Department of Homeland Security: Continued Progress Made Improving and Integrating Management Areas, but More Work Remains
Published: 2012-03-01T00:00:00

Fast Facts:

Highlights:
section_title: Why GAO Did This Study
paragraphs: Since 2003, GAO has designated the implementation and transformation of DHS as high risk because, among other things, DHS had to combine 22 agencies, while ensuring no serious consequences for U.S. national and economic security. This high-risk area includes challenges in DHSs management functionsfinancial management, human capital, IT, and acquisitions; the effect of those challenges on implementing DHSs missions; and integrating the functions. In November 2000, GAO published criteria for removing areas from its high-risk list. In September 2010, GAO identified 31 actions and outcomes critical to addressing this high-risk area. This testimony addresses DHSs progress in (1) developing a strategy for addressing its high-risk designation and (2) achieving outcomes critical to addressing this high-risk area. This statement is based on GAO products issued from June 2007 through February 2012, including selected updates. It also includes preliminary observations from GAOs ongoing work reviewing DHSs IT governance, for which GAO reviewed documents on IT governance and interviewed officials.
section_title: What GAO Found
paragraphs: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has updated and strengthened its strategy for how it plans to address GAOs high-risk designation and resolve the departments management challenges. In January 2011, DHS provided GAO with its Integrated Strategy for High Risk Management, which summarized the departments preliminary plans for addressing the high-risk area. GAO found that this strategy, which was later updated in June and December 2011, was generally responsive to the actions and outcomes needed to address GAOs high-risk designation. For example, the January 2011 strategy generally identified multiple, specific actions and target completion time frames consistent with the outcomes GAO identified. However, the strategy did not address the root causes of problems, among other things. In its June 2011 strategy, DHS, among other things, identified 10 root causes that cut across the management areas and their integration. GAO identified ways the strategy could be strengthened, including consistently reporting the progress of its initiatives and corrective actions. In its most recent update, DHS better positioned itself to address its management challenges. For example, for the first time, DHS included ratings of the departments progress addressing its high-risk outcomes. However, GAO believes that DHS could more consistently report on available resources and corrective actions, establish measures and report on progress made for all initiatives, and stabilize its methodology for measuring progress. These changes, if implemented and sustained, provide a path for DHS to address GAOs high-risk designation.
DHS has made progress, but has considerable work ahead to achieve actions and outcomes critical to addressing this high-risk area. Among other accomplishments, DHS realigned its acquisition management functions within a new office to assess the health of major acquisitions and investments; conducted program and portfolio reviews of hundreds of information technology (IT) investments; and reduced the number of material weaknesses in internal controls. DHS also demonstrated top leadership commitment by identifying roles and responsibilities for its key management initiatives. However, DHS has more work ahead to fully implement its plans and address its management challenges. For example, in June 2010 GAO reported that over half of the programs reviewed awarded contracts to initiate acquisition activities without component or department approval of essential planning documents. In addition, DHS faces challenges fully defining key system investment and acquisition management policies and procedures. Further, as of September 30, 2011, due to material weaknesses in internal controls over financial reporting, DHS was unable to provide assurance that these internal controls were operating effectively. In September 2011 we reported that DHS also continues to face challenges implementing some key human capital initiatives, such as its workforce strategy. DHS also needs to continue to demonstrate sustainable progress in integrating its management functions within and across the department and its components, including making progress with its model for managing investments across components and management functions. GAO will continue to assess DHSs efforts to address its high-risk designation and will report its findings on the departments progress in the high-risk update that it expects to issue in early 2013.
section_title: What GAO Recommends
paragraphs: This testimony contains no new recommendations. GAO has made over 100 recommendations to DHS since 2003 to strengthen the departments management and integration efforts. DHS has implemented many of these recommendations and is in the process of implementing others.

