Electronic Government: Progress and Challenges in Implementing	 
the Office of Personnel Management's Initiatives (23-SEP-03,	 
GAO-03-1169T).							 
                                                                 
Electronic government (e-government) refers to the use of	 
information technology (IT), including Web-based Internet	 
applications, to enhance access to and delivery of government	 
information and services, as well as to improve the internal	 
efficiency and effectiveness of the federal government. The	 
Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is managing five		 
e-government initiatives whose goal is to transform the way OPM  
oversees the government's human capital functions. These 5	 
initiatives are among 25 identified by the Office of Management  
and Budget (OMB) as foremost in the drive toward egovernment	 
transformation. The 25 initiatives have ambitious goals,	 
including eliminating redundant, nonintegrated business 	 
operations and systems and improving service to citizens by an	 
order of magnitude. Achieving these results, according to OMB,	 
could produce billions of dollars in savings from improved	 
operational efficiency. In today's testimony, among other things,
GAO identifies the challenges facing OPM as it moves forward in  
implementing the five human capital initiatives.		 
-------------------------Indexing Terms------------------------- 
REPORTNUM:   GAO-03-1169T					        
    ACCNO:   A08560						        
  TITLE:     Electronic Government: Progress and Challenges in	      
Implementing the Office of Personnel Management's Initiatives	 
     DATE:   09/23/2003 
  SUBJECT:   Cost control					 
	     Customer service					 
	     Electronic data interchange			 
	     Electronic forms					 
	     Electronic government				 
	     Government information dissemination		 
	     Human resources utilization			 
	     Information disclosure				 
	     Information systems				 
	     Information technology				 
	     Labor force					 
	     Personnel management				 
	     Strategic information systems planning		 
	     Systems conversions				 
	     Systems management 				 
	     Internet						 
	     OPM e-Clearance Initiative 			 
	     OPM e-Payroll Initiative				 
	     OPM e-Training Initiative				 
	     OPM Enterprise Human Resources			 
	     Integration Initiative				 
                                                                 
	     OPM Recruitment One-Stop Initiative		 

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GAO-03-1169T

ELECTRONIC GOVERNMENT

Progress and Challenges in Implementing the Office of Personnel
Management*s Initiatives

Statement of Linda D. Koontz Director, Information Management Issues

United States General Accounting Office

GAO Testimony Before the Subcommittee on Technology,

Information Policy, Intergovernmental Relations and the Census, Committee
on Government Reform, House of Representatives For Release on Delivery
Expected at 10 a. m. EDT on Tuesday September 23, 2003

GAO- 03- 1169T

This is a work of the U. S. government and is not subject to copyright
protection in the United States. It may be reproduced and distributed in
its entirety without further permission from GAO. However, because this
work may contain copyrighted images or other material, permission from the
copyright holder may be necessary if you wish to reproduce this material
separately.

OPM*s five e- government initiatives (summarized in the table) are an
ambitious attempt to transform the way human capital functions and
services are carried out in the federal government. OPM faces several
challenges that, if not fully met, could prevent it from meeting its
objectives and realizing projected improvements and dollar savings. For
instance, in order to meet a perceived need for quick results, alterations

have been made to the acquisition plans for several of the 25 OMBsponsored
e- government initiatives, including OPM*s Recruitment One- Stop
initiative. In OPM*s recent decision to continue with its awarded contract
for Recruitment One- Stop, despite a successful bid protest by Symplicity
Corporation, agency officials perceived the need for quick results to be
one factor outweighing the importance of issues raised by GAO concerning
the conduct of the procurement. However, by taking this course, OPM risks
alienating potential supporters of its initiative.

Further, managing the migration from agency- specific systems to
consolidated systems will be a challenge, because agencies may be required
to take positive action to shut down existing systems and invest in
additional or updated technology to use the new, consolidated systems
resulting from OPM*s five initiatives. Consequently, it will be crucial
for OPM to implement effective change management and communication
policies. In addition, technical integration across agencies to support
consolidation, including the development of standards, is a formidable
task.

Finally, OPM also faces a significant challenge in realistically
estimating the cost savings to be derived from these initiatives. In many
cases, estimates of cost savings are only loosely based on measures that
are difficult to quantify, such as the average cost of performing a
certain function across the government. To be truly effective in meeting
its goals, OPM needs to establish complete, meaningful, and quantitative
measures of cost savings.

Overview of OPM*s Five E- Government Initiatives Initiative Purpose

Recruitment One- Stop

Provide a one- stop Web site for federal job seekers through a single
application point that provides a range of information and tools,
including vacancy information, application submission, status tracking,
and other tools. e- Clearance Improve the efficiency and speed by which
federal government clearances are

granted to maximize the efficiency of collecting data, scheduling cases,
locating existing investigations and clearances, and retrieving archived
records. Enterprise Human

Resources Integration

Provide a data repository of standardized core human resource data to
replace the paper Official Personnel File, with an Official Electronic
Record, enabling the electronic exchange of information between agencies
during an employee*s government career. e- Training Support development of
the federal workforce through simplified, one- stop access

to high- quality Internet- based training products and services. e-
Payroll Improve federal payroll operations by consolidating 22 existing
federal payroll

system providers; simplifying and standardizing policies and procedures;
and better integrating federal payroll, human resources, and finance
functions.

Source: GAO analysis of OPM and OMB documents.

Electronic government (e- government) refers to the use of information
technology (IT), including Web- based Internet applications, to enhance
access to and delivery of government information and services, as well as
to improve the internal efficiency and effectiveness of the federal
government. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is

managing five e- government initiatives whose goal is to transform the way
OPM oversees the government*s human capital functions. These 5 initiatives
are among 25 identified by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) as

foremost in the drive toward egovernment transformation. The 25
initiatives have ambitious goals,

including eliminating redundant, nonintegrated business operations and
systems and improving service to citizens by an order of magnitude.
Achieving these results, according to OMB, could produce billions of
dollars in savings from improved operational efficiency.

