Homeland Security: The Status of Strategic Planning in the National Capital Region
Published: 2006-03-29T00:00:00

Fast Facts:

Highlights:
section_title: Why GAO Did This Study
paragraphs: Congress asked GAO to provide comments on the National Capital Region's (NCR) strategic plan. GAO reported on NCR strategic planning, among other issues, in May 2004 and September 2004, testified before the House Committee on Government Reform in June 2004, and testified before the Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia in July 2005. In this testimony, we addressed completion of the NCR strategic plan, national and regional priorities, and strengthening any plan that is developed.
section_title: What GAO Found
paragraphs: Among its other statutory responsibilities, the Office of National Capital Region Coordination is charged with coordinating with NCR agencies and other entities to ensure adequate planning, information sharing, training, and execution of domestic preparedness activities among these agencies and entities. In May 2004 and again in July 2005, we recommended that the ONCRC complete a regional strategic plan to establish goals and priorities for enhancing first responder capacities that could be used to guide the effective use of federal funds. Although work has continued on a NCR strategic plan for the past 2 years, a completed plan is not yet available. According to NCR officials, completion of the plan requires integrating information and analyses from other documents completed or nearly completed, and a plan may not be available before September or October of 2006. The NCR's strategic planning should reflect both national and regional priorities and needs. The majority of the individual documents ONCRC provided to us as representing components for its strategic plan were developed in response to Department of Homeland Security fiscal year 2006 grant guidance to support the NCR's fiscal year 2006 grant application. It is appropriate and necessary that the NCR address national priorities, but the NCR's strategic plan should not be primarily driven by these requirements. It should integrate national and regional priorities and needs. A well-defined, comprehensive strategic plan for the NCR is essential for assuring that the region is prepared for the risks it faces. A November 18, 2005, NCR PowerPoint presentation describes the NCR's vision, mission, goals, objectives, and priority initiatives. That presentation includes some elements of a good strategic plan, including some performance measures, target dates, and cost estimates. A completed NCR strategic plan should build on the current elements that the NCR has developed and strengthen others based on the desirable characteristics of a national strategy that may also be useful for a regional approach to homeland security strategic planning. As it completes its strategic plan, the NCR could focus on strengthening (1) initiatives that will accomplish objectives under the NCR strategic goals, (2) performance measures and targets that indicate how the initiatives will accomplish identified strategic goals, (3) milestones or timeframes for initiative accomplishment, (4) information on the resources and investments for each initiative, and (5) organizational roles, responsibilities, and coordination, and integration and implementation plans.

section_title: Letter
paragraphs: I appreciate the opportunity to be here today to discuss the National  Capital Region’s (NRC) strategic planning. The NCR is an area comprising  the District of Columbia and surrounding counties and cities in the states  of Maryland and Virginia. The NCR is the only area in the nation that has a  statutorily designated regional coordinator—the Office of the National  Capital Region Coordination (ONCRC) under the Department of  Homeland Security (DHS).
One ONCRC mandate is to coordinate with NCR agencies and other  entities to ensure adequate planning, information sharing, training, and  execution of domestic preparedness activities among these agencies and  entities. We reported on NCR strategic planning, among other issues, in  May 2004 and September 2004, testified before the House Committee on  Government Reform in June 2004, and testified before your committee in  July 2005. In our previous work, we provided recommendations regarding  NCR strategic planning and the preparation of a strategic plan.
My statement today provides our preliminary observations on documents  provided by ONCRC that describe current NCR strategic planning efforts.  Specifically, I will comment on completion of the strategic plan, the  impact of federal homeland security grant program requirements on NCR  strategic planning, and observations on strengthening any plan that is  developed.
We have only recently received new documentation related to the NCR’s  strategic plan and its development from the ONCRC and have not had an  opportunity to review them fully. Consequently, my remarks are  necessarily preliminary and are based on our limited review and analysis  of the documents. We did our work in accordance with generally accepted  government auditing standards.
subsections: section_title: Background
paragraphs: Strategic plans developed by regional organizations can be effective tools  to focus resources and efforts to address problems. Effective plans often  contain such features as goals and objectives that are measurable and  quantifiable. These goals and objectives allow problems and planned steps  to be defined specifically and progress to be measured. By specifying goals  and objectives, plans can also give planners and decision makers a  structure for allocating funding to those goals and objectives. A well- defined, comprehensive strategic plan for the NCR is essential for assuring  that the region is prepared for the risks it faces.
