Beef jerky, reality shows, beer: Coburn tells DoD to cut it all out

Beef jerky, a microbrewery and windmills are among the hundreds of items the Defense Department is not only spending money on, but producing each year.
 And Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) wants the Pentagon to cut it out.  Coburn said Thursday, DoD will spend almost $68 billion on non-military goods and services over the next 10 years. Some recent examples include a smartphone app to help military members manage their caffeine intake and the sponsorship of a workshop by the Defense Advanced Research Projects  Agency called the 100 Year Starship project, which included a session called, "Did Jesus die for Klingons too?"
Coburn released a new report, called The Department of Everything, in an attempt to shine light on what he calls wasteful spending during a time of ever-tightening budgets.

Coburn identified five areas that he said had nothing to do with national security yet represent a significant chunk of the annual $600 billion-plus Pentagon budget:

• Non-military research and development: $6 billion.
  
• Education, specifically on schools on military bases: $10.7 billion.
  
• Tuition assistance that mirrors a benefit from the Veterans Affairs Department: $4.5 billion.
  
• Grocery stores on military bases run by the DoD: $9 billion.
  
• More than 300,000 military members performing civilian jobs and numerous general officers: $37 billion.

Coburn also said the Pentagon spent $700 million on alternative energy research that was duplicative or unnecessary.

Coburn said every area across DoD must be reviewed, analyzed and decided if it is something that is core to the military's mission.

-Jason Miller, FederalNewsRadio.com
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W. Todd Grams: Changing outmoded VA management practices

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has long functioned as if it were three distinct business entities—health care, benefits and cemeteries—and never fully integrated its financial management, acquisition, human resources, capital investment and technology functions across the organization.


With a mandate for change from the VA’s top leadership, W. Todd Grams led two major transformational initiatives designed to create a coherent and unified department, streamline access points for VA beneficiaries, reduce costs per beneficiary, and ultimately deliver better care to more veterans.

During fiscal 2010, Grams, the VA’s executive in charge of management and chief financial officer, established a new integrated management governance structure for the VA’s business key functions. This involved the updating 140 policies, streamlining hiring processes for acquisition personnel, implementing a self-service employee benefit portal and training 2,375 employees in financial management.

Grams and his leadership team also successfully led the effort for the first time to combine all of the department’s investment planning efforts involving construction, leasing and non-recurring maintenance—a portfolio accounting for nearly $100 billion. For decades, planning and investment decisions for VA capital infrastructure took place in stovepipes, at times resulting in duplicative efforts and poor use of taxpayer dollars.

Additionally, Grams led his team through an in-depth analysis of VA’s financial management priorities. This review stopped a $500 million financial systems overhaul in its initial stages and redirected funding from this high-risk venture into new programs that will generate greater benefit at significantly lower cost. The changes have dramatically improved controls over a $14 billion purchasing program.

- The Partnership for Public Service, Published: September 16
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VA dismisses SAM contractors, suspends project

The Veterans Affairs Department is suspending immediately development of a strategic asset management information technology effort and dismissing the contractors, said VA Chief Information Officer Roger Baker.
In a Feb. 28 interview with FierceGovernmentIT, Baker said that the SAM program, the only portion of the Financial and Logistics Integrated Enterprise project to have escaped cancellation in July 2010, will undergo a five-month pause while the VA reexamines its development approach.

Project contractors General Dynamics and Mitre are being terminated for convenience, Baker said. Some governmental staff will be reassigned, he added.

The immediate cause for the suspension is a bad February user acceptance test made ahead of the software's planned March 29 initial deployment to the VA medical center in Milwaukee, Wis., Baker said.

The test marked the "third strike" against under project, which under the VA's new Program Management Accountability System method requires a decision on whether to proceed.

-David Perera, FierceGovernmentIT.com
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OMB cuts back financial management programs

The Office of Management and Budget canceled two federal financial management programs and significantly reduced the scope of five others following a broad review that was launched over the summer.


According to Jeffrey Zients, federal chief performance officer, the OMB canceled systems under development for the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Small Business Administration, saving more than $500 million.

Three financial management programs at the Department of Health and Human Services as well as one at the Department of Homeland Security and one at the Justice Department will proceed with a narrowed scope. The government said the changes will save $680 million.

This summer, the OMB halted new spending on selected federal agencies' financial management systems, requiring reviews before the projects could continue. The agency cited the typical sluggishness and high cost of the projects.

With the review now complete, Zients said about half of the 20 identified programs are on track.

