NORFOLK, Va. (WVEC) -- U.S. Senator Mark Warner stopped in Norfolk Friday to address issues affecting the military community in Hampton Roads.
The Women in Defense chapter of Greater Hampton Roads held a roundtable discussion with Warner.
Maria Herbert, the President, said one of the greatest problems in the government contracting sphere is the difficulty of getting a security clearance.
“There’s a huge backlog, there’s a long waiting period for you to get a response back from any clearance request,” said Herbert. “It is impacting our bottom line.”
Warner said there is a backlog of more than 700,000 security clearance applications.
“Some of the best talent, who may want to come and want to work for our country based on a mission, can’t afford to wait a year, a year and a half before they go to work,” said Warner. “We’re losing great people, and that means we’re not protecting our nation as well as we should.”
Another issue government contracting companies face is the lack of standardization to obtain security clearances.
“For instance, Department of Energy may have a clearance there, and I’m trying to hire someone who's been there, in the Department of Defense, and it doesn’t transfer easily,” said Jack Ezzell, CEO of Zel Technologies Inc.
Warner said the security clearance process hasn’t been updated since the late 1940’s. He wants to look at “common sense solutions,” like using technology to check someone’s records and creating security clearance standardization.
Warner also stopped by Norfolk’s Selden Market to deliver the keynote address at the 757 Launch Event. The program showcased three new resources to support Hampton Roads entrepreneurs and startups.
“If you look over the last 20 years, virtually every net new job that’s come into the American economy can be traced back to a startup,” said Warner. “One of the things that we’re still not as good at in Virginia as we should be is helping entrepreneurs get funded, start their businesses.”
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