Last week, INSA released its most recent white paper, “Next Steps for Security Reform: Industry Proposals to Enhance Efficiency and Reduce Costs in National Security Contracts.” Members of Congress took notice, with both Republicans and Democrats agreeing that the report is timely and raises critical issues about inefficiencies of current security policies that are resulting in needless waste of taxpayer’s dollars—funds that are desperately needed for other intelligence and homeland security priorities.
In response to the new INSA security policy white paper, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-MI) said, “INSA is an invaluable resource for the committee and the intelligence community as we work together to improve how we conduct the country’s intelligence mission. I look forward to studying this report more carefully, but it definitely raises some important issues that the Intelligence Committee should follow up on.”
Across the Capitol, Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Member Senator John Warner (D-VA) said, “The Intelligence Community has made significant improvements in speeding up clearance processes – as recommended by the 9/11 Commission. However, at a time of fiscal restraint, more needs to be done. There are still inefficiencies in the clearance process that wind up costing taxpayer dollars. This INSA report makes some good suggestions for beginning to address these. As a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, I know that our national security depends on an efficient and effective system to ensure the trustworthiness of those entrusted with the Nation’s secrets.” INSA stands ready to provide leaders on Capitol Hill with objective
research, subject matter expertise, and related support as Congress addresses this important topic of government security policy reform.
According to conservative estimates, 10 to 20 percent of contractors, paid for by the government, may not be on the job because of delays caused by security clearance issues. This results in lost man-hours and a waste of scarce taxpayer dollars; modest improvements could save hundreds of millions of dollars each year. The Task Force reached a consensus on six critical overarching ways to promote efficiency and improve security practices at reduced costs, while allowing government and industry to work together. They are:
- Account for contractor security costs, including high level clearances and secure facility usage, and for the timeliness of policy implementation and reinvestigations
- Provide contracting officials with improved security guidelines
- Implement flexible approaches for cleared contractors to access sensitive information in the short-term
- Support industry security structures that permit the anticipation of government needs, and development of solutions and innovations
- Promote a level playing field across industry for large and small companies
- Apply security policies clearly and consistently across agencies and companies
The Task Force’s specific recommendations stem from the six points outlined above with the goal of helping government to maximize national security programs and minimize costs to U.S. taxpayers. The recommendations include:
- Align contracting and security clearance processes to reduce costs for industry and government
- Ensure clearance portability
- Follow suitability and investigative standards
- Spin off a low-side version of Scattered Castles, the Intelligence Community’s (IC) database for all security and access information
- Invest in personnel security automation that is reliable and cost efficient
- Encourage conversations across programs and contracts, and temporary storage in secure facilities.
Ellen McCarthy, President of INSA, said, “We have worked over the past several years to ensure that government continues to have a trusted contractor workforce that can accomplish more but cost less. We hope to create a space that allows conversations across programs and contracts while aligning security and contracting processes to ensure an effective and efficient national security clearance process.”