In today*s testimony, among other things, GAO identifies the challenges
facing OPM as it moves

forward in implementing the five human capital initiatives.

www. gao. gov/ cgi- bin/ getrpt? GAO- 03- 1169T. To view the full product,
including the scope and methodology, click on the link above. For more
information, contact Linda Koontz at (202) 512- 6240 or koontzl@ gao. gov.
Highlights of GAO- 03- 1169T, a testimony

before the Subcommittee on Technology, Information Policy,
Intergovernmental Relations and the Census, Committee on Government
Reform, House of Representatives

September 23, 2003

ELECTRONIC GOVERNMENT

Progress and Challenges in Implementing the Office of Personnel
Management*s Initiatives

Page 1 GAO- 03- 1169T

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee: I appreciate the opportunity
to participate in the Subcommittee*s hearing on the progress of, and
challenges to, implementing the electronic government (e- government)
initiatives that are being led by the Office of Personnel Management
(OPM). Generally speaking, e- government refers to the use of information
technology (IT), including Web- based Internet applications, to enhance
the access to and delivery of government information and service to
citizens, business partners, and employees, and to improve the internal
efficiency and effectiveness of the federal government. A variety of
actions have been taken in recent years to enhance the government*s
ability to realize the potential of e- government, culminating in the
enactment of the E- Government Act of 2002, 1 which includes provisions to
promote the use of the Internet to

provide government services electronically, strengthen agency information
security, and manage the federal government*s growing IT human capital
needs.

The President has embraced e- government as one of five priorities in his
management agenda for making the federal government more focused on
citizens and results. Under the leadership of the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB), a set of high- profile initiatives was identified to lead
the drive toward e- government transformation. These initiatives* now
numbering 25 2 *have ambitious goals, including eliminating redundant,
nonintegrated business operations and systems and improving service to
citizens by an order of magnitude. Achieving these results, according to
OMB, could produce billions of dollars in savings from improved
operational efficiency. However, to realize such savings, it will be
critically important that these initiatives are well managed as the
government undertakes the challenging task of turning good ideas into
realworld results.

OPM, the President*s agent and advisor for human capital matters, is
charged with overseeing the management of the federal government*s most
important asset* its people. OPM is in the process of transformation* from
less of a rulemaker, enforcer, and independent agent to more of a
consultant, toolmaker, and strategic partner in leading and supporting
executive agencies* human capital

1 P. L. No. 107- 347. 2 Twenty- three initiatives were originally selected
in September 2001. A 24th, e- Payroll, was then added by the President*s
Management Council. In 2002, a decision was made to separate the e-
Clearance project from the Integrated Human Resources initiative,
resulting in the current count of 25 projects.

Page 2 GAO- 03- 1169T

management systems. As part of that transformation, OPM has taken on the
role of managing partner for 5 of the 25 OMBsponsored e- government
initiatives. As requested, in my remarks today, I will provide an overview
of OPM*s initiatives and identify the challenges facing OPM as it moves
forward in implementing these initiatives. I have also included an
attachment that lists other

pertinent GAO publications on e- government issues. 3 Background Expansion
of e- government was one of five top priorities in the President*s fiscal
year 2002 management agenda for improving government performance. 4 To
support that priority, a task force, led by OMB, was established in 2001
and charged with identifying electronic government projects that could
deliver significant productivity and performance gains across government.
The task force analyzed the federal bureaucracy and identified areas of
significant overlap and redundancy in how federal agencies provided
services to the public. The task force found that multiple agencies were
conducting redundant operations within 30 major functions and business
lines in the executive branch. To address these redundancies, the task
force evaluated potential projects, focusing on collaborative
opportunities to integrate IT operations and simplify processes within
lines of business across agencies and around citizen needs. As a result of
this assessment, the task force identified a set of high- profile e-
government initiatives for accelerated near- term implementation. These
are now the 25 OMBsponsored initiatives. 5 The President*s management
agenda outlined the following results

expected as a result of e- government:

provide high- quality customer services regardless of whether the citizen
contacts the agency by phone, in person, or on the Web;

reduce the expense and difficulty of doing business with the government;

3 These publications can be obtained through GAO*s World Wide Web page at
www. gao. gov.

4 Office of Management and Budget, The President*s Management Agenda,
Fiscal Year 2002 (Washington, D. C.). 5 For more on OMB*s selection
process, see U. S. General Accounting Office, Electronic Government:
Selection and Implementation of the Office of Management and Budget*s 24
Initiatives, GAO- 03- 229 (Washington, D. C.: Nov. 22, 2002).

Page 3 GAO- 03- 1169T

cut government operating costs;

provide citizens with readier access to government services;

increase access for persons with disabilities to agency Web sites and e-
government applications; and

make government more transparent and accountable. OMB also established a
portfolio management structure to help oversee and guide the initiatives
and facilitate a collaborative working environment for each of them. This
structure includes five portfolios: *government to citizen,* *government
to business,* *government to government,* *internal efficiency and
effectiveness,* and *cross- cutting.* Each of the 25 initiatives is
assigned to one of these portfolios, according to the type of results the
initiative is intended to provide. Further, for each initiative, OMB
designated a specific agency to be the initiative*s *managing partner,*
responsible

for leading the initiative, and assigned other federal agencies as
*partners* in carrying out the initiative. OPM was designated the managing
partner for five initiatives* Recruitment One- Stop, which is to provide a
consolidated Web site for federal job applicants; e- Clearance, which
seeks to improve the process of granting security clearances; Enterprise
Human Resources Integration, which is to replace paper personnel files
with electronic records; e- Training, which is to provide Internet- based
training for federal employees; and e- Payroll, which seeks to consolidate
federal payroll systems. The five initiatives are all part of the internal
efficiency and effectiveness portfolio.