section_title: Letter
paragraphs: I am pleased to be here today to discuss the Department of Homeland  Security’s (DHS) ongoing efforts to build a single, unified department.  DHS now has more than 200,000 employees and almost $60 billion in  budget authority, and completing its transformation into a cohesive  department is critical to achieving its homeland security missions. Our  prior work on mergers and organizational transformations, undertaken  before the creation of DHS, found that successful transformations of large  organizations, even those faced with less-strenuous reorganizations than  DHS, can take years to achieve. Since the department’s creation in  2003, GAO has designated the implementation and transformation of  DHS as high risk because DHS had to combine 22 agencies—several  with major management challenges—into one department, and failure to  effectively address DHS’s management and mission risks could have  serious consequences for U.S. national and economic security. This  high-risk area includes challenges in strengthening DHS’s management  functions—financial management, human capital, information technology  (IT), and acquisition management—the effect of those challenges on  DHS’s mission implementation, and challenges in integrating  management functions within and across the department and its  components.
In November 2000, we published our criteria for removing areas from the  high-risk list. Specifically, agencies must have (1) a demonstrated strong  commitment and top leadership support to address the risks; (2) the  capacity (that is, the people and other resources) to resolve the risks; (3)  a corrective action plan that identifies the root causes, identifies effective  solutions, and provides for substantially completing corrective measures  in the near term, including but not limited to steps necessary to implement  solutions we recommended; (4) a program instituted to monitor and  independently validate the effectiveness and sustainability of corrective  measures; and (5) the ability to demonstrate progress in implementing  corrective measures.
On the basis of our prior work, in September 2010 we identified and  provided to DHS 31 actions and outcomes that are critical to addressing  the challenges within the department’s management areas and in  integrating those functions across the department. These key actions and  outcomes include, among others, obtaining and then sustaining  unqualified audit opinions for at least 2 consecutive years on the  departmentwide financial statements; validating required acquisition  documents in accordance with a department-approved, knowledge-based  acquisition process; and demonstrating measurable progress in  implementing its IT human capital plan and accomplishing defined  outcomes. outcomes. Achieving and sustaining progress in these areas would  demonstrate the department’s ability and commitment to addressing our  five criteria for removing issues from the high-risk list.
DHS committed to taking actions to address all 31 of these  My testimony this morning will discuss our observations, based on prior  and ongoing work, on DHS’s progress in (1) developing a strategy for  addressing its high-risk designation for the implementation and  transformation of the department and (2) achieving outcomes critical to  addressing the high-risk designation.
An unqualified opinion states that the financial statements present fairly, in all material  respects, the financial position, results of operations, and cash flows of the entity in  conformity with generally accepted accounting principles.
This statement is based on prior reports and testimonies we issued from  June 2007 through February 2012, as well as letters we submitted to  DHS in March and November 2011 providing feedback on the  department’s January and June 2011 versions of its Integrated Strategy  for High Risk Management. The statement is also based on selected  updates we obtained from May 2011 through February 2012. For the past  products, among other things, we interviewed DHS officials; analyzed  DHS strategies and other documents related to the department’s  implementation and transformation high-risk area; and reviewed our past  reports, issued since DHS began its operations in March 2003. All of this  work was conducted in accordance with generally accepted government  auditing standards, and more-detailed information on the scope and  methodology from our prior work can be found within each specific report.  For the updates, we obtained information from DHS on its transformation  and management integration efforts through, among other things, (1)  obtaining the December 2011 version of the Integrated Strategy for High  Risk Management, and (2) meeting with DHS officials, including the  Under Secretary for Management and Deputy Under Secretary for  Management. This statement is also based on preliminary observations  from our ongoing work in response to your request to review DHS’s  progress in implementing the new IT governance approach. For this work,  among other things, we are reviewing DHS documentation on its planned  IT governance process and interviewing DHS officials responsible for  implementing this process. We are conducting this work in accordance  with generally accepted government auditing standards. Those standards  require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain sufficient, appropriate  evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions  based on our audit objectives. We believe that the evidence obtained  provides a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions based on  our audit objectives.
subsections: section_title: DHS Has Updated Its Strategy for Addressing Its High- Risk Designation
paragraphs: Since January 2011, DHS has continued to update and strengthen its  strategy for how the department plans to address our high-risk  designation and resolve its management challenges. In January 2011,  DHS provided us with its initial Integrated Strategy for High Risk  Management, which summarized the department’s preliminary plans for  addressing the high-risk area. The January 2011 strategy, which DHS  later updated in June 2011 and December 2011, was generally  responsive to the actions and outcomes we identified for the department  to address this high-risk area. Specifically, in our March 2011 written  response to DHS’s January 2011 update, we stated that  the strategy generally identified multiple, specific actions and target  completion time frames consistent with the outcomes we identified; designated senior officials to be responsible for implementing most  actions; and  included scorecards to depict, at a high level, the department’s views  of its progress in addressing each high-risk area and a framework for  monitoring implementation of corrective actions through, among other  things, quarterly meetings between DHS and us.
