TRANSFER TO OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT OF PERSONNEL INVESTIGATIVE FUNCTIONS AND RELATED PERSONNEL OF THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE.

SEC. 906. TRANSFER TO OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT OF PERSONNEL INVESTIGATIVE FUNCTIONS AND RELATED PERSONNEL OF THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE.(a) Transfer of Functions.—(1) Subject to subsection (b), the Secretary of Defense may transfer to the Office of Personnel Management the personnel security investigations functions that, as of the date of the enactment of this Act, are performed by the Defense Security Service of the Department of Defense. Such a transfer may be made only with the concurrence of the Director of the Office of Personnel Management.(2) The Director of the Office of Personnel Management may accept a transfer of functions under paragraph (1).(3) Any transfer of a function under this subsection is a transfer of function within the meaning of section 3503 of title 5, United States Code. (b) Limitation.—(1) The Secretary of Defense may not make a transfer of functions under subsection (a) unless the Secretary determines, and certifies in writing to the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate, that each of the conditions specified in paragraph (2) has been met. Such a transfer may then be made only after a period of 30 days has elapsed after the date on which the certification is received by those committees.(2) The conditions referred to in paragraph (1) are the following:(A) That the Office of Personnel Management is fully capable of carrying out high-priority investigations required by the Secretary of Defense within a timeframe set by the Secretary of Defense.(B) That the Office of Personnel Management has undertaken necessary and satisfactory steps to ensure that investigations performed on Department of Defense contract personnel will be conducted in an expeditious manner sufficient to ensure that those contract personnel are available to the Department of Defense within a timeframe set by the Secretary of Defense.(C) That the Department of Defense will retain capabilities in the form of Federal employees to monitor and investigate 117 STAT. 1562 Department of Defense and contractor personnel as necessary to perform counterintelligence functions and polygraph activities of the Department.(D) That the authority to adjudicate background investigations will remain with the Department of Defense and that the transfer of Defense Security Service personnel to the Office of Personnel Management will improve the speed and efficiency of the adjudication process.(E) That the Department of Defense will retain within the Defense Security Service sufficient personnel and capabilities to improve Department of Defense industrial security programs and practices.(c) Transfer of Personnel.—(1) If the Director of the Office of Personnel Management accepts a transfer of functions under subsection (a), the Secretary of Defense shall also transfer to the Office of Personnel Management, and the Director shall accept—(A) the Defense Security Service employees who perform those functions immediately before the transfer of functions; and(B) the Defense Security Service employees who, as of such time, are first level supervisors of employees transferred under subparagraph (A).(2) The Secretary may also transfer to the Office of Personnel Management any Defense Security Service employees (including higher level supervisors) who provide support services for the performance of the functions transferred under subsection (a) or for the personnel (including supervisors) transferred under paragraph (1) if the Director—(A) determines that the transfer of such additional employees and the positions of such employees to the Office of Personnel Management is necessary in the interest of effective performance of the transferred functions; and(B) accepts the transfer of the additional employees.(3) In the case of an employee transferred to the Office of Personnel Management under paragraph (1) or (2), whether a full-time or part-time employee—(A) subsections (b) and (c) of section 5362 of title 5, United States Code, relating to grade retention, shall apply to the employee, except that—(i) the grade retention period shall be the one-year period beginning on the date of the transfer; and(ii) paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of such subsection (c) shall not apply to the employee; and(B) the employee may not be separated, other than pursuant to chapter 75 of title 5, United States Code, during such one-year period.(d) Actions After Transfer.—(1) Not later than one year after a transfer of functions to the Office of Personnel Management under subsection (a), the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, in coordination with the Secretary of Defense, shall review all functions performed by personnel of the Defense Security Service at the time of the transfer and make a written determination regarding whether each such function is inherently governmental or is otherwise inappropriate for performance by contractor personnel.(2) A function performed by Defense Security Service employees as of the date of the enactment of this Act may not be converted 117 STAT. 1563 to contractor performance by the Director of the Office of Personnel Management until—(A) the Director reviews the function in accordance with the requirements of paragraph (1) and makes a written determination that the function is not inherently governmental and is not otherwise inappropriate for contractor performance; and(B) the Director conducts a public-private competition regarding the performance of that function in accordance with the requirements of the Office of Management and Budget Circular A–76.