Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo, cited the report in pledging to push for legislation to bolster background checks, such as a bill introduced in November to require automated reviews of security clearance holders to make sure their files are complete.
“We’ve made progress in strengthening accountability in the security clearance process, but this troubling audit shows we have to do more to tighten controls over the system and its contractors—such as automated review and more rigid oversight,” said McCaskill, who chairs a Financial & Contracting Oversight panel.
The legislation would require OPM to conduct two automated reviews of every clearance holder twice every five years at random – cross checking databases and public records for red flags.
These reviews would try to flag information that could indicate ill intent, vulnerability to blackmail, compulsive behavior, allegiance to another country, or change in ideology. OPM would be in charge of passing that information along to the employing agency to act on.
The bill has bipartisan co-sponsors.