Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga. speaks on Capitol Hill, in Washington. | AP Photo Senate bill would ban private email use at State

Three senators Wednesday introduced a bill that would prevent State Department employees from using personal email accounts and private servers for work-related messages.

The Securing our Secrets Act - sponsored by Sens. Johnny Isakson, David Perdue and Ben Sasse - is a direct response to the controversy surrounding Hillary Clinton's use of a private email setup while serving as secretary of state.


The government opted not to indict Clinton, now the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, for mishandling classified information. But FBI Director James Comey acknowledged that it was "possible" that hackers had breached her email.

"Unfortunately, in light of revelations that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton used a private email account and server and subsequently mishandled classified information, the Securing Our Secrets Act is necessary to ensure that our national security will not be compromised again," Isakson said in a statement.

The bill would require State Department officials to use only government-managed platforms for work activity unless their private alternative qualifies for a national security waiver. Clinton's private servers did not receive such a waiver.

The legislation would also create information security training programs and institutes random scans of department emails to see if anyone is improperly transmitting classified information.

The State Department's inspector general would have to prepare an "oversight plan" for ensuring compliance with the bill's no-private-email mandate, and the department would have to report violations to Congress every year.

The Federal Records Act currently allows the use of a "non-official electronic messaging account" for official business if messages are forwarded to an "official electronic messaging account" within 20 days.