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GAO-14-686R 1 (2014-07-28)

handle is hein.gao/gaobaaidx0001 and id is 1 raw text is: G fA U.S. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE 441 G St. N.W. Washington, DC 20548 July 28, 2014 Congressional Requesters Security Clearances: Tax Debts Owed by DOD Employees and Contractors The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) reported that, as of October 2013, over 5.1 million federal employees (civilian and military) and contractors held-or were individuals eligible to hold-a security clearance due to a favorable adjudication.1 The number of personnel determined eligible for clearance or who currently hold a security clearance underscores the importance of security-clearance adjudicators conducting thorough vulnerability assessments of security-clearance applicants as these clearances may allow government personnel to gain access to classified information that, through unauthorized disclosure, can in some cases cause exceptionally grave damage to U.S. national security. Federal regulations state that these assessments should include a review of a host of factors, including an applicant's financial position and relevant tax-debt information, in addition to other available, reliable information about the person, past and present, favorable and unfavorable.2 Federal law does not expressly prohibit an individual with unpaid federal taxes from being granted a security clearance; however, delinquent tax debt does pose a potential vulnerability that is to be considered in making a broader determination of whether an applicant should be granted a security clearance. Specifically, federal regulations state that an individual who is financially overextended is at risk of having to engage in illegal acts to generate funds, and that adjudicating officials must weigh an individual's inability or unwillingness to satisfy debts, such as federal tax debts, as they relate to an individual's financial and personal conduct when making the security-clearance determination. The DNI is the Security Executive Agent for the federal government. In this role, the DNI is responsible for developing uniform and consistent policies related to the security-clearance process. The security-clearance process begins with a determination by executive agencies regarding which of their civilian and contractor positions require access to classified information. The individuals identified must then be sponsored by their agency for a security clearance and undergo an investigation. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and its contractors conduct background investigations of security-clearance applicants for most executive agencies, including the Department of Defense (DOD). Following the investigation, federal agencies are to determine whether an applicant is eligible for a personnel security-clearance on the basis, in part, of the results of the background investigation. Individuals approved to hold secret security clearances must undergo a reinvestigation every 10 years, and those approved for top-secret clearances must undergo a reinvestigation every 5 years.3 We have issued several reports and testimonies on the U.S. government security-clearance process over the last several years, and highlighted progress being made to improve the timeliness of the 1Office of the Director of National Intelligence, 2013 Report on Security Clearance Determinations (April 2014). 232 C.F.R. Part 147, Adjudicative Guidelines for Determining Eligibility for Access to Classified Information (2011). 3OPM officials noted that under the new standards issued in December 2012, it is a 5-year cycle for both types of investigations, with reinvestigations conducted of a random sample of clearance holders. However, these standards have not yet been implemented. GAO-14-686R DOD Clearance Holders with Unpaid Federal Taxes Page 1

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