The Homeland Security Act established the Office of National Capital  Region Coordination within the Department of Homeland Security. The  ONCRC is responsible for overseeing and coordinating federal programs  for and relationships with state, local, and regional authorities in the NCR  and for assessing, and advocating for, the resources needed by state, local  and regional authorities in the NCR to implement efforts to secure the  homeland. One of the ONCRC mandates is to coordinate with federal,  state, local, and regional agencies and the private sector in NCR on  terrorism preparedness to ensure adequate planning, information sharing,  training, and execution of domestic preparedness activities among these  agencies and entities.
In our earlier work, we reported that ONCRC and the NCR faced three  interrelated challenges in managing federal funds in a way that maximizes  the increase in first responder capacities and preparedness while  minimizing inefficiency and unnecessary duplication of expenditures.  These challenges included the lack of    a set of accepted benchmarks (best practices) and performance goals  that could be used to identify desired goals and determine whether first  responders have the ability to respond to threats and emergencies with  well-planned, well-coordinated, and effective efforts that involve  police, fire, emergency medical, public health, and other personnel  from multiple jurisdictions;    a coordinated regionwide plan for establishing first responder  performance goals, needs, and priorities, and assessing the benefits of  expenditures in enhancing first responder capabilities; and    a readily available, reliable source of data on the funds available to first  responders in the NCR and their use.
Without the standards, a regionwide plan, and data on spending, we  observed it would be extremely difficult to determine whether NCR first  responders were prepared to effectively respond to threats and  emergencies. Regional coordination means the use of governmental  resources in a complementary way toward goals and objectives that are  mutually agreed upon by various stakeholders in a region. Regional  coordination can also help to overcome the fragmented nature of federal  programs and grants available to state and local entities. Successful  coordination occurs not only vertically among federal, state, and local  governments, but also horizontally within regions. The effective alignment  of resources for the security of communities could require planning across  jurisdictional boundaries. Neighboring jurisdictions may be affected by an  emergency situation in many ways, including major traffic or  environmental disruptions, activation and implementation of mutual aid  agreements, acceptance of evacuated residents, and treating casualties in  local hospitals.
section_title: NCR Has Not Produced a Strategic Plan
paragraphs: Although work has continued on a NCR strategic plan for the past 2 years,  a completed plan is not yet available to guide decision making such as  assessment of NCR’s strategic priorities and funding needs and aid for  NCR jurisdictions in ascertaining how the NCR strategic plan  complements their individual or combined efforts. In May 2004, we  recommended that the Secretary of DHS work with the NCR jurisdictions  to develop a coordinated strategic plan to establish goals and priorities to  enhance first responder capacities that can be used to guide the use of  federal emergency preparedness funds, and the department agreed to  implement this recommendation. A related recommendation—that DHS  monitor the plan’s implementation to ensure that funds are used in a way  that promotes effective expenditures that are not unnecessarily  duplicative—could not be implemented until the final strategic plan was in  place. In July 2005, we testified that, according to a DHS ONCRC official, a  final draft for review had been completed and circulated to key  stakeholders. The plan was to feature measurable goals, objectives, and  performance measures.
ONCRC officials state that past references to a NCR strategic plan reflect  availability of the core elements of the NCR strategic plan—the mission,  vision, guiding principles, long-term goals, and objectives, but not a  complete plan. They told us that these core elements, along with other  information, will need to be compiled into a strategic planning document.  ONCRC officials said that NCR leadership had elected to make the core  elements available but to concentrate on preparing other planning and  justification documents required for the fiscal year 2006 DHS grant  process. NCR planning timelines indicate this decision was made in  September 2005.
Because a strategic plan was not available, ONCRC officials provided us  with several documents, which they have said that taken as a whole,  constitute the basic elements of NCR’s strategic plan. These documents  include    a November 18, 2005, NCR Plenary Session PowerPoint presentation  containing information on NCR strategic goals, objectives, and  initiatives;    a February 1, 2006, National Capital Region Target Capabilities and  NCR Projects Work Book;  the March 2, 2006, District of Columbia and National Capital Region  Fiscal Year 2006 Homeland Security Grant Application Program and  Capability Enhancement Plan;  the March 2, 2006, National Capital Region Initiatives; and  the Fiscal Year 2006 NCR Homeland Security Grant Program Funding  Request Investment Justification, submitted to DHS in March 2006.
