Government Accountability Office
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Agencies have awarded more than $12 billion dollars in energy savings performance contracts (ESPCs) since 1995. Many contractors on ESPCs have reported overall savings. But a new report from the Government Accountability Office says those numbers may be a tad overstated. Frank Rusco is the director of Natural Resources and Environment Issues at the GAO. He joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive to discuss what auditors found.
June 24, 2015 -
Most current and former military chiefs want more say in defense acquisition processes. Service chiefs say requirements and costs of a weapons system project usually change after it goes to the acquisition team. The Government Accountability Office analyzed requirements for all 78 major defense acquisition programs. It says Pentagon service chiefs need to be more involved in the early planning stage before passing the reins onto acquisition experts. Mike Sullivan is the director of acquisition and sourcing management issues at the Government Accountability Office. He tells In Depth with Francis Rose what happens once weapon system requirments are handed over to the acquisition process.
June 22, 2015 -
Pentagon planners say they need $38 billion more in 2016 than they got in this year\'s budget if the department is to properly provide national defense. But recent reports from the Congressional Research Office and Government Accountability Office paint a different picture. So who\'s in the right? Jacob Marx is a defense analyst for the Project on Government Oversight. He joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive to help sort through these conflicting reports.
June 22, 2015 -
Government spends $21 billion a year on building maintenance operations. The Obama administration knows it doesn\'t need all of the property it owns, but real property management has been on the Government Accountability Office\'s High Risk List since 2003. Dave Wise, director of physical infrastructure issues at GAO, testified this week before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. He tells In Depth with Francis Rose that there are better ideas for real property management, but they haven\'t been implemented yet.
June 17, 2015 -
The Obama administration admits the government doesn\'t need all of the 2.8 billion square feet of property it owns and leases worldwide. But it\'s struggled to identify the property it can safely shed. New tools out this summer could provide a breakthrough.
June 16, 2015 -
It only took 15 years for the Office of Federal Procurement Policy to issue guidance for agencies on how best to use reverse auctions. And when OFPP finally did on June 2, it was disappointing to say the least.
June 15, 2015 -
In the final policy to implement Federal IT Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA), federal CIO Tony Scott detailed several steps to ensure agencies meet the spirit and intent of the law. Meanwhile, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee members promise not to make FITARA Clinger-Cohen Act 2.0 when it comes to implementation.
June 11, 2015 -
Half of the Defense Department\'s components are tracing the normal network activity of their personnel. The Pentagon is supposed to look at common user behavior to help it find cases where its employees might leak classified information. It\'s part of a series of executive orders from President Barack Obama that require agencies set up their own insider-threat programs. Joe Kirschbaum, director of defense capabilities and management issues at the Government Accountability Office, tells In Depth with Francis Rose about the Pentagon\'s progress on its insider threat program.
June 08, 2015 -
The Defense Department cut 37 billion dollars in seven months during the 2013 sequester. The Pentagon says in some cases, automatic budget cuts cost DOD more money in the long run than they saved. But the Government Accountability Office says the Pentagon could do more to learn from the past so it doesn\'t repeat the same mistakes. Johana Ayers is the director of defense capabilities and management issues at GAO. She tells In Depth with Francis Rose, what the Pentagon has done so far, to learn about the impact of sequestration.
June 05, 2015 -
Pentagon officials started warning Congress over two years ago that letting the automatic budget cuts take place would cost money rather than save it. Now, a new report from the Government Accountability Office offers some evidence they were right. Federal News Radio\'s Jared Serbu writes about it in this week\'s edition of \"Inside the DoD Reporter\'s Notebook.\" He joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive to further examine the report.
June 02, 2015 -
A memo from OPM Director Katherine Archuleta said a new working group will ensure agencies report comparable and reliable data about how they apply paid administrative leave. The memo comes after a GAO report found inaccuracies governmentwide.
June 01, 2015 -
The Defense Contract Audit Agency has a backlog of around five years worth of Incurred Cost Submissions it needs to audit. The Government Accountability Office, the DoD Inspector General and Congress have all been critical of DCAA's inability to address the backlog. Now the agency is taking aggressive, and somewhat unusual, measures to address the problem. A policy memo went out recently with requirements for the agency's auditors; attached was a list exposing around 1,000 delinquent contractors. Rich Wilkinson is vice president for client services for NeoSystems. He joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive to explain how contractors should handle the situation.
March 31, 2015 -
Federal agencies are continuously adding security upgrades to their buildings to better protect their employees. But some agencies plan their upgrades in ways that can hide how much money they spend. Mark Goldstein is director of physical infrastructure issues at the Government Accountability Office. On In Depth with Francis Rose, he explained ways to better plan those security upgrades to make sure agencies don't spend too much money on them.
March 30, 2015