In developing this testimony, our objectives were to describe the progress
of the five e- government initiatives being managed by OPM and identify
key challenges associated with implementing them successfully. To address
these objectives, we analyzed relevant documentation from OPM and
interviewed project officials from each of the initiatives. To assess
progress to date and identify major challenges to implementing the
initiatives, we analyzed the reported accomplishments and planned
activities of the projects and compared them with information provided in
the initiatives* original business cases. We also held discussions with
agency officials to obtain additional information. We performed our work
in September 2003 in accordance with generally accepted government
auditing standards.

Page 4 GAO- 03- 1169T

OPM*s e- Government Initiatives Are Designed to Support a Range of Human
Capital Functions

OPM*s e- government initiatives are intended to serve as a complete set of
electronic support tools for the federal government*s human capital
functions, including recruitment, security clearances, personnel records,
training, and payroll. OPM*s retirement systems modernization project* not
an OMB- sponsored initiative* rounds out this set of tools. OPM*s vision
is for these initiatives to streamline and improve the process for moving
employees through the entire life cycle of their employment with the
federal government and to do so consistently with the evolving Federal
Enterprise Architecture 6 as well as with security and privacy standards.
According to the agency, the success of the initiatives will depend on
leveraging of existing IT coupled with standardization and consolidation
practices that are beneficial to end users.

If successful, these initiatives are likely to accrue savings to the
federal government by reducing redundancy among agency systems and
streamlining the various processes involved in tracking and managing
federal employment. Although we have not evaluated its claim, OPM asserts
that its e- government projects will save approximately $2.6 billion over
the life of the initiatives. These savings are expected to derive not only
from eliminating duplicative personnel systems, such as payroll systems,
but also from such

process improvements as reducing the amount of time it takes to obtain a
security clearance and streamlining the way in which training is
administered. Table 1 provides an overview of OPM*s e- government projects
and key milestones, and table 2 provides a summary of changes in cost
estimates for the initiatives.

6 Enterprise architectures are blueprints for transforming how a given
entity operates, whether it be a federal agency or a federal function that
cuts across agencies. The Federal Enterprise Architecture is intended to
facilitate governmentwide improvements through cross- agency analysis and
the identification of duplicative investments, gaps, and opportunities for
collaboration, interoperability, and integration within and across
government agencies. For more information, see U. S. General Accounting
Office, Information Technology: Enterprise Architecture Use across the
Federal Government Can Be Improved, GAO- 02- 6 (Washington, D. C.: Feb.
19, 2002).

Page 5 GAO- 03- 1169T

Table 1: Overview of OPM*s Five e- Government Initiatives Initiative
Purpose Key Milestones

Recruitment One- Stop Provide a one- stop Web site for federal job seekers

by implementing a single application point that includes vacancy
information; job application submission; application status tracking;
employment eligibility screening; and applicant database mining.

June 2002* implemented an updated Web site at www. usajobs. opm. gov.

August 2003* implemented database mining tools, integrated assessment
tools, and status tracking.

December 2003* begin shutdown of job search engines and resume builders at
other federal agencies.

e- Clearance Improve the efficiency and speed of granting federal
government security clearances by maximizing the efficiency of data
collection and case scheduling, simplifying the location of existing
investigations and clearances, and making the retrieval of archived
records a near real- time event.

May 2002* began consolidating clearance investigation results to a DOD/
civilian database.

November 2002* deployed a new clearance certification form that allows
individuals to indicate changes, if any, to their clearance status.

June 2004* electronic retrieval and dissemination of investigation
information available to authorized agency users. Enterprise Human

Resources Integration (EHRI)

Provide a data repository of standardized core human resource data to
replace the paper Official Personnel File with an Official Electronic
Record, enabling the electronic exchange of information between agencies
during an employee*s government career.

July 2003* selected a systems integrator and began work.

September 2003* built and deployed a proof- of- concept system for a
consolidated EHRI data repository.

Second quarter 2004* develop and deploy interfaces with agencies to
exchange data on a biweekly basis.

e- Training Support development of the federal workforce through
simplified and one- stop access to high- quality Internet- based training
products and services to unify training services across the federal
government.

July 2002* launched www. golearn. gov with 37 training courses and over
100 books and professional journals.

January 2003* enhanced the Web site with additional courses and tools.

September 2004* interface to or shut down existing federal on- line
training systems.

e- Payroll Improve federal payroll operations by consolidating the
operations of 22 existing federal payroll system providers; simplifying
and standardizing federal payroll policies and procedures; and better
integrating payroll, human resources, and finance functions across federal
agencies.

January 2003* chose four agencies to be payroll providers for all
executive branch agencies.

January 2003* began agency payroll services consolidation.

September 2004* complete migration of the existing payroll providers to
one of the two payroll partnerships. Source: GAO analysis of OPM and OMB
documents.

Table 2: Changes in Cost Estimates for OPM*s Five e- Government
Initiatives Cost (dollars in millions) FY 2002 FY 2003 estimated
Initiative Original estimate Actual Net change Original Current Net change
FY 2004 estimated

Recruitment One- Stop 1.2 1. 2 0 1.2 9. 2 8.0 6. 7 e- Clearance 2.2 5. 4
3.2 2.9 9. 5 6.6 8. 7 Enterprise Human

Resources Integration 3.2 2. 8 *0.40 20.3 7. 5 *12.8 18.9

Page 6 GAO- 03- 1169T

Cost (dollars in millions) FY 2002 FY 2003 estimated Initiative Original
estimate Actual Net change Original Current Net change FY 2004 estimated

e- Training 2.1 2. 1 0 2.7 2. 5 *0.2 2. 5 e- Payroll 2.2 1. 3 *0.9 50.8 2.
5 *48.3 2. 5 Source: OPM. Recruitment One- Stop

Recruitment One- Stop is a collaborative effort between OPM and its
federal agency partners to develop a comprehensive Web site (www. usajobs.
opm. gov) to assist applicants in finding employment with the federal
government. Full implementation of Recruitment One- Stop is expected to
benefit citizens by providing a more efficient process for locating and
applying for federal jobs, and to assist federal agencies in hiring top
talent in a competitive marketplace. As we have previously reported,
automation has the potential to provide a variety of benefits in
streamlining the hiring of new employees. 7 The specific objectives of
Recruitment One- Stop that will benefit federal job applicants include

a single portal advertising federal job opportunities that supports
searching for jobs by type, location, salary, or level of experience; a
standard method for applying for federal positions that provides immediate
feedback on basic eligibility; and basic eligibility screening that
addresses issues such as citizenship, age, and special occupational
requirements, such as the need to carry firearms;

standardized vacancy announcements with additional detailed information
available via electronic *hyperlinks*;

tools to build and store an on- line resume, including a resume template
covering all information normally needed to make basic qualifications and
eligibility determinations; and

the ability to check on the status of federal job applications by
accessing basic information such as closing and/ or cancellation dates,
dates of candidate referral, and points of selection.

