Long delays in top-secret clearances

A congressional watchdog agency reported “quite disturbing” delays in granting topsecret clearances to workers on sensitive jobs undertaken for the government by private industry.

A review of more than 2,000 cases in early 2006 showed that it took an average of 446 days, or about 15 months, for first-time clearances, Derek B. Stewart, a senior official at the Government Accountability Office, told a Senate domestic security subcommittee.

Under a 2004 law, Stewart said, the clearances should be completed within 120 days.

“These are critical jobs,” Stewart said. “The government cannot get its business done, and the taxpayer ends up paying more the longer it takes the government to process clearances.”