According to ONCRC officials, a complete strategic plan is awaiting  integration of additional information that in some cases is not yet  complete. These include an Emergency Management Accreditation  Program (EMAP) assessment of all local jurisdictions in the NCR and  regional-level activities, which, according to the ONCRC, is completed but  will not be available until sometime in April; the peer review of the status  of state and urban area emergency operations plans after Hurricane  Katrina, whose completion is anticipated in April 2006; and the fiscal year  2006 homeland security program grant enhancement plan for funding,  which was completed in early March 2006. ONCRC officials estimate that  after April 2006, it will take approximately 90 more days to integrate these  documents and the core framework of the strategic plan, plus  approximately 60 days for final review and coordination by the NCR  leadership. Thus, an initial strategic plan will not be available until at least  September or October 2006.
section_title: NCR Strategic Planning Should Reflect Both National and Regional Priorities and Needs
paragraphs: NCR strategic planning should reflect both national and regional priorities  and needs. ONCRC officials have said that the November 18, 2005, NCR  plenary session PowerPoint presentation represents the vision, mission,  and core goals and objectives of the NCR’s strategic plan. If the NCR’s  homeland security grant program funding documents prepared for DHS  are used extensively in NCR strategic planning, a NCR strategic plan might  primarily reflect DHS priorities and grant funding—national priorities— and not regionally developed strategic goals and priorities.
NCR’s current goals and objectives are shown in table 1.
The other four documents that ONCRC represents as constituting the NCR  strategic plan were developed in response to federal requirements under  the National Preparedness Goal and to support the NCR’s federal funding  application. Required by Homeland Security Presidential Directive 8, the  National Preparedness Goal is a national domestic all-hazards  preparedness goal intended to establish measurable readiness priorities  and targets. The fiscal year 2006 Homeland Security Grant Program  (HSGP) integrates the State Homeland Security Program, the Urban Areas  Security Initiative, the Law Enforcement Terrorism Prevention Program,  the Metropolitan Medical Response System, and the Citizen Corps  Program. For the first time, starting with the fiscal year 2006 HSGP, DHS is  using the National Preparedness Goal to shape national priorities and  focus expenditures for the HSGP. According to DHS, the combined fiscal  year 2006 HSGP Program Guidance and Application Kit streamlines efforts  for states and urban areas in obtaining resources that are critical to  building and sustaining capabilities to achieve the National Preparedness  Goal and implement state and urban area homeland security strategies.
All states and urban areas were required to align existing preparedness  strategies within the National Preparedness Goal’s eight national  priorities. States and urban areas were required to assess their  preparedness needs by reviewing their existing programs and capabilities  and use those findings to develop a plan and formal investment  justification outlining major statewide, substate, or interstate initiatives for  which they will seek funding. According to DHS, these initiatives are to  focus efforts on how to build and sustain programs and capabilities within  and across state boundaries while aligning with the National Preparedness  Goal and national priorities.
It is, of course, important and necessary that the ONCRC, and other  regional and local jurisdictions, incorporate the DHS’s National  Preparedness Goal and related target capabilities into their strategic  planning. The target capabilities are intended to serve as a benchmark  against which states, regions, and localities can measure their own  capabilities. However, these national requirements are but one part of  developing regional preparedness, response, and recovery assessments  and funding priorities specific to the NCR. The NCR’s strategic plan should  provide the framework for guiding the integration of DHS requirements  into the NCR’s overall efforts.
While the NCR strategic plan is not complete, our preliminary review of  the NCR initiatives developed to implement NCR’s strategic goals and  objectives presented in ONCRC documents indicates they are not  completely addressed in the DHS HSGP documents. Using the November  18, 2005, PowerPoint presentation as our primary framework, we  identified whether the NCR’s 39 individual regional initiatives were  specifically supported in whole or in part by programs or investments in  the fiscal year 2006 HSGP documents (enhancement plan and investment  justification) prepared for DHS. Our preliminary analysis indicates that  regional initiatives defined under NCR strategic goals and objectives have  some coverage—individual programs or projects—in the NCR documents  prepared for DHS HSGP funding, but not complete coverage. We found  that of the NCR’s 16 priority initiatives, 10 were partially addressed in the  enhancement plan and 12 were partially addressed in the investment  justification. Of the other 23 NCR initiatives, 8 were partially addressed in  the enhancement plan and 12 were partially addressed in the investment  justification.
