Executive Branch Agencies Have Made Progress Reforming the Security Clearance Process, but Long-Standing Key Initiatives Remain Incomplete

Executive branch agencies have made progress in reforming the  personnel security clearance process by, for example, issuing guidance,  such as Quality Assessment Standards to guide background  investigations, updated strategic documents to sustain the momentum of  the reform effort, and adjudicative guidelines to establish single, common  adjudicative criteria for security clearances. However, agencies face  challenges in implementing certain aspects of the 2012 Federal  Investigative Standards, including full implementation of continuous  evaluation, and the issuance of a reciprocity policy remains incomplete. This is a key executive branch initiative to  more frequently identify and assess security-relevant information between  periodic reinvestigations. Without establishing a milestone for the completion of  government-wide performance measures for the quality of investigations,  their completion may be further delayed, and executive branch agencies  will not have a schedule against which they can track progress or to  which they are accountable. Agencies Meeting Timeliness Objectives for Initial Clearances Decreased Since Fiscal Year 2012; a Government-wide Approach Has Not Been Developed to Improve Timeliness; and Reporting Has Been Limited The Number of Executive Branch Agencies Meeting Established Timeliness Objectives for Investigations and Adjudications for Initial Secret and Top Secret Clearances Decreased from Fiscal Years 2012 through 2016

Executive branch agencies have experienced challenges in meeting  timeliness objectives for investigation and adjudication of initial personnel  security clearances, and their reporting on timeliness has been limited. NBIB documentation  shows that its backlog of pending investigations increased from about  190,000 in August 2014 to more than 709,000 investigations, as of  September 2017. NBIB Has Taken Steps to Improve the Background Investigation Process but Faces Operational Challenges in Addressing the Investigation Backlog and Workforce Planning

The transition from FIS to NBIB has involved organizational changes  intended to improve the background investigation process, but the bureau  faces operational challenges in addressing the investigation backlog and  associated workforce planning. As NBIB transitions, it has taken steps  to improve its oversight of background investigations contracts and  measure the completeness of background investigations; however, it  faces operational challenges in developing a plan to reduce the size of  the investigation backlog to a manageable level and in ensuring that its  overall workforce is sized and structured to meet its mission. 3. Since 2014, OPM has  taken steps to improve its oversight of contracts. Specifically, to help address the backlog, NBIB officials reported  that NBIB increased its authorized federal investigator workforce by  adding 400 federal investigator positions in fiscal year 2016 and 200  positions in fiscal year 2017—an increase from 1,375 to 1,975 authorized  positions. Ultimately, if NBIB is unable to reduce the backlog, executive branch  agencies will continue to lack the cleared personnel needed to help  execute their respective missions, which could decrease the agencies’  overall effectiveness and efficiency, and pose risks to national security. Additionally, in November 2017, as this report was in its final stages,  Congress passed a bill for the National Defense Authorization Act for  Fiscal Year 2018, which includes a provision that, among other things,  would authorize DOD to conduct its own background investigations. Relatedly, NBIB has not established  goals for increasing total investigator capacity. Matter for Congressional Consideration

Congress should consider reinstating the Intelligence Reform and  Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004’s requirement for the executive branch  to report annually to appropriate committees of Congress on the amount  of time required by authorized investigative and adjudicative agencies to  conduct investigations, adjudicate cases, and grant initial personnel  security clearances. Specifically,
The Director of National Intelligence, in his capacity as Security  Executive Agent, and in coordination with the other Security,  Suitability, and Credentialing Performance Accountability Council  Principals—the Deputy Director for Management of OMB in his  capacity as Chair of the PAC, the Director of OPM, and the Under  Secretary of Defense for Intelligence—should take the following three  actions: establish a milestone for the completion of government-wide  performance measures for the quality of investigations;  (Recommendation 1)  conduct an evidence-based review of the investigation and  adjudication timeliness objectives for completing the fastest 90  percent of initial secret and initial top secret security clearances,  and take action to adjust the objectives if appropriate;  (Recommendation 2) and develop a government-wide plan, including goals and interim  milestones, to meet those timeliness objectives for initial  personnel security clearance investigations and adjudications. ODNI stated that it did not concur with the report’s conclusions  and recommendations, but did not specifically state with which  recommendations it did not concur. As such, we continue to believe that the recommendation is  valid. The executive branch submit an annual report, through 2011, to the  appropriate congressional committees on the progress made toward  meeting IRTPA requirements, including timeliness data and a  discussion of any impediments to the smooth and timely functioning of  IRTPA requirements.
Why GAO Did This Study

