[I know, lots of lunchtime stuff today. That happens sometimes…]
Those of us who work in the Defense community know the value of having a clearance. It appears we’ve just become more valuable. According to the Federal Times, Defense Security Services (DSS) has decided to stop processing security clearance applications from its contractors April 25, due to a large, unexplained increase in the number of security clearance requests that ate up the entire fiscal year’s budget in seven months. With no funding, DSS now has about 3,000 applications on hold and does not know when it will begin work again.
This is a cascade problem. DoD work requires cleared employees. Without those employees, contractors can’t begin the work they were hired to do, risking missed deadlines and higher expenses. If one can’t clear new folks, the companies are forced to hire employees who are already cleared, increasing the demand for those workers, which nets them higher salaries and results in more expensive contracts for the Pentagon. Government officials are exploring the reason behind the increase. One possibility is that the Pentagon is requiring more contractors to have top secret clearances. OPM charges DSS $3,700 for each of those clearances, whereas secret clearances cost DSS between $150 and $160. Top secret clearance holders also must be reinvestigated every five years at a cost of $2,400. As a result of this backlog, Washington Technology is reporting that the House of Representatives is considering an amendment to the Defense Authorization Bill that would restart processing on security clearance applications for government contractors. Another alternative, according to Washington Technology, is to have contractors help pay for processing security clearance applications for their workers. Of course, this only addresses the funding issue; it doesn’t solve the root problems: positions being overclassified.
Of course, this is good news for those of us in the community. For those entering the community, it means a longer wait before meaningful work can be done. It also may mean higher acquisition costs, at least in terms of contractor bids. These are your tax dollars at work, folks.
