Bipartisan lawmakers worried about shaky progress on modernized government worker background check system

Members of both parties in a Tuesday hearing expressed concerns about continued progress on implementation of an over budget and much delayed IT system that will support an updated background check program for federal employees. 

Officials testified to the House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Government Operations that work on the National Background Investigation Services system will be finished in fiscal 2028, despite an initial estimated completion date in fiscal 2019. 

The nearly decade-long setback has come at a cost. Witnesses also reported that the government has spent at least $2.4 billion on NBIS development as well as maintaining legacy systems and is expected to need $2.2 billion more to finish the project. 

In addition to criticizing the costs, lawmakers warned about delays to government personnel vetting reforms under Trusted Workforce 2.0. 

“Without these vetting reforms in place, or the promised information technology like NBIS that serve as their backbone, security clearance providers and recipients lack advanced tools and the assurance that their personal information is guarded and safe,” said subcommittee Chairman Pete Sessions, R-Texas. “This is not a partisan issue. This is a national security issue.”

Rep. Kweisi Mfume, D-Md., the panel’s ranking member, emphasized that this issue impacts government contractors, as well. 

“This has left contractors in my district, and districts all across the country, stuck with unclear instructions and increased costs as they juggle various systems,” he said. “In a region where roughly 9% of jobs require a security clearance, this really is not a small problem.” 

Witnesses and lawmakers, however, noted that the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency, which is responsible for NBIS, has made some headway. 

Alissa Czyz, the director of Defense Capabilities and Management at the Government Accountability Office, stressed that DCSA now has a reliable cost estimate for NBIS and that the agency implemented all 13 cybersecurity recommendations the watchdog made in 2024 with respect to the system.  

But both she and members of Congress expressed reservations that the DCSA does not have permanent leadership. The previous director, David Cattler, retired in September 2025. And the acting director, Justin Overbaugh, concurrently serves as the deputy undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security. 

Overbaugh told the subcommittee that selecting a new DCSA director with government and private sector experience is a priority of the department. He also blamed past NBIS delays on the culture at the agency and said that the Trump administration has removed officials who were “stymieing progress.” 

“I have found what I expected: a dedicated, talented and innovative workforce unfortunately shackled by burdensome processes designed not to empower them, but to maintain the status quo and sustain layers of management,” he said. “Our focus now is on unleashing their potential. To that end, we are designing the agency for purpose, moving it from a cumbersome bureaucracy to an agile organization that can serve as a model for the rest of government.”

Czyz also said that GAO found shortcomings with DCSA’s new schedule for NBIS development. Specifically, she said the agency did not perform a risk analysis that could show where slip-ups are most likely to occur. 

Overbaugh said that a schedule addressing those concerns would be complete in March or April.