OPM has reduced the time it takes to fulfill most recently initiated security clearances, Clay Johnson, OMB deputy director for management, told lawmakers May 17.
A revised technology design for the Homeland Security and State departments' upcoming border-crossing identification card now meets international security standards.
The airline industry is opposed to DHS' plan to put airlines in charge of fingerprint checks for foreign passengers departing the U.S., the president of a major airline trade association said.
IT experts intensified the controversy over the Real ID Act this week with warnings that the huge database required may never be secure from ID theft and privacy invasions.
The Real ID Act of 2005 raises serious concerns about privacy, data security, cost, fairness and so-called mission creep that should be fully scrutinized before it is implemented, says an advisory committee to the Homeland Security Department.
Civil liberties and consumer groups have started a campaign against the Real ID Act regulations issued by DHS, believing the new ID system will have negative impacts on civil rights.
DHS plans to select a vendor this summer to build a second cross-agency data center, and has directed prospective contractors to propose locations in the Western U.S. to help shield the facility from any major East Coast blackout.
Rep. Carolyn McCarthy is promoting her legislation to make improvements to a national database used to check potential gun buyers for criminal records or mental illness.
Employer participation is rapidly increasing in DHS' Employment Eligibility Verification program even though the federal databases continue to be riddled with errors and have difficulty communicating with each other.
