Decision to halt security clearance processing prompts outcry
OPM says funding problem that led Defense Security Service to stop forwarding applications will be cleared up in a few days.
The Defense Security Service's decision to stop advancing security clearance applications until funding issues are resolved will likely add to the increasing value of job applicants who have already passed the process, an industry official said Monday.
"There's no question there's already a premium in the market for that," said Stan Soloway, president of the Arlington, Va.-based Professional Services Council. "This will drive that up."
The council sent a letter last week to the Defense Department pleading for a hasty resolution to the funding crisis. Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., on Monday told DSS' acting director to present the House Government Reform Committee - of which he is chairman - with an explanation of the agency's action, which he called "baffling," "disturbing" and "drastic."
The Office of Personnel Management said Monday that DSS is just days away from being able to get back on its feet. OPM took over the task of conducting background checks in February 2005, but DSS still has to cover the cost of processing applications, which can be thousands of dollars each, depending on the level of clearance needed.
In an announcement Friday, DSS said that with a funding cut of $20 million this year, it simply cannot handle a workload that has grown exponentially since Sept. 11, 2001. The agency has a backlog of more than 300,000 applications from government workers and private sector employees. "We do not have the money to cover that cost," said Cindy McGovern, a DSS spokeswoman. "We are not forwarding any requests."
The decision has affected at least 3,000 requests so far, according to DSS.
While McGovern said DSS and the Defense Department are working together to resolve the issue, OPM Director Linda Springer told reporters Monday that the agency is a few days away from correcting the problem.
But these assurances have done little to placate the business community, which, Soloway said, is concerned personnel costs will escalate by as much as 25 percent per credentialed employee in the near future. That figure comes from yet-to-be-released research by Grant Thornton, he said. "This is something we haven't experienced before," Soloway said.