In addition, agencies are expected to be able to search and review the
resumes of consenting applicants in the USAJOBS database, a

7 U. S. General Accounting Office, Human Capital: Opportunities to Improve
Executive Agencies* Hiring Processes, GAO- 03- 450 (Washington, D. C.: May
30, 2003), p. 22.

Page 7 GAO- 03- 1169T

process called applicant database mining. This feature will assist
agencies in locating candidates for hard- to- fill positions by capturing
*passive* job seekers who have resumes on file, but who may not have
thought of looking for opportunities within a particular agency, job
field, or location.

To date, the Recruitment One- Stop initiative has met several planned
milestones, including implementing enhancements to the previously existing
www. usajobs. opm. gov Web site in August 2003, such as a resume builder
to assist job applicants in developing up to five versions of their resume
with which to apply for federal jobs, and a basic application status
tracking tool to assist applicants in finding the status of their federal
applications. By the end of this month, OPM plans to have all executive
branch agencies using the Web site to advertise their jobs. By December
2003, it intends to begin working with agencies to shut down agency-
unique job search engines and resume builders.

OPM has continued development of the enhanced USAJOBS Web site despite a
successful bid protest against its contract award for implementing the
enhancements. On January 16, 2003, OPM awarded a contract to TMP
Worldwide, Inc., to support enhancements to the Web site. However, on
January 24, 2003, a competing vendor, Symplicity Corporation, protested
the award. We sustained Symplicity*s protest on April 29, 2003, based on a
determination that OPM did not exercise certain necessary evaluative
controls in its review of the bids before awarding the contract, resulting
in errors in the bidding process that created an unfair competitive
environment. For example, we found that OPM did not perform an analysis of
whether the quoted services, labor categories, and other direct costs
included in TMP*s quotation were within the scope of TMP*s approved GSA
contract schedule. Based on this finding, we recommended that OPM reopen
discussions with all vendors whose quotations were competitive and request
and reevaluate revised quotations. However, on July 21, 2003, OPM informed
us that it would not reopen discussions with vendors, citing as one of its
reasons the need to complete the system *within the government*s required
time frame.* On August 5, 2003, we submitted a report to Congress
summarizing the protest decisions and the circumstances of the failure of
OPM to implement our recommendation.

OPM is planning to measure the performance of the enhanced Web site and
features with metrics such as cost per hire, time to fill vacancies, and
the percentage of federal job applicants using

Page 8 GAO- 03- 1169T

Recruitment One- Stop. OPM expects that once Recruitment OneStop is fully
implemented, it will generate a total of $365 million in savings through
fiscal year 2012. According to project officials, the expected cost
savings were extrapolated from projected average annual decreases in the
cost of hiring each new federal employee. By fiscal year 2005, OPM*s goal
is to reduce the cost per hire from $2,790 to $2,678, reduce the time to
fill job vacancies from 102 days to 97, and increase the percentage of job
applicants using Recruitment One- Stop from 80 to 84 percent.

e- Clearance The e- Clearance project is designed to improve processing of
security clearances for federal employees. It focuses on consolidating and
increasing access to information to improve the efficiency of granting or
locating previous clearances or investigations. OPM intends the e-
Clearance project to help streamline data collection and case scheduling
by making it easier to locate existing investigations and clearances,
providing for almost immediate retrieval of archived records as they are
needed. The expected benefits include quicker granting of clearances,
elimination of redundant investigations, and financial savings from a
reduction in the overall costs of clearances. The initiative consists of
three modules:

Electronic Questionnaires for Investigations Processing involves the
automation of the Questionnaire for National Security Positions (Standard
Form 86). This paper- based form requires at least 2 hours

to complete, and some federal employees are required to fill it out as
often as every few months to maintain their security clearances. Since the
current form is processed manually, it must be completed each time from
scratch. In contrast, the electronic version of the form will be populated
with previously submitted data, thereby streamlining the application
process. In addition, a new form has been deployed that allows federal
employees to indicate that there have been no changes in the data provided
on the most recently filed Standard Form 86, or, where there are changes,
to provide only the newly changed information.

Clearance Verification System consists of the development and
implementation of a cross- agency system to enable a single search to
locate investigative and clearance information from any agency. This
module requires civilian agencies to load their existing clearance
information into OPM*s Security/ Suitability Investigations

Page 9 GAO- 03- 1169T

Index so that new clearance applications can be checked against existing
information. The module also includes developing a link to the Department
of Defense*s Joint Personnel Adjudication System to access comparable DOD
information.

Imaging includes the creation, storage, and retrieval of digital images of
investigative reports and other documents. Often, the longest delay in an
investigation can be the retrieval, copying, and mailing of previous
reports. The use of imaging is intended to ease retrieval and
dissemination of investigative information for authorized users.

Currently, OPM states that all major milestones for this initiative have
been met, including

activating Electronic Questionnaires for Investigations Processing in June
2003;

completing the Clearance Verification System connection between OPM and
DOD at the end of 2002, and having 80 percent of agencies load their
existing clearance information into the Clearance Verification System at
the end of January 2003; and

beginning the process of creating digital images of existing investigative
records by May 2003.

