Duval Times

U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Vice Chairman Marco Rubio (R-FL) delivered opening remarks and questioned Office of the Director of National Intelligence Principal Deputy Director Stacey Dixon and Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency Director David Cattler during a hearing on personnel vetting, security clearance reform, and Trusted Workforce 2.0.

Rubio expressed concerns about the current state of the security clearance process. "Last year, we held a hearing on this topic, and I stated at that time that the clearance process and the ongoing reforms [to it] are at the fundamental core of protecting our security and our nation’s most sensitive assets, capabilities, and information," Rubio said. He emphasized the committee's role in ensuring intelligence security from a congressional oversight perspective.

He highlighted issues with outdated systems still in use despite significant investments. "We had the 2014 Chinese hack into the Office of Personnel Management. The next-generation security clearance IT system, the National Background Investigation Service, was expected to be online by 2019. It’s now 2024, and we don’t have full NBIS utilization," Rubio noted.

Rubio also pointed out financial inefficiencies related to legacy systems: "[There has also been] no termination of expensive and old legacy security clearance systems, [on which we] already [spend] more than $1 billion per year." He called for accountability regarding these expenditures.

In his closing remarks, Rubio stressed the importance of protecting national secrets while efficiently recruiting top talent: "Our responsibility as a committee is to make sure that our nation’s most sensitive secrets are being protected…. We’ve got to be able to protect our secrets and make sure the people that we’re bringing in are properly vetted."

Rubio concluded by expressing hope for positive developments from future testimonies: "I’m hoping that I can hear something today that makes me feel better about everything I’ve just said because when I compare where we are today to where we were a year ago, I think it’s gotten worse, not better."