NW Kentucky News

Subcommittee on Government Operations and the Federal Workforce Chairman Pete Sessions (R-Texas) and Ranking Member Kweisi Mfume (D-Md.) have taken further steps in their bipartisan oversight of the Department of Defense's personnel vetting practices. The lawmakers have expressed ongoing concerns regarding delays and issues with the National Background Investigation Service (NBIS) program. They have formally requested a review from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) Comptroller General Gene L. Dodaro, highlighting long-standing issues such as missed deadlines and cost overruns in developing a modernized security clearance system.

"The Subcommittee on Government Operations and the Federal Workforce remains concerned with the status of the Department of Defense’s (DOD) personnel vetting practices, especially given the ongoing problems with the National Background Investigation Service (NBIS) program, overseen by DOD’s Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA)," wrote Sessions and Mfume. "We are further concerned that national security personnel are not undergoing all required record checks, non-sensitive personnel have not been enrolled in a continuous vetting system, and there are indications that there are challenges implementing continuous vetting across the federal government."

In 2015, cybersecurity incidents compromised data from more than 22 million federal employees and contractors' information technology systems supporting personnel vetting. In response, DOD established NBIS to replace these compromised systems. However, GAO has consistently reported significant delays with NBIS’ implementation, listing it among high-risk government-wide processes for security clearances.

In June 2024, a subcommittee hearing was held to examine DOD's shortcomings in modernizing NBIS IT infrastructure. During this session, lawmakers expressed bipartisan concern over continued delays within NBIS that could potentially impact national security.

"Continuous vetting involves reviewing the background of a covered individual through automated record checks in various areas, including criminal records, terrorism, and financial issues during an individual’s period of eligibility," noted Sessions and Mfume in their letter to GAO. "Unfortunately, these changes have not occurred as planned due to continued NBIS delays," they added. "Given the importance of a timely, accurate and comprehensive personnel vetting process, we request that GAO conduct a review on continued NBIS development and continuous vetting."

The full letter addressed to Comptroller General Dodaro is available for public viewing.