GovernmentExecutive.com

A new OMB report offering technology-driven recommendations to expedite hiring and security clearances for government employees and contractors has drawn a positive response from a top IT expert, but less favorable words from lawmakers.

The paper outlines numerous projects that could cut processing time and streamline thousands of security clearances.

Written by officials from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the Defense Department and OMB, it was sent to President Bush last week as a response to recent White House pressure and congressional interest.

Among its proposals, the report calls for immediate development of a new system to collect more relevant applicant information at the beginning of the screening process and automatically adjudicate "clean" secret case files, which would free up analysts to focus on more complex cases.

It also recommended replacing periodic reinvestigations of clearances with more expedient technologies used in the private sector.

Brendan Peter, senior director for industry affairs at LexisNexis, Monday called the plan "an incredibly positive step" likely to produce "quick wins." He said an overhaul remains critical, given that intelligence agencies are still far short of their goal to have 80 percent of top-secret clearances processed in 90 days. Peter noted that he joined LexisNexis in December 2005, but his top-secret clearance was not finished until April 2007.

The new report is "an important first indicator" of how the Bush administration plans to proceed in its remaining months, Peter said. GAO recently found that it takes an average of 446 days to process initial clearances and 545 days for reinvestigations. The 2004 Intelligence Reform Act set a 120-day goal.

In a statement Monday, however, House Oversight and Government Reform ranking member Tom Davis, R-Va., said he doubted the current system would ever meet the Intelligence Reform Act's goals, and he called for the programs listed in the new OMB report to be accelerated and expanded.

"We can't afford to allow the paper-bound status quo to stumble along nibbling at festering backlogs any longer," said Davis. He had also highlighted the problem in a letter last May to Defense Secretary Robert Gates, warning of a possible "devastating disruption" in the Pentagon's ability to process contractor clearances. Budgetary shortfalls have put the office that conducts personnel checks "on the brink of insolvency," while a spike in applications "would both surprise and paralyze" the division, he wrote at the time.

Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, issued a sharper response Monday and said the Homeland Security subcommittee he chairs will hold a hearing later this month on the reforms. He called the report "thin on solid plans and details" and charged that the administration "tolerated years of poor results before finally taking these first steps to real reform of the clearance process."

COMMENTS

• I'm sure OMB's answer at the earning is we need more money, more people, more telework more alternative work schedules. The only words missing is we will do our jobs and work for our pay. This 2008 and they are talking about new computer systems, maybe they can use the ones Census just threw away Dan ketter Posted May 6, 2008 11:55 AM
• "GAO recently found that it takes an average of 446 days to process initial clearances and 545 days for reinvestigations." Can someone explain why reinvestigations take longer? There seems to be a huge gap between the time it takes to issue interim clearences to contractors and reinvestigations for federal employees. My initial investigation was lost twice. It wasn't until I had been working for my agency 4 years before someone caught that my investigation was never fully processed. Instead of taking the information they had on file, I had to start from scratch with all the paper work, finger prints, etc. Then it took about 8 months to process. This wasn't for any sort of clearence, only a NACI. However, even though it was not a secret clearence, they took the time to contact all my neigbors, friends, family in every place I've ever lived. During this time I got married and changed my name. Even though I reported it to the security official, they still didn't include my new information in the paperwork and I got an angry phone call from the security officer. Then one weekend they tried to contact me at my work number, instead of trying to call my home number. When they couldn't reach me, they immediately complained to my security office at my agency saying I was being "unresponsive." This nearly caused me to have all my IT and building access restricted until I could clear things up with my HR office. All of that over a simple NACI! My husband on the other hand was able to obtain his secret clearence in 1 month, no questions asked. He's a new contractor, I've been a fed for 5 years. What's the problem with this picture? The problem isn't that the process takes a long time or is paperwork heavy. The problem is the incompetence of the people performing the investigations and HR/Security offices constantly losing the information. Irritated Fed Posted May 6, 2008 7:55 AM