A newly released Inspector General report reveals that convicted felons have gained access to United States military facilities on a regular basis. Monday morning, 12 people were murdered by a gunman who had authorized access to Washington’s Navy Yard.
According to the report, “the problems in vetting contractors were related to budget cuts.” The report identified that 52 felons had unauthorized access to to military facilities for 62 to 1035 days. It states the Navy did not:
“follow federal credentialing standards and DOD contractor vetting requirements and did not provide 7 of the 10 installations visited the appropriate resources and capabilities to conduct required contractor background checks.”
A congressional aide told the Hill that budget cuts were not from the sequester, but resulted from military cuts before the sequester took place.
This is not the first time there has been a problem with vetting government contractors. Edward Snowden, who leaked enormous amounts of classified information to the world was also a government contractor. A Navy official claims the the security process faulted in the report were not the ones that gave Washington Naval Yard gunman access.
Senator Jeff Sessions (R-LA) told reporters on Capitol Hill “It may be time for a [congressional] review to see how well these contractors are doing their jobs” regarding the vetting for sensitive security positions.
The report singles out a company named Eid Passport, who did not turn up felony convictions in the reports they issued on the background checks.
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