Letter to Inspector General McFarland - Investigation into Aaron Alexis' Background

Letter

Today, U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Ranking Member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC) Efficiency and Effectiveness of Federal Programs and the Federal Workforce Subcommittee, teamed up with Subcommittee Chairman Jon Tester (D-MT) in sending a letter to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) calling for a thorough review of the security clearance background investigation(s) conducted for Aaron Alexis, the alleged perpetrator of the mass killing of at least twelve people at the Navy Yard complex in Washington, D.C. on September 16, 2013.

"As we have seen in the case of Edward Snowden and now with the tragic events that transpired at the Navy Yard this week, there are real questions with regards to the effectiveness of our security process," said Portman. "We need to figure out what went wrong and how we can fix the faults in the system to make sure that we improve the effectiveness and efficiency of this process."

In the wake of Edward Snowden threatening to take national security secrets with him into asylum, Portman and Tester introduced the Security Clearance Oversight and Reform Enhancement (SCORE) Act, legislation to increase oversight over how the government conducts background investigations and awards security clearances, while also holding government employees and contractors more accountable for falsifying investigations. The SCORE Act has passed out of HSGAC.

The bill improves oversight of the security clearance process, calls for the government to fire background check investigators and suspend others -- including contractors -- who falsify reports, and forces the government to update its policy determining which positions require a security clearance.

Today's letter to OPM appears below and here.

September 18, 2013

The Honorable Patrick E. McFarland
Inspector General
Office of Personnel Management
1900 E Street, NW
Washington, DC 20415-1000

Dear Mr. McFarland:

We are writing to request that your office review the security clearance background investigation(s) conducted for Aaron Alexis, the alleged perpetrator of the mass killing of at least twelve people at the Navy Yard complex in Washington, D.C., on September 16, 2013. Mr. Alexis reportedly was a Navy subcontractor employee with a history of misconduct, including previous arrests relating to the use of firearms.[1] Specifically, we request that your office determine:

(1) Mr. Alexis' clearance level and status at the time of the shooting;

(2) Whether OPM's Federal Investigative Services or one of its contractors performed Mr. Alexis' background investigations;

(3) Which agencies granted Mr. Alexis' initial security clearance and subsequent clearance renewals and the dates of those approvals;

(4) Whether the proper review procedures were followed for all of Mr. Alexis' background investigation reports;

(5) Whether and how Mr. Alexis' background investigations addressed his pattern of misconduct, including his reported arrests on charges relating to firearms in 2004 and 2010 and his arrest for disorderly conduct in 2009.

We request that you keep us informed of your investigation's findings.