Senior national security officials are now reassuring lawmakers and the workforce, however, that clearance-holders won’t be penalized for financial difficulties incurred through no fault of their own.
In a March 13 letter to Senate Intelligence Vice Chairman Mark Warner (D-Va.), obtained by POLITICO, Dale Cabaniss — who subsequently resigned as director of the Office of Personnel Management for unrelated reasons — indicated that financial hardships imposed by efforts to slow the spread of coronavirus would generally not reflect negatively on clearance-holders and applicants.
Cabaniss cited federal guidelines that direct agencies to consider whether an applicant’s financial difficulties stemmed from circumstances beyond their control, and whether the applicant made a good-faith effort to meet their financial obligations anyway.
“While this guidance specifically does not apply to national security eligibility determinations, Federal personnel security policy separately considers the financial challenges some employees may experience due to no fault of their own,” Cabaniss wrote.
Warner had asked Cabaniss and acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell to pledge that security clearances would not be affected by the efforts to prevent the spread of coronavirus. ODNI didn’t reply, but National Counterintelligence and Security Center Director William Evanina issued a statement on the subject on Monday.
“During this time of unexpected challenges to our nation as a result of COVID-19, we are acutely aware of the potential for economic hardship on security clearance holders,” Evanina wrote. “It is imperative that we ensure trusted security clearance holders, or applicants, who may suffer financial hardship as a result of the virus, are not unduly penalized because of circumstances beyond their control.”
Evanina also cited federal guidelines that encourage a “whole person concept” approach when vetting personnel for clearances. Echoing Cabaniss, Evanina emphasized that a clearance-holder’s debt may be mitigated if the conditions that led to it were largely outside of their control and the person acted responsibly under the circumstances. Evanina added that he would “notify departments and agencies for their attention” to that guideline.
Mark Zaid, a Washington, D.C.-based lawyer specializing in national security, said “any financial difficulties” can cause security clearance problems. But he said “there is always mitigation,” adding that clearance-holders were in a similar position during the 2008 financial crisis.
“So long as they’re not acting irresponsibly, the coronavirus crisis will be taken into account,” Zaid said.
Source: politico.com
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