The Government Accountability Office announced Thursday that it is adding the federal government’s security clearance process to its High Risk List of federal programs that require broad transformation or specific reforms.
The National Background Investigations Bureau, which is responsible for the process, has struggled to deal with the volume of applications for security clearances, required for many government jobs. The backlog of people awaiting clearances ballooned from 190,700 in August 2014, to 581,200 in April 2017 and more than 700,000 in September of that year. The Office of Personnel Management’s goal for a stable backlog is 180,000 cases.