Besides the two cancellations and five scaled-down projects, the OMB has accelerated the most useful parts of the programs of the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Environmental Protection Agency, according to Zients.

Additionally, the OMB said it has made another $200 million in budget reductions in various agencies.


-Marjorie Censer, WashingtonPost.com
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AGA Awarded Contract by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to Deliver CGFM Courses to Government Financial Management Staff

ALEXANDRIA, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Recently, the Association of Government Accountants (AGA) delivered eight sets of Certified Government Financial Manager (CGFM) courses to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) employees, as part of the contract awarded to AGA by the VA. The contract spans five years with a potential of 68 sets of CGFM courses to be delivered during this period.


Each set consists of three CGFM courses:

Course 1: Governmental Environment

This course looks at the organization and structure of government, public accountability, ethics in government, the governmental financing process and other legal and environmental aspects of government.

Course 2: Governmental Accounting, Financial Reporting and Budgeting

This course looks at the general principles of governmental financial accounting and performance reporting, and budgeting, as well as the unique aspects of both federal and state and local financial accounting and reporting.

Course 3: Governmental Financial Management and Control

This course looks at internal and management control, auditing, performance measurement and reporting, financial and managerial analysis and techniques, concepts and controls.

The CGFM courses provide a foundation in all areas of government financial management and deal with all levels of government -- federal, state and local. These courses have been designed as high-quality continuing professional education (CPE) for individuals new to the government financial management arena or individual looking to expand their knowledge of this field. These courses also help candidates prepare for the three CGFM Examinations.

About AGA: The Association of Government Accountants is a 15,000-member professional association that serves government accountability professionals by providing quality education, fostering professional development and certification, and campaigning in the public interest to for higher standards of government accountability and transparency. www.agacgfm.org

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Federal agencies cutting, revising $337 million worth of IT contracts

The Office of Management and Budget on Wednesday plans to announce the cancellation or restructuring of three multiyear information technology contracts totaling $337 million, according to senior administration officials.


The changes are part of the Obama administration's budgetary and management reforms designed to cut billions of dollars in wasteful and no-bid government programs and contracts.

According to the OMB, the Environmental Protection Agency plans to save $180 million and the Department of Housing and Urban Development will pocket about $44 million by restructuring two long-term IT contracts. The Small Business Administration should save $113 million by canceling a contract.

The Department of Veterans Affairs in July canceled a similar multiyear IT project slated to cost as much as $300 million. Other agencies may cancel or rewrite similar deals in the coming months, the OMB said.

The cuts announced Tuesday are "a classic outcome of what we expected when we looked more closely at these projects," said OMB Controller Danny Werfel. Though they amount to a small fraction of the $80 billion in annual federal IT costs, they are part of a series of reforms announced since the spring that administration officials hope demonstrate the White House's resolve to curtail government spending as deficit concerns dominate midterm election campaigns.

The cuts - and their impact on several Washington-area contracting firms - come as the Senate plans to pass a multibillion-dollar package of loans and tax relief for small businesses. They also add to growing fears that the Washington region could face significant layoffs as the government slashes billions in contracting deals.

In an interview Tuesday, OMB Deputy Director Jeffrey Zients said: "Our job is to focus on making sure every taxpayer dollar is well spent. There are plenty of opportunities for us to spend dollars on IT projects that have very high returns for taxpayers. We're going to make sure that the dollars are spent on high-return projects."

By Ed O'Keefe and Marjorie Censer
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, September 14, 2010; 10:35 PM

ed.okeefe@washingtonpost.comcenserm@washpost.com Staff writer Dana Hedgpeth contributed to this report.

Find More:

Obama administration's IT Dashboard, a public Web site that compiles data on federal agencies' IT programs.

READ MORE...

VA mismanaged FLITE contractor, according to IG

The Veterans Affairs Department mismanaged a contractor relationship which caused the department's Financial and Logistics Integrated Technology Enterprises (FLITE) program's Strategic Asset Management Pilot Project to struggle, according to a September 7 report from the VA's inspector general.


"FLITE program managers did not adequately monitor the contractor's performance and ensure that the Office of Information and Technology assigned legacy system programmers to the project in a timely manner," wrote Belinda Finn, deputy inspector general at the VA OIG. "They also did not develop written procedures that clearly defined roles and responsibilities related to interface development for contractor and VA personnel."

