*EPF509 06/23/00
Text: Grossman Pledges Security Emphasis in Personnel Decisions
(Foreign Service chief testifies before Senate committee) (1520)
The new director general of the foreign service has assured a congressional committee that security infractions and violations will be considered in all State Department personnel decisions.
Marc Grossman told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, in testimony June 22, that his first directive from Secretary of State Madeleine Albright upon assuming his post was "to weigh security factors in all personnel decisions, including nominations and promotions."
He said that Deputy Secretary Strobe Talbott, who chairs the committee that selects nominees for senior management positions, has advised him that increased emphasis will be given to the security performance of every nominee, "whether for leadership positions in the department or ambassadorial posts overseas."
Grossman added that he and David Carpenter, assistant secretary of state for diplomatic security, will recommend by June 29 "a specific plan of action to strengthen the handling of security incidents in controlled access areas."
Grossman and Carpenter were among the witnesses as the committee looked into what Senator Rod Grams (Republican, Minnesota) termed "the failure to consider security awareness as a factor in promotions at the State Department."
Grams, who chaired the hearing, said he had been shocked to learn that seven persons whose nominations for ambassadorial posts are pending before the committee have amassed over 100 security violations among them.
Following is the text of Grossman's testimony, as prepared for delivery:
(begin text)
Mr. Chairman, Members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today to discuss the State Department's commitment to safeguarding our nation's secrets.
Mr. Chairman, I especially thank you for your interest in this issue. Your commitment has had an important impact in the Department. As I promised in my confirmation hearing, you will find me ready to do what we must to protect our secrets.
Thank you also for your letter of June 19. You have offered a number of important suggestions which Assistant Secretary Carpenter and I hope to address today.
Mr. Chairman, you and I have discussed the message of Secretary Albright's May 3 Town Hall meeting.
Before I report to you on where we stand today, I'd like to highlight three points she made that day:
-- First, it must be true that security is an indispensable component of everyone's job at the State Department.
-- Second, it is worth repeating her view that, "The vast majority of State Department employees already take their security duties very seriously.... It is the few who neglect or who are casual about their duties, that create problems for all of us."
-- Third, we clearly need to do more. The Secretary has stressed that the proper safeguarding of classified material is a serious and fundamental responsibility of each and every Department employee, especially those who have reached leadership positions.
I took my oath of office on Monday.
My first directive was from the Secretary, instructing me to weigh security factors in all personnel decisions, including nominations and promotions.
I believe that there should be simple, clear rules regarding the handling of classified material and there should be consequences that are easily understood for violating those rules.
Let me first talk about ambassadorial nominees, since they have been a source of concern to the Secretary, to the committee, and to the Senate. Although it would not be right for me to comment on any specific nominee, we take your and the Committee's concerns seriously.
Deputy Secretary Talbott has given me his guidance on this issue. He chairs the committee of Department principals, which selects nominees for senior management positions.
He has instructed that the committee will give even greater emphasis to reviewing every candidate's security performance as it makes future decisions on nominees, whether for leadership positions in the Department or Ambassadorial posts overseas. The committee will intensify its examination of candidates' personal security performance and their commitment to instilling a comprehensive, heightened sense of security awareness in their missions or offices.
So that the Deputy Secretary's committee can accomplish this task, we will ensure that, in all cases:
-- Information concerning security incidents -- not just violations, but infractions as well -- and any resulting adverse actions will be provided to the Deputy Secretary's Committee prior to its deliberations.
-- Security incidents will be covered in the full field security investigation conducted on each candidate for Presidential appointment.
-- The review will include the extent to which such incidents involve possible compromise of national security information.
-- We will also recommend to the Deputy Secretary that a representative from the Bureau of Diplomatic Security support the D [Department principals] committee's deliberations, providing the needed information and perspective on all security issues related to our nominees.
And to eliminate any doubt as to what information should be submitted (subject to privacy act concerns) to the Committee on Foreign Relations concerning security incidents, the Department will seek SFRC agreement to amend the Committee Questionnaire to cover this information.
Let me now discuss the challenges facing the Department as a whole in this area.
Assistant Secretary Carpenter and I intend by June 29, to recommend a specific plan of action to strengthen the handling of security incidents in controlled access areas. Let me give you some examples of what we have in mind:
-- All security incidents should be reported immediately to the Department from the field and that record will "travel" with the employee from assignment to assignment.
-- We should cut in half the number of infractions that triggers a letter of warning from four to two.
-- We should lower the threshold that triggers the disciplinary process for infractions from 5 to 3.
-- We should increase sanctions/penalties for security incidents.
-- We should keep employees worldwide informed on a regular basis of discipline imposed for security incidents, protecting the privacy of the disciplined employees and to reward senior managers who maintain a high level of security awareness at their mission or in their bureau, we should also routinely publicize those bureaus and posts with few or no security violations.
-- Each Bureau in Washington and each Mission overseas will include in its Bureau and Mission Program Plans, specific steps for increasing security awareness and accountability.
As we have discussed, training and retraining is also key to increasing security awareness. We have already begun mandatory refresher courses on security for all State personnel.
We are placing great emphasis on security issues in the junior officer orientation course and in training for Ambassadors and Deputy Chiefs of Mission.
The Foreign Service Institute is currently surveying the security training other foreign affairs agencies provide their employees before sending them to overseas assignments.
The Foreign Service Institute will be making information available to other agencies on security training available at FSI.
I have to say here that training costs money. It is people-intensive. We cannot afford to choose between getting today's job done and training for the future.
I believe that an optimal workforce structure for the Department takes into account the 10 to 15 percent of employees who will be in training or travel status at any given time.
This is analogous to the military that must maintain a level of troop strength to ensure readiness. We cannot do what must be done, without your support.
Of utmost importance is support by the Congress for the President's FY 2001 budget request for the Department including $3 million to support OPAP [Overseas Presence Advisory Panel]-related leadership and management training initiatives. I see this as a down payment if we are also to focus seriously on security training.
As we discussed in your office last week, some of our initiatives will require negotiation with our Foreign and Civil Service unions. I know we can count on their support for efforts to enhance security at the Department. I plan to meet right away with the Foreign and Civil Service unions to brief them on our plans and seek their backing for our initiatives.
Some of the steps that will require consultations include:
-- We will want to make security awareness a key part of the promotion system by including "security awareness and accountability" in all employees' work requirements statements.
-- We will include "security awareness and accountability" in promotion precepts.
-- We intend to put in place a clear connection between incidents and consequences.
-- We will reexamine how security incidents are documented in an employee's performance file and how long these records will remain available to promotion boards.
Senator, I want to thank you for the attention you have brought to this vital aspect of our work. I am fully committed to supporting the highest standards of security awareness and practices in the Department. Assistant Secretary Carpenter and I will work as a team to support the Secretary to create a strong pro-security culture in the Department. I look forward to reviewing our progress with you in the coming months.
(end text)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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