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U.S. Office
of Personnel Management
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Speech by Janice Lachance,
Director,
Office of Personnel Management
OPM Guardian Award Ceremony
Ronald Reagan Building Auditorium
November 9, 1999
Good afternoon. Thank you Kathy [Dillaman] for that kind
introduction. It is a pleasure for me to be here at the annual Security
Professionals' Seminar.
In this time of rapid technological change and shifting agency
priorities, the issue of security becomes even more important to Federal
agencies, and it also becomes an increasingly complex and expensive
investment. Without careful review and planning, security concerns can give
the appearance of impeding the very programs they are designed to protect.
As the guardians of the public trust, we must re-examine the ways we
go about the business of security in the next century , if we are to meet the
needs of agencies while also serving the American people to the best of our
ability.
Fortunately, this self-examination and re-invention is already in full
swing across government. And, here at OPM, we want to encourage and
promote these innovative efforts.
So, we have developed the OPM Guardian Award to recognize those
agencies or programs that are leading the way in finding cost-effective and
original solutions to our modern Federal security needs.
One group in particular has guided these efforts in recent years, and
today, I would like to publicly recognize the outstanding work done by the
U.S. Security Policy Board and its committees and working groups, by
presenting them with the first-ever OPM Guardian award.
Particularly, I want to commend the Security Policy Board co-chairs
for their leadership: George Tenet, the Director of Central Intelligence and
Dr. John Hamre, Deputy Secretary of Defense.
For several decades prior to the start of this Administration, agencies
developed their security protocols essentially in a vacuum, meeting only the
most parochial of standards.
Reciprocity among agencies was almost non-existent, and there was
little uniformity or consistency across government on security policy issues.
But, since the Security Policy Board was created by President Clinton
in 1994, it has truly walked the talk of using best practices to promote and
oversee uniform, common-sense security policies and operations across the
Federal government.
The results over the past five years speak for themselves. The Security
Policy Board has had an exemplary record of bringing about the uniform
practices and enhanced reciprocity among Federal agencies that our
government requires to effectively protect our nation's interests.
To name only a few of their many successes, they have developed both
the Adjudicative Guidelines and the Investigative Standards for Background
Investigations for Access to Classified Information.
In addition, they have implemented the "Polygraph MOU," the
Safeguards Directive, and the very successful "Facility Co-use and
Inspection" program which continues to save both the American taxpayers
and industry substantial amounts of money.
They have also promoted new Technical Security Countermeasures
policies and encouraged funding for Personnel Security Research.
And the list goes on and on. In short, they have enhanced the security
of our Federal workforce and of the American people. And, in the end, that
is always our goal as public servants.
And so, without further ado, I would like present the first ever OPM
Guardian award to Dan Jacobson, the Executive Director of the Security
Policy Board, who will accept it on behalf of the entire U.S. Security Policy
Board team.
The plaque reads:
"OPM Guardian Award, presented to the Security Policy Board in
Recognition of its commitment and excellence in safeguarding
National Security and Public Trust. November, 1999."
Great work, Dan, and please share our heartfelt congratulations with
everyone who has worked so hard to make the SPB a success.
Now, Dan, I wonder if you might say a few words about where the
Security Policy Board is heading as we enter the new millennium...
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