. This system would be significantly im.
proved with the enactment of S. 2470 iS. 274) since it would provide a uniform system for background investiga-tions throughout the industry.
Eaca individual's complete criminal history will be re-viewed and we can be assured that, to the maximum extent possthle, only stable, reliable, and law abiding peol.le have unescorted access to vital areas of our nuclear powerplants.8 In testimony by David Hinman. manager of Corporate Security.
Alabama Power Company, submitted to the Subcommittee on Secu.
rity and Terrorism, Str. Hinman expressed concern that the failure of the industry to obtain criminal history records based on Gnger.
print identification could permit terrorists, and would.be saboteurs an opportunity for employment at nuclear planta, using falsified birth records and other falsified credentials. Str. Hinman conclud.
ed by endorsing S. 2470 (S. 274) and stating that it is imperative that access to such records be provided to assure that employment in sensitive positions be conducted based on full information as to y the trustworthiness of the individual.*
S. 274, as amended, is endorsed by the Commission and the De-partment of Justice as indicated by the letters appearing in the Agency View Section.
!!!. Histony or nis LEctst. Anon Senator Jeremiah Denton G-AL) introduced S. 2470 on Starch 22, 1984. The bill was referred to the Judiciary Committee, which on Starch 28,1984, referred it to the Subcommittee on Security and Terrorism. On June 13, 1984, the Subcommittee conducted a hear.
ing on the bill.
8 r ecer.: stateinent of Hemt H E r'aine Ottee of the Genere! Counset. U s Nesteer Res.
41 story Comniiasion, outmitted to the subcommittee on $ecunt the Terronsm. tunns noenngs erronsin. J de.lJJ. on June !J.
onplative initiatives to Care Domesus and Intemational 8 Teetunony of Arthur E.1.undvall. Vice Premdent of the Baltimore Gas & Electne Cornpany and Chairman ei the Nuclear Power Esacutive Adverv Committee of the E46aon Electne lasu.
tute. eunaut:ed to the subcommittee en secunt, and ferronam. dunns heennes on tegulauwe laattataves to Care Domestie and laterneteensa ferronsm. 'J d4-lJJ. on June 13. I')84:
- Tseumeny of Devte Hinman. Manaaer et Cerperste secunty. Alanerne Power Cornpany. sut>
nutted to the Suncornnuttee on Sesunty and ferronsm, dunns heenngs on tecaisuve initne-tives to Curt Dornoetie and Interneuenea Terronse iJ v4143. on June LJ. LH46
5 On January 24, 1985. Senator Denton reintroduced the bill as S.
274. incorporating certain suggestions offered by the Commission.
S. 274 was referred to the Judiciary Committee and on to the Sub-committee on Security and Terronsm.
On July 23,1985, The Subcommittee met in Executive Session to consider S. 274. During the mark up a package of amendments was offered by Senator Denton and by Senator Patrick Leahy (D VT) which incorporated into the bill a number of changes including cer-tain suggestions by the Commission and the Department of Justice.
The amendments were accepted unanimously, and the bill was re-ported to the full Committee by a similar 6-0 vote.
IV. Vort or Tur Countrrts On September 12, 1985, the Committee on the Judiciary met in Executive Session, considered S. 274 and favorably approved it for reporting with amendments.
V. Text or S. 274 As Rarontro A BILL To provide for the national security by allowine access to certain Federal critninal Pustory records Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Re United States of America sn Congress assembled.presentatwes of the That this Act may be cited as the " Nuclear Power Plant Security and Anti.terronsm Act of 1985".
FINDINGS scc. 2. The Congress finds that-(1) the presence of nuclear power facilities, fuel cycle facili.
ties, and nuclear materials in our society represents a poten.
tial and grave threat to our national security should terrorists gain access; (2) the increasing threat of terrorism directed against the United States is greatly enhanced by insider access to nuclear power facilities and nuclear material: and (3) the Department of Justice should assist in screening per-sons who have access to nuclear facilities and material, by pro-viding criminal history record checks.
