Bipartisan lawmakers worried about shaky progress on modernized government worker background check system

"Without these vetting reforms in place, or the promised information technology like NBIS that serve as their backbone, security clearance providers and recipients lack advanced tools and the assurance that their personal information is guarded and safe. This is not a partisan issue. This is a national security issue."

"This has left contractors in my district, and districts all across the country, stuck with unclear instructions and increased costs as they juggle various systems. In a region where roughly 9% of jobs require a security clearance, this really is not a small problem."

The House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee heard testimony about significant delays and cost overruns in the National Background Investigation Services system, originally scheduled for completion in fiscal 2019 but now not expected until fiscal 2028. The government has already spent $2.4 billion on NBIS development and legacy system maintenance, with an additional $2.2 billion required to complete the project. Lawmakers from both parties expressed concerns about the delays affecting Trusted Workforce 2.0 personnel vetting reforms. The delays impact not only federal security clearance processes but also government contractors who face unclear instructions and increased costs managing multiple systems. Despite these challenges, the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency has demonstrated some progress on the initiative.

Read at Nextgov.com