The requirements for Imaging were developed between the fall of 2002 and
the summer of 2003, and some agencies have begun imaging while others will
phase in this capability. Additionally, OPM plans to implement a secure
network for exchanging imaged files by early 2004.

OPM plans several performance improvements for fiscal year 2005, including
reducing the average time to process clearance forms electronically from
28 to 21 days, adding three additional forms to the one now available in
the Electronic Questionnaires for Investigations Processing application,
keeping unscheduled application downtime at no more than 2 percent, and
providing training to all e- Clearance staff.

OPM estimates that e- Clearance will realize savings of $258 million
through fiscal year 2012. These savings are to be realized through
avoiding agency- unique systems procurements and through a $50 reduction
in the average cost of each clearance investigation.

Page 10 GAO- 03- 1169T

Enterprise Human Resources Integration The purpose of the Enterprise Human
Resources Integration (EHRI) initiative is to facilitate human capital
management activities by providing storage, access, and exchange of
standard electronic information, through development of a data repository
of standardized core human capital data for all 1. 8 million executive
branch employees. These data will be in the form of an Official Electronic
Record, which is intended to replace the current paperbased Official
Personnel File. An Official Electronic Record for each employee is to be
maintained through electronic exchange of information among agencies
throughout an employee*s government career. Because all EHRI information
exchanges will be electronic, OPM expects to reduce process cycle times,
and improve the accuracy of transactions.

The three primary goals of EHRI are to

provide for comprehensive knowledge management and workforce analysis,
forecasting, and reporting to further strategic management of human
capital across the executive branch;

enable expanded electronic exchange of standardized human resources data
within and across agencies and systems and the attainment of associated
benefits and cost savings; and

provide unification and consistency in human capital data across the
executive branch.

OPM plans to implement EHRI in three releases. Release 1 will be a
prototype of the data repository system and is scheduled to be ready by
September 30, 2003. Release 2, scheduled for the second quarter of fiscal
year 2004, is intended to allow biweekly employee data to be provided
electronically. Release 3 is planned to incorporate interfaces between
OPM*s Retirement System Modernization system and e- Training and to allow
two- way electronic transfer of personnel data between agencies. The
system functionality is to be incrementally available between March and
September 2004.

OPM plans to improve performance for fiscal year 2004 in areas such as
personnel management, savings and cost avoidance, and data reliability and
quality. For example, it intends to alter regulations, executive orders,
and laws to enable the conversion of records to an electronic format.
Another planned measure involves eliminating the need for agencies to
develop new human capital

Page 11 GAO- 03- 1169T

management capabilities. Other measures include a reduction in the
baseline data error rate and participation by 9 of the 18 partner agencies
in electronic workforce forecasting. OPM reported that EHRI would save
taxpayers around $235 million through fiscal year 2012.

e- Training The purpose of the e- Training initiative is to create a
governmentwide e- Training environment* the Gov On- line Learning Center
(www. golearn. gov)* which is to support the development of the federal
workforce and provide a single source for on- line training and strategic
human capital development for all federal employees. The Gov On- line
Learning Center is designed to provide users access to a broad range of
products and services, including mandatory government- wide training on
topics such as computer security, ethics, and preventing sexual
harassment, as well as agency- specific training and high- interest
topics, such as homeland security. Some of the courses are to be free,
while others are to be available on a fee- for- service basis.

OPM also plans for the GoLearn Web site to provide tools that will allow
human capital specialists and employees to match an employee*s
professional and individual development to available courses and services.
OPM expects that its initiative will allow agencies to focus their own
training efforts on unique needs, thus maximizing the effectiveness of
their expenditures on workforce performance. Providing agencies with on-
demand e- learning services is expected to enable the government to better
attract, retain, manage, and continuously educate the highly skilled
professionals needed for a flexible and high- performing government
workforce. The e- Training initiative is intended to benefit the
government and

federal workforce by

encouraging e- training investments as part of a systematic and continuous
development of federal government human capital;

reducing redundancies in the development and purchase of e- training
content;

achieving economies of scale through consolidated purchasing;

Page 12 GAO- 03- 1169T

offering easy, one- stop access to a robust, high quality e- training
environment; and

leveraging components of existing e- training systems. The e- Training
Initiative is composed of three developmental modules. Module 1, launched
in July 2002, included 37 free commercial off- the- shelf training courses
(on topics such as project management, prevention of sexual harassment,
using Microsoft Excel spreadsheet software, and change management);
*Search and Select,* a set of quick 5 to 7 minute learning segments; and
*EBooks,* a collection of over 100 professional journals and books. Module
2, launched in January 2003, added access to additional free commercial
and government courses, fee- for- service options for

e- training products and services, enhanced registration and reporting,
and blended learning options for law enforcement training and executive
and management training. Finally, Module 3, originally scheduled for June
2003, recently became operational. OPM states that this module will
include a Merit Systems Principles e- course, as well as competency- based
workforce development roadmaps specifically for IT workforce occupations.
According to OPM, future releases of the Gov Online Learning Center will
move from providing content to facilitation of learning. The agency also
plans to introduce knowledge domains, user communities of practice, and
virtual collaboration tools.

OPM estimated that e- Training would save taxpayers about $784 million
through 2012. These savings are expected from the lower cost associated
with providing on- line training, such as savings resulting from less
travel. OPM expects to have 30 customized Web sites in operation for
fiscal year 2004. Its goal is to have 77,000 courses completed and 48
sites developed. It is planning to measure performance of the e- Training
initiative through indicators such as the number of eligible GoLearn
users, the number of participating entities, the number of GoLearn courses
completed and the number of custom sites. For example, OPM plans to
increase the number of individuals registered on the GoLearn site from
142,000 to 193,000.

e- Payroll The goal of the e- Payroll initiative is to substantially
improve federal payroll operations by standardizing them across all
agencies, integrating them with other human resource functions, and making
them easy to use and cost- effective. To achieve this goal, plans are

Page 13 GAO- 03- 1169T

to consolidate the operations of 22 existing federal payroll system
providers, simplify and standardize federal payroll policies and
procedures, and better integrate payroll with other human capital and
finance functions across federal agencies.

