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March 30, 2016 issue of the DPSAC NEWS  


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This is the twelfth in a series of articles spotlighting position classifications that the NIH uses to determine the type of badge it can issue. Based on the individual's classification, s/he will be eligible for either an HHS ID Badge (also known as a Personal Identity Verification or PIV Card), a Restricted Local Access (RLA) Badge or an NIH Legacy ID Badge.  

Determining an individual's correct classification is an important first step in the badge issuance process since it helps ensure that each person requiring access to NIH facilities and resources is vetted appropriately and qualifies for one of the three badge types.*

Classification: Board Members  
Who is a Board Member?
A Board Member is an individual who is not on the NIH staff who serves as a member of an NIH or IC or Program Advisory Committee, Board, or Council.

NIH Boards are comprised of individuals who bring expertise from a multitude of disciplines and represent a wide range of stakeholders and organizations, including government agencies, academia, business, voluntary health organizations, associations, and many other public and private organizations.
Each year, NIH's National Advisory Councils/Boards, Boards of Scientific Counselors and Program Advisory Committees generally replace one quarter of their members.

Board Members at the NIH may include the following classifications of individuals:
 
1)    Federal Employee - NIH Federal Employee, who has a PIV Card issued by NIH, or Non-NIH Federal Employee, who has a PIV Card issued by another Federal entity. This individual is in the NIH Enterprise Directory (NED) and subject to the requirements to obtain a PIV Card. Please note that if a federal employee already has a PIV Card, he/she will not be required to complete additional background checks to serve as a Board Member.

2)    Special Government Employee (SGE) - a member of an NIH Advisory Council, Board of Scientific Counselors or Program Advisory Committee who receives an honorarium and/or per diem and travel benefits the same as a federal employee.

The Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, the Direc
tor of NIH, or the Director of an Institute/Center(IC) appoints these individuals to serve on an NIH Advisory Council, Board of Scientific Counselors, or Program Advisory Committee.

DPSAC News spotlighted Special Government Employees in its November 25, 2015 issue

3)    Representative - a representative of an organization outside of the federal government, (e.g., the American Lung Association), and not compensated in any way by the NIH.

Type of badge issued to Board Members
Figure 1

Representatives (and Special Government Employees) are issued an NIH (Legacy) ID badge for physical access only. (Figure 1).
 

Are Board Members entered into NED? 
  • Representatives are not entered into NED. Representatives will complete the "Authorization for Release of Information Form (Extended Visitor ID Badge Application) (DPEVF 100)." This form can be found on the NIH Security website at: http://security.nih. gov/Pages/Home.aspx. The Representative submits the completed form to his/her PIV-approved Administrative Officer (AO) who will then sponsor the individual for an NIH Legacy badge.
     
  • For Special Government Employees (SGEs), the IC AO sponsors the individual in NED for an NIH Legacy badge (see November 25, 2015 DPSAC News).
Who processes the badge requests for Board Members? 
  • For Representatives, the NIH Police issue the NIH (Legacy) ID badge.

  • For Special Government Employees, the NIH Police issue the NIH (Legacy) ID badge. (see November 25, 2015 DPSAC News).
What background investigation is required for Board Members?  
  • Representatives are subject to a name check in order to obtain the NIH (Legacy) ID Badge. This individual will not be fingerprinted and is not considered a full time federal employee or a contractor.
  • SGEs are subject to a name check in order to obtain the NIH (Legacy) ID Badge. This individual will not be fingerprinted and is not considered a full time federal employee or a contractor.
How long is the badge good for?   
  • For Representatives, Extended Visitor NIH Legacy Badges are typically issued with a 1-year lifecycle. After one year, the individual will be required to renew his or her NIH Legacy Badge.
  • Most SGEs are issued a full-term 3-year Legacy ID Badge. If they leave before the full 3 years, their NED record is deactivated by the appropriate AO and their ID Badge is revoked.
What else should you know about Board Member?  
According to the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) report, Conflict of Interest and the Special Government Employee, A Summary of Ethical Requirements Applicable to SGEs, the SGE category was created by Congress as "a way to apply an important, but limited, set of conflict of interest requirements to a group of individuals who provide important, but limited services to the Government."

An SGE is defined, in 18 U.S.C. §202(a) as "an officer or employee...who is retained, designated, appointed, or employed" by the Government to perform temporary duties, with or without compensation, for not more than 130 days during any period of 365 consecutive days.


As noted in the report, "two of the more common types of non-employees from which SGEs must be distinguished are Representatives and Independent Contractors."

The report states that "Representatives...typically serve on advisory bodies, and they represent specific interest groups, such as industry, consumers, labor, etc. Like SGEs, representatives can be appointed by the government for a specified term on a federal advisory committee and they may make policy recommendations to the government.

However, representatives can provide only advice. Moreover, unlike SGEs and other Federal employees, representatives are not expected to render disinterested advice to the government. Rather, they are expected to 'represent a particular bias.' Therefore, representatives are not deemed employees of the government for purposes of the conflict of interest laws."
Please note that when an SGE ends his/her term, the NED record should not be deactivated by the appropriate AO until all travel reimbursements are completed and paid. Deactivating the NED record will cause any pending reimbursements to stop being processed.
Disposition of a Board Member's ID Badge
When Representatives and Special Government Employees end their employment/affiliation with the NIH, they must turn in their badge to their AO/Sponsor. The AO/Sponsor must return the badge to DPSAC in Building 31, Room 1B03.             
Should you have questions about a classification, please call the DPSAC Helpdesk at 301-402-9755 or e-mail them at:orspersonnelsecurity@mail. nih.gov.

