GAO News 
Top News
- OMB reworking financial systems to focus on outcomes, not inputs
- Lew taps government retiree pension fund to avoid default
- OMB taps VanRoekel to lead management team
- PHOTOS: Meet the 2013 Service to America Medal Finalists
- Hagel: Accountability breakdown was leading factor in sexual assaults
- Former IRS commissioner faces questions about Tea Party
- SBA starting new lending program for veterans
- New Apple devices cleared to join DoD IT networks
- Army prioritizes access to data in fight over intelligence IT system
- DoD upends slow approval process for mobile devices
- Senior execs' bonuses under fire at agencies
- Gould moves the needle on many of VA's toughest challenges
- Tuesday federal headlines - May 21, 2013
Federal Drive Interviews -- Jan. 2, 2013
Brian Friel of Bloomberg Government and Sterling Beard of The Hill newspaper talk about the new bill to delay sequestration and extend tax cuts. Alicia Cackley of the the Government Accountability Office discusses a new report on the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Cary Russell of the GAO outlines the logistical challenges of withdrawing from Afghanistan.
Federal Drive Interviews -- Dec. 18, 2012
Bob Litan of Bloomberg Government talks about a new study on reducing the deficit. Procurement attorney Joe Petrillo weighs in on a recent GAO decision. Lisa Pape discusses the Veterans Health Administration's efforts to reduce homelessness among veterans. Charles Paidock of the NFFE union talks about a proposal that would have some feds emptying their own waste bins. Hord Tipton reviews how the certification process is keeping up with new technology.
House OKs DHS audit, lightens GAO load
The House this week approved a handful of bills aimed at improving federal financial management and oversight of government operations. Two of the bills — one requiring the Homeland Security Department to pass a complete financial audit and the other lightening the mandatory caseload of the Government Accountability Office — have already been passed by the Senate and head to the president's desk for his signature.
Lawmakers up in arms over report on Army payroll problems
The U.S. Army's $47 billion in annual military payroll accounts has caused major woes for some soldiers trying to collect their pay, according to a new report by the Government Accountability Office. As a result of the Army being unable to track and collect data on numerous pay errors including over payments, under payments, data entry errors and fraud, active duty soldiers are not receiving the correct compensation and this has a bipartisan team of lawmakers furious.
TSA's playbook keeps terrorists guessing
The agency developed a playbook to help officials keep their processes and procedures unpredictable. Deputy Administrator John Halinski said TSA is using a risk-management approach to protecting transportation systems. GAO said DHS as a whole is doing a better job using risk to make decisions.
IRS struggling to tackle massive surge in identity theft
Faced with declining resources, the Internal Revenue Service has diverted resources from elsewhere inside the agency to try and head off skyrocketing cases of identity theft stemming from tax refunds.
Senate votes to require DHS clean audit by 2013
The Homeland Security Department would be required to conduct and pass a full financial audit under a bill unanimously approved by the Senate on Wednesday. The DART Act requires the agency, long characterized by the Government Accountability Office as being at high-risk for waste and abuse, to reach a clean audit opinion by 2013.
Feds with families hardest hit by proposed changes to workers' comp
Disabled federal workers with dependents would be among the hardest hit by proposed changes to federal workers' compensation benefits, according to an analysis by the Government Accountability Office. The Labor Department has proposed setting a uniform level of compensation — 70 percent of the pre-injury salary — regardless of dependents and further reducing benefits to 50 percent when employees reach retirement age. But in its report which simulated those proposed changes, GAO raised concerns about the effects on beneficiaries.
Federal Drive Interviews -- Nov. 26, 2012
Randy Williamson, director of health care Issues at GAO, talks about the progress being made at Walter Reed Medical Center. Blogger Tom Cochran shares trivia about some government buildings in Washington, D.C. Dr. Jacques Gansler discusses a new master's degree program focusing on federal acquisition and contracting. Jeff Neal of ICF International discusses the results of the 2012 Employee Viewpoint Survey. Christi Grimm of the Inspector General's Office talks about mispayments by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Daniel Schuman of the Sunlight Foundation discusses open data from the federal government.
Federal Drive Interviews -- Nov. 21, 2012
Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) discusses what progress Congress can realistically make on the budget. Anthony Amendolia of the DLA talks turkey -- as in, the thousands of turkeys he ordered for service members overseas. Alex Bolton, senior writer for The Hill, discusses Congress' strategies to avoid the fiscal cliff. GAO's Steve Lord reviews TSA's complaint process.
Federal Drive interviews - Nov. 20
Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) describes the bipartisan support around the DATA Act. Michael Courts of the GAO recaps his testimony on diplomatic security related to the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi. Charles H. Romine of NIST explains how medical professionals can make meaningful use of electronic records.
Agencies fail to scrutinize billions in legacy IT spending
Despite spending billions to maintain legacy IT systems, many agencies are failing to properly review whether there is a sound basis for continuing them, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office.
Federal Drive interviews - Nov. 19, 2012
Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) says that in spite of how it may seem, lawmakers understand the dangers of the fiscal cliff and Dr. Arjun Srinivasan talks about drug-resistant viruses known as superbugs that are on the rise.
Bid protests increase in 2012, nearing 15-year high
The number of bid protests filed in fiscal 2012 ticked up 5 percent from last year to 2,475 cases - more than any year since 1995, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office.
Federal Drive Interviews -- Oct. 9, 2012
John Kasianowicz is the NIST project leader on a project coming up with a cheaper way to test DNA for possible illnesses. GAO's John Hutton says that few agencies are compiling inventories for their service contracts. Procurement attorney Joe Petrillo discusses a new inspector general's report. Dr. Harry Lambright of Syracuse University studied the effectiveness of two former federal officials. David Hall-Matthews talks about a ranking of nonprofits.
Agencies ignoring billions in savings from strategic sourcing
Agencies are missing out on billions of dollars in savings by not using strategic-sourcing contracts, particularly when buying services, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office. The report finds the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Veterans Affairs and Energy spent less than 5 percent of their combined acquisition budgets through strategic sourcing and saved less than $2 billion.
GAO denies SAIC protest of Defense IT contract
A massive contract awarded to Lockheed Martin in June to manage the Defense Information Systems Agency's Global Information Grid remains in place after the Government Accountability Office denied a bid protest from fellow contractor SAIC. Despite SAIC's allegations, GAO found DISA had reasonably evaluated Lockheed's proposal as well as claims of an organization conflict of interest.
Berry aims to nix HR from high risk list in the next year
Cyber criminals might unknowingly provide the impetus to help agencies address a cybersecurity skills gap. OPM also is working with agencies to address other shortfalls in key workforce competencies.
GAO says mobile malware attacks have tripled in less than a year
The Government Accountability Office said reports of malware targeting mobile devices have nearly tripled in less than a year.
DoD works to institutionalize contracting lessons from Iraq, Afghanistan
Pentagon says planning for future contingencies will include contract management from the get-go rather than letting be an afterthought.
