Transferring Responsibility for Background Investigations to the Department of Defense
Transfers Background Investigations Responsibility to the Department of Defense
What it does
Federal agencies must transfer background investigation functions from the Office of Personnel Management to the Department of Defense's Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency and support the transition.
Real-world impact
- Shifts vetting for federal employees and contractors to the Department of Defense.
- Moves NBIB staff, resources, and contracts into the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency.
- Requires DoD to modernize and centralize vetting IT systems and databases.
Topics
Summary
This order transfers primary responsibility for government-wide background investigations from the Office of Personnel Management to the Department of Defense, which will operate the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency as the main investigator. The DCSA must begin serving as the primary entity by June 24, 2019, and the transition may continue until September 30, 2019.
Who is affected: federal employees, job applicants, contractors, and National Background Investigations Bureau staff. Why it matters: it centralizes vetting, moves personnel and resources, and requires the Department of Defense to modernize vetting systems and report progress.
Questions, answered
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- “What agencies are affected by this order?”
- “How does this order change existing policy?”
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