However, the January 2011 update generally did not discuss the root  causes of problems. Further, while the strategy identified whether DHS  believed it had the resources available to implement planned actions, it  did not identify what the specific resource needs were or what additional  resources may be needed, making it difficult to assess the extent to which  DHS has the capacity to implement those actions.
In June 2011, DHS updated its Integrated Strategy for High Risk  Management. The update demonstrated the department’s continued  leadership commitment to address the high-risk designation and  represented continued progress. For example:
DHS identified 10 root causes that cut across the four management  functions and management integration. By identifying these root  causes, the department better positioned itself to determine corrective  actions for addressing the underlying problems that have affected its  management implementation efforts, and to assess the extent to  which progress made in implementing the corrective actions has  mitigated those underlying problems.
DHS organized its corrective actions into 16 key management  initiatives (e.g., financial management controls, IT program  governance, and procurement staffing model) to address its  management challenges and the 31 actions and outcomes we  identified.
Identifying key management initiatives should help DHS prioritize its  efforts and resources for addressing its root causes and management  challenges, and provide a useful framework for monitoring the  department’s implementation of the initiatives and associated corrective  actions. However, elements of the update could be strengthened or  clarified to better address our high-risk criteria and the actions and  outcomes we previously identified, including (1) better defining the root  causes of its management problems; (2) clarifying the resources available  to implement corrective actions; (3) consistently reporting the progress of  its corrective actions; and (4) more clearly and consistently reporting the  progress of its key management initiatives.
DHS provided its most recent update to its strategy in December 2011.  Overall, we believe that the December update positions the department to  address its management challenges and the implementation and  transformation high-risk area. For example:
DHS updated its initiatives—removing two initiatives from the  management integration area and adding four new initiatives,  including human resources information technology, management  health assessment, strategic sourcing, and acquisition workforce  development;
DHS included, for the first time, ratings of the department’s progress  addressing the 31 high-risk outcomes; and
DHS enhanced its reporting and rating methodology for its key  management initiatives. Specifically, DHS replaced a color-coded  (green, yellow or red) rating system used in previous updates with a  new system for self-reporting progress. DHS now measures and  reports its progress addressing the five criteria for removal from high  risk in two ways. One way uses standard indicators for measuring  progress and a pie graph for reporting such progress across all of its  key management initiatives against the first four criteria—leadership  commitment, capacity, corrective action plans, and monitoring. The  second way uses specific performance measures unique to each  initiative for measuring progress and a fuel-type gauge for reporting  on the fifth criterion—demonstrated progress. According to DHS, the  revised methodology, amongst other things, results in a more  objective view of each initiative’s progress.
However, the December 2011 update could be strengthened or clarified  to better enable DHS and GAO to assess the department’s progress, in  the following ways:
More clearly and consistently report the resources available to  implement corrective actions. DHS identified whether it had  sufficient resources to implement most of the corrective actions.  However, as we also reported to DHS regarding the January and  June 2011 strategies, for many corrective actions DHS did not provide  information on what the specific resource needs are or what additional  resources may be needed to implement the corrective actions. The  absence of resource information makes it difficult to fully assess the  extent to which DHS has the capacity to implement these actions,  particularly within the time frames identified for the corrective actions
Consistently report on corrective actions. DHS provided  information on the department’s rationale for eliminating and adding  key management initiatives, but has not consistently provided such  information for the corrective actions it established for each initiative.  For example, the December strategy contained three new corrective  actions for the IT program-governance initiative that were not in the  June 2011 strategy, but did not include three corrective actions that  had been in the June 2011 strategy. The December strategy did not  consistently explain the department’s rationale for eliminating or  adding corrective actions from the June strategy, such as whether the  corrective actions were already completed, or if the corrective actions  were no longer appropriate or feasible. Without consistently providing  information on the basis for DHS’s decision to add or remove  corrective actions, it is difficult for DHS and us to track the status and  progress of the department’s efforts to fully implement its  management initiatives.