Major objectives of the initiative include (1) defining governance for the
initiative, (2) standardizing payroll policies, (3) establishing an e-
Payroll enterprise architecture, and (4) overseeing consolidation of
agency payroll operations. The first major project deliverable*
establishing governance* was completed in April 2002 as scheduled. OPM
chose four agencies to be providers of payroll services to all 116
executive branch agencies. The four selected providers are the General
Services Administration (GSA) and the Departments of Defense, Interior,
and Agriculture. The initiative is divided into two major phases:

migrating each of the 18 nonselected payroll system providers to one of
the four selected providers by September 2004, and

merging the functions of the four selected payroll providers into just
two, while working to develop a single, integrated payroll system for all
executive branch agencies. Although providers have been selected and a
migration schedule established for nonselected agencies, other actions
have been delayed. Standardization of policies, originally scheduled for
completion in July 2002, is currently ongoing. The enterprise architecture
planning task and the initial phase of agency consolidations were both
scheduled to begin in October 2002 but were not initiated until January
2003. According to the project manager, these schedule deviations have not
led to a significant delay in the overall progress of the initiative
toward the original goal of consolidating the 22 payroll providers to 4 by
September 2004.

OPM reported that e- Payroll should save $1.1 billion through fiscal year
2012. These savings would result from reducing operating costs,
eliminating duplicative systems investments, and simplifying payroll
processing. OPM plans to use several indicators to measure performance and
improvements regarding e- Payroll for fiscal year 2005, including
reductions in payroll costs per W- 2 per employee, improvements in the
accuracy of Treasury disbursements, and reductions in response time.
Currently, the cost of payroll services per W- 2 per employee can vary
from $125 to $225. OPM*s plan is to

lower these costs to $97. Other planned improvements include increasing
the accuracy of Treasury*s disbursements from 98

Page 14 GAO- 03- 1169T

percent to 100 percent and reducing the cycle time involved in delivering
payroll services.

OPM Faces Significant Challenges in Implementing Its e- Government
Initiatives

OPM*s portfolio of e- gov initiatives represents an ambitious attempt to
transform the way human capital functions and services are carried out in
the federal government. In implementing the initiatives, OPM faces a
number of challenges that, if not fully met, could erode support for the
initiatives or prevent OPM from meeting its objectives and realizing the
improvements and dollar savings that the agency has projected. We have
commented in the past on the many challenges facing e- government projects
in general. 8 Today, I*d like to concentrate on three challenges that are
especially pressing for OPM*s efforts. These include (1) managing
accelerated acquisitions, (2) achieving governmentwide consolidation of

common electronic functions, and (3) estimating and measuring cost
savings.

Managing Accelerated Acquisitions Program managers for many of the 25 OMB-
sponsored e- government initiatives have been under pressure, both from
OMB and within managing partner agencies, to achieve results quickly. One
of the criteria for OMB*s selection of its e- government initiatives was
the potential for the project to be completed *within 18* 24 months.* In
order to meet the demand for quick results, significant alterations have
been made to the acquisition plans for several initiatives.

For example, in the case of the e- Authentication initiative, which is
focused on developing a centralized gateway for electronic authentication
in support of the other OMB- sponsored initiatives, a decision was made to
compress to approximately 3 months the

competitive contracting process, which had originally been planned to take
place over a full year. The major factor in this decision was the
perceived need to make the planned gateway fully operational as soon as
possible. However, this accelerated schedule may be difficult to achieve
because it is based on an extremely short time

8 U. S. General Accounting Office, Electronic Government: Challenges Must
Be Addressed With Effective Leadership and Management, GAO- 01- 959T
(Washington, D. C.: July 11, 2001).

Page 15 GAO- 03- 1169T

frame, in which the selected contractor must develop, test, and deploy a
fully operational gateway.

In the case of the Geospatial One- Stop initiative, which aims to
establish a Web portal for locating and disseminating geospatial
information, the initiative*s board of directors decided in early 2003 to
make an award based on an unsolicited proposal rather than continue a
competitive procurement, largely because of a perceived need to implement
the Web portal as quickly as possible. The change in acquisition plans has
caused concern among many in the geospatial information systems community
that the contractor*s proprietary approach to developing the Web portal
could make it difficult for many potential contributors to share data with
the portal* which would prevent the initiative from meeting its goal of
providing one- stop access to geospatial data.

OPM has likewise taken a controversial step with its recent Recruitment
One- Stop acquisition. In its decision to continue with its awarded
contract for Recruitment One- Stop, despite a successful bid protest by
Symplicity Corporation, OPM officials perceived the

need to implement an e- government initiative as quickly as possible to be
one factor outweighing the importance of issues that we raised concerning
the conduct of the procurement. In its letter to us explaining why it
intended to proceed without implementing our recommendation, OPM made
clear that it was concerned about implementing Recruitment One- Stop
quickly: *The [Recruitment One Stop] program is ready to become
operational. National security demands and critical domestic needs
underlie the Government*s vital need for efficient recruitment and hiring
methods. No other contractor can complete the system within the
Government*s required timeframe.* However, in our report to Congress, we
noted that OPM did not provide any details to support this claim. While it
is important to adhere to agreed- upon schedules and milestones, it is
also important to follow established contracting procedures, which are
intended to ensure fair competition. A rapidly chosen vendor may not
represent the best value for the government*s investment.

By leaving questions about the fairness of the Recruitment One- Stop
competition unresolved, OPM risks alienating potential supporters of its
e- government initiative. In order to ensure the ultimate success of its
initiatives, it is important that OPM* as well as the other managing
partners of OMB- sponsored initiatives* carefully weigh the risks and
benefits of making significant changes to its

Page 16 GAO- 03- 1169T

planned acquisitions solely based on the need to produce results quickly.

