[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 18 (Wednesday, February 12, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E222]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         COMPUTER MODERNIZATION

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. LEE H. HAMILTON

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 12, 1997

  Mr. HAMILTON. Mr. Speaker, I am inserting my Washington Report for 
Wednesday, January 8, 1997 into the Congressional Record.

            Computer Modernization in the Federal Government

       During the past several months, President Clinton urged 
     Americans to work together to provide computers and an 
     Internet link-up for every school and library in the country. 
     The idea is to give every school child, indeed, every 
     citizen, across the country the same access to information of 
     every conceivable sort. This promises to expand greatly the 
     educational and employment opportunities for all Americans. 
     The President is surely right to focus on information 
     technology as a key to education and opportunity in the 21st 
     Century.
       The federal government, however, has not been a model of 
     successful computerization. The ``reinventing government'' 
     effort has already resulted in a federal government that is 
     smaller and cheaper in terms of proportion of our GDP than at 
     any time since the early 1960's, but it has been hindered by 
     the failure of the government to modernize its computer 
     technology. While some agencies are doing a good job 
     government cannot ``work smarter'' unless it has the best and 
     most modern information tools.
       Outdated Technology: The federal government spends about 
     $30 billion per year on information technology, but sometimes 
     it is hard to see the benefits. A recent report by the 
     General Accounting Office, Congress' investigative arm, 
     documented failures in government acquisition and management 
     of information technology. This report criticized in 
     particular two agencies that have direct impact on all 
     Americans: the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the 
     Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
       The FAA began a comprehensive modernization of the 
     nationwide air traffic control system in 1981. Today, 16 
     years and several billion dollars later, air traffic 
     controllers are still using 1960's-vintage equipment. The men 
     and women responsible for the safety of passenger airliners 
     depend upon equipment using vacuum tubes so antiquated that 
     replacements have to be imported from Poland. As might be 
     expected, this equipment is prone to frequent breakdowns. 
     Experts say that several fatal airplane accidents could have 
     been prevented by better computers. The good news is that air 
     traffic controllers will finally begin to receive new and 
     more reliable equipment this year. But it has taken too long, 
     and cost too much.
       The IRS has spent vast sums on new computers--some $4 
     billion to date--with only limited results. Most returns are 
     still processed the old fashioned way, by hand, with error 
     rates of as much as 16%. This waste is compounded by the fact 
     that obsolete technology lets many tax cheats off the hook. 
     The IRS itself has estimated that in 1995 it failed to 
     collect $170 billion owed the government. If better computers 
     allowed the IRS to collect even a fraction of that amount, it 
     would go a long way toward balancing the federal budget.
       Roots of the Problem: Why has the government spent so much 
     money but fallen so far behind in information technology? One 
     reason is the complexity of tasks we ask the federal 
     government to do for us. For instance, keeping track of 
     dozens or hundreds of aircraft flying through a particular 
     sector, or managing the tax returns for a nation of 260 
     million people, are tasks which overwhelm most sophisticated 
     supercomputers. Faced with ``downsized'' staffs and increased 
     workload, the FAA and IRS attempted to leap to ``new 
     generation'' computer systems. Unfortunately, they did not 
     have the proper management or technical skills to oversee 
     creation of this advanced technology.
       A lack of management expertise has hindered attempts to 
     automate operations throughout the government. The political 
     appointees who run our agencies serve for a few years at most 
     (an average Cabinet Secretary, for example, serves about 2 
     years), and do not possess the specialized skills necessary 
     to oversee a multi-year technology project. The departure of 
     many top managers from the government to the corporate sector 
     makes a tough job even more difficult. The government, of 
     course, cannot compete with the salaries offered by private 
     companies. This loss of talent has been worsened in recent 
     years by anti-government rhetoric, culminating in last 
     winter's government shut-downs. This has hurt morale 
     throughout the career civil service and prompted many of the 
     best government professionals to seek other careers.
       There are other reasons for the poor government track 
     record on computer modernization. Congress, for example, has 
     in some cases simply slashed budgets for technology, without 
     providing alternative means for agencies to replace obsolete 
     technology. In addition, government procurement rules have 
     often impeded modernization efforts. These regulations were 
     aimed at preventing waste and ensuring fairness in the 
     purchasing of goods and services, but have often proved too 
     restrictive and too cumbersome.
       Moving Toward Reform: Fortunately, the situation is 
     improving. In the past few years, Congress has passed new 
     laws to improve procurement and the management of 
     information, and to eliminate red tape. These new laws, 
     drawing upon private sector models, have decentralized 
     decision-making and made it easier for government agencies to 
     act like private companies in negotiating the best deals when 
     buying computers and other items. They have also mandated 
     that agencies give higher priority to information technology 
     modernization.
       Early indications are that agencies are using their new 
     administrative freedom well and making real gains. For 
     instance, after implementing a new computer system, the 
     Social Security Administration was ranked as offering the 
     best telephone customer service in the nation. Also, the U.S. 
     Postal Service, thanks to increased automation, achieved 
     record on-time mail delivery in 1996. Congress must keep the 
     pressure on so that we see more progress in the years ahead.
       Conclusion: Hoosiers want government to work better and 
     cost less. But as we ask government to do more with less by 
     ``working smarter'', we have to make sure it has the proper 
     tools to do the job. Congress and the President must work 
     together to ensure that the federal government has the 
     necessary management expertise and administrative flexibility 
     to procure and effectively to use the best information 
     technology. Only then can the government serve its customers 
     better.

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