President Barack Obama has signed an executive order that seeks to amend the federal government’s security clearance process as well as standards of suitability and fitness for employment, Federal News Radio reported Tuesday.Nicole Ogrysko writes the order calls for the Office of Personnel Management to facilitate “open competitive examinations†that will test an individual’s fitness and capacity to serve in the government as well as oversee fitness and suitability standards based on conduct and character for appointment and standards related to education, citizenship, training, age and other requirements.
The document also codifies the information technology modernization work that OPM, Defense Department and the National Background Investigation Bureau have started with regard to the security clearance process, Ogrysko reports.
The order also calls for an “executive branch investigative service provider†that will work to ensure security of federal background investigations and includes clarification on continuous evaluation and vetting policies, the report added.
