The head of the Senate federal workforce subcommittee, John Tester, D-Mont., has criticized agencies for failure to comply with a directive to review how many of their employees who have access to classified information do not actually require that access in their jobs.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence last October told 80 federal entities to submit such reports by January 31, but more than a fifth of them still have not complied, he said.
“When it comes to the vetting of the individuals who are granted access to our nation’s most sensitive information and facilities, there is no margin for error,” Tester said in a statement. “It only takes one individual to do untold damage to our national security by exposing sensitive information about government actions and programs.”
Tester was a main sponsor of recently enacted legislation to beef up auditing of the background investigation process and is one of the backers of a pending bill to set new standards for granting clearances and require more frequent checks of those who hold them.
