Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Michigan for his remarks. Congressman Steve Knight and I introduced H.R. 3210, the Securely Expediting Clearances Through Reporting Transparency Act, or SECRET, to enable Congress to monitor the efficiency of the background investigation process. This bipartisan bill was passed unanimously by the Oversight and Government Reform Committee. H.R. 3210 imposes a commonsense requirement on the National Background Investigations Bureau to report to Congress on backlogs that develop in the background investigation process. Backlogs have plagued us in the past, as my friend from Michigan just said. In 2004, when the Department of Defense was the lead agency performing background investigations, the Government Accountability Office determined the backlog was 375 days, more than 1 year. Over 100,000 new investigations or reinvestigations were delayed by that backlog. In response, Congress transferred responsibility for those investigations to the Office of Personnel Management, and more recently, created the National Background Investigations Bureau within the Office of Personnel Management. H.R. 3210 will provide Congress with the transparency needed to conduct oversight of the National Background Investigations Bureau and to help prevent backlogs like that in the future.…”