Security clearancesU.S. approves fewer security clearances

A new report by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) shows that the number of new security clearances approved by the federal government, both initial clearances and renewals, has decreased by 9 percent since 2011. The number of approved clearances decreased for the second consecutive year in fiscal 2013, to just over 777,000. ODNI attributes the trend to the enforcement of Executive Order 12968, signed by President Bill Clinton in 1995 in an effort to reduce the number of employees with access to classified information.

Nicole Smith, an attorney at Tully Rinckey who represented employees seeking security clearancesor who were denied such clearance, said the reduction is a response to a period in the mid-2000s when “basically everyone needed a clearance.” Conducting background investigations can be expensive, and since “it is essentially a waste of resources to give individuals clearances who don’t really need [them]” in times of budget reductions, especially at the Pentagon, it is reasonable for agencies to reduce the number of security clearance investigations, Smith said.

Government Executive reports that the data provided in the report are limited as 2011 was the year ODNI began to track the number of new security clearances as mandated in the 2010 Intelligence Authorization Act, but the data do show a clear trend in the last three years. Intelligence agencies have generally denied security clearance applications at a higher rate than in previous years. The NSA rejected 7.2 percent of security clearance applicants in fiscal 2013, compared to 5.7 percent in fiscal 2012. The ODNI report also showed that federal civilians earned more security clearances in 2013 compared to contractors.

The reduction in the number of security clearances issued may also be attributed to the security risks inherent when too many employees have access to classified information. The Edward Snowden and Navy Yard shooter Aaron Alexis cases are just two examples. The downward trend, however, predates these cases, but they will have an impact on the number of security clearances issued in months and years ahead.

Smith notes that in her ten years of conducting background checks, there “really weren’t any changes.” Future investigations will look into “different aspects of someone’s life that isn’t currently being evaluated,” leading to fewer approvals, Smith said.