At a pivotal congressional hearing today, the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) laid bare more than technological challenges. It revealed a deeper struggle: an agency grappling with its purpose while trying to deliver on the most consequential reform in federal security clearance history.
Justin Overbaugh, Acting Director of DCSA, appeared before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform to address why the long-promised overhaul of the background investigation system remains incomplete. He was joined by Alissa H. Czyz, Director of Defense Capabilities and Management at the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), who offered an independent assessment grounded in years of oversight of the personnel vetting enterprise.
The contrast between internal reform messaging and external audit scrutiny made one thing clear: modernization is underway, but it remains fragile.
GAO’s Core Concern: Execution, Not Intent
While DCSA leadership emphasized cultural reform and organizational realignment, GAO focused on execution.
According to Czyz’s testimony, the success of National Background Investigation Services (NBIS) remains critical to implementing Trusted Workforce 2.0. Without a reliable development schedule and sound cost estimate, the entire reform effort is vulnerable.
GAO highlighted several persistent issues:
- Repeated schedule delays. NBIS was originally expected to be fully operational years ago, and key milestones have slipped multiple times.
- Cost estimate weaknesses. Prior estimates did not fully align with best practices for reliability and completeness.
- Program management gaps. GAO has identified ongoing risks in governance, oversight, and cybersecurity planning.
These findings do not suggest reform is impossible. They underscore that modernization requires disciplined systems engineering and strong acquisition management, not just vision.
The Cultural Diagnosis: From Reactive to Proactive
If GAO’s testimony centered on execution risk, Overbaugh’s centered on culture.
He described DCSA as having suffered from an identity crisis since its creation, assembled from disparate components without ever fully establishing a unified culture or mission clarity. Previous leadership, he acknowledged, focused too heavily on branding and mission expansion rather than operational excellence.
But his most striking comments were about mindset.
“Ultimately, the steps that we are taking are designed towards transforming it from a reactive to a proactive organization, from a risk based, or fear-based culture to one that looks for opportunities to continue to shore up security for the American people.”
That statement captures the core of what DCSA is attempting. This is not simply an IT modernization effort. It is an attempt to overhaul the culture of DCSA itself, shifting from compliance-driven caution to mission-driven innovation while maintaining security rigor.
Overbaugh described a workforce constrained by process layers that prioritized bureaucracy over results. The goal now is empowerment, accountability, and speed without sacrificing risk management.
That is easier said than done inside a national security agency whose default posture has historically been risk avoidance.
Members of Congress made clear during the hearing that sustained leadership will be essential to making that cultural shift stick. Several lawmakers emphasized that appointing a permanent, full-time Director is not optional but vital to ensuring accountability, continuity, and long-term delivery of NBIS and Trusted Workforce 2.0. Acting leadership may steady the ship, but Congress signaled it wants a captain permanently at the helm.
Progress in Inventory, But Caution on Sustainability
Despite systemic concerns, DCSA reported measurable progress in case inventory reduction.
In January 2026, the initial background investigation inventory fell to approximately 100,000 cases. That represents a 65 percent decrease since the beginning of 2025. For context, inventory peaked at 725,000 cases in April 2018 and stood at just over 290,000 in September 2024.
In FY2025 alone, DCSA conducted approximately:
- 426,400 Secret investigations
- 142,800 Top Secret investigations
- 423,300 Suitability investigations
- 1.6 million Special Agreement Checks
DCSA supports more than 4 million federal personnel across government and cleared industry.
GAO’s caution remains relevant against these stats. Improvements must be durable and tied to structural reform, not temporary surge measures. The need for a competent, robust, and aggressive background investigations process is ongoing, not episodic.
What Is Actually Changing
Both testimonies outlined tangible steps forward.
DCSA has:
- Migrated seven NBIS systems into a unified cloud environment
- Adopted a modular contracting strategy rather than relying on a single large vendor
- Established a Requirements Governance Board to align system delivery with stakeholder needs
- Created the Trusted Workforce Implementation Group to translate policy into operational capability
Near-term capability deployments include:
- Expanded use of interim Secret clearances through automated business rules
- Adjudicative improvements for certain public trust cases
- Expanded continuous vetting coverage
- A status tracker to provide applicants visibility into where they stand in the process
For cleared professionals and contractors, these are not cosmetic updates. They affect onboarding timelines, program execution, and mission readiness.
The Shared Bottom Line
GAO emphasized disciplined governance, reliable cost estimating, and schedule realism. Overbaugh emphasized cultural transformation and leadership accountability.
Both perspectives converge on the same reality: NBIS must work, and Trusted Workforce 2.0 must move from policy concept to operational capability.
The personnel vetting enterprise sits at the center of national security workforce readiness. When it slows, missions slow. When it modernizes successfully, agencies gain speed and resilience.
This hearing mattered because it moved beyond polished assurances. It acknowledged past shortcomings and reframed the challenge as both structural and cultural.
Congress expects delivery. GAO expects measurable adherence to best practices. Industry expects predictability.
And the cleared community expects a system that works.
Whether DCSA can truly transform from reactive to proactive will determine the success of the process, and the possibility of progress.
