Treasury Dept IT System Flagged for Security Issues

Serious tech troubles at the Treasury Department are so severe that they could disrupt accounting practices within a system that manages about $16.7 billion of federal debt.

The Government Accountability Office flagged at least 20 problems within the Bureau of the Fiscal Service’s tech system—all of which involve security management issues. Of the deficiencies GAO identified, 14 are brand new and six are problems that were detected in 2012 and were never corrected.

The auditors said the issues constitute a "significant deficiency" for financial reporting purposes. 

The weaknesses "increase the risk of unauthorized access, modification or disclosure of sensitive data and programs, which could result in the disruption of critical operations," Gary Engel, GAO director for financial management and assurance, wrote in an audit last week, NextGov first reported.

The Fiscal Service commissioner addressed the auditor’s findings and said the agency is currently taking actions to resolve the issues.

-Brianna Ehley, TheFiscalTimes.com
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Secretary Geithner Sends Debt Limit Letter to Congress

Today, Secretary Geithner sent the following letter to Congress regarding the debt limit.

*** 

December 26, 2012

The Honorable Harry Reid

Majority Leader

United States Senate

Washington, DC  20510

Dear Mr. Leader:

I am writing to inform you that the statutory debt limit will be reached on December 31, 2012, and to notify you that the Treasury Department will shortly begin taking certain extraordinary measures authorized by law to temporarily postpone the date that the United States would otherwise default on its legal obligations. 

These extraordinary measures, which are explained in detail in an appendix​ to this letter, can create approximately $200 billion in headroom under the debt limit.  Under normal circumstances, that amount of headroom would last approximately two months.  However, given the significant uncertainty that now exists with regard to unresolved tax and spending policies for 2013, it is not possible to predict the effective duration of these measures.....

-Matt Anderson, U.S. Department of the Treasury
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After debt deal, agencies face budget uncertainties

Now that a debt ceiling deal is struck, agency financial managers are struggling to figure out their budgets for next year and beyond — and planning for the worst.


With the start of fiscal 2012 less than two months away, many experts expect agencies will have to live under a continuing resolution for at least several months past October; some observers expect the renewed prospect of a government shutdown to emerge from the political standoffs in Congress already being anticipated.

Many federal financial planners are preparing for big cuts. Well before the debt ceiling legislation passed last week, for example, Defense Department officials were running scenarios for absorbing several hundred billion dollars in projected spending cuts over the next decade, said a Navy financial manager who spoke last week on condition of anonymity.


The results will be woven into an adjustment of the Pentagon fiscal 2012 budget request that will likely be ready when Congress returns early next month from its August recess, the manager said. On top of long-term reductions already in place, those contained in the debt ceiling law represent "real dollars, real money and real hurt," he said.

At other agencies, the caps on discretionary spending contained in the legislation will likely keep them focused on belt-tightening already underway.

OMB has not yet issued any 2013 budget guidance to agencies, a spokeswoman said.

At the moment, however, lawmakers aren't even close to wrapping up work on the fiscal 2012 budget. Of the dozen appropriations bills needed to keep the government in business, none has been signed into law. The Republican-run House of Representatives has approved only six; the Democratic-controlled Senate, just one. And one of the largest and most politically charged — legislation to fund the Health and Human Services Department — has not moved in either chamber.

Shutdown scenarios will likely accompany the ensuing budget brinkmanship, Lilly said, with the odds of a deal uncertain. For agencies, he added, the process raises "tons" of uncertainties, such as how much money they will have to obligate for grants and contracts. "It also pushes the bureaucracy to more haphazard decision-making, which ultimately is the way we waste money."


-Sean Reilly, FederalTimes.com
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Recent GAO Publications

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently released the following reports, correspondence and testimony:

Understanding the Primary Components of the Annual Financial Report of the United States Government.
GAO-09-946SP, September 2009.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-946SP

Continuing Resolutions: Uncertainty Limited Management Options and Increased Workload in Selected Agencies.
GAO-09-879, September 24.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-879
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d09879high.pdf

Troubled Asset Relief Program: One Year Later, Actions Are Needed to Address Remaining Transparency and Accountability Challenges.
GAO-10-16, October 8.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-10-16
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d1016high.pdf