NATIONAL sECtJRITY ACCESS Sec. 3. (a) The Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S C. 2011 et seq.)
is amended by adding after section 148 the following new section:
"Sec.149. Fingerprinting for securtty clearance.-
"a. Eveey personan,the.preceurof beimrbeeneed orlicensed pus-sweausaecuanJ,01or Wb to u@ etit11tratrorr*fttetttty'shall regwe+ that. =+ *:M allowed, unseeseemt accestr ttr tite' feet & =
tybefesupeeprinted. All fingerprints obtained by a licensee as re.
quired in the preceding sentence shall be submitted to the Attor.
ney General of the United States through a person or persons des-Ignated by the Commission in consultation with the Attorney Gen.
eral for identif' cation and a criminal history records check. The costs of any identification and records check conducted pursuant to the preceding sentence shall be paid by the licensee. Notwithstand-
6 ing any other provision of law, the Attorney General may provide all the results of the search to such person or persons as designated by the Commission in consultation with the Attorney General.
"b. The Commission, by rule, may relieve persons from the obli-gations imposed by this section, upon spectned terms, conditions, and periods, if the Commission finds that such action is consistent with its responsibilities to promote the common defense and securi-ty and to protect the health and safety of the public.
"c. For purposes of administering this section, the Commission shall prescribe regulations to-
"(1) implement procedures for the taking of Ongerprints;
"(2) establish the conditions for use of information received from the Attorney General in order to-
"(A) limit the redissemination of such information; and "IB) assure that such information is used solely for the purposes provided in this section; and
"(3) provide individuals subject to Ongerprinting the right to complete and correct information contained in the criminal history records prior to any final adverse action.",
ibi The provisions of subsection a of section 149 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as added by this Act, shall take effect upon promulgation of regulations by the Commission as set forth in sub-section c of such section. Such regulations shall be promulgated on or before January 1.1986.
(c) The table of contents at the beginning of such Act is amended by inserting after the item for section 148 the follawing new item:
' $ e.141 Fingerpnnting for escunty clearance."
VI. AMENDMENTS in the Subcommittee Senators Denton and teahy offered a pack-age of eight amendments iseven substantive and one technical).
AMENDMENT t-sit 0RT TITt.E CitANGE The short title of the bill was changed from the " Anti Nuclear T'errorum Act" to the " Nuclear Power Plant Security and Anti ter-rorism Act" to redect more accurately the purpose of the bill. The amendment w.ss suggested by Senator Denton.
AMENC' MENT 2-ROLE OF Tite DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE The third finding was amended to clarify the role of the Depart-ment of Justice in aaststing the Commission in screening persons who have access to nuclear facilities and me.terial. The assistance will be in the form of providing criminal history record checks. The ortginal bill listed the FBI as assisting the Commission without de-scribing the form of asststance. The amendment was suggested by the Department of Justice.
AMENDMENT 3-LIMITAT1oM or INQUIRY Section 3ial was amended to clarify that the inquiry by the 11-consee will be submitted to the Attorney General as a request for the identification and arrest records only. The amendment re-
7 moved the broad term " appropriate processing." The amendment was suggested by DOJ.
AMENDMENT 4-COST OF PROCESS!NG THE CRIMINAL H! STORY INFORMATION Section $a) was amended to clarify that the cost of processing the criminal history record check is to be borne by the licensee.
The bill as originally introduced was silent as to the ecst. The amendment was suggested by Senators Denton and Leahy.
AMENDMF.NT 5-AGENCY TO RECE!VE THE CRIMINAL HISTORY INFORMATION Section $al was amended to establish the channelinir agency for receipt of the criminal history information. The bill already provid-ed for the channeling agency for submission of the fingerprint cards. The amendment simply completed the loop. The amendment was suggested by DOJ.
AMENDMENT 6-COMMiss!ON'S AUTHORITY TO REGULATE Section $al was amended to require the Commission to promul-1 gate, by regulation, implementing procedures for the taking of On.
gerprints, the use of the criminal history information, the redissemination of that information and the protection of the indi-viduals nngerprinted. The amendment was suggested by the Com-mission and modified by Senators Denton and Leahy.
