How many government employees and contractors hold security clearances for access to classified information? Remarkably, it is not possible to answer that question today with any precision. But it should be possible by next February, officials said at a House Intelligence Subcommittee hearing on December 1.
Currently there is no precise tally of the number of cleared persons, and there is no way to produce one, said John Fitzpatrick, Director of the ODNI Special Security Center.
“We can find definitively if any individual has a clearance at any one point in time,” he told Rep. Anna Eshoo, the subcommittee chair. But “to take that point in time and define the number of all the people that do takes a manipulation of data in databases that weren’t intended to do that.”
“To give a precise [answer] requires, I think, due diligence in the way we collect that data and the way that data changes.” And in fact, “we have a special data collection to provide a definitive answer on that in the February 2011 IRTPA report,” referring to an upcoming report required under the 2004 Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act.
In the meantime, Mr. Fitzpatrick said, “To give a ballpark number [of total security clearances] is not difficult.”
Well then, Rep. Eshoo asked, “What would a ballpark figure today be?”
“Oh, I’d like to take that one for the record,” Mr. Fitzpatrick replied. “It’s — you know, I’d give you — I’d like to take that one for the record.”
Based on prior reporting by the Government Accountability Office, the ballpark figure that we use is 2.5 million cleared persons. (“More Than 2.4 Million Hold Security Clearances,” Secrecy News, July 29, 2009).
On Tuesday, December 23rd, the Department of Defense released its annual congressionally-mandated report on China’s military developments, also known as the “China Military Power Report,” or “CMPR.” The report is typically a valuable injection of information into the open source landscape, and represents a useful barometer for how the Pentagon assesses both the intentions and […]
Successful NC3 modernization must do more than update hardware and software: it must integrate emerging technologies in ways that enhance resilience, ensure meaningful human control, and preserve strategic stability.
The FY2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) paints a picture of a Congress that is working to both protect and accelerate nuclear modernization programs while simultaneously lacking trust in the Pentagon and the Department of Energy to execute them.
For Impact Fellow John Whitmer, working in public service was natural. “I’ve always been around people who make a living by caring.”