Implementation of regional initiatives not covered by HSGP funding likely  would require NCR jurisdictions acting individually or in combination with  others. Our preliminary work did not include an assessment of individual  jurisdictional efforts to implement the NCR initiatives to determine if  uncovered initiatives, particularly those considered priority initiatives,  might be addressed by one or more of the NCR jurisdictions. Further work  would be required to determine to what extent, if any, the NCR initiatives  are addressed in other federal funding applications or individual NCR  jurisdictional homeland security initiatives.
As I stated earlier, ONCRC officials told us a complete NCR strategic plan  is awaiting information from the EMAP assessment, DHS’s peer review of  the status of emergency operations plans in the aftermath of Hurricane  Katrina, and the fiscal year 2006 homeland security grant program  enhancement plan for funding. This information may further emphasize  federal priorities in the regional planning process. However, information  from these sources should complement the region’s own assessment of  preparedness gaps and the development of strategic goals, objectives, and  initiatives. Officials from the District of Columbia, Virginia, and Maryland  emphasized this point when they testified before this committee in July  2005. At that time, they said that the regional strategic plan would be a  comprehensive document that defined priorities and objectives for the  entire region without regard to any specific jurisdiction, discipline, or  funding mechanisms. In our view, a NCR plan should complement the  plans of the various jurisdictions within NCR. In the aftermath of the  September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and the creation of the ONCRC, we  would have expected that the vast majority of this assessment work  should have been completed. The NCR is considered a prime target for  terrorist events, and other major events requiring a regional response can  be anticipated, such as large, dangerous chemical spills.
section_title: A Completed NCR Strategic Plan Could be Strengthened in Several Ways
paragraphs: A complete NCR strategic plan based on the November 18 PowerPoint  presentation could be strengthened in several ways. In earlier work we  have identified characteristics that we consider to be desirable for a  national strategy that may be useful for a regional approach to homeland  security strategic planning. The desirable characteristics, adjusted for a  regional strategy, are    purpose, scope, and methodology that address why the strategy was  produced, the scope of its coverage, and the process by which it was  developed;    problem definition and risk assessment that address the particular  regional problems and threats the strategy is directed towards;    goals, subordinate objectives, activities, and performance measures  that address what the strategy is trying to achieve, steps to achieve  those results, as well as the priorities, milestones, and performance  measures to gauge results;  resources, investments, and risk management that address what the  strategy will cost, the sources and types of resources and investments  needed, and where resources and investments should be targeted by  balancing risk reductions and costs;    organizational roles, responsibilities, and coordination that address  who will be implementing the strategy, what their roles will be  compared to those of others, and mechanisms for them to coordinate  their efforts; and  integration and implementation that address how a regional strategy  relates to other strategies’ goals, objectives and activities, and to state  and local governments within their region and their plans to implement  the strategy.
According to the ONCRC, the November 18 PowerPoint presentation  contains the core elements of the NCR’s strategic plan—the mission,  vision, guiding principles, long-term goals, and objectives. Our preliminary  review of the presentation indicates it reflects many of the characteristics  we have defined as desirable for a strategy. The presentation includes  some material on the purpose, scope, and methodology underlying the  presentation; what it covers; and how it was developed. For example, the  presentation contains a detailed timeline of key activities in the execution  of the strategic plan and how initiatives were prioritized. Particular  regional problems and performance gaps are described, including a  section on regionwide weaknesses and gaps such as the lack of a  regionwide risk assessment framework and inadequate response and  recovery for special needs populations. These gaps are cross-referenced to  priority initiatives. Specific goals, objectives, and initiatives are in the  presentation, cross-referenced to the regional gaps. Some initiative  descriptions identify if a cost is either high, medium, or low with more  detailed cost information summarized in other places.
