DoD security chief promises better background checks

The Defense Security Service is taking action to resolve weaknesses in the process of conducting background checks for Pentagon employees and others seeking security clearances, witnesses told a House panel Wednesday.

In October, the General Accounting Office released a scathing report about DSS, detailing severe mismanagement of personnel security investigations. GAO reported that a backlog of more than 600,000 Defense Department military, civilian and contractor employees are awaiting security reinvestigation.

To chip away at that backlog, DSS is working on an algorithm that will identify the riskier cases for priority review. The agency has also begun outsourcing some of the investigative workload and has recruited military reservists to help augment its workforce.

"We are fully cognizant of the impact of the personnel reinvestigations backlog. We are working hard to maximize other efficiencies within the program in order to increase our productivity," said DSS Director Charles Cunningham in written testimony before the House Government Reform Subcommittee on National Security, Veterans Affairs and International Relations.

"I intend to go beyond the GAO recommendations to establish an organization known for its excellence in accomplishing our mission and ensuring the national security of the United States," Cunningham said.

Carol Schuster, director of the GAO office that issued the report, said Cunningham is serious about reform. "He has really taken the bull by the horns and taken action on every recommendation," she testified.

GAO's report found systemic errors in the investigation process-92 percent of cases reviewed from a random sample lacked at least one piece of important information required by investigative standards.

DSS' problems are due in part to a poorly executed effort to restructure and downsize the organization in 1996, GAO said. The result is an agency "reinvented to the point of corrupting its core mission," said Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Conn., chairman of the Subcommittee. "I don't know how DSS could be in worse shape."

In addition, an automated case management system installed in October 1998 to streamline the investigation process was a total failure. The acquisition process was poorly planned and the system broke down repeatedly, GAO said.

GAO made numerous recommendations to the Defense Department to fix operations at DSS to ensure that national security isn't compromised by inadequate personnel investigations.

Last August, DSS rewrote its investigation standards to ensure that they comply with the standards used by the rest of the federal government. The agency is now training field agents on the new standards.

DSS also has established a new Standards and Evaluation Office, which is responsible for maintaining the technical competency of investigations, and a Quality Management Office, whose mission is to improve overall productivity and quality.

The capstone of Cunningham's reform efforts is the new DSS Academy, an education and training center for both DSS employees and contractors that is expected to open this month.

DSS has also acted on GAO's recommendation to establish a strategic plan in accordance with the Government Performance and Results Act. The plan was recently completed, a performance plan is in the works and quarterly performance reviews began last month.

Finally, efforts are underway to address problems with the Case Control Management System, originally designed to automate personnel security investigations and make the process paperless. By May 1, Cunningham must make a decision on whether to trash the $100 million system and start fresh or try to repair it for what could cost an additional $100 million or more.

"The Year 2000 can and will be a year in which DSS focuses intensely on productivity. Given the care that we have taken to lay the foundation for success, we will have continuous improvement," Cunningham said.