  *
The 'NIH Badging Authority by Classification Table' containing brief descriptions of all position classifications can be viewed on the DPSAC website at: http://www.ors.od.nih.gov/ser/dpsac/badge/Pages/applying.aspx.
 
Issuing Extended Visitor Badges at NIH - Then and Now 
This article first appeared in the May 27, 2015 issue of DPSAC News
 
Prior to 2014, NIH could issue an ID badge to an Extended Visitor based on a 'Name Check' of that individual since a Name Check provided an individual's complete criminal history.

The NIH police processed 'Name Checks' through the FBI's National Crime Information Center (NCIC) and were able obtain a full criminal history profile on people sponsored for a badge, free of charge. 

The NCIC check was the minimum acceptable criteria agreed to by HHS that gave NIH the delegated authority to print an Extended Visitor badge and grant a person access.
Two nearly simultaneous events took place in 2014 that forced a review of physical access privileges offered to non-NIH staff: 
First, the FBI restricted NIH's ability to obtain an individual's complete criminal history using a 'Name Check', citing a 300% increase in NIH's use of the system since 2010 and a shift in FBI policy.  
Second, as a result of this change, and to maintain NIH's credentialing authority from HHS, the extended visitor categories were reduced to include only those individuals who meet all of the following five criteria:
  1. The individual has a supporting role to the NIH mission
  2. The individual has a recurring requirement to enter the campus for the purposes of supporting the mission
  3. The individual is sponsored by an Administrative Officer (AO), who is authorized to enter persons into NED for an HHS ID Badge (PIV Card)
  4. The individual allows the NIH Police to take his/her fingerprints and the Division of Personnel Security and Access Control to adjudicate the results, if issues are uncovered.
  5. The sponsoring IC pays for the cost of processing fingerprints, which is currently $21.50 (FY2015).
Helpful Tips

AOs who wish to obtain sponsor authority -- must complete the sponsor training (see: http://www.ors.od.nih.gov/ser/dpsac/Training/Pages/administrators.aspx) and e-mail a copy of your signed certificate to the NIH HSPD-12 Program Office at hspd12@od.nih.gov. Upon receipt of the certificate, the Program Office will authorize the AO as a sponsor.

ICs that want to add Lifecycle Work Station (LWS) operators to the approved roster -- send a written request to Richie Taffet at: taffetr@mail.nih.gov. Your request should include:
  
*    the new operator's name
*    his/her IC
*    his/her NED number
*    the operator's e-mail address, building/room and phone number

Once Mr. Taffet has approved the request, he will forward the name(s) to HHSIdentityAdmins@deloitte.com to complete the approval process, add the name(s) to the LWS operator roster, and inform the IC that the individual is now approved to operate the LWS.

Need to make changes to the LWS operator directories? -- drop an e-mail to Lanny Newman, newmanl@mail.nih.gov, and let him know what needs changing (e.g., adding new operators or LWS locations, removing operators, etc.). Remember, before a new operator can be added to the LWS directory, s/he must first be approved by Richie Taffet (see preceding Helpful Tip).

If an LWS is not available in your IC or your immediate area, and you work in the greater Bethesda or Rockville area -- please call 301-402-9755 to schedule an appointment with the Division of Personnel Security and Access Control located in Building 31, Room B1A26 or in Building 10, South Lobby, Room 1C52.

If you work outside the Bethesda/Rockville area, contact your local badge issuance office. You can find contact information for all badge issuance offices at: http://www.ors.od.nih.gov/ser/dpsac/Pages/contactinfo.aspx.  

Know someone who should be reading DPSAC News? -- have the person contact Lanny Newman, newmanl@mail.nih.gov, and ask to be put on the mailing list.   

FAQs
 
Q. Is there a way that an applicant can fax the completed background information forms to his or her IC AO, who can then hand deliver the documents to DPSAC with a receipt of delivery?

A. The completed background information forms cannot be sent to the IC AO. 

Given that e-QIP contains extremely sensitive and personal information, AOs should not be receiving or handling these forms.

DPSAC has a secure fax line for direct transmission of e-QIP forms and releases. The fax number is 301-480-0108.
    
NED Training Schedule: a Class a Month for the Balance of FY '16 

New and relatively inexperienced NED Portal users with an Administrative Officer (AO) or Administrative Technician (AT) role are invited to take advantage of one of the hands-on NED training classes being offered (once a month) through the end of fiscal year 2016.

Each class will provide an overview of the NED Portal and the NIH business functions it supports from the perspective of a NED Portal user with the AO or AT role.

Upon completing the course, students will have a solid working knowledge of the NED Portal and be able to perform the following tasks: Register/Activate, Update, Modify, Transfer, Badge Renewal and Deactivate.

The course will also familiarize students with other aspects of the NED Portal so they can set their primary SAC coverage using Preferences, determine the status of a person's ID badge and/or network account request, look up and view information in a person's NED record and utilize NED reporting capabilities.

To register for one of the classes listed below, go to: http://training.cit.nih.gov/class_details.aspx?cId=NIHCIT-GN142



   





NIH badging statistics from HHS as of March 25, 2016  

Sponsored: 37,227   Enrolled: 36,410    Issued: 35,372*
 
*This figure represents 95.0% of individuals who have been sponsored.
 
Note: the Department reports weekly on the number of individuals who have been sponsored, enrolled and issued new HHS ID Badges for each OPDIV.
DPSAC News reports the latest Departmental figures for NIH in the first issue published for that month
   
A biweekly e-newsletter from the Office of Research Services, Division of Personnel Security and Access Control (ORS/DPSAC) to keep you informed as NIH rolls out "Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12" (HSPD-12) establishing a common identification standard to better safeguard NIH and its workforce.