Our preliminary review indicates that as the ONCRC fleshes out the  November 18 PowerPoint presentation into an initial, complete strategic  plan, improvements might be made in (1) initiatives that will accomplish  objectives under the strategic goals, (2) performance measures and targets  that indicate how the initiatives will accomplish identified strategic goals,  (3) milestones or time frames for initiative accomplishment, (4)  information on the resources and investment for each initiative, and (5)  organizational roles, responsibilities, and coordination, and integration  and implementation plans. A discussion of how these elements could be  strengthened follows.
subsections: section_title: Initiative Development to Match Goal Objectives
paragraphs: A NCR strategic plan could more fully develop initiatives to accomplish  objectives under the strategic goals. For example, the presentation  contains several objectives that have only one initiative. A single initiative  may not ensure that objectives are accomplished, and it may merely be  restating the objective itself. For example, there is only one initiative  (regional strategic planning and decision making process enhancements)  for Goal 1’s first objective (enhancing and adapting the framework for  strategic planning and decision making to achieve an optimal balance of  capabilities across the NCR). The initiative in large part restates the  objective. This initiative might be replaced by more specific initiatives or  the objective restated and additional initiatives proposed. Other objectives  in the November 18 PowerPoint presentation provide a more complete  picture of initiatives intended to meet the objective. For any future plan,  these initiatives should be reviewed to determine if the current initiatives  will fully meet the results expected of the objectives.
section_title: Performance Measure and Target Improvements
paragraphs: A NCR strategic plan could more fully measure initiative expectations by  improving performance measures and targets. First, in some cases, the  performance measures will not readily lend themselves to actual  quantitative or qualitative measurement through a tabulation, a  calculation, a recording of activity or effort, or an assessment of results  that is compared to an intended purpose. Additional measures might be  necessary. For example, Goal 1, Objective 1, Initiative 1 (regional strategic  planning and decision-making process) includes measures such as (1) the  decision-making system is well understood by all stakeholders based on  changed behaviors and (2) time and resources required of stakeholders in  the region to participate in the decision-making process is more efficient.  These could be either refined for more direct measurement or additional  measures posed, such as specifying behaviors for assessment or what  parts of the process might be assessed for efficiency. Other measures in  the document might serve as examples of more direct measurement, such  as those that assess accomplishments using percentages in Goal 2,  Objective 4, Initiative 1 (increasing civic involvement in all phases of  disaster preparedness).
Second, a strategic plan could be improved by (1) expanding the use of  outcome measures and targets in the plan to reflect the results of its  activities and (2) limiting the use of other types of measures. ONCRC  officials said that the performance measures in the November 18  PowerPoint presentation had a greater emphasis on tracking outcomes,  rather than inputs. They stated that as programs and projects are funded  and implemented, a more thorough effort to develop associated measures  for each will be undertaken. With regard to revising measures to reflect  funded programs and projects, we would suggest NCR officials focus on  measuring outcomes of programs and projects to meet strategic goals and  objectives.
Our preliminary analysis indicates that several measures are outcome- oriented, such as those for Goal 2, Objective 4, Initiative 1 (increase civic  involvement in all phases of disaster preparedness) that has outcome  measures such as the percentage of the population that has taken steps to  develop personal preparedness and the percentage of the population  familiar with workplace, school, and community emergency plans.  However, the majority of the presentation’s performance measures and  targets are process- or output-oriented and may not match the desired  result of the initiative. For example, the Goal 1, Objective 4, Initiative 2  (facilitating practitioner priorities into the program development process)  desired outcomes are (1) an easily understood process for participation  and feedback of the practitioner stakeholder communities to influence  programmatic initiatives and priorities defined in Goal Groups 2, 3, and 4  and (2) an awareness and increased participation in the range of resource  opportunities. Measures for this initiative include communication across  Emergency Support Functions (ESFs), an accountability chart, and  governance guidance document show the feedback loop between ESFs  and Senior Policy Group/Chief Administrative Officer (SPG/CAO) and  Regional Working Groups. Such measures identify completed activities or  tasks, not how well understand the process is. A fourth measure for this  initiative—understanding/agreeing on roles, responsibility, and  accountability—might closer to measuring the desired outcome.
Third, many initiatives do not have performance targets. For example,  targets are missing for all or some measures for initiatives under Goal 1,  Objectives 1, 3, 4, and 5. Other targets are unclear. For example, one  measure for both Goal 1, Objective 3, Initiative 1 (tasks and capabilities for  the NCR) and Goal 1, Objective 3, Initiative 2 (gap analysis,  recommendations, and appropriate actions) is the progress toward closing  the gap between baseline and target capabilities. The target is “what we  think we need to accomplish in HSPD 7/8.” Any targets such as this would  require clarification if progress toward results is to be assessed.
section_title: Timeframes
paragraphs: A future NCR strategic plan could also be strengthened by including more  complete time frames for initiative accomplishment, including specific  milestones. In some cases, the time frame description is missing or is  inconsistent with timeframes provided within performance measure  descriptions that generally cover activities or tasks. For example, Goal 3,  Objective 1, Initiative 1 (region prevention and mitigation framework) has  a time frame for fall 2006, but measures include targets in 2007. In several  instances, measures of tasks or activities include milestones, but an  overall time frame is not indicated. For example, Goal 3, Objective 3,  Initiative 1 (critical infrastructure and high-risk targets risk assessments)  and Goal 4, Objective 1, Initiative 1 (corrective action program for gaps)  do not have timeframes identified, but measures have dates extending into  2007 and 2009 respectively.
Time frames should also match the initiative. In some cases, it is unclear if  the initiative description should be expanded to encompass activities that  appear outside the scope of the initiative as written, but result in the time  frame for the overall initiative. For example, Goal 3, Objective 1, Initiative  3 (health surveillance, detection, and mitigation functions plan) has an  overall time frame of December 2010, but the 2010 date reflects  implementation of a patient tracking system. In the list of measures, the  plan itself is targeted for December 2008. Either the initiative description  could be changed to include the system or the patient tracking system  measure could be removed or revised.
section_title: Resources and Investments
paragraphs: A future NCR strategic plan could provide fuller information on the  resources and investments associated with each initiative. For example,  each initiative in the November 18 PowerPoint presentation has a section  for cost and cost factors. However, there is not an explanation in the  document as to what cost categories of high, medium, or low mean in  terms of dollar ranges. ONCRC officials told us that these descriptions  should be considered more notional in nature, with a low usually meaning  well under $1 million and those rated high in the tens of millions. In many  cases, the categorization of cost for an initiative is missing from the  November 18 PowerPoint presentation initiative sections. More specific  cost information by initiative, such as the funded and unfunded grant  information that is provided in a summary format, would facilitate  decision making in comparing trade-offs as options are considered. A plan  also could be improved by including the sources of funding for the  anticipated costs, whether federal, state, or local, or a combination of  multiple sources.
section_title: Organizational Contributions and Integration and Implementation Planning
paragraphs: Last, any future NCR strategic plan could expand on organizational roles,  responsibilities, coordination, and integration and implementation plans.  Organizational roles, responsibilities, and coordination for each initiative  would clarify accountability and leadership for completion of the  initiative. The plan might also include information on how the plan will be  integrated with the strategic plans of NCR jurisdictions and that of the  ONCRC and plans to implement the regional strategy.
section_title: Concluding Observations
paragraphs: There is no more important element in results-oriented management than  the effort of strategic planning. This effort is the starting point and  foundation for defining what an organization seeks to accomplish,  identifying the strategies it will use to achieve desired results, and then  determining how well it succeeds in reaching results-oriented goals and  achieving objectives. Establishing clear goals, objectives, and milestones;  setting performance goals; assessing performance against goals to set  priorities; and monitoring the effectiveness of actions taken to achieve the  designated performance goals are all part of the planning process. If done  well, strategic planning is not a static or occasional event, but rather a  dynamic and inclusive process. Continuous strategic planning provides the  foundation for the most important things an organization does each day,  and fosters informed communication between the organization and those  affected by or interested in the organization’s activities.
We appreciate the fact that strategic plans, once issued, are living  documents that require continual assessment. There is an understandable  temptation to delay issuing a strategic plan at some point in the ongoing  strategic planning process until the plan is considered perfect and all  information has been collected, analyzed, and incorporated into the plan.  However, failure to complete an initial strategic plan makes it difficult for  decision makers to identify and assess NCR’s first strategic goals,  objectives, priorities, measures, and funding needs, and how resources can  be leveraged across the region as events warrant. We continue to  recommend that the Secretary of DHS work with the NCR jurisdictions to  quickly complete a coordinated strategic plan to establish regional goals  and priorities.  -     -     -     -     -  That concludes my statement, Mr. Chairman. I would be pleased to  respond to any questions you or other members of the Committee may  have.
section_title: Contacts and Acknowledgments
paragraphs: For questions regarding this testimony, please contact William O. Jenkins,  Jr. at (202) 512-8757, email jenkinswo@gao.gov. Sharon L. Caudle also  made key contributions to this testimony.
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