Not paying your cellphone bill can lose your security clearance...

[cynatnite]

That's what I heard from a security expert on MSNBC this morning.

If any of us had to redo our paperwork three times in order to get security clearance...no job. Just one time and I'm pretty sure I'd be flat out fired.

If Hillary had won and it was Chelsea that had to redo hers three times, repubs would be having an apoplectic fit and screaming impeach on TV every minute of every day.

[Binkie The Clown]

1. When I got my clearance in the Air Force back in 1964...

I heard from many friends and family members about how mysterious "men in black" paid them a visit and asked all sorts of probing questions about me. Getting a high-level clearance used to be a big deal, and it required a squeaky clean record and nothing suspicious in your past. They even wanted to know why I had taken a semester of Russian in college.

And then once I got my clearance I got all sorts of lectures on what I could and could not do and say and to whom I could and could not say it.

I was led to believe it was a relatively fragile privilege that I could lose by making one wrong step anywhere along the line, and if I lost it, my BEST case scenario would be that I would end up in the motor pool changing spark plugs and patching tires for the rest of my military career.

Of course none of that applies if you're filthy rich and well connected.

[flt rsk]

4. I was a man in black,

usually wore sports coats unless interviewing a high level officer, business leader or other self-important type. It didn't matter what one's position in the food chain was, they all got the same questions. I too, had to explain some foreign travel. During my first interview the agent sat me down, poured the contents of a large envelop on his desk and asked, “What the hell is this?” When I submitted my FS-86, I included information about living and attending school in Taiwan and Shanghai. I even included a copy of my transcripts. Talk about someone getting excited. I had to explain everything twice, once to the agent and once to the SAC. Fun times!

[flt rsk]

2. That is not correct.

That is not correct. Building up debt and refusing to pay that debt can cause one to lose his or her clearance. Say you have a household income based two people working and one-person is injured in an accident with no insurance. The bills pile up as the other person goes through rehab to recovery. As things work out, the injured person recovers, gets employment and is now able to pay their normal bills. The bills for the time the person was unable to work are still there, building interest. Refusing to attempt to pay off the outstanding bills can cause one to lose his or her clearance. Showing good faith to attempt to pay down the debt or even filing bankruptcy, to avoid losing everything, is acceptable. Debt is apart of out lives. The reason for the debt is what the granting agency is looking for. Is the debt due to alcohol or drug abuse, blackmail, gambling…anything that can cause someone to be susceptible to coercion or blackmail due to his or her lifestyle. The granting agency knows “life happens”.

[Lee-Lee]

3. No, you can't lose your clearance for not paying your cellphone bill

This is what I do.

Now, if you have a pattern of repeatedly not paying bills and have a lot of debt that you either don't appear to have the means to repay or you have the means but are not doing so (like say you have big debts yet you are buying a new jet ski) then yes you can lose a clearance or be denied one.

As an example I had a new employee who owed 50,000 to the IRS when we submitted his clearance. His former business partner had not paid the taxes on their business for several years and they both took a hit for it when it came to light. But he had entered into a payment plan with the IRS and for 4 years had made every payment agreed to and paid extra. They took longer but found that he was meeting his obligations and was on track and had taken responsibility for his mistakes and ruled he was eligible.

[cynatnite]

5. Thanks for the correction. n/t