# National security and Congress **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 11, 2003, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-security-and-congress/181211 "2003-06-11T21:33:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 2\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2003, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-security-and-congress/181211/1 "2003-06-11T21:33:36Z")
Do members of Congress automatically have security clearances needed to do their jobs? There will be follow-ups depending on the answer. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2003, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-security-and-congress/181211/2 "2003-06-11T22:25:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Otto \* > \*\*Do members of Congress automatically have security clearances needed to do their jobs? There will be follow-ups depending on the answer. \*\* Yes, in a way. They do not hold a specific security clearance, nor are they subject to a backgound check, but are given access to classified information by virtue of their constitutional office. The House leadership has required that members take a non-disclosure oath, I believe at the beginning of each Congress. I am pretty sure that Senators do not have to take any such oath. There are a few of liberal Democrats who have made a big show of refusing to take the oath, and they have been refused accessed by the House leadership to classified briefings. See [here](http://clerk.house.gov/members/oathaccess.php) for a list of those who have taken the oath. And I just found [this,](http://www.gwu.edu/~cnss/oversight/access.html) which may answer most of your questions.