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II. Background

Pursuant to Title 18 of the United States Code, sections 3056 and 3056A, the mission of the United States Secret Service (Secret Service or USSS) is to ensure the security of the President, the Vice President, their families, the White House Complex, the Vice President's residence, visiting world leaders, former Presidents and their spouses, and events of national significance. The Secret Service also protects the integrity of our currency and investigates crimes against our national financial systems committed by criminals around the world and in cyberspace.

To accomplish its mission, the Secret Service implements the following operational programs: protection; protective intelligence; and criminal investigations. The Secret Service achieves excellence in these programs by developing leading-edge technologies to mitigate emerging threats and contributing to the success of the goals DHS has identified in its Quadrennial Homeland Security Review.

The Secret Service takes allegations of employee misconduct seriously. Any employee, regardless of rank or position, who engages in misconduct, will be held accountable for his or her actions. This includes employees failing to report an incident, supervisors inappropriately choosing not to act on information reported to them, or any acts taken or threats of retaliation against an employee who reports misconduct.

Approximately 1 month after the misconduct by Secret Service employees in Cartagena, Colombia, in April 2012, the Secret Service established a Professionalism Reinforcement Working Group (PRWG). The PRWG, co-chaired by former Director John Berry of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and Director Connie Patrick of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC), consisted of a panel of five government executives, supported by approximately 70 subject matter experts from OPM, FLETC, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. military, and the Secret Service. The PRWG was tasked with three major responsibilities: 1) review the Secret Service controls on professional conduct; 2) benchmark the Secret Service against other similar agency best practices; and 3) identify any areas where the Secret Service excelled and areas where there is a need for enhancement.

At the conclusion of its review, the PRWG issued 17 recommendations, all of which were accepted by the Secret Service. Additionally, the Secret Service has continued to update and more fully implement its professionalism standards, including the institution of new reporting standards when employees encounter misconduct, disciplinary penalties for failure to report misconduct, and new policies governing other specific facets of employee behavior.