The report also found that VA would have had more success if it had engaged in side-by-side collaboration with General Dynamics Information Technology. Instead, VA missed key conference calls with the contractor and used written comments to provide feedback, which led FLITE to be poorly monitored, and roles and responsibilities of project managers to be confused.

In one result of mismanagement, the IG report found as of April 5, 2010, VA had accepted only two of 12 formal deliverables submitted by the contractor. According to the initial project schedule, FLITE program managers should have accepted eight of the formal deliverables three months prior to that date. In addition, General Dynamics' submission of the SAM Training Plan was due by January 11, 2010. It was first delivered on December 31, 2009, and it was not complete and accurate until March 22 of the following year, according to the report.

Finn recommended that:

• The assistant secretary for IT designate VA staff to formally review deliverables and submit comments according to a time line;

• The assistant secretary for IT develop and implement procedures to ensure improved collaboration; and

• The assistant secretary for IT encourage in-person attendance by key VA personnel at meetings, conferences and work sessions.

A July 13 announcement called for the cancellation of a financial management system overhaul, in favor of a series of smaller financial modernization projects, due to doubts over program execution, as well as re-prioritization of limited resources. IT management at the VA has been closely watched since the June 2009 establishment of the Program Management Accountability System, a program which aims to break the cycle of high-profile IT failures in the VA's recent past.

For more: read the IG report (.pdf)

-Molly Bernhart Walker, FierceGovernmentIT.com

OMB approves 26 large IT projects for further funding - FederalTimes.com

Federal chief information officer Vivek Kundra announced today that 26 IT projects that have been halted for review will be considered as "high risk" and require more robust management plans and additional review before moving forward.

The projects span 15 federal agencies and exceed $30 billion in lifecycle costs, Kundra said in a call with reporters.

One of the projects listed by OMB as high risk is a $7.6 billion effort to overhaul the IT infrastructure at the Interior Department, the most costly of the projects. Already, $500 million has been spent on the project alone this fiscal year.

At the Justice Department, $557 million will go toward its Sentinel case-management system. Two of the project's four phases have been completed, but not without cost and scheduling delays, said Vance Hitch, the Justice Department's CIO.

In addition, the Office of Personnel Management's project to automate its paper-based retirement processing system was also deemed high risk.

Data from the Office of Management and Budget's IT Dashboard — a website that tracks the performance of federal information technology projects — was used to help determine the fate of the projects.

One of the projects halted in June was cancelled: an estimated $400 million financial management modernization project at the Veterans Affairs Department called Financial and Logistics Integrated Technology Enterprise.

-NICOLE BLAKE JOHNSON , FederalTimes.com
READ MORE...
http://www.federaltimes.com/article/20100823/IT04/8230301/

VA cancels financial IT modernization portions of FLITE project

The Veterans Affairs Department said July 13 that it will not go forward with a planned financial system modernization project on which it has already spent $16 million.

The project, along with an also-canceled related data warehouse effort, was part of a program dubbed Financial and Logistics Integrated Enterprise and would have cost up to around $333 million to complete, according to figures VA Chief Information Officer Roger Baker gave while speaking to reporters.

The VA will continue to develop the strategic asset management IT system portion of FLITE, Baker said; that system is already undergoing pilot testing in the Milwaukee VA Medical Center.

Unlike the strategic management portion of FLITE, the VA has not awarded any implementation contracts for the accounting system or the data warehouse portions. According to an October 2009 Government Accountability Office report, the VA has spent $90.8 million on FLITE so far, of which $73 million was spent on contractors.

The $16 million figure refers to what the VA has spent specifically on planning the accounting system portion of FLITE, Baker said. The VA hired MITRE Corp, Booz Allen Hamilton and Fairfax, Va.-based YRCI in various financial system support roles, according to VA procurement documents (.doc).

The cancellation stems from doubts over program execution, as well as re-prioritization of limited resources, Baker said. "We'd like to make certain we can be successful on a project before we start," he said, adding that "we can't do everything."

In lieu of one large financial management system effort, the VA will roll out series of smaller financial modernization projects, Baker said. The Office of Management and Budget told agencies on June 28 not to initiate new development spending on federal financial management systems worth more than $20 million until OMB has reviewed spending plans.

The July 13 announcement marks the second time the VA has canceled a financial system modernization effort; in July 2004, it terminated a system called CoreFLS after spending more than $249 million on development.