A high-quality personnel security clearance process is necessary to minimize the risks of unauthorized disclosures of classified information and to help ensure that security-relevant information is identified and assessed. The passage of IRTPA initiated an effort to reform the security clearance process government-wide.
This report assesses the extent to which (1) executive branch agencies made progress reforming the security clearance process; (2) executive branch agencies completed timely initial clearances from fiscal years 2012-2016, and reported on timeliness; and (3) NBIB has taken steps to improve the background investigation process and address the backlog. GAO reviewed documentation; analyzed timeliness data; and interviewed officials from the four PAC Principals and NBIB. This is a public version of a sensitive report that GAO issued in December 2017. Information that the DNI and OPM deemed sensitive has been omitted.

What GAO Found

Executive branch agencies have made progress reforming the security clearance process, but long-standing key initiatives remain incomplete. Progress includes the issuance of common federal adjudicative guidelines and updated strategic documents to help sustain the reform effort. However, agencies face challenges in implementing certain aspects of the 2012 Federal Investigative Standards—criteria for conducting background investigations—including establishing a continuous evaluation program, and the issuance of a reciprocity policy to guide agencies in honoring previously granted clearances by other agencies remains incomplete. Executive branch agencies have taken recent steps to prioritize over 50 reform initiatives to help focus agency efforts and facilitate their completion. In addition, while agencies have taken steps to establish government-wide performance measures for the quality of investigations, neither the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) nor the Security, Suitability, and Credentialing Performance Accountability Council (PAC) have set a milestone for their completion. Without establishing such a milestone, completion may be further delayed and agencies will not have a schedule against which they can track progress or to which they are accountable.
The number of executive branch agencies meeting established timeliness objectives for initial security clearances decreased from fiscal years 2012 through 2016, and reporting has been limited. For example, 59 percent of the executive branch agencies reviewed by GAO reported meeting investigation and adjudication timeliness objectives for initial top secret clearances in fiscal year 2012, compared with 10 percent in fiscal year 2016. The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (IRTPA) required the executive branch to submit an annual report, through 2011, to appropriate congressional committees on, among other things, the time required to conduct investigations, adjudicate cases, and grant clearances. Since the requirement ended, reporting has been limited to a portion of the intelligence community. Without comprehensive reporting, Congress will not be able to monitor agencies' progress in meeting timeliness objectives, identify corrections, or effectively execute its oversight role.
The National Background Investigations Bureau (NBIB), within the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), has taken steps to improve the background investigation process, but it faces operational challenges in addressing the investigation backlog and increasing investigator capacity. While NBIB has taken positive steps to improve its oversight of background investigation contracts, it faces operational challenges in reducing the investigation backlog—which grew from 190,000 cases in August 2014 to more than 709,000 in September 2017. To increase capacity NBIB has hired additional federal investigators and increased the number of its investigative fieldwork contracts, but it has not developed a plan for reducing the backlog or established goals for increasing total investigator capacity. Without such a plan and goals, the backlog may persist and executive branch agencies will continue to lack the cleared personnel needed to help execute their respective missions. The bill for the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018, passed by Congress in November 2017, would authorize DOD to conduct its own background investigations.

What GAO Recommends

Congress should consider reinstating the IRTPA requirement for clearance timeliness reporting. GAO is also making six recommendations, including that the DNI and other PAC Principals set a milestone for establishing measures for investigation quality, and that NBIB develop a plan to reduce the backlog and establish goals for increasing total investigator capacity. NBIB concurred with the recommendations made to it. The DNI did not concur with GAO's conclusions and recommendations. GAO continues to believe they are valid, as discussed in the report.