LETTER TO BEVERLY M. WATTS FROM CLAIR E. GEORGE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP86B00338R000300390002-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 21, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 28, 2008
• Sequence Number: 2
• Publication Date: January 1, 1984
• Content Type: LETTER

Approved For Release 2008/08/28: CIA-RDP86B00338R000300390002-7
Central Intelligence Agency
Your letter to the President concerning polygraph usage by
the Government has been forwarded to this Office for response.
You state in your letter your concern with the
Administration's support for a bill which would require
polygraph examinations for every individual applying for a
Federal Government position. You further note your concern
with the accuracy and reliability of polygraph testing in
connection with employment screening.
As to your first concern relating to recently introduced
legislation requiring polygraph testing of federal applicants,
we are unaware of any bill which would require mandatory
polygraph testing for such applicants. To our knowledge, the
only bill addressing federal government usage of the polygraph
is H.R. 5866, the Federal Polygraph Limitation and
Anti-Censorship Act of 1984, which has the opposite effect of
limiting the use by federal agencies of polygraph
examinations. With the exception of the Central Intelligence
Agency (CIA) and the National Security Agency (NSA), this bill
would prohibit other federal agencies from requiring federal
employees to take polygraph examinations except on a voluntary
basis as part of a specific investigation into alleged criminal
conduct. The Administration has opposed this bill since it
believes that the overwhelming evidence reflected in scientific
studies, government surveys and the real-life experience of
this and other agencies demonstrates the extraordinary utility
of polygraph testing as a screening and investigative tool.
In this respect, the CIA, NSA and certain other agencies
with missions similar to that of CIA and NSA use polygraph
examinations as part of the employment screening process. The
Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has Government-wide
responsiblity for this civilian personnel security and
suitability program. This authority has been judicially
exercised by OPM, as only a limited number of agencies have
been granted approval by OPM to use polygraph examinations for
such personnel screening purposes. More importantly, there has
not been a single complaint filed with or brought to the
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attention of OPM during the last nineteen years of polygraph
misuse or abuse of the type noted in your letter or which is
addressed in the above bill. As OPM has recently stated in
commenting on the above bill, in the absence of such abuse, "it
would be imprudent to seriously restrict OPM's authority over
the most effective tool agencies have to prevent compromise of
classified information."
With respect to CIA's own polygraph program, we use the
polygraph for a number of different purposes, including the
screening of potential applicants for employment. The use of
polygraphs for personnel screening purposes is limited to
developing information bearing on the security suitability of
individuals having access to national security information. No
questions are asked that do not bear on such security related
information. Polygraph interviews are, in fact, closely
monitored and supervised to ensure that the individual is
treated fairly and that the focus of the interview is limited
to legitimate areas of security interest. All CIA polygraph
examiners have a college education and many examiners have
post-graduate degrees. CIA polygraphers receive extensive
training in polygraphic techniques, psychology and unique CIA
methodology. This training also includes briefings by the CIA
Office of General Counsel on the constitutional, legal and
ethical issues presented by polygraphy. In this respect, CIA
conducts polygraph interviews only with the consent of the
subject of the interview. No United States person is given a
polygraph interview without first reading and signing a written
consent form which reminds the subject of his constitutional
right against self-incrimination and provides other appropriate
warnings.
Over the last 35 years, we have found that with carefully
chosen examiners and a thoughtfully structured and
controlled program, the polygraph is the most effective tool in
protecting the Agency from unsuitable individuals who would
clearly pose an unacceptable security risk. Critics of the
polygraph often presume that it is a simple mechanical
procedure rather than a highly technical professional
activity. Much like a physician diagnoses illness through
reliance on physical symptoms and professional training,
professional polygraphers combine an evaluation of polygraph
reactions and professional training. The most important point
to make abut individuals whose employment is disapproved on the
basis of security information developed in the polygraph
examination is that the vast majority of these cases are based
on information provided voluntarily by the individual during
the course of the polygraph. It is almost invariably (over
97 percent of all Agency cases) information from the lips of
the subject that leads to security disapprovals and not the
tracings on the polygraph itself.
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I hope the above will reassure you that the Federal
Government utilizes polygraphs in a responsible and carefully
controlled manner which is designed to prevent innocent
individuals from being unfairly denied employment opportunities.
Sincerely,
Clair E. George
Director, Office of Legislative Liaison
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