Following congressional hearings and the release of a General Accounting Office report on the persistence of the backlog in security clearances for federal employees (and contract workers who also need clearances to do their jobs) the head of the House Government Reform Committee has asked the Pentagon to put more personnel and money into the task. Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., also told the Defense Department that it should guarantee reciprocity for all who hold a valid agency security clearance and should work with the Office of Personnel Management to streamline the system and take advantage of new technologies. DoD has the large majority of federal jobs requiring security clearances-most other clearances are granted through a contractor working for OPM. A plan enacted last year to transfer DoD’s responsibilities to OPM has fallen through, at least for the meantime, due to disagreements over technology and other matters.