AIA has joined a six-association statement supporting Senator Mark Warner’s stance that federal employees who are missing paychecks because of the government shutdown should not be penalized on security clearance applications, reinvestigations or continuous evaluations.
A key element of security clearance evaluations and determinations of trustworthiness is financial considerations. Federal employees and contractors that are missing paychecks as a result of the shutdown are in jeopardy of being unable to pay their bills, which would have negative impacts on their credit rating. Negative changes to one’s credit rating are a key red flag for investigation among those holding or applying for clearances.
Senator Warner sent a letter January 11, urging the heads of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to issue guidance that government agencies should not penalize furloughed federal employees’ clearances or determinations of trustworthiness for shutdown-related financial difficulties.
The six-association statement supports Senator Warner’s letter and asks that this protection be extended to federal contractor employees who may be similarly impacted.