AMENDMENT 7-EFFECTIVE DATE The amendment added a rew section $bi which provides an ef-fective date and a time for promulgation of regulations. The amendment was suggested by the Commission.
AMF.NDMENT 9-TECHNICAL The amendment redesignates section $bi as &c) to accommodate the new section 3biadded by amendment 7.
Vll. SEcrioN BY SECTION ANALYSTS The bill provides for the national security by allowing access to certain Federal criminal history records. It adds a new section 14')
to the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 t42 U S C. Section 0011 et seq.1 entitled " Fingerprinting for Securtty Clearance." The new section has three subsections.
Section 1 provides that the act may be cited as the " Nuclear Power Plant Security and Anti terrorism Act."
Section 2 is a statement of Gndings and purpose of the Congress.
It indicates that:(1) nuclear power facilities, if open to terrorist at.
tacks, present a threat to our national security;12) insider access to nuclear power facilities enhances the threat of terrorism against the United States, and (3) the Department of Justice should assist in screening persons having access to such facilities by providing criminal history checks.
q ( t'y
,, l-g Section 3 mets forth amendments to the Atomic Energy Act of l'J54 (42 U.S.C. section 2011 et seqa and adds a new section dealing i
with angerprinting for security clearance.
1 Soveten19ee,seen&4niendose the.s nay entitwbeensed-te operste a-
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d"" fase. asp commeretally, under 4? U S C*seetterr ?!33, or to j ',,
s_
eae.imduestselly assbr essmaneoctellyc under*lt(1SC'veetson
/
2 Whawpanfesseethee(anvene,allowedc
.a d ance steJha U
o aucleas teciaty.ns tils famosiliisintesk with thuem nagespsnat.a be suhm"'*4 ta h.hnap General, foe idevisiticeenen ased sh srtattaa s hiseeerrocertcheels The amendeneest then poet e6 ther6eseenne+ia,in /
foseer.WiwoNa +nipieg the tndtndeet'heving unseeeeted f enseam m x
The subsection would also authorize the Attorney General to pro-vide all resuts of such Gngerprint checks to the person designated by the Commission in consultation with the Attorney General.'
The subsection also would require that the licensee will bear the cost of the criminal records check, thereby ensuring that the bill g will not create a burden to the taxpayer.
\\
The estemievewrents% fem'Mtter attttmetty*te the Neeteer Regr I
ulwC-eemesewshe respeesessesses of thie lertstation underh asse tier peetedrituse ehe Coenmesotoer ftnds c-t new u,~..,,',;ttieg'"ttr prefnete the common M c..,-
an t a... 7 _.. : tepmeeertte heettfrant safety oethe-it.".
l Ines.' /
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T..haththe.viewithat times,eensepswn.les used, i
finally'Tection4srdirects the Ccmmission to presenbe regula-tions for the taking of nm,,erprints and for establish:ng the condi-tions for both using the information and limiting the redissemina-tion of the information provtded by the record ' heck in a manner limited to the purposes contained in the Act. The leostation gives discretion to the Commission to implement a practical program, through regulation. for carrying out the purposes of this act. De-cause of the possible incompleteness of the MI's criminal history records mentioned earlier in the report and because of the impor.
tant due process and privacy interests of prospective employees, the Commitee believes that the rnulations prescribed by the Com-missiori shall contain the following minimum requirements:
(1) Individuals who are asked to submit nngerprints under the program will be notined that the nngerprints will be umi to run a criminal history records check through the FBI:
@ Individuals who are subject to nngerprinting will be pro-vided with an opportunity to complete and correct the informa-tion contained in the FDl's enminal history records prior to any adverse job action being taken; and G The Commission will establish procedures to ensure that the information provided to the plant operator will only be i
used to determine whether the person is nt to be cven unes-corted access to the nuclear facility, and for no other purpose.
