[Infowarrior] - Over 2.4 Million Hold Security Clearances

[Richard Forno]

More Than 2.4 Million Hold Security Clearances
Author: Steven Aftergood
Some 2.4 million persons currently hold security clearances for  
authorized access to classified information, according to a recent  
Government Accountability Office report (pdf) to the House  
Intelligence Committee, citing an estimate from the security clearance  
Joint Reform Team.  This figure does not include “some of those with  
clearances who work in areas of national intelligence,” the GAO noted  
(at p.1).

An accurate tally of the number of cleared government employees and  
contractors — as opposed to a round-number estimate — is not currently  
available anywhere in government.  The House version of the FY2010  
intelligence authorization act (sec. 366) would require an annual  
report that indicates the number of individuals with security  
clearances.

In 1993, an estimated 3.2 million persons held security clearances,  
according to a 1995 GAO report (cited by the Moynihan Commission,  
chapter 4).



http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/2009/07/security_clearances.html