GAO determined that other program planning and execution limitations, beyond the expenditure plan pose problems for DHS to deliver the program on time and on budget.
For example, the reliability of the cost estimates used to justify the department’s proposed biometric air and sea exit solution is in doubt, the proposed solution would provide less security and privacy than other alternatives, and public comments on the proposed solution raise additional concerns, including the impact the solution would have on the industry’s efforts to improve passenger processing and travel, according to the report.
GAO called on the secretary to direct the department’s investment review board to review the reasons for the plan’s limitations and address challenges and weaknesses in DHS’s proposed air and sea exit solution, risk management, and the implementation of earned value management, and to report the results to Congress.
