Seeking Reciprocity in Security Clearance Policy
Reciprocity in security clearances — meaning the acceptance by one agency of a security clearance granted by another agency, and vice versa — has been an elusive security policy goal for well over a decade. But lately it has become the subject of increased attention.
“The Director [of National Intelligence] has done little to ensure the reciprocal recognition of security clearances within the [Intelligence] Community,” the House Intelligence Committee complained in its new report (pdf).
“It def[ies] common sense… that it takes months to transfer clearances for an individual who will work in the exact same space but transfer from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency to the CIA,” the House report said.
A July 17 memo from the Office of Management and Budget addresses the problem of reciprocity in highly restricted “special access programs,” and provides a checklist of permitted exceptions to reciprocity.
The Department of Defense and Department of Energy have each issued new directives lately on reciprocal recognition of security clearances.
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The FAS Nuclear Notebook is one of the most widely sourced reference materials worldwide for reliable information about the status of nuclear weapons and has been published in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists since 1987. The Nuclear Notebook is researched and written by the staff of the Federation of American Scientists’ Nuclear Information Project: Director Hans […]
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