Waco Reporter

Subcommittee on Government Operations and the Federal Workforce Chairman Pete Sessions (TX-17) delivered opening remarks at a hearing titled “Security at Stake: An Examination of DOD’s Struggling Background Check System.” Chairman Sessions highlighted the Department of Defense's (DoD) failure to reform the federal personnel vetting system, which was supposed to be fully operational in 2019.

Below are Subcommittee Chairman Sessions’s remarks as prepared for delivery:

"Welcome to today’s hearing on the Department of Defense’s National Background Investigation System.

A high-quality security clearance process is vital to the security of this nation.

As we have seen over the years, when sensitive information gets into the wrong hands, the result is far-reaching—compromising both the safety of the country as well as the lives of its citizens.

So, today’s discussion is an important one.

In 2015, the Office of Personnel Management announced that it had suffered a significant cyber-attack—one that exposed the personal information of millions of people.

In fact, over 21 million people, who completed forms for security clearance investigations and submitted fingerprints, had their personal information stolen by hackers.

The massive breach led to the security clearance process shifting to the Department of Defense, where it currently is today.

At that time, DoD was tasked with reforming the federal personnel vetting system. But so far, that task has not been fully delivered. Hopefully, today’s hearing will help us understand why."

Sessions emphasized that DoD conducts 95 percent of all background investigations for over 100 agencies and began crafting a new personnel vetting IT system through its Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) in 2016. The system, known as National Background Investigation Services (NBIS), was intended to be a comprehensive solution but remains limited in functionality.

"This product was supposed to be a 'one-stop-shop' system," said Sessions. "However, at this point...the system is only being used for the initial application portion."

Initially expected to be operational by 2019 and then delayed until fiscal year 2024's end, NBIS has faced setbacks leading users recently being instructed to revert to an older system due for phase-out by fall this year. Additionally troubling is DoD's lackluster cybersecurity planning for both systems.

"Even more troublesome," added Sessions, "DoD hasn’t thoroughly planned for cybersecurity...potentially exposing millions to another attack."

Sessions stressed bipartisan agreement on addressing these issues: "I think my colleagues across the aisle will agree that these issues...are important matters that affect everyone."

The hearing included testimonies from David Cattler, Director of DCSA and Alissa Czyz from GAO's Defense Capabilities and Management division.

"I look forward to working together," concluded Sessions before yielding to ranking member Mr. Mfume.