Related Documents GAO Report: DOD Personnel Clearances

Washington, D.C., Oct 27 -  

House Government Reform Committee Chairman Tom Davis (R-VA), who has led the fight in Congress to improve the government’s security clearance process, issued the following statement today on Government Accountability Office Report 06-1070, “DOD Personnel Clearances: Additional OMB Actions Are Needed to Improve the Security Clearance Process”:

“A close reading of this report, and follow-up conversations with stakeholders, reveals both good news and bad news regarding the speed and quality of clearance investigations.

“On the one hand, the government’s goals for processing initial investigations, re-investigations, and adjudications are not being met. GAO found that “[a]n inexperienced investigative workforce, not fully using technology" was among the causes of the delays – delays which “may increase costs for contracts and risks to national security.”

“Furthermore, GAO found that too many investigations are missing key information. Under the strain of increased demand for clearances, the current system seems unable to maintain investigative standards consistently. Most of the background checks studies were incomplete, with gaps in potentially critical areas like foreign contacts and income sources. That means adjudicators have to evaluate those blind spots in deciding whether or not to grant a clearance. And it means other agencies may defy efforts to promote clearance reciprocity.

“On the other hand, however, I think we need to be cognizant of the timeframe for GAO’s study. In a sense, GAO’s data is dated. GAO’s review focused on security clearance applications that were submitted at the end of 2004, before the February 2005 transfer of the Defense Security System to OPM and before passage of the security clearance modernization provisions I authored and included in the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act that was signed into law in December 2004. I believe this report largely verifies that the clearance process was, indeed, in terrible shape when DOD transferred its investigations functions to OPM in February 2005. I am certain that a sample of more current cases would show significant improvement in both timeliness and consistent investigative standards.

“My staff and I are in close contact with OMB Deputy Director Clay Johnson and OPM Director Linda Springer to ensure this is the case. Both assure us many process improvements have been, and will continue to be made since the date of the transfer. I believe OMB and OPM fully understand what’s at stake here, and that they are continually reassessing investigative standards in the name of efficiency and security.

“In that vein, I will continue to examine new data as it’s available, so that we continue to move closer to the 21st Century investigative and adjudication processes we need. Marginal improvements to an already overburdened clearance process might make the problem slightly ‘less worse’ in the short term, but the old paper and shoe-leather approach cannot meet our long term need for timely and cost-effective clearance investigations. We all agree that it shouldn't take more than a year to get a basic clearance decision on contractors whose work is critical to timely contract performance. The system needs to be, and I believe is being, re-engineered from end to end, making greater use of technology and providing real-time visibility of the status of all investigations. A more technological, risk-based investigative process will be our goal going forward.”