Information technology management has recently come under heightened scrutiny at the VA with the June 2009 establishment of an effort known as the Program Management Accountability System. However, whether PMAS will be sufficient to correct problems at a department with a string of high-profile IT failures in its recent past is unknown. A May 2010 GAO report said that the VA "has not yet demonstrated that it can sustain the wholesale change in management of IT projects that PMAS represents or that this new approach will be sufficiently robust to prevent or correct weaknesses."

For more:
- listen to an audio recording of VA CIO Roger Baker announcing the program's cancellation; also on the call is Federal CIO Vivek Kundra
- read a redacted fiscal 2010 FLITE Exhibit 300 (.pdf)
- download the October 2008 GAO report on FLITE, GAO 10-40 (.pdf)
- download the May 2010 GAO report on VA IT management, GAO 10-579 (.pdf)

-David Paters, FierceGovernmentIT.com
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Recent GAO Publications

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently released the following publications:

Financial Audit: Office of Financial Stability (Troubled Asset Relief Program) Fiscal Year 2009 Financial Statements.
GAO-10-301, December 9.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-10-301Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d10301high.pdf

Recovery Act: States' Use of Highway and Transit Funds and Efforts to Meet the Act's Requirements, by Katherine A. Siggerud, managing director, physical infrastructure issues, before the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
GAO-10-312T, December 10.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-10-312T
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d10312thigh.pdf

Smithsonian Institution: Implementation of Governance Reforms Is Progressing, but Work Remains.
GAO-10-190R, December 10.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-10-190R
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d10190rhigh.pdf

Recovery Act: Status of States' and Localities' Use of Funds and Efforts to Ensure Accountability.
GAO-10-231, December 10.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-10-231
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d10231high.pdf

Recovery Act: Status of States' and Localities' Use of Funds and Efforts to Ensure Accountability (Appendixes).
GAO-10-232SP, December 10.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-10-232SP

Troubled Asset Relief Program: The U.S. Government Role as Shareholder in AIG, Citigroup, Chrysler, and General Motors and Preliminary Views on its Investment Management Activities, by Orice Williams Brown, director, financial markets and community investment, and A. Nicole Clowers, acting director, physical infrastructure, before the Subcommittee on Domestic Policy, House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
GAO-10-325T, December 16.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-10-325T
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d10325thigh.pdf

Veterans Health Administration: Inadequate Controls over Miscellaneous Obligations Increase Risk over Procurement Transactions, by Kay L. Daly, director, financial management and assurance, before the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
GAO-10-307T, December 16.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-10-307T
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d10307thigh.pdf

Status of GAO Recommendations to the Department of Defense (Fiscal Years 2001-2008).
GAO-10-211R, December 16.http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-10-211R

Formula Grants: Funding for the Largest Federal Assistance Programs Is Based on Census-Related Data and Other Factors.
GAO-10-263, December 15.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-10-263
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d10263high.pdf

Impoundment Control Act: Use and Impact of Rescission Procedures, by Susan A. Poling, managing associate general counsel, office of general counsel, before the Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services, and International Security, Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
GAO-10-320T, December 16.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-10-320T
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d10320thigh.pdf

UN Office for Project Services: Management Reforms Proceeding but Effectiveness Not Assessed, and USAID's Oversight of Grants Has Weaknesses.
GAO-10-168, November 19.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-10-168
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d10168high.pdf

Recovery Act: Planned Efforts and Challenges in Evaluating Compliance with Maintenance of Effort and Similar Provisions.
GAO-10-247, November 30
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-10-247
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d10247high.pdf

Appropriations Decisions:

B-318499, Department of the Navy--Lunch for Volunteer Focus Group,
November 19, 2009
http://www.gao.gov/decisions/appro/318499.htm

B-318425, Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation
Board--Interagency Agreement with the General Services
Administration, December 8, 2009
http://www.gao.gov/decisions/appro/318425.htm

VA financial management system: FLITE delayed

The Veterans Affairs department has let the pilot program of a new asset management system slip by two months, just five months since the agency awarded the contract, according to a new report by the Government Accountability Office. GAO attributed the problems to inadequate staffing and poor program management.

In the report, GAO blamed General Dynamics, the contractor, for falling behind schedule.

The VA awarded the contract for the Strategic Asset Management system in April to General Dynamics in April. The system is one of two major components of VA's Financial and Logistics Integrated Technology Enterprise (FLITE), an effort to produce a department-wide integrated financial and asset management system. FLITE is one of the programs that the Office of Management and Budget has designated high risk.

The second component is the Integrated Financial Accounting System (IFAS). VA awarded a program management contract for IFAS to Booz-Allen Hamilton in March, and a pilot for that system is scheduled to begin in 2010.