Achieving Governmentwide Consolidation of Common Electronic Functions Each
of OPM*s five initiatives aims to ultimately create a single system or
Web- based service to support a specific human capital function across the
federal government. In each case, agency- unique systems and processes
must be either replaced or integrated into the planned single system.
Clearly, one of OPM*s biggest challenges is managing the process of
migrating agency- unique systems into consolidated systems and services
that are flexible enough to effectively support the needs of virtually all
federal agencies.

Many current federal human capital systems are based on proprietary
systems that were originally developed for the narrowly defined needs of a
single agency or bureau. These systems were not designed to be
interoperable 9 with external systems, and generally were not built to
government standards (which have not yet been defined for many human
capital functions). The development of systems based on narrowly defined
needs, combined with traditional barriers to interorganizational
cooperation, have led to the current environment of duplicative,
inefficient, nonintegrated (* siloed*) operations.

One way to encourage interagency cooperation on multiple systems
migrations is to develop a concerted strategy for managing change and
communicating effectively with all affected parties. In June 2002, OPM
submitted to OMB its change management and communication plan, which
specified steps that OPM planned to take in managing change and
communications. In implementing its plan, OPM established change
management councils and delivered presentations on its plans for specific
initiatives, as well as for governmentwide integration of human capital
functions, to a range of audiences, including high- level officials (such
as the e- Government committee of the President*s Management Council and
the Chief Human Capital Officers Council) and line managers (such as human
resource managers).

Effective change management and communication will be critical, as
agencies may be required to take positive action to both to shut

9 Interoperability is the ability of two or more systems or components to
exchange information and to use the information exchanged.

Page 17 GAO- 03- 1169T

down existing redundant systems and invest in new technology to connect
with OPM*s standardized systems. OPM is planning for agencies to shut down
a number of agency- unique systems and applications. For example, the e-
Payroll initiative is set to reduce federal payroll providers from the
current 22 to just two partnerships of two providers each. Nonselected
payroll providers will be required to shut down operations. Another
example is the Recruitment One- Stop initiative, which envisions that
agency on- line resume building and job search engine capabilities will be
shut down in favor of OPM*s centralized system. The e- Training initiative
also plans for agencies to shut down their unique systems in favor of
OPM*s offering.

Consolidation may also mean that agencies must make new investments in
order to connect with a new, integrated system. The e- Clearance
initiative, for example, requires all agencies with archives of clearance
investigations to make those materials available electronically, thus
necessitating agency expenses for new imaging equipment. Likewise, EHRI
will require agencies to make modifications to their systems allowing
electronic personnel records to be transmitted to OPM*s central
repository. Getting cooperation from all affected agencies in making these
investments will be challenging. OMB*s support is a critical factor in
facilitating these consolidations.

For several e- government initiatives, OMB has used its statutory
authority under the Clinger- Cohen Act of 1996 10 to direct agencies to
identify and halt funding of potentially redundant IT investments.

For example, OMB issued on January 10, 2003, a letter to federal agencies
directing them to halt spending on agency- specific payroll modernization
efforts not associated with migrating to the e- Payroll initiative. A
similar letter had been issued in April 2002 directing agencies to load
their security clearance information into e- Clearance*s Clearance
Verification System. Beyond issues of organizational cooperation,
technical integration

can also be very challenging. Developing a common set of standards that
are agreed to and used by all project partners is a key factor for
integrating disparate, noninteroperable systems and services. Ensuring
that processes are in place by which partners can select and agree upon
standards and that all partners are adopting them are key factors in
successfully establishing standards. Finally, standardization within the
framework of the emerging Federal 10 P. L. No. 104- 106.

Page 18 GAO- 03- 1169T

Enterprise Architecture is key to promoting compliant development and
implementation across the government. OPM officials said they plan to use
the Federal Enterprise Architecture to document specific data requirements
for the human capital functions supported by their e- government
initiatives. OPM has taken steps to involve its partners and other federal

agencies in the process of identifying opportunities for standardization
on the e- Payroll initiative. However, it still faces the challenging task
of getting federal agencies to reach agreement on a single payroll
standard that they all can use. As agencies migrate ultimately to this
single standard, changes may need to be made either to provider payroll
processes and standards* so that the various payroll mandates can be
accommodated* or to the mandated requirements themselves, so that agencies
can conform to the single- payroll standard. For example, the Department
of Veterans Affairs* Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Finance
expressed concern that administering payroll systems under Title 38 of the
United States Code 11 *the legislation that governs the

agency*s payroll processes* was very complex, and that significant changes
in payroll processing could be necessary as the agency migrates to its new
payroll provider. According to an OPM study, in addition to Title 38,
there are at least 13 other sets of legislated federal payroll provisions
that will need to be reviewed and addressed before a single federal
payroll system can be implemented. 12 Without agreement on standards,
changes mandated by OPM may not fully address agencies* individual payroll
processing requirements, increasing the risk that agencies will not be
able to migrate as planned to the chosen governmentwide standard.

OPM may face similar challenges in establishing standards for official
electronic personnel records, as part of EHRI. OPM officials conducted an
exercise to identify all the various types of data captured by federal
personnel forms. OPM officials identified 89 major data categories, with
over 500 data elements. OPM officials recognize the challenge they face in
seeking agreement across federal agencies on standardizing these data
elements, a process which is still in its early stages.

11 38 U. S. C, Part V, Chapter 74* Veterans Health Administration*
Personnel. 12 Office of Personnel Management, e- Payroll Initiative: Plan
for Standardization of Federal Payroll Policy, Revision 1 (Washington, D.
C.: Jan. 13, 2003).

Page 19 GAO- 03- 1169T

While it is relatively easy to develop and implement Web sites that
facilitate exchange of information* as some of OPM*s initiatives do* the
agency can expect greater challenges in getting cooperation across the
government to consolidate functions by shutting down redundant systems,
investing in new technologies, and committing to new governmentwide
standards. For several of OPM*s

initiatives* including e- Payroll and EHRI* much of this process still
remains to be completed.

