To assist the Secretary and the Director of the Agency in carrying out their personnel security responsibilities, one or more boards of appraisal of three members each, to be appointed by the Director of the Agency, shall be established in the Agency. Such a board shall appraise the loyalty and suitability of persons for access to classified information, in those cases in which the Director of the Agency determines that there is a doubt whether their access to that information would be clearly consistent with the national security, and shall submit a report and recommendation on each such a case. However, appraisal by such a board is not required before action may be taken under sections
7512 and
7532 of title
5, or any other similar provision of law. Each member of such a board shall be specially qualified and trained for his duties as such a member, shall have been the subject of a full field investigation in connection with his appointment as such a member, and shall have been cleared by the Director for access to classified information at the time of his appointment as such a member. No person shall be cleared for access to classified information, contrary to the recommendations of any such board, unless the Secretary (or his designee for such purpose) shall make a determination in writing that such employment, detail, assignment, or access to classified information is in the national interest.