House passes Knight bill to help cut red tape leading to security clearance backlog

Legislation introduced by U.S. Rep. Steve Knight (R-CA) to help mitigate backlogs in the security clearance process for government employees was approved by the House on Wednesday with unanimous support.

“Too many of our skilled workers are being set aside by government agencies in other jobs because of these backlogs that affect their ability to work,” Knight said.

The Securely Expediting Clearances through Reporting Transparency (SECRET) Act, H.R. 3210, would mandate quarterly reports on backlogs in the security clearance investigation process. Data on the average length of investigation would have to be broken down for each level of security clearance.

“We should not be punishing those who are skilled and willingly choosing to serve their country in national security positions because of bureaucratic red tape,” he said.

Knight added that national security programs have always been at the center of California’s 25th district, which he represents.

“This bill comes directly from the concerns of constituents in my district as they struggle to keep these jobs secured.” Knight said. “In order to protect our nation and the job opportunities it provides to secure those protections, we need to fight for a better and more transparent system to get rid of these overriding backlogs.”

The measure drew bipartisan support and U.S. Rep. Gerald Connolly (D-VA) was an original co-sponsor of the bill.