Posted on 05/04/2006 9:14:39 AM PDT by George Smiley
The Pentagon stopped processing security clearances for government contractors this week, potentially exacerbating a shortage of employees authorized to work on the government's most secret programs.
The Defense Security Service blamed overwhelming demand and a budget shortfall for the halt, which caught the government contracting community by surprise. Already, 3,000 applications have been put on hold, said Cindy McGovern, a DSS spokeswoman.
"We're holding them [the applications] now to see if we can resolve the issue. The more drastic step would be not accepting them" at all, McGovern said, a step the agency considered but dropped for now.
The demand for security clearances among private companies has grown dramatically since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks as the government increasingly relies on contractors to do intelligence gathering and work on classified programs. There has been growing frustration with the wait time, which some companies have described as up to a year, to obtain clearances for new employees. Some firms have reverted to gimmicks and large bonuses to attract employees with pre-existing clearances, and industry officials worry that this week's action will increase competition and salary demands.
The move affects not only defense contractors, but also those who work on projects for more than 20 other agencies, including NASA and the Department of Homeland Security.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
</SARCASM>
Geez, I hope this doesn't include mine. Been waiting for my TS for some time now......
I'm now well over two years and counting for my periodic reinvestigation. And I'm more boring than ever. Should have taken like 8 weeks! :-)
H1B's? B1B's.............
This so-called "war" that we're allegedly in seems to become more of a sick joke every day.
Thanks for the post. If you see more stories on this topic, feel free to keep us posted.
Um...one of the big contributor to the shortage is the Govt's perception of anyone who ever smoked weed as being some sort of threat to national security. They claim that these people are susceptible to blackmail. However, they create their own problems by creating and fostering the blackmail threat themselves.
Say what??
You don't find it just a little bit sad that we're at war, and our government doesn't even have the resources to handle the security clearance caseload?
Yeah, it's silly. Sort of like being homosexual used to be a no-go. It's only blackmail material if the person is in the closet or is mortified of it being exposed.
For instance, do you think someone could blackmail the character on South Park - Big Gay Al or Mr. Slave? ;-)
Even with the sarcasm, I'm not sure the point you're trying to make. H1B visa holders, or any other non-citizens, are ineligible for working on government projects that require a security clearance.
I have been waiting for several month for my SSBI to be redone.
ping
I spent a YEAR waiting for just a "SECRET" when Clinton was elected & brought his crew in; I kept calling DSS to find out if there was any reason for the delay and they said it was just the backlog. I ended up changing jobs before they issued it.
I recall from the late 80's that a simple DUI could get your clearance whacked.
You shoulda posted that the first time, versus your stupid little wisecrack.
The government and military get priority over contractors, which is certainly understandable, but this is going to have a big impact on a lot of important projects.
Sounds like they need to start declassifying a lot of data then.
Then some people need to be going to jail.
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