The VA is the second largest federal agency, with 250,000 employees. The Veterans Health Administration operates 154 hospitals, 995 outpatient clinics, 135 community living centers, 49 residential rehab centers and 232 counseling centers. But it is plagued with inefficient and unstandardized business systems that require repeated manual entries, GAO said.

“VA has for over a decade been pursuing improvements in its business processes and replacement of its existing financial and asset management systems with an integrated financial management system,” GAO said.

The lack of an integrated financial management system has been recognized as a departmental weakness since 1991, and FLITE is the second attempt to provide one. Work on the earlier proposed Core Financial and Logistics System began in 1998 and was scheduled to be completed in 2006, but the agency dropped the program in 2004 when pilot projects revealed it would be unable to support the department’s needs.

Planning for FLITE began in 2005, with full operational implementation scheduled for 2014 at a cost of $608.7 million. As of September, the VA had spent about $91 million on the program.

The department picked the Maximo Enterprise Asset Management software suite from IBM as FLITE’s Strategic Asset Management (SAM) program, and General Dynamics IT was given the contract to implement at pilot in Milwaukee. By September, the contractor had not started 11 of 34 tasks, including a security assessment, and was behind schedule on 16 of the remaining 23 tasks, GAO said.

- William Jackson, GCN.com
READ MORE...

Recent GAO Publications

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

Information Technology: Actions Needed to Fully Establish Program Management Capability for VA's Financial and Logistics Initiative.
GAO-10-40, October 26.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-10-40
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d1040high.pdf

Recovery Act: Contract Oversight Activities of the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board and Observations on Contract Spending in Selected States.
GAO-10-216R, November 30.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-10-216R

U.S. Government Accountability Office: Performance and Accountability Report, Fiscal Year 2009.
GAO-10-234SP, November 13, 2009
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-10-234SP

Budget Issues: Electronic Processing of Non-IRS Collections Has Increased but Better Understanding of Cost Structure Is Needed.
GAO-10-11, November 20.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-10-11
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d1011high.pdf

Indian Health Service: Updated Policies and Procedures and Increased Oversight Needed for Billings and Collections from Private Insurers.
GAO-10-42R, October 22.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-10-42R

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services: Deficiencies in Contract Management Internal Control Are Pervasive.
GAO-10-60, October 23.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-10-60
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d1060high.pdf

Federally Created Entities: An Overview of Key Attributes.
GAO-10-97, October 29.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-10-97
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d1097high.pdf

Recent GAO Publications

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently released the following reports, correspondences and testimonies:

Recovery Act: Recipient Reported Jobs Data Provide Insight into Use of Recovery Act Funding, but Data Quality and Reporting Issues Need Attention.
GAO-10-223, November 19.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-10-223
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d10223high.pdf

Grant Monitoring: Department of Education Could Improve Its Processes with Greater Focus on Assessing Risks, Acquiring Financial Skills, and Sharing Information.
GAO-10-57, November 19.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-10-57
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d1057high.pdf

Financial Audit: Securities and Exchange Commission's Financial Statements for Fiscal Years 2009 and 2008.
GAO-10-250, November 16.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-10-250
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d10250high.pdf

Financial Audit: Federal Housing Finance Agency's Fiscal Year 2009 Financial Statements.
GAO-10-218, November 16.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-10-218
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d10218high.pdf

Financial Audit: IRS's Fiscal Years 2009 and 2008 Financial Statements.
GAO-10-176, November 10.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-10-176
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d10176high.pdf

Financial Audit: Bureau of the Public Debt's Fiscal Years 2009 and 2008 Schedules of Federal Debt.
GAO-10-88, November 10.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-10-88
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d1088high.pdf

U.S. Government Accountability Office: Performance and Accountability Report, Fiscal Year 2009.
GAO-10-234SP, November 13.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-10-234SP

Department of Veterans Affairs: Improvements Needed in Corrective Action Plans to Remediate Financial Reporting Material Weaknesses.
GAO-10-65, November 16.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-10-65
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d1065high.pdf

Millennium Challenge Corporation: MCC Has Addressed a Number of Implementation Challenges, but Needs to Improve Financial Controls and Infrastructure Planning.
GAO-10-52, November 6.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-10-52
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d1052high.pdf

U.S. Postal Service: Financial Challenges Continue, with Relatively Limited Results from Recent Revenue-Generation Efforts, by Phillip Herr, director, physical infrastructure issues, before the Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, Postal Service, and the District of Columbia, House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
GAO-10-191T, November 5.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-10-191T
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d10191thigh.pdf

Troubled Asset Relief Program: Continued Stewardship Needed as Treasury Develops Strategies for Managing and Divesting Financial Interests in Chrysler and GM.
GAO-10-151, November 2.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-10-151
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d10151high.pdf

Integrity Committee's Process to Address Allegations of Wrongdoing by Inspectors General.
GAO-10-63R, October 15.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-10-63R

Financial Management Systems: DHS Faces Challenges to Successfully Consolidate Its Existing Disparate Systems, by Kay L. Daly, director, financial management and assurance, and Nabajyoti Barkakati, Chief Technologist, Applied Research and Methods, Center for Technology and Engineering, before the Subcommittee on Management, Investigations, and Oversight, House Committee on Homeland Security.
GAO-10-210T, October 29.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-10-210T
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d10210thigh.pdf

"Maximizing DOD's Untapped Potential to Improve Business Performance," by Gene L. Dodaro, acting comptroller general of the United States, before the DOD Performance Breakthrough Convention, in Lansdowne, Virginia.
GAO-10-184CG, October 14, 2009.
http://www.gao.gov/cghome/d10184cg.pdf

U.S. Department of Agriculture: Internal Control Would Improve Accountability for Certain Centrally Provided (Greenbook) Programs.
GAO-10-82, October 20.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-10-82
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d1082high.pdf

U.S. Department of Agriculture: Charges to Agencies and Offices for Centrally Provided (Greenbook) Programs for Fiscal Years 1999 through 2009 (GAO-10-83SP), an E-supplement to GAO-10-82.
GAO-10-83SP, October 20.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-10-83SP

The Federal Government's Long-Term Fiscal Outlook: Fall 2009 Update.
GAO-10-137SP, October 15.http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-10-137SP

Defense Management: Widespread DCAA Audit Problems Leave Billions of Taxpayer Dollars Vulnerable to Fraud, Waste, Abuse, and Mismanagement, by Gregory D. Kutz, managing director, forensic audits and special investigations, before the Defense Acquisition Reform Panel, House Committee on Armed Services.
GAO-10-163T, October 15.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-10-163T
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d10163thigh.pdf

VA Health Care: Ineffective Medical Center Controls Resulted in Inappropriate Billing and Collection Practices, by Kay L. Daly, director, financial management and assurance, before the Subcommittee on Health, House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
GAO-10-152T, October 15.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-10-152T
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d10152thigh.pdf

"Troubled Asset Relief Program: GAO's Oversight Role," by Gene L. Dodaro, acting comptroller general of the United States, before the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation's accounting and auditing conference, in Arlington, Virginia.
GAO-10-150CG, October 1, 2009
http://www.gao.gov/cghome/d10150cg.pdf

Information Security: Concerted Effort Needed to Improve Federal Performance Measures.
GAO-09-617, September 14.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-617
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d09617high.pdf

Contract Management: Extent of Federal Spending under Cost-Reimbursement Contracts Unclear and Key Controls Not Always Used.
GAO-09-921, September 30.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-921
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d09921high.pdf

Fire Grants: FEMA Has Met Most Requirements for Awarding Fire Grants, but Additional Actions Would Improve Its Grant Process.
GAO-10-64, October 30.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-10-64
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d1064high.pdf

Improper Payments: Progress Made but Challenges Remain in Estimating and Reducing Improper Payments, by Kay L. Daly, director, financial management and assurance, before the Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services, and International Security, Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
GAO-09-628T, April 22, 2009.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-628T
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d09628thigh.pdf

Information Technology: Agencies Need to Improve the Implementation and Use of Earned Value Techniques to Help Manage Major System Acquisitions.
GAO-10-2, October 8.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-10-2
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d102high.pdf

Recovery Act: Funds Continue to Provide Fiscal Relief to States and Localities, While Accountability and Reporting Challenges Need to Be Fully Addressed.
GAO-09-1016, September 23, 2009.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-1016
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d091016high.pdf

Appropriations Decisions:

B-318426, District of Columbia Courts--Authority to Pay Settlements
and Judgments, November 2, 2009
http://www.gao.gov/decisions/appro/318426.htm

Senior agency leaders focus on measuring success of their programs

In keeping with what the Obama administration sees as a high priority, officials at the Labor, Agriculture and Veterans Affairs departments are making program and performance evaluation a key focus in their strategic planning. Agencies already have been working hard narrow down their top objectives -- like the Agriculture Department's push to ensure all children in America have access to safe and nutritious meals -- and now they are tackling the even more difficult task of determining how to measure success.

