A recent Federal Register report discussed the possibility of using DNA testing as a part of the applicant screening process. DNA testing, it was noted, could be used in the same way fingerprints are currently, and be checked against criminal investigations using DNA evidence.

“The Federal Government is looking into the feasibility of using biometric identifiers other than fingerprints in the security clearance process,” the Pentagon said. It was also quick to point out that any DNA collection would be covered in a separate rule-making (and I’m guessing it would also include a lot of very friendly back and forth with federal employee labor unions, the ACLU, and other interested parties).

Among the proposals on the table as Congress looks to reform the security clearance process in the wake of the Navy Yard Shooting – better cooperation with local law enforcement, continuous monitoring, and allowing background investigators to use the Internet when conducting background investigations.

This week the House of Representatives Oversight and Government Reform Committee released the findings of a new 44-page report outlining the flaws in the security clearance process.

This week the Department of Justice filed a new complaint against security clearance investigation firm USIS. The filing accuses the company of filing incomplete investigations approximately 40 percent of the time, at least 665,000 cases. USIS has been under fire in recent months, as congress steps up efforts to reform the security clearance process and improve security clearance background checks.

In the wake of Edward Snowden and Aaron Alexis, Congress is in a push to reform the security clearance process. Where congressional testimony in years past focused on the need to speed up the clearance process and make it easier for cleared personnel to get to work on classified projects, today’s push centers around increased scrutiny and more oversight.