The Department of Defense?s recent move to halt security-clearance investigations is symptomatic of an Eisenhower-era system that threatens secret programs and the jobs of thousands of Washington-area workers, say industry contractors who have asked Congress to intervene.
Although the demand for security clearances has soared since Sept. 11, 2001, the federal government hasn?t employed the technology available to shorten the backlog, said Trey Hodgkins, of the Information Technology Association of America.
The number of overdue investigations is hard to track, but it remains in the six figures, with some cases taking 1 1/2 years to complete.
The shortage greatly affects the Washington metro area, home to the federal government and thousands of contractors doing secret assignments. Workers can?t work, jobs go unfinished and bigger companies poach cleared employees from smaller firms, driving up costs to the taxpayer.
“An inefficient system is a self-imposed tax on the American people and it is inexcusable,” said House Government Reform Committee Chairman Tom Davis, R-Va.
Defense Security Services, which had stopped processing private-sector security clearances after running out of money for the program, scrambled to find another $23 million to partially lift its suspension last week after Davis called for hearings. It was the second time in less than two years that delays in the security-clearance process prompted hearings. The government still must find $70 million to complete the investigations this year.
“This was just a symptom of what we consider a broken system,” Hodgkins said.
For two decades, government auditors have reported on problems with the DOD?s personnel security-clearance program. Last year, the Office of Personnel Management, which handles about 90 percent of all federal worker security clearances, tookover the investigating function from the DOD. As part of the transfer, OPM charges the Pentagon a 25 percent premium for each of the investigations.
The coalition of government contractors has called for a government-wide overhaul of the security-clearance process.
The Department of Defense is responsible for about 2 million active security clearances, one third of which are for contract employees. No one knows how many government-wide clearances are active, said Davis? spokesman, Robert White.
OPM conducted 1.7 million federal worker investigations this year, about half of which were completed on time, said OPM spokesman Mike Orenstein. Right now, there are about 120,000 overdue cases. The agency has made significant gains in finishing Top Secret clearances, Orenstein said. One year ago there were 50,000 overdue Top Secret clearances; this year there are 19,000, he said.
At a glance
» Defense Security Services had budgeted for 122,000 private-sector investigations this year, but in its first six months had received 103,000 applications.
» Officials now expect more than 200,000 applications, up from 69,000 just six years ago.
» Private industry held about one-third of the 2 million Department of Defense clearances.
