Security Clearances Get Faster, But Still Slow

Via FCW.com -

Agencies responsible for completing security clearances for employees and contractors made significant progress in reducing the time it takes to complete initial investigations and top-secret reinvestigations, the Bush administration reported last week.

During the first quarter of fiscal 2007, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) said it took on average 101 days to process 80 percent of the 154,716 initial investigations it completed. That is down from 347 days in 2005 and 392 days in 2004.

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) reported these and other improvements to Congress in the Report of the Security Clearance Oversight Group, required under the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (IRTPA).

OMB leads the oversight group, which includes OPM, the FBI, the Defense Department and other major clearance-granting agencies. The group identifies areas of responsibility, establishes performance requirements and helps holds agencies accountable for improving the clearance process.

The IRTPA calls for the federal average to process 80 percent of initial security clearances to be 90 days or fewer and for adjudications to be no more than 30 days.Additionally, OPM said it reduced the time it takes for all investigations — top secret and below — down to 166 days on average from a high of 205 days in 2004.

The intelligence community also made progress, the report said. It investigated and adjudicated 83 percent of all investigations in 103 days on average, while State, the Homeland Security and Justice departments improved their averages as well, OMB said.