Friday, November 6, 2009

Carper, Collins Urge IT Accountability

Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs ranking member Susan Collins and Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., on Friday said a Government Accountability Office report showing that 16 critical federal information technology projects will cost $3 billion more than originally estimated is proof of lax oversight and underscores the need for immediate corrective action. Carper chairs the Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services and International Security.

The GAO report also notes that the IT investments will likely need an additional $1 billion to be completed on time. Two investments in particular are especially egregious, Carper and Collins said. NASA's James Webb Space Telescope and the Veteran's Affairs Health Information System Modernization will collectively overrun their original budgets by more than $798 million.

Earlier this year, Carper asked the GAO to study whether the Office of Management and Budget was providing Congress with the true cost of IT investments based on several hearings that revealed agencies often under-report the price tag for federal projects. "At a time when our country faces record deficits and dramatic budget cuts, it is unacceptable that agencies are not telling Congress and the taxpayers the true costs for these large-scale technology investments," Carper said in a statement.

Carper and Collins have sponsored legislation that would require agencies to conduct an independent cost estimate for risky projects that typically end up over-budget and behind schedule. Their bill would also require agencies to alert Congress when an investment significantly deviates from the expected cost estimate. "Congress needs more information about these projects so we can decide whether we want to continue funding them or not," he said.