Well into the process of submitting high-priority performance goals to the Office of Management and Budget, senior officials say they are identifying their program objectives and designing ways to evaluate progress toward those outcomes.

Labor will create a new position -- chief evaluation officer -- and a corresponding office within the policy office. The chief evaluation officer will develop a strategic approach that ties together the diverse goals and priorities of the department's many agencies and offices.

At Agriculture, Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan's staff aims to establish metrics that can accurately measure success and to make sure each metric involves multiple agencies and mission areas.

Veterans Affairs Deputy Secretary W. Scott Gould said the elevator test applies to budgetary questions as well as metrics.

"There are three basic questions when you go see an appropriator -- what are you buying, how much does it cost and what do I get for it," he said. "If you can't answer that question in 30 seconds, it's on to the next line item."

Gould, Merrigan and Harris all anticipate the budget environment will be increasingly Spartan in the coming years, making program evaluation even more important.

-Elizabeth Newell, GovExec.com

READ MORE...

Recent GAO Publications

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently released the following publications:

"Key Challenges Facing Government Managers," by Gene L. Dodaro, acting comptroller general, before the Interagency Resources Management Conference, in Cambridge, Maryland.
GAO-09-609CG, April 21, 2009
http://www.gao.gov/cghome/d09609cg.pdf

"The Recovery Act and TARP: GAO's Oversight Role," by Gene L. Dodaro, acting comptroller general, before the National State Auditors Association annual conference, in Savannah, Georgia.
GAO-09-846CG, June 17, 2009
http://www.gao.gov/cghome/d09846cg.pdf

Military Pay: The Defense Finance and Accounting Service--Indianapolis Could Improve Control Activities over Its Processing of Active Duty Army Military Personnel Federal Payroll Taxes.
GAO-09-557R, June 18.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-557R

Troubled Asset Relief Program: June 2009 Status of Efforts to Address Transparency and Accountability Issues.
GAO-09-658, June 17.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-658
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d09658high.pdf

Troubled Asset Relief Program: Capital Purchase Program Transactions for October 28, 2008, through May 29, 2009, and Information on Financial Agency Agreements, Contracts, Blanket Purchase Agreements, and Interagency Agreements Awarded as of June 1, 2009 (an e-supplement to GAO-09-658).
GAO-09-707SP, June 17
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-707SP

American Battle Monuments Commission: Management Action Needed to Improve Internal Control Procedures.
GAO-09-714R, June 17.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-714R


CBP Could Improve Its Estimation of Funding Needed for New Border Patrol Agents.
GAO-09-542R, June 15.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-542R

Public Housing: HUD's Oversight of Housing Agencies Should Focus More on Inappropriate Use of Program Funds.
GAO-09-33, June 11.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-33
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d0933high.pdf

Army Working Capital Fund: Actions Needed to Improve Budgeting for Carryover at Army Ordnance Activities.
GAO-09-415, June 10.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-415
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d09415high.pdf

VA Real Property: VA Emphasizes Enhanced-Use Leases to Manage Its Real Property Portfolio, by David Wise, director, physical infrastructure issues, before the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
GAO-09-776T, June 10.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-776T
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d09776thigh.pdf

Appropriations Decisions:

B-317139, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network--Obligations under a
Cost-Reimbursement, Nonseverable Services Contract, June 1, 2009
http://www.gao.gov/decisions/appro/317139.htm

Recent GAO Publications

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

Fiscal Year 2010 Budget Request: U.S. Government Accountability Office, by Gene L. Dodaro, acting comptroller general, before the Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch, House Committee on Appropriations.
GAO-09-587T, April 28.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-587T

Nation's Long-Term Fiscal Outlook: March 2009 Update.
GAO-09-405SP, April 30.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-405SP

VA Health Care: Challenges in Budget Formulation and Issues Surrounding the Proposal for Advance Appropriations, by Susan Irving, director, strategic issues, and Randall Williamson, director, health care, before the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
GAO-09-664T, April 29.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-664T
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d09664thigh.pdf

Recovery Act: Initial Results on States' Use of and Accountability for Transportation Activities, by Katherine Siggerud, managing director, physical infrastructure, before the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
GAO-09-597T, April 29.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-597T
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d09597thigh.pdf

Recovery Act: Consistent Policies Needed to Ensure Equal Consideration of Grant Applications.
GAO-09-590R, April 29.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-590R

Improper Payments: Progress Made but Challenges Remain in Estimating and Reducing Improper Payments, by Kay L. Daly, director, financial management and assurance, before the Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services, and International Security, Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
GAO-09-628T, April 22.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-628T
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d09628thigh.pdf

Recovery Act: As Initial Implementation Unfolds in States and Localities, Continued Attention to Accountability Issues Is Essential.
GAO-09-580, April 23.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-580
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d09580high.pdf

Financial Audit: Material Weaknesses in Internal Control Continue to Impact Preparation of the Consolidated Financial Statements of the U.S. Government.
GAO-09-387, April 21.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-387
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d09387high.pdf

Small Business Administration's Implementation of Administrative Provisions in the American Recovery and Reinvesment Act.
GAO-09-507R, April 16
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-507R

Recent Contract Awards

Recent awards around financial system modernizations heard on the street:

EPA Financial System Modernization Program (FSMP) Program Management Office - Multiple Award BPA to Grant Thornton, LLP; Booz Allen Hamilton; Alon, and Savantage

HHS PSC Unified Financial Management System (UFMS) Enterprise Operations & Maintenance Core Services - Single Award to Deloitte

VA Financial and Logistics Integrated Technology Enterprise (FLITE) Program Management Office Support (PMOS) - Single Award to Booz Allen Hamilton

VA Financial and Logistics Integrated Technology Enterprise (FLITE) Strategic Asset Management System (SAM) - Single Award to General Dynamics

Recent GAO Publications

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

Business Systems Modernization: Internal Revenue Service's Fiscal Year 2009 Expenditure Plan.
GAO-09-281, March 11.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-281
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d09281high.pdf

Troubled Asset Relief Program: Status of Efforts to Address Transparency and Accountability Issues, by Richard J. Hillman, managing director, financial markets and community investment, before the Subcommittee on Domestic Policy, House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
GAO-09-474T, March 11.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-474T

Forest Service: Emerging Issues Highlight the Need to Address Persistent Management Challenges, by Robin M. Nazzaro, director, natural resources and environment, before the Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, House Committee on Appropriations.
GAO-09-443T, March 11.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-443T

VA Health Care: Challenges in Budget Formulation and Execution, by Randall B. Williamson, director, health care, before the Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies, House Committee on Appropriations.
GAO-09-459T, March 12.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-459T
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d09459thigh.pdf

Medicare: Improvements Needed to Address Improper Payments in Home Health.
GAO-09-185, February 27.
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d09185.pdf

Counterdrug Technology Assessment Center: Clarifying Rationale for the Research and Development Funding Decisions Would Increase Accountability.
GAO-09-339R, March 12.
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d09339r.pdf

"Challenges Facing the New Administration and the 111th Congress," by Gene L. Dodaro, acting comptroller general of the United States, before the JFMIP 2009 Federal Financial Management Conference, in Washington, D.C.
GAO-09-510CG, March 12, 2009.
http://www.gao.gov/cghome/d09510cg.pdf


Principles of Federal Appropriations Law: Annual Update of the Third Edition
GAO-09-340SP
http://www.gao.gov/special.pubs/appforum2009/d09340sp.pdf
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d09443thigh.pdf


Appropriations Decisions:

B-317878,United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General-
Implementation of Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act Section 603,
Part 2, March 3, 2009
http://www.gao.gov/decisions/appro/317878.pdf

Today's GAO Publications

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) today released the following reports:

VA Health Care: Long-Term Care Strategic Planning and Budgeting Need Improvement.
GAO-09-145, January 23.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-145
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d09145high.pdf

Federal User Fees: Additional Analyses and Timely Reviews Could Improve Immigration and Naturalization User Fee Design and USCIS Operations.
GAO-09-180, January 23.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-180
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d09180high.pdf

Immigration Application Fees: Costing Methodology Improvements Would Provide More Reliable Basis for Setting Fees.
GAO-09-70, January 23.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-70
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d0970high.pdf

Today's GAO Publications

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

Veterans' Benefits: Improvements Needed in VA's Training and Performance Management Systems, by Daniel Bertoni, director, education, workforce, and income security, before the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs, House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
GAO-08-1126T, September 18.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-1126T
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d081126thigh.pdf


Veterans Affairs: Additional Details Are Needed in Key Planning Documents to Guide the New Financial and Logistics Initiative.
GAO-08-1097, September 22.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-1097
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d081097high.pdf