GAO

DOD lacks performance targets, cybersecurity plans on some major IT programs, GAO says

The watchdog found that within the Defense Department’s 25 major IT business programs, more than half did not fully report whether they’d achieved intended targets.

  • By Carten Cordell

New report identifies over $100B in potential government services savings

The government’s overlapping, fragmented and duplicative services are costing billions of dollars annually, a Government Accountability Office report claims. 

  • By Chris Riotta

Four federal departments have not fully implemented cloud security practices, GAO says

The departments of Agriculture, Homeland Security, Labor and Treasury have made varying amounts of progress in applying crucial cloud security practices, but remain far from fully executing them, the watchdog found.

  • By Carten Cordell

OMB failing to set cross-agency IT management goals, report says

Administration officials disputed some of GAO's conclusions, noting that IT goals were embedded in other management agenda targets.

  • By Chris Riotta

GAO pegs unemployment insurance fraud tally at more than $60 billion

At the same time, the congressional watchdog cautioned that governmentwide fraud estimates are potentially dicey.

  • By Natalie Alms

GAO uses uses covert testing scheme to assess SBA screening processes

The Government Accountability Office sent applications from four fake firms to the Small Business Administration's 8(a) program to see whether SBA had made progress addressing long-standing oversight issues.

  • By Chris Riotta

Government watchdog calls out TMF for low rate of cost recovery

The Government Accountability Office said its previous recommendations for the Technology Modernization Fund have not been followed, leading to unrecovered operating costs and unreliable proposal cost estimates for new projects.

  • By Chris Riotta

What’s next for security clearance reform?

Expect new milestones from the DOD’s governmentwide vetting IT and new policies on vetting criteria in 2022.

  • By Natalie Alms

What agency tech leaders think about a U.S. Digital Service Academy

Agency tech leaders sounded off to the Government Accountability Office about the prospect of launching a digital service training school modeled on the military service academies to bring more tech talent into government.

  • By Natalie Alms

Analysis: Are better debriefings driving down protests?

Beginning 2018, the Defense Department started conducting what are called "enhanced" debriefings that allow for more dialogue with companies after they've lost a contract. That means unsuccessful bidders get more information on where their bid fell short without filing a protest.

  • By Nick Wakeman

Coast Guard completes MHS Genesis deployment

The U.S. Coast Guard has completed its rollout of the military's new commercial electronic health record system, following a long journey that was paused during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • By Lauren C. Williams

GAO backs Microsoft's protest of $10 billion NSA cloud award to AWS

The Government Accountability Office agreed that aspects of the National Security Agency's evaluation of a major cloud award were "unreasonable."

  • By Adam Mazmanian

GAO prods OPM to review pandemic hiring

A new Government Accountability Office report says that not compiling the lessons learned from special hiring authorities could "risk significantly hindering the government's ability to recruit, hire, retain and manage its current COVID-19 pandemic workforce as well as for future pandemics or emergencies."

  • By Natalie Alms

A 60-year-old IRS IT system won't finish modernizing until 2030

The Internal Revenue Service's plan to modernize its key source for individual tax data has seen multiple cost and schedule changes since it started in 2009.

  • By Natalie Alms
Featured eBooks

Feds could see relief as Public Service Loan Forgiveness gets a reboot

The program, meant to wipe the student debt of eligible public servants, has rejected the vast majority of applications it's received.

  • By Natalie Alms

DHS faces uphill climb with financial systems modernization

The agency made some awards on a long-delayed financial management modernization effort earlier this month, but years of work awaits the agency on establishing an enterprisewide system.

  • By Natalie Alms

GOP lawmakers seek answers on SSA's acting leadership

Five Republicans are asking the Government Accountability Office to clarify legal limits under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of the term and authorities of the acting commissioner of the Social Security Administration, who was installed after President Joe Biden fired two top leaders in July.

  • By Natalie Alms

DOD could face $4 billion in pandemic reimbursement payments for contractors

According to a GAO report, the Defense Department may have $4 billion in eligible reimbursements for contractors under the CARES Act.

  • By Lauren C. Williams

TSA ramps up fuel pipeline cyber strategy

At a Senate hearing, the TSA administrator updated lawmakers on the implementation of two recent cybersecurity directives issued in the wake of the ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline.

  • By Adam Mazmanian

Why VA's electronic health record mega-project is failing

The agency's former top technology official explains how management problems, reliance on outmoded development methodology and lack of customer buy-in are combining to sink (for now) a critical modernization project at the Department of Veterans Affairs.

  • By Roger Baker

DHS lacks comprehensive strategy to counter violent extremism, report says

The Department of Homeland Security is failing to assess critical external factors and has not yet implemented a data governance framework while developing strategies around terrorism prevention, a new report warns.

  • By Chris Riotta