Establish measures and report on progress for all initiatives.  DHS established a total of 58 measures to track its demonstrated  progress in implementing the 18 initiatives included in the December  2011 strategy. While these measures provide additional insight into  DHS’s self-reported progress and represent an important  improvement from the June 2011 strategy, DHS has not yet  established measures for one of its initiatives—the new management  health assessment initiative—and did not report on its progress for  more than 40 percent (24 of the 58) of the measures in the December  2011 strategy. Without establishing measures and consistently  reporting on their progress, neither DHS nor we can fully assess the  department’s progress in implementing its initiatives.
Stabilize its methodology for measuring progress. We believe that  the enhanced methodology DHS established for assessing its  progress in implementing its initiatives generally allows for a more- objective assessment. However, the evolving nature of DHS’s  methodology, which the department revised in the June 2011 strategy  and again in the December strategy, makes it difficult to effectively  monitor the department’s progress over time.
By strengthening these four aspects, we believe the December 2011  strategy, if implemented and sustained, provides a path for DHS to  address our high-risk designation. We will continue to closely monitor and  assess DHS’s progress in addressing the high-risk designation and the  department’s overall transformation efforts as part of our work for the  2013 high-risk update, which we plan to issue in January 2013.
section_title: DHS Has Made Progress, but More Work Remains to Achieve High-Risk Outcomes
paragraphs: DHS has made progress addressing management challenges and  achieving high-risk outcomes in some key areas. The Secretary and  Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security, and other senior officials, have  demonstrated commitment and top leadership support to address the  department’s management challenges. As the following examples  illustrate, DHS is making progress achieving the long-term goal of  enhancing its management capabilities and building a more-integrated  department.
In June 2011, we reported that, per departmental acquisition  guidance, DHS’s Science and Technology directorate reviewed and  approved test and evaluation documents and plans for programs  undergoing testing, and conducted independent assessments for the  programs that completed operational testing. In October 2011, to  enhance the department’s ability to oversee major acquisition  programs, DHS realigned the acquisition management functions  previously performed by two divisions within the Office of Chief  Procurement Officer to establish the Office of Program Accountability  and Risk Management (PARM). PARM, which is responsible for  program governance and acquisition policy, serves as the  Management Directorate’s executive office for program execution and  works with DHS leadership to assess the health of major acquisitions  and investments. To help with this effort, PARM is developing a  database, known as the Decision Support Tool, intended to improve  the flow of information from component program offices to the  Management Directorate to support its governance efforts. DHS also  included a new management initiative in its December 2011 update  (strategic sourcing) to increase savings and improve acquisition  efficiency by consolidating contracts departmentwide for the same  kinds of products and services, and reported awarding 14 strategically  sourced contracts in fiscal year 2011. We currently have ongoing work  related to both of these areas that we will report on later this year.  In February 2012, we reported that the DHS Chief Information Officer  (CIO) and Chief Human Capital Officer were coordinating to  streamline and consolidate the department’s human resources  investments. Specifically, in 2010 and 2011, the DHS CIO conducted  program and portfolio reviews of hundreds of IT investments and  systems. DHS evaluated portfolios of investments within its  components to avoid investing in systems that are duplicative or  overlapping, and to identify and leverage investments across the  department. DHS also consolidated (1) 6 personnel security–related  systems into its departmentwide Integrated Security Management  System—with an additional personnel security system planned for  consolidation in 2012, and (2) two components’ portals into the  Homeland Security Information Network, with plans to consolidate 12  additional portals before 2014.
