Rep. Ted W. Lieu (D-Torrance), House Judiciary Committee ranking member Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) and House Oversight and Government Reform Committee ranking member Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) have introduced the “Commonsense Legislation Ensuring Accountability by Reporting Access of Non-Cleared Employees to Secrets (CLEARANCES)” Act that would require the White House to regularly report the status of security clearance holders working in the office of the president.

Under existing law, the president can choose to keep employees on staff with interim security clearances indefinitely without notifying Congress. The CLEARANCES Act would serve to create more accountability and oversight of who has access to classified information.

“As we’ve seen, transparency hasn’t come so easy to the Trump White House. White House officials have repeatedly contradicted themselves on whether they allowed Rob Porter to have an interim security clearance despite concerns over allegations of domestic abuse,” Lieu said. “Aside from the moral failings, we’re looking at potentially dangerous breaches in our national security protocols. What’s worse is that, despite our oversight duties, members of Congress have no mechanism to figure out who in the White House has access to classified information and whether they are doing so under an interim clearances.”

“Congress needs answers about the White House’s dysfunctional security clearance process, but the Trump Administration refuses to turn over information,” Cummings added. “This legislation will hold the White House accountable and ensure at least some transparency for how the president is handling our nation’s most closely guarded secrets.”

The bill would require the White House to report to Congress every three months a list of the name and position of each individual working in the office of the president who holds a security clearance of any kind, including the president’s staff, or an individual in the office whose function is to advise or assist the president, as well as any other individual working in the office.

It would also require the White House to report a list of individuals who hold a security clearance of any kind detailed to the office of the president from another agency or organization, including universities, think tanks, and the private sector.

“I’ve asked, time and again, why people like Jared Kushner have security clearances despite repeatedly failing to properly disclose information on clearance forms. By using interim security clearances, the White House is circumventing an essential process that ensures government officials handling classified information are not vulnerable to blackmail or manipulation,” Lieu said.