New Solution Sought for Security Clearances It’s back to the drawing board on security clearances. Defense and intelligence agencies say they are aiming for a total overhaul of the troubled clearance process. The interagency team wants to “develop a comprehensive, reformed process of the entire end-to-end clearance process that will deliver high-assurance security clearances in the least time at the lowest reasonable cost,” according to a request for information in the August 20 Federal Register. Federal agencies and contractors have complained for years about the slow pace of processing applications for clearances. The director of national intelligence, Mike McConnell, has made reform of the system a top priority. The national intelligence office and the Defense Department created a joint Clearance Process Reform Team to look for a solution. According to the RFI, the team’s goal is to “deliver a transformed, modernized, and reciprocal security clearance process that is universally applicable” to Defense, the intelligence community and other agencies. The team said it wants to look at automated collection of applicant information; conduct of automated records checks and additional investigation as required; use of biometrics and digital signature technologies; electronic reporting and analysis of information for adjudication; continuous evaluation of cleared personnel; and work process management. “Automation is key,” John Fitzpatrick, a senior official in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, told the National Journal. Congress has mandated that 90% of all investigations be completed within 40 days and adjudications within 20 days by December 2009. The Office of Personnel Management, which oversees most clearance requests, said the average time it takes to complete 80 percent of the investigations is currently 73 days, half as long as it took a year ago. The government processes about 1 million clearance applications annually, according to the RFI. The RFI is Reference-Number-AFDWA7KIRFI1. Responses are due Sept. 4.