DHS has reduced the number of material weaknesses in internal  controls from 18 since the inception of the department in 2003 to 5 in  fiscal year 2011. In addition, in fiscal year 2010 DHS committed to the goal of receiving a qualified audit opinion on its consolidated  balance sheet in fiscal year 2011 by, for example, remediating  financial management issues at the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG). In  fiscal year 2011, DHS achieved this goal by moving from a disclaimer  of opinion to a qualified audit opinion on its balance sheet and  statement of custodial activity for the first time since the department’s  creation. In its December 2011 strategy, DHS reported plans to  expand the audit to all financial statements in fiscal year 2012. DHS  believes this will identify additional areas for corrective action and help  it to obtain a clean audit opinion on all financial statements by  September 2013, although there is no clear plan for how full  auditability will be achieved.  In February 2012, we reported that DHS consolidated five time-and- attendance systems into a departmentwide time-and-attendance  system and plans to incorporate an additional component by June   This consolidation effort is part of DHS’s broader human  2012. resources IT initiative. This initiative is intended to, among other  things (1) support the development and implementation of consistent  and consolidated human resources IT systems across DHS, and (2)  strengthen and unify the department’s ability to collect and share  human resource information. We also reported in February 2012 that  DHS had initiated a Senior Executive Service Candidate Development  Program in May 2011 to build its senior leadership pipeline within the  department—consolidating what had been four individual leadership  programs into a single DHS-wide program—and lowered its senior  leadership vacancy rates from a peak of 25 percent in 2006 to 10  percent at the end of fiscal year 2011.In February 2011, we reported that the department put in place  common policies, procedures, and systems within individual  management functions, such as human capital, that help to integrate  its component agencies.commitment by identifying roles and responsibilities at the  departmental level for the key management initiatives it has included  in the December 2011 strategy. Additionally, DHS has promoted  accountability for management integration among department and  component management chiefs by, among other things, having the  department chiefs provide written objectives that explicitly reflect  priorities and milestones for that management function as well as  aligning the component chiefs’ individual performance plans to the  department’s goals and objectives.
DHS has also demonstrated top leadership  In its December 2011 strategy, DHS presented detailed plans to address  a number of management challenges. However, in many instances, DHS  has considerable work ahead to fully implement these plans and address  these challenges.
Our prior work has identified challenges related to acquisition  oversight, cost growth, and schedule delays, including departmental  concerns about the accuracy of cost estimates for some of DHS’s  major programs. For example, in June 2010 we reported that over half  of the programs we reviewed awarded contracts to initiate acquisition  activities without component or department approval of documents  essential to planning acquisitions, such as mission need statements  outlining the specific functional capabilities required to accomplish  DHS’s mission and objectives; operational requirements; and  acquisition program baselines. Additionally, we reported that only a  small number of DHS’s major acquisitions had validated cost  estimates. Further, DHS reported in its December 2011 strategy that  senior executives are not confident enough in the data to use the  Decision Support Tool developed by PARM to help make acquisition  decisions. However, DHS’s plans to improve the quality of the data in  this database are limited. At this time, PARM only plans to check the  data quality in preparation for key milestone meetings in the  acquisition process. This could significantly diminish the Decision  Support Tool’s value because users cannot confidently identify and  take action to address problems meeting cost or schedule goals prior  to program review meetings.
DHS continues to face challenges in managing its IT acquisitions,  ensuring proper implementation and departmentwide coordination,  and implementing information security controls. For example, as we  reported in 2011, DHS faces challenges fully defining key system  investment and acquisition management policies and procedures for  IT. Moreover, the extent to which DHS implemented these  investment and acquisition management policies and practices in  major IT programs has been inconsistent. We also reported that major  IT acquisition programs were not subjected to executive-level  acquisition and investment management reviews. As a result, major  programs aimed at delivering important mission capabilities had not  lived up to their capability, benefit, cost, and schedule expectations.  DHS is currently pilot testing a new approach for overseeing and  managing its IT acquisitions. We are currently reviewing this new  governance approach and expect to report the results of our work  later this year. Further, we previously reported on the need for federal  agencies, including DHS, to improve implementation of information  security controls, such as those for configuring desktop computers  and wireless communication devices. DHS reports that, as of  December 2011, it mostly addressed IT security. However, the DHS  Office of Inspector General continues to report a material weakness in  this area and identifies information security as a major management  challenge facing the department.
Due to material weaknesses in internal controls over financial  reporting, DHS was unable to provide assurance that internal controls  over financial reporting were operating effectively as of September 30,  2011. According to DHS, due to existing internal control weaknesses  and focus on corrective actions, the audit opinion on internal controls  over financial reporting will likely remain a disclaimer in fiscal year  2012. DHS also faces challenges in modernizing its financial systems.  We previously reported that DHS twice attempted to implement an  integrated departmentwide financial management system, but had not  been able to consolidate its disparate systems. Specifically, in June  2007, we reported that DHS ended its Electronic Managing Enterprise  Resources for Government Effectiveness and Efficiency effort after  determining that the resulting financial management systems would  not provide the expected system functionality and performance. In  December 2009, we reported that the Transformation and Systems  Consolidation program had been significantly delayed by bid protests  and related litigation. In March 2011, DHS ended this program and  reported that moving forward it would consider alternatives to meet  revised requirements. In 2011, DHS decided to change its strategy for  financial system modernization. Rather than implement a  departmentwide integrated financial management system solution,  DHS opted for a decentralized approach to financial management  systems modernization at the component level. Specifically, DHS  reported in its December 2011 strategy that it plans to replace  financial management systems at three components it has identified  as most in need, including the Federal Emergency Management  Agency (FEMA), USCG, and Immigrations and Customs Enforcement  (ICE). As of February 2012, DHS officials stated that they first planned  to modernize FEMA’s system, which would start using a federal  shared service provider at the beginning of fiscal year 2015. DHS  officials told us they had not yet identified the specific approach or  necessary resources and time frames for implementing new systems  at USCG and ICE. It is not clear whether DHS’s new, decentralized  approach to financial system modernization will ensure that  component’s financial management systems can generate reliable,  useful, timely information for day-to-day decision making; enhance the  department’s ability to comprehensively view financial information  across DHS; and comply with related federal requirements at DHS  and its components. We will continue to monitor DHS’s actions in this  area.
DHS continues to face challenges implementing some of its key  human capital initiatives and functions. For example, the DHS Chief  Information Officer’s (CIO) September 2011 assessment of the human  resources IT program identified two risks that could have adverse  effects on the cost and schedule of the program. First, if the program  is unable to meet its established baseline schedules, there is a high  probability of program breach and potential loss of funding due to lack  of prioritization. Second, if a thorough understanding of existing  legacy applications and processes across the DHS components is not  achieved, the new, consolidated system will not adequately replace  existing functionality nor provide the stable operational functionality  needed from the program. DHS has also struggled with low job  satisfaction among its employees since its inception. For the 2011  Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey, DHS scored below the  governmentwide average on the Office of Personnel Management’s  Job Satisfaction Index and ranked 31st of 33 federal agencies on  employee satisfaction, according to the Partnership for Public  Service’s analysis of the survey results. At the subcommittee’s  request, we currently have work underway evaluating the  effectiveness of DHS’s plans and efforts to address its employee  morale issues and expect to report our findings later this year.  Further, in June 2011, DHS reported that it was developing  component operational plans to implement its departmentwide  workforce strategy and align the component plans with the goals,  measures, and objectives of the strategy. However, in its December  2011 strategy, DHS reported that it had not finished providing  feedback to components on their fiscal year 2011 plans.
DHS needs to continue to demonstrate sustainable progress in  integrating its management functions within and across the  department and its components and take additional actions to further  and more effectively integrate the department. Specifically, in its  January 2011 high-risk strategy, DHS described plans to establish an  Integrated Investment Life Cycle Model (IILCM) for managing  investments across its components and management functions;  strengthening integration within and across those functions; and  ensuring mission needs drive investment decisions. This framework  seeks to enhance DHS resource decision making and oversight by  creating new department-level councils to identify priorities and  capability gaps, revising how DHS components and lines of business  manage acquisition programs, and developing a common framework  for monitoring and assessing implementation of investment decisions.  DHS reported in December 2011 that the IILCM initiative had made  little progress since January 2011 though the department planned to  begin using the IILCM by the end of September 2012. The department  also indicated it had not determined resource needs to accomplish  any of the eight associated corrective actions it has identified for this  initiative.
