Security Clearance Backlog Hits Steady State

Following a closed-door hearing on security clearance reforms, Senators on the Senate Intelligence Committee announced that the security clearance backlog has reached the long –awaited “steady state.” In 2018, the backlog peaked with 750,000 pending cases. The system has undergone significant reforms in the time since then to reduce wait times and expedite investigations.

The Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA)- formerly the Defense Security Service- officially took over the National Background Investigations Bureau from the Office of Personnel Management in October based on an executive order from the president signed in April 2019. Through staff increases and some automation, the NBIB was able to reduce the backlog to 300,000 cases just before the October takeover.

At that time, the DCSA set the goal of reaching a steady state, in which the number of security clearances in the queue remains relatively flat over time, of about 200,000 cases by January 2020.

“I am pleased to say that we are seeing significant improvements in the security clearance process. The investigation backlog has come down from 725,000 cases in early 2018 to a steady-state level of just over 200,000 today. With the backlog under better control, the next phase of Trusted Workforce 2.0 is about to begin,” Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr (R-NC) said in a statement following the closed-door hearing on Wednesday.

The Trusted Workforce 2.0 initiative is an interagency project focused on giving both federal employees and contractors more flexibility to move around government. The initiative focuses on initial vetting, continuous vetting, upgrades to an individual’s level of vetting, reestablishing trust between former and current employees, and transferring trust between agencies.

“We need a revolution in how the executive branch thinks about security clearance reform and personnel vetting for those charged with safeguarding our nation’s most sensitive secrets.  The Director of National Intelligence and the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, as the government’s Security Executive Agent and the Suitability/Fitness and Credentialing Executive Agent, respectively, should implement Trusted Workforce 2.0 without delay,” Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Mark Warner (D-VA) said in the statement from Burr’s office. “For this effort to be effective, the executive branch must provide a specific plan of action that demonstrates the new system will be more effective and efficient than the old one; identify obstacles and mitigation strategies; and service all stakeholders equitably.”

Chairman Burr concurred, “These reforms cannot come a moment too soon. Our Intelligence Community is only as good as its people, but too often our most promising recruits get stuck in a discouraging, years-long clearance process before they can begin work… The proposed reforms would aim to revamp the security clearance process and ensure our nation’s secrets are protected.”