Troubled Asset Relief Program: Capital Purchase Program Transactions for October 28, 2008, through September 25, 2009, and Information on Financial Agency Agreements, Contracts, Blanket Purchase Agreements, and Interagency Agreements Awarded as of September 18, 2009 (GAO-10-24SP, October 2009), an e-supplement to GAO-10-16.
GAO-10-24SP, October 8.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-10-24SP

Federal Student Loans: Audits and Reviews of the Federal Family Education Loan and Federal Direct Loan Programs.
GAO-09-992R, September 30.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-992R

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac: Analysis of Options for Revising the Housing Enterprises' Long-term Structures, by William B. Shear, director, financial markets and community investment, before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
GAO-10-144T, October 8.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-10-144T

Debt Management: Treasury Inflation Protected Securities Should Play a Heightened Role in Addressing Debt Management Challenges.
GAO-09-932, September 29.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-932
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d09932high.pdf

Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau: Fiscal Year 2010 Proposed Licensing and Registration Fees Program.
GAO-09-1023R, September 28.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-1023R

Federal Contracting: Observations on the Government's Contracting Data Systems, by William T. Woods, director, acquisition and sourcing management, before the Ad Hoc Subcommittee on Contracting Oversight, Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
GAO-09-1032T, September 29.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-1032T
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d091032thigh.pdf

Vocational Rehabilitation Funding Formula: Options for Improving Equity in State Grants and Considerations for Performance Incentives.
GAO-09-798, September 30.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-798
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d09798high.pdf

Financial Regulation: Recent Crisis Reaffirms the Need to Overhaul the U.S. Regulatory System, by Richard J. Hillman, managing director, financial markets and community investment, before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
GAO-09-1049T, September 29.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-1049T

Appropriations Decisions:

B-318588, Department of the Army, Military Surface Deployment and
Distribution Command--Use of Appropriations for Bottled Water,
September 29, 2009
http://www.gao.gov/decisions/appro/318588.htm

Recent GAO Publications

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently released the following reports, correspondence and testimony:



Understanding the Primary Components of the Annual Financial Report of the United States Government.

GAO-09-946SP, September 2009.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-946SP



Troubled Asset Relief Program: One Year Later, Actions Are Needed to Address Remaining Transparency and Accountability Challenges.

GAO-10-16, October 8.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-10-16
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d1016high.pdf


Troubled Asset Relief Program: Capital Purchase Program Transactions for October 28, 2008, through September 25, 2009, and Information on Financial Agency Agreements, Contracts, Blanket Purchase Agreements, and Interagency Agreements Awarded as of September 18, 2009 (GAO-10-24SP, October 2009), an e-supplement to GAO-10-16.

GAO-10-24SP, October 8.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-10-24SP


Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac: Analysis of Options for Revising the Housing Enterprises' Long-term Structures, by William B. Shear, director, financial markets and community investment, before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.

GAO-10-144T, October 8.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-10-144T



Continuing Resolutions: Uncertainty Limited Management Options and Increased Workload in Selected Agencies.

GAO-09-879, September 24.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-879
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d09879high.pdf



Federal Student Loans: Audits and Reviews of the Federal Family Education Loan and Federal Direct Loan Programs.

GAO-09-992R, September 30.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-992R


Debt Management: Treasury Inflation Protected Securities Should Play a Heightened Role in Addressing Debt Management Challenges.

GAO-09-932, September 29.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-932
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d09932high.pdf



Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau: Fiscal Year 2010 Proposed Licensing and Registration Fees Program.

GAO-09-1023R, September 28.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-1023R



Federal Contracting: Observations on the Government's Contracting Data Systems, by William T. Woods, director, acquisition and sourcing management, before the Ad Hoc Subcommittee on Contracting Oversight, Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

GAO-09-1032T, September 29.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-1032T
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d091032thigh.pdf



Vocational Rehabilitation Funding Formula: Options for Improving Equity in State Grants and Considerations for Performance Incentives.

GAO-09-798, September 30.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-798
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d09798high.pdf



Financial Regulation: Recent Crisis Reaffirms the Need to Overhaul the U.S. Regulatory System, by Richard J. Hillman, managing director, financial markets and community investment, before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.

GAO-09-1049T, September 29.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-1049T



Appropriations Decisions:

B-318588, Department of the Army, Military Surface Deployment and
Distribution Command--Use of Appropriations for Bottled Water,
September 29, 2009
http://www.gao.gov/decisions/appro/318588.htm