Estimating and Measuring Cost Savings One of the goals of OMB*s e-
government strategy includes achieving cost savings as an outcome of
implementing the 25 e- government initiatives. For example, in its 2002
strategy OMB estimated that these initiatives could generate several
billion dollars in savings by reducing operating inefficiencies, redundant
spending, and excessive paperwork, and it also estimated that the
initiatives would make available over $1 billion in savings from
realigning redundant investments. In addition, OMB has stated that the
initiatives were selected for inclusion in the e- government strategy
because they provided the most value to citizens while generating cost
savings or improving the effectiveness of the government.

OPM has estimated substantial cost savings that officials believe can be
attributed to the e- government initiatives. Specifically, the agency
estimates that the total savings expected from all five of its e-
government initiatives will be more than $2.6 billion through fiscal year
2012. Such savings would be realized through performance enhancements that
could reduce expenses such as costs per application for security
clearances, costs per transaction for payroll processing, and costs
associated with hiring new federal employees. Table 3 provides an overview
of the cost savings estimated by OPM for its initiatives.

Table 3: Estimated Cost Savings from Performance Enhancements Initiative

Estimated savings

Projected return on investment

Planned fiscal year 2005 financial performance enhancements Recruitment

One- Stop $365 million 710 percent Reduce cost per hire

e- Clearance $258 million 440 percent Reduce cost per security clearance

application

Page 20 GAO- 03- 1169T

Initiative Estimated

savings Projected

return on investment Planned fiscal year 2005 financial

performance enhancements Enterprise Human Resources Integration $235

million 51 percent Reduce cost per transaction due to reduction in manual
paper processing e- Training $784

million 262 percent Reduce tuition and travel- related costs for
participating agencies

e- Payroll $1.1 billion 155 percent Reduce cost per payroll transaction
per employee

Source: GAO analysis of OPM documents. OPM faces a significant challenge
in realistically estimating the financial savings to be derived from its
e- government initiatives. In many cases, estimated cost savings
associated with process improvements are only loosely based on measures
that are inherently abstract, such as the average cost of performing a
certain function across the government. For example, e- Training project
officials estimate that federal agencies can reduce training costs
substantially by substituting electronic courses taken through e-
Training* which cost approximately $10 to $15 per training instance* for
traditional courses, which cost on average $150 per training instance,
including travel. However, it is unclear the extent to which this kind of
substitution will actually take place, or how it could lead to savings of
$784 million through 2012, as forecast by OPM. The e- Training project
manager told us that the estimate was based on cost avoidance for training
tuition, travel, and economies of scale in acquiring training software
licenses.

Similarly, for the Recruitment One- Stop initiative, project officials
predict that implementation will lead to a reduction in the average cost
of hiring a new federal employee of $112 in fiscal year 2005* from $2,790
to $2,678, or about 4 percent. With about 150,000 new federal hires each
year, the total savings through 2012 would amount to about $168 million*
significantly less than the total cost savings of $365 million over that
period that OPM estimates. According to OPM officials, the additional
savings would be gained through other factors contributing to future
efficiencies, although specific performance measures had not yet been
established.

OPM*s method for projecting cost savings due to process improvements may
overstate the savings that can be reasonably attributed to those
improvements. Specifically, officials stated that for at least one
initiative, Recruitment One- Stop, estimated savings included continuing
annual efficiency gains due to such things as

Page 21 GAO- 03- 1169T

expected *policy improvements* that would not be a direct result of
implementing the Recruitment One- Stop initiative.

Further, OPM has not developed mechanisms to track actual training
expenditures at agencies to determine whether its estimated governmentwide
savings are being realized. With estimated savings based on abstract,
average governmentwide costs, it will likely be very difficult to develop
methods for documenting the savings associated with process streamlining
at each agency across the federal government. In another example, e-
Payroll is planned to reduce the number of federal payroll service
providers from 22 to 4, and then consolidate those 4 to 2. Clearly, cost
savings can be found by reducing the number of payroll systems operated
and maintained by the federal government and avoiding the costs of
updating or modernizing those systems. However, OPM has not clearly
identified all the factors that would contribute to such savings, or what
measures will be used to measure them. Cost savings from eliminating
redundant systems is also a factor* though a smaller one* in savings
projected for Recruitment One- Stop and e- Training.

Effectively measuring e- government cost savings is a challenge for all
agencies engaged in efforts to streamline or transform government
processes through e- government. To be truly effective in meeting the
goals set out in OMB*s e- government strategy, agencies need to establish
complete, meaningful, and quantitative measures of cost savings. Until
such measures can be implemented, predicted cost savings will be difficult
to confirm.

In summary, OPM has made progress in moving forward with its five e-
government initiatives, which, if fully implemented, could have
significant benefits by providing more streamlined and seamless federal
personnel processes, and by saving the taxpayers millions through
eliminating redundant payroll and other systems. However, OPM continues to
face several challenges in implementing and carrying out its e- government
initiatives, including managing acquisitions while working to meet
accelerated e- government project schedules; consolidating common,
governmentwide human resource- related functions; and realistically
estimating and measuring the cost savings that can be expected from these
initiatives.

Page 22 GAO- 03- 1169T

Mr. Chairman, this concludes my statement. I would be pleased to answer
any questions that you or other members of the subcommittee may have at
this time.

Contact and Acknowledgements If you should have any questions about this
testimony, please contact me at (202) 512- 6240 or via E- mail at koontzl@
gao. gov. Other major contributors to this testimony included Barbara
Collier, Felipe Colon, Jr., Larry Crosland, John de Ferrari, and Elizabeth
Roach.

Page 23 GAO- 03- 1169T

Attachment I: Selected GAO Products Related to Electronic Commerce and
Electronic Government Electronic Commerce

Internet Cigarette Sales: Limited Compliance and Enