Our independent analysis of timeliness data showed that industry personnel contracted to work for the federal government waited more than one year on average to receive top secret clearances, longer than OPM-produced statistics would suggest. Our analysis of 2,259 cases for industry personnel who were granted top secret clearance eligibility in January and February 2006 had an average of 446 days for an initial clearance and 545 days for a clearance update. While OMB has issued a goal that the application-submission phase of the clearance process will take no longer than 14 days by December 17, 2006, this phase took an average of 111 days. OPM s current procedures for measuring application submission timeliness do not fully capture all of the time in the application process that starts when the application form is submitted by the facility security officer to the federal government. Inaccurate data that the employee provided in the application, multiple reviews of the application, and manual entry of some application forms are some of the causes for the extended application-submission phase. In addition, our analyses showed that OPM took an average of 286 days to complete the initial investigations for top secret clearances, well in excess of the 180-day goal (no goal is given for clearance update investigations) specified in the government wide plan for improving the clearance process. Factors contributing to the slowness of completing the investigation phase include an inexperienced investigative workforce that has not reached its full performance level; and problems accessing national, state, and local records.

The damage that unauthorized disclosure of classified information can cause to national security necessitates the prompt and careful consideration of who is granted a security clearance. However, long-standing delays and other problems with DOD's clearance program led GAO to designate it a high-risk area in January 2005. DOD transferred its investigations functions to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) in February 2005. The Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) Deputy Director for Management is coordinating governmentwide efforts to improve the clearance process. You asked GAO to examine the clearance process for industry personnel. This report addresses the timeliness of the process and completeness of documentation used to determine the eligibility of industry personnel for top secret clearances. To assess timeliness, GAO examined 2,259 cases of personnel granted top secret eligibility in January and February 2006. For the completeness review, GAO compared documentation in 50 randomly sampled initial clearances against federal standards.

GAO-06-1070 DOD Personnel Clearances: Additional OMB Actions Are Needed to Improve the Security Clearance Process

Due to concerns about long standing delays in the security clearance process, Congress mandated reforms in the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, which requires, among other things, that the executive branch report annually to Congress. The Office of Personnel Mgmt. conducts much of the government¿s clearance investigations. In 2007, the Dir. of National Intelligence and DoD established a Joint Reform Team to coordinate governmentwide improvement efforts for the process. This statement addresses: (1) progress in reducing delays at DoD; (2) opportunities for improving executive branch reports to Congress; and (3) the extent to which joint reform efforts reflect key factors for reform. Illustrations.

The Dept. of Defense (DoD) personnel security clearance program has been a high-risk entity since 2005, due to delays in the process and incomplete documentation. The Office of Personnel Mgmt. (OPM) conducts most of DoD's clearance investigations, which DoD adjudicators use to make clearance decisions. The Deputy Dir. for Mgmt. at the Office of Mgmt. and Budget chairs a Performance Accountability Council that is responsible for reforming the clearance process. This report addresses the: (1) reporting on timeliness for DoD clearances; (2) documentation completeness for making initial top-secret clearance decisions for DoD personnel; and (3) reporting on the quality of the clearance process. Includes recommend. Illus.

Since Jan. 2005, the DoD¿s personnel security clearance program has been placed on the list of high-risk government programs and operations. This statement discusses the personnel security joint reform efforts. It addresses: (1) elements of the most recent security clearance reform efforts; and (2) the extent to which the recent reform efforts address key factors that should be considered in efforts to reform the security process. Also identifies best practices that agencies can use to successfully transform their cultures and, accordingly, can guide the implementation of these personnel security clearance reform efforts. Charts and tables.