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e The Committee notes that the Commission has raised certain concerns about allowing their licensees access to old arrest records that are not accompanied by dispositional data. In a July 26,1985 letter from l{erzel itE. Plaine, General Counsel of the Commis-sion, to Senator Denton, the Commission expressed the view that
"... such information often suffers deficiencies in its accuracy, re-liability and probative value and could improperly influence em.
ployment decisions." While the Committee believes that old arrest records that are not accompanied by dispositional data may have some value in determining employment suitability, the Committee en ts the Commission to address this issue. in consultation with when it promulgates implementing regulations pursuant to section 3tal. In light of the nature of this particular issue, the Com.
mittee anticipatas that the Commission will accord substantial weight to the views of DOJ when promulgating such reguistions.
Se<. tion 3ibi provides that the bill will go into effect upon promu!.
gation of the regulations referred to in section 34as or by January 1, 1936.
e Vill. AGENCY VIEWS U S. Ni;ct.E4n REat;t.Arony Couurssion.
Washnngton DC, March,1,19%.
Ilon. JEnEMlAls DENTON, Chaseman. Subcommsttee on Secursts and Terrorsam, Commsttre on the Judscsary, U.S. Senate. Washsngton. DC.
DE4n Ma. CitAlnMAN: Preserving and enhar.cing the security of nuclear facilities is an it.sportant objective. The Commission strong-ly supports enactment of S. 274 as a means of enhancing nuclear reactor licensee efforts to reduce the potential for reactor sabotage by improving employee screening programs. I'ha Commission does suggest however, that certain modifications be made to S. 274. We note that there ire two principal differences between S. 274 and the draft bill which the Commission proposed last June during hearings on S. 2470 The Commission continues to prefer its lan-guage twhich is enclosed) for the reascns set forth below. The Com.
missien will also be submitting its preferred lar.guage to Congress as a separate legislative proposal.
The Comm.saion prefers that use of the authortsation in the leg-islation become effective only up4 the fingerprtnting requirement n NRC promulgation of imple-meitting regulations. Under S. '..
would become effective upon enactment of the legtstation and the Commission would be allowed to exempt individuals from that re-quirement by rulemaking. Under our preferred approach the nn.
gerprinting requirement would not become effective until the Com-mission had promulgated regulations implementing the legislation.
Because S. 2 4 is broad, rather than prescriptive legtstation, effec.
tive implementation of the legislation requiree promulgation of reg-ulations setting forth detailed procedures regarding the submittal of Angerprints and the dissemination of information by the FBI.
We believe the provtstons of the act should not become effective in the abeence of regulations. The Commission recognizes that rule-making takee time but believes that implementing regulations will create less confuston. We note that the NltC staff has already pre-
10 pared a portion of the necessary regulations as part of a proposed insider safeguards rule.
The Commission also recommends that S. 274 provide that licens-een not be given access to arrest records more than one year old unless the records are accompanied by dispositional data. The Com-mission believes that such information often suffers deficiencies in its accuracy reliability and probative value and could improperly influence employment decisions.
Our recommendation is also consistent with Department of Jus-tico policy and regulations regarding the dissemination of criminal history record informatton for employment and licensing purposes to private entities.
Sincerely.
NUNZIO d. pat.uDINO.
Enclosure:
NRC Suggested Language.
" FEDERAL CRIMIN AL history RECORDS
"Sec.112. The Commission may by rule require each applica 6 for, or holder of a production facility license or a utilization facill y license pursuant to sections 103 or 104b, to develop and maintam a program whereby individuals to be allowed unescorted access to designated areas of the facility are fingerprinted and the tinger.
prints submitted to the Attorney General of the United States, through a person or persons designated by the Commission in con-sultation with the Attorney General, for identification and appro-priate procewing. The applicant for or holder of the license may re-ceive from the Attorney General the results of such search except for arrest data more than one year old not accompanied by dispost-tions. The Commission may prescribe regulations to establish the conditions for use of the information received from the Attorney General and to limit its redissemination."
Ibi The Table of Contents of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended is amended by adding:
"Sec. I12 l'eserel Cnmmal lhetory Records!'
U.S. NUCLEAR RtotlLATORY CoMMtsstoN.
