WASHINGTON – Struggling with a deluge in passport applications, the State Department did what much of the government does: It hired more private contractors.

FILE 2007/The Associated Press

At the U.S. Passport Office in Washington, D.C., the deluge of applications is readily apparent.

But the hired hands snooped around in presidential candidates' files. And now the incident is pointing to questions about whether outside contractors should have access to such sensitive information.

The nation has needed to use nongovernment workers as well as federal employees from its earliest days, Rep. Solomon Ortiz, D-Texas, said this month in a congressional hearing that focused on military contracting.

But he asked, "Have we gone too far in recent years by perhaps relying too much on contractors?"

The government routinely asks private firms to do sensitive work – from managing weapons systems to protecting traveling diplomats to helping maintain records that contain private information on U.S. citizens. The Bush administration in particular has embraced the practice as a way to save money and improve efficiency, particularly in Iraq where there are as many defense contractors as there are service members.

With the influx of contractors comes increasing questions about lack of control.

The State Department, for example, has had to defend its use of private security guards after several Blackwater Worldwide employees were involved in shootings.

Then, last week, two contractors were fired and a third disciplined after officials found they had pried into the passport files of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and Republican John McCain.

Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton's files also were breached when a State Department worker used the senator's name during a training session. The worker, a federal employee, was reprimanded, officials said.

The State Department's inspector general is expected to determine whether the files of other high-profile people were breached and if the searches involving the presidential candidates were politically motivated.

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Monday that the Justice Department has an "open invitation" to become involved. But Attorney General Michael Mukasey has indicated that prosecutors are likely to wait until the State Department finishes its assessment before deciding whether to open an investigation.

In the meantime, Mr. McCormack said the agency isn't concerned it might be relying too much on private firms.

"These contractors go through vigorous personal integrity tests, the same kinds of tests that career government employees undergo," he said.

"They are an essential part of what we do here at the State Department in terms of providing services to the American people, and they're an essential part of the U.S. government providing the kinds of services that the American people expect their government to provide," Mr. McCormack said.

Anne Flaherty,

The Associated Press

Print

Create A Screen Name

Screen names can only consist of letters and numbers.
Your screen name will appear to everyone.
NOTE: You cannot change, delete,
or edit your screen name once you hit "Save".

---

Leave Comment

Having problems seeing comments?

Close

Supported Browsers

• Internet Explorer 7+
• FireFox 3+
• Safari

If you are using Internet Explorer 7, make sure Phishing Filter is turned off by going to Tools / Phishing Filter / Turn Off Automatic Website Checking.

If you are using Internet Explorer 8, make sure InPrivate Filtering is turned off and InPrivate Filtering data has been cleared. To turn off InPrivate Filtering go to Tools / InPrivate Filtering Settings, select the "off" button and click "OK".

To clear InPrivate Filtering data

• Go to Tools / Internet Options
• Click on the "Delete" button in the center of the General tab.
• Make sure "Preserve Favorites website data" is unchecked.
• Make sure "InPrivate Filtering data" is checked
• Click the "Delete" button.
• Click the "OK" button to exit the internet options window.
• Refresh the page

Guidelines: We welcome your thoughts, but for the sake of all readers, please refrain from the use of obscenities, personal attacks or racial slurs. All comments are subject to our terms of service and may be removed. Repeat offenders may lose commenting privileges.

You must be logged in to contribute. Log in | Register Now!

You are logged in as screenname | Log Out

You are logged in, but do not have a "screen" name. Create a Screen Name