Clear Difference

Next month, the long-awaited transfer of the Defense Security Service to the Office of Personnel Management will become official, dramatically changing the federal security clearance process and substantially boosting the size of the workforce that deals with applications for those credentials.

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The union was originally planned for last year, but the decision was put on hold when OPM discovered that DSS' clearance process was substantially different from OPM's approach.

"This transfer will consolidate the vast majority" of federal government background checks, says Steve Benowitz, OPM's associate director for human resources products and services. "Ninety to 95 percent will now be completed by OPM."

Federal personnel officials plan to increase the size of the contractor pool working on background investigations. OPM has about 170 workers who coordinate with six contract firms that have 3,000 employees. Benowitz says the agency wants to expand the background investigation workforce-including contractors and federal employees-to 7,500 by the end of fiscal 2006.