Washtngton. DC..\\tay 7,19%.
lion. J R Mian DENToN, Chaseman. Subcommsttee on Securstv and Terrortsm, Commsttre on the Judscsary, U.S. Senate. Washsneton, DC.
DEAR MR. CIIAIRMAN: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has asked me to reply to your letter of April 23, 1985, concerning the revision of your bill S. 274. 99th Congress, for providing improved security protection for nuclear facilities.
The Commission is of the view that the revision is acceptable, and supports adoption of the bill, sincerely, lirRzrL II.E. Pt.Aist.
General Counsel.
1 11 U.S NcCt.rAn Ittout.Afony Cowwissios, Washington, DC, July J6.1933.
Hon. Jaar.urAH DrNTON, Chastman, Subcommsttee on Securstv and Terrortsm, Commsttee on the Judiciary. US. Senate, Wash'ington, DC DzAn Ms. CHAlnMAN: Preserving and enhancing the security of nuclear facilities is an important objective. The Commission is pleased to offer its support of S. 274, as most recently marked up at the July 23, 1985 meeting of the Senate Subcommittee on Security and Terrorism. The Ccmmission sees this bill as a keystone en-hancing the efforts of nuclear reactor licensees to reduce the poten.
tial for reactor sabotage by improving employee screening pro-grams. The Commission appreciates the efforts of your staff in in.
corporating many of our comments and recommendations into the bill.
The Commission has expressed certain reservations about licens-ee,secess to old arrest records that are not accompanied by dispost.
tional data. The Commission believes that such information often suffers deficiencies in its accuracy, reliability and probative value and could improperly influence employment decisions. While cur.
rent versions of s. 2 4 contain no legislative limitation on licensee use of arrest records, or legtslative requirement that the Commis-sion issue regulations limiting licensee use of such records, the Commission would still address this issue, in consultation with the Department of Justice, in rulemaking authorized by section 161 of the Atomic Energy Act. With the understanding that this sensitive matter can be addressed in rulemaking, the Commission does not object to the absence of legtstative limitation in the current S. 274.
Sincerely, Hrazzt. II.E. Pt.A nr.
General Counsel.
U.S. DerAnTMrNT or JUSTICE, Orrter or I.roist.Artvr Ano InttrcovranurxTAt. ArrAlas, Washsngton, DC September 4,1933.
lion. Sinou THunuoso, Chastman Commstree on the Judiciary.
US. Senate, Washsngton, DC.
DrAn Ma, CHAlnMAN: This is with further reference to our report of July 24,1985, concerning S. 274, a bill "To provide for the na-tional security by allowing access to certain Federal criminal histo.
ry records." Our report expressed general support for S. 274 but noted several concerns with the bills as introduced.
We have now reviewed 8. 274 as reported by Sabcommittee and note that all the concerns we vapressed on July 24 have been ac-commodated by amendments to the bill. It is a pleasure to be able to report, therefore, that the Department of Justice endorses with-out qualification S. 274 as reported by Subcommittee and that we recommend enactment of this bill as amended.
Sincerely, PHit.ur D. BnAov, Acting Assistant Attorney General.
t l
l
12 U S. DuranistNT or Jesiter.
0:ri:t or Lacist.ATIVE AND INTERGOVERNMEmt. AFTAIRs.
Washington.14 Septsmber.% 15.
Hon. Sinox TucasoND, Chairman. Commstree on the Judscia. v.
US. Senate. Washsngton. DC Dran Sin. CHAIRMAN: By letter dated Shy 1.1333. vou transmit.
Wd a copy of S. 274 ts tne Department af Jastice ibOJi and re-quested that the DOJ provide comments on the bill to your Com.
mittce.
S. If 4 reennizes the potential for harm to.he national sect.rity ar materials should abuse such access. yower racilities aad nucle-if an individual having access to nuclear
.c dl<ninish such potential fur harm or rLmage, the bill provides for a screening procedure for thc3e having unescorted acceu to nuHear pwer faciaties. Thus, the bdl prvoses arnending the Att.mi Energy Act of 1954 to add a neer Section 149. This Section proidea that every person lica.nsed or in the process of being licensed to riperste a uttilzation it.cility pursuant ta certain sections of the Ars sha'4 iequire that each indb vidual a;teec. unescorted accasu to tae 6:ility be 11ngerprinte.l.
