Cutting Back the Clearance Process

Clay Johnson, deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget, is slated to introduce a plan today to streamline the security clearance process, USA Today reports. One idea: To cut down on the number of required interviews of friends and neighbors of applicants for top-secret clearances. "Do we really need to talk to five neighbors?" Johnson says. By the way, he insists the government is already making progress in cutting down the existing security clearance backlog.