WASHINGTON, May 19 (UPI) -- The U.S. Defense Security Service has said it has located enough funding to partially resume processing of security clearances.
In a brief statement posted on its Web site, the agency said it has started processing initial requests for secret clearances. It still has not resumed its work on Top Secret clearance requests -- which take more time -- or on re-investigations of already cleared contractors who are renewing credentials, but said it will do so when additional funding is available, GovExec.com reported Wednesday.
The agency's move came on the eve of U.S. Senate and House of Representatives hearings Wednesday to examine how DSS ran out of funds, and what can be done to remedy the situation quickly. The unexpected halt in clearance processing late last month stunned and enraged some private sector managers, who said it would exacerbate recruitment problems. Some requests take more than a year to process.
DSS spokeswoman Cindy McGovern said 4,800 applications had been tied up since the announcement the agency was out of money to process paperwork. The Department of Defense's location of additional funds helps 2,000 applications.
OPM took over the task of conducting background checks last February, but DSS still has to cover the cost of processing applications, which can be thousands of dollars each, depending on the level of clearance needed, GovExec.com said.
A funding shortfall of $90 million caused DSS to stop submitting applications to OPM for investigations, and the defense comptroller provided the agency with $28 million to resume processing secret-level clearance requests through the end of next month, said Robert Rogalski, special assistant to the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence, at the Senate subcommittee hearing.