These fin.terpifnts st.all be at bmitted to the Attort.sy Genersi through a person or f. rsons designated by the Nuclear Regulatory Comu.tr.aten tNIW) in consultethn with the Attorney Generni for identification and approp trte piecessbig. The NDC by ru'a may re-lleva persons from the obli adona of this reuutremen'. If such 4
actiin is consistent with the MC's resynsNiit#ss.
This language is similar to oti.ar 1.<a which permit the DOJ ta perform identification cheeks ter certa!n trAtrtdiols la sens iive areas These checks are handled by the FBI's identification Divt.
4fon. For example, under Section !.iG of Public Law 9449, every member of a national securities eschane broktr. dealer, etc. la re-quired '.o subatit fingerprints of its partners, diteators, officers, and employees to the Attornsy General for identille.ation and sopropri.
site processing Further Section $3 of Public Law 97-444 provide.:
that each cor.s.nodities futures association must rwatre appreanta
'o be fingerprinted at i mu4t submit the fingerpeint4 to the Attor.
ney General for ideittlication and appropriate process!st. The DOJ believes that the interest of the NRC in insuring the security of its facilities merits a lasv givtna them the ability to seresn certain in.
dividuals having uncacorted access to the factittles by requiring such individuals to undergo a crtminal Notory record check by the Hil's identification Division.
Although the DOJ supports the intent ct' this bill. we have ider.-
tified one concern with the proposed new Section 149 dubsection as of the Atomic Energy Act. The second sentana of this Stibsection provides that all fingerprints obtained by a lkensee 3%I; be sub-mitted to the Attort ey General through a person or pet"ons desig.
nated by the NRC fr. :ensu' ratter. *tth the Attorney Geitoral. Thss language, by promdh g for a channelir g agency oi authority, rect 4 nizes the largo administrsSe burden wHeh would be tlaced a the FBI if it had to determine whettier each individual liet neee was an apt topriate party to make a record check request. In adopting this li.nguage, the channeling wency would assume the admints-i f
i
13 trative burden of approving the requests of the licensees, and pro-tecting against misuses of the criminal history information. tThis procedure is similar to that used by the securities and commodities future industries.)
While the bill establishes the channeling agency for submission of the fingerprint cards, it ignores this entity when it addresses who should receive the criminal history information. In the last sentence of this Subsection, the applicant for or holder of the li, cerue is authorized to receive the results of the criminal history record search. The DOJ objects to this language which restricts to whom the DOJ can furnish the record. The language ignores the existence of the channeling authority which would be funneling the fingerprints to the Attorney General but would be precluded from receiving the records. At this time, the DOJ cannot speculate as to whether it would be more efficent and less burdensome on the FBI to have the channeling authority or the licensees and cential licensees receive the record information. Therefore, the rec-ommends that the language be changed to allow the NRC, in con-sultation with the Attorney General, to make the determination as to whom the record check shall be sent. In view of the above, the DOJ suggests that the last sentence substituted in its place:
"The Attorney General may provide all the results of the search, notwithstanding any other provision of law, to such person or per-sons as designated by the Commission in consultation with the At-torney General."
In addition to the above, the DOJ recommends that Section 2 of the bill which sets forth the findings of the Congress be modified to clarify the role of the FBI in assisting the NRC. The third finding states that:
"Ths Federal Bureau of Investigation should assist in screening persons who have access to nuclear facilities and materials."
To be consistent with the remainder cf the bill, this finding should be revised to provide that:
"The Department of Justice should assist in screenine persons who have access to nuclear facilities and materials by pr' viding o
criminal history record checks."
The DOJ recommends enactment of this legislation if amended as sug ested above. The Office of Management and Budget has ad-vised that these is no objection to the submission of this report from the standpoint of the administration's program.
Sincerely, Pmt.up D. BRADY, Acting Assistant Attorney General.
