Over the past month legislators have debated a solution to keep the U.S. government from defaulting. On Saturday President Joe Biden signed a bill allowing a raise in the budget, but some security clearance holders have wondered if all of the budget debate may be causing delays in security clearance processing times.
While it’s certainly possible that some government agencies may have slowed down hiring or held back processing some investigations as they waited for a budget deal to get made, in general, broader government budget issues don’t hit the security clearance background investigation process. Even during times of government shutdowns, background investigators have remained on the job, performing the critical function of keeping national security onboarding happening.
Slowing of hiring, delays in filling positions or other employment issues are endemic of a government budget debacle, but if you have a security clearance that’s already in process, the debt ceiling debate should not have been a factor in any delays.
Who Pays for Clearances?
Concerns about the debt ceiling and security clearance processing draw to mind the bigger picture topic of who exactly pays for security clearances. Individuals aren’t able to sponsor and pay for their own security clearances, and even government contractors don’t foot the bill (although employers due face tertiary costs in maintaining a clearance program). The government pays for the cost of all investigations.
The Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) operates from a Working Capital Fund to ensure it always has the money necessary to keep investigations trucking. The WCF model has allowed for the agency to cut or keep costs of conducting background investigations flat, particularly as it’s implemented process improvements and reforms under Trusted Workforce 2.0.
In addition to conducting all DoD background investigations, DCSA conducts investigations and provides investigative services to more than 100 government agencies using this fee-for-service model. While individual agencies have sometimes held back sending forward investigations due to their own business processes or budget issues, DCSA ensures it always has the funding to keep the investigation mission moving forward.
If you’re currently facing security clearance processing delays, there may be a cause – but fortunately or unfortunately, the government’s budget battle isn’t it.
