Letter: Clearances: The problem is in the technology managing the process

A reader writes, "In technology, any agency can go only as fast as your oldest technological processing system."

Regarding "Back to square one on clearances": Sen. George Voinovich (R-Ohio) would be astounded to know that 77 percent of [the Defense Department] using eQIP is more than most government agencies combined when totaling clearance submissions. 

I understand the problem is not in the submission but in the time it takes [the Office of Personnel Management] to investigate and also in the back-end technology that handles and manages the investigative process.  When you look at the [Information Technology Association of America] (industry statistics), it is clear that the long pole in the tent is in the investigation and process to start the investigation.  In technology, any agency can go only as fast as your oldest technological processing system.

Anonymous

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