Office of Legtslative ar.d Intergoverrmental Affairs.
LX. Rzcut.Aroar IMPACT STArturxT Pursuant to paragraph 11(b), Rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee anticipates no significant impact on ex-isting regulatory requirements.
The Committee expects S. 274 to apply fingerprinting require-ments to about 90 existing nuclear power plants and 20 to 30 plants under construction. The Committee expects the Nuclear
o s
s 14 Regulatory Commission to identify which of the 500 to 600 persons usually required to operate these facilities will have unescorted access to the nuclear power facility.
X. COST OF THE I EGISI.ATION In accordance with' paragraph 11(a) Rule XXVI. Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee offers the following report of the Con-gressional Budget Office:
U.S. CoNonEss.
CoNcaEssrONA!. BUDcET OmcE.
%hington. DC September 13,1985.
Hon. STaoM THU2MoND.
Chastman. Committee on the Judiciary, U.S. Senate. Washington, DC DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has re-viewed S. 274. the Nuclear Power Plant Security and Anti terror-ism Act of 1985, as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, September 12.1985. This bill requires fingerprinting and a criminal history records check of each individual being li-censed for unescorted access to nuclear power facilities. Because the bill directs the licensee to pay any costs associated with the identification and records check, we expect that no additional cost to the federal government or to state or local governments will be incurred as a result of enactment of this legislation.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased to provide them.
With best wishes.
Sincerely, Earc HANUSHEK.
(For Rudolph G. Penner. Director).
XI. CHAucEs rN Exist No LAW In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Snate, changes in existing laws proposed to be made by S. 274 are shown as follows: Existing law to be omitted is en-closed in black brackets, new rnatter is printed in italic, and exist-ing law in which no change is proposed is shown in roman.
Tut AToMrc ENEacy Acr or 1954 An Act For the development and control of ato.nic energy ATOMIC ENEacY ACT Or 1954 CHArrra 12. Contmor.or f.wronuArtox Sec. 141 Prohibition Aganst the Disclosure of Certain Unclassified Information.
ns. Fineerpantung w sunty clearance.
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15 CHAPTER 12. CONTROL OF INFORMATION SEc.148. PROutarTroN AcAINST THE DrSSEMINATION OF CERTAIN UNCt.ASSITIED INFORMATION.-
- e. The Secretary shall prepare on a quarterly basis a report to be made available upon the request of any interested person, detailing the Secretary's application during that period of each regulation or order prescribed or issued under this section. In particular, such report shall-(3) provide justification that the Secretary has applied such regulation or order so as to protect from disclosure only the minimum amount of information necessary to protect the health and safety of the public or the common defense and se-carity.
SEC.149. FINGERPRINTING FOR SEctRlry Cf.zARANcs.-
- a. Every person in the process of being licensed or licensed pursu-ant to section 104 or LO4b to operate a utilization facility shall re-quire that each individual allowed unescorted access to the facility be fingerprinted. All fingerprints obtained by a licensee as required in the preceding sentence shall be submitted to the Atterney General of the United States through a person or persons designated by the Commission in consultation with the Attorney General for identifi.
cation and a criminal history records check. The costs of any identi-fication and records check conducted pursuant to the preceding sen-tence shall be paid by the licensee. Notwithstanding any otherprcui-sion oflaw, the Attorney General may provide all the results of the search to such person orpersons as destgnated by the Commission in consultadon with the Attorney General.
- b. The Commission. by rule, may relieve persons from the obliga-tio is imposed by this section. upon specified terms, conditions. and periods. if the Commission finds that such action is consistent with its responsibilities to promote the common defense and security and to protect the health and safety of the public.
- c. Er purposes of administering this section, the Commission dsallprescribe regulations to-(1) implement procedures for the taking of fingerprints; d) establish the condit ons for use of information received from the Attorney General in order to-(A) limit the redissemination of such information; and (B) assure that such information is used solely for the purposes provided in this section; and (J) provide individuals subject to fingerprinting the right to complete and correct information contained in the criminal his-tory records prior to any final adverse action.
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