Federal Manager's Daily Report

OMB and agencies have fully implemented more than half of the above 600 GAO recommendations from 2010-2015 to improve IT acquisitions and management, that agency has said, adding that over fiscal 2016-17 it has added more than 200 others.

GAO issued its findings as the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee held the latest in a series of hearings on the 2014 Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act.

Management of IT acquisitions and operations is on GAO’s high-risk list and a report said that work remains in areas including: consolidating data centers, where there are weaknesses in areas including agencies’ data center consolidation plans, data center optimization and OMB’s tracking and reporting on related cost savings; transparency, where concerns remain regarding the accuracy and reliability of information on OMB’s IT Dashboard; delivery of investments in smaller parts in order to reduce risk and deliver capabilities more quickly; and managing software licenses to avoid purchasing too many licenses that result in unused software.

The committee meanwhile issued its latest FITARA compliance scorecard, showing that of the 24 large departments agencies assessed, all but seven still have a failing grade in software licensing. Since the prior scorecard in June, Transportation had joined Defense in receiving an overall failing grade—both were rated as failing in four of the five areas measured. HHS and Labor were rated as barely passing at D-, with Energy receiving a D+ overall.

USAID continued to be the only agency rated at an A level overall, although it slipped from A+ to A-, while Energy, DHS, HUD, Justice, Transportation, and EPA also declined. Education, SBA and OPM posted gains, though.