While DHS has made progress, the department still faces considerable  challenges. Going forward, DHS needs to continue implementing its  Integrated Strategy for High Risk Management and show measurable,  sustainable progress in implementing its key management initiatives and  corrective actions and achieving outcomes. We will continue to monitor  and assess DHS’s implementation and transformation efforts through our  ongoing and planned work, including the 2013 high-risk update that we  expect to issue in early 2013.
Chairman McCaul, Ranking Member Keating, and Members of the  Subcommittee, this concludes my prepared statement. I would be  pleased to respond to any questions that you may have.
section_title: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments
paragraphs: For questions about this statement, please contact David C. Maurer at  (202) 512-9627 or maurerd@gao.gov. Contact points for our Offices of  Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be found on the last page  of this statement. Individuals making key contributions to this statement  include Maria Strudwick, Assistant Director; Scott Behen, analyst-in- charge; Michael Laforge, Anjalique Lawrence, Gary Mountjoy, Sabine  Paul, Nathan Tranquilli, and Katherine Trimble. Other contributors  include: David Alexander, Katherine Davis, Jan Montgomery, and Tomas  Ramirez, Jr. Key contributors for the previous work that this testimony is  based on are listed within each individual product.
section_title: Related GAO Reports
paragraphs: Information Technology: Departments of Defense and Energy Need to  Address Potentially Duplicative Investments. GAO-12-241. Washington  D.C.: February 17, 2012.
DHS Human Capital: Senior Leadership Vacancy Rates Generally  Declined, but Components’ Rates Varied. GAO-12-264. Washington,  D.C.: February 10, 2012.
Department of Homeland Security: Additional Actions Needed to  Strengthen Strategic Planning and Management Functions.  GAO-12-382T. Washington D.C.: February 3, 2012.
Department of Homeland Security: Progress Made and Work Remaining  in Implementing Homeland Security Missions 10 Years after 9/11.  GAO-11-881. Washington D.C.: September 7, 2011.
High-Risk Series: An Update. GAO-11-278. Washington, D.C.: February  2011.
Information Security: Federal Agencies Have Taken Steps to Secure  Wireless Networks, but Further Actions Can Mitigate Risk. GAO-11-43.  Washington, D.C.: November 30, 2010.
Department of Homeland Security: Assessments of Selected Complex  Acquisitions. GAO-10-588SP. Washington, D.C.: June 30, 2010.
Information Security: Agencies Need to Implement Federal Desktop Core  Configuration Requirements. GAO-10-202. Washington, D.C.: March 12,  2010.
Financial Management Systems: DHS Faces Challenges to Successfully  Consolidating Its Existing Disparate Systems. GAO-10-76. Washington,  D.C.: December 4, 2009.
Department of Homeland Security: Actions Taken Toward Management  Integration, but a Comprehensive Strategy Is Still Needed. GAO-10-131.  Washington, D.C.: November 20, 2009.
Homeland Security: Despite Progress, DHS Continues to Be Challenged  in Managing Its Multi-Billion Dollar Annual Investment in Large-Scale  Information Technology Systems. GAO-09-1002T. Washington, D.C.:  September 15, 2009.
Department of Homeland Security: Billions Invested in Major Programs  Lack Appropriate Oversight. GAO-09-29. Washington, D.C.: November  18, 2008.
Department of Homeland Security: Better Planning and Assessment  Needed to Improve Outcomes for Complex Service Acquisitions.  GAO-08-263. Washington, D.C.: April 22, 2008.
Homeland Security: Departmentwide Integrated Financial Management  Systems Remain a Challenge. GAO-07-536. Washington, D.C.: June 21,  2007.
Information Technology Investment Management: A Framework for  Assessing and Improving Process Maturity, version 1.1. GAO-04-394G.  Washington, D.C.: March 2004.
High-Risk Series: Strategic Human Capital Management. GAO-03-120.  Washington, D.C.: January 2003.
Determining Performance and Accountability Challenges and High Risks.  GAO-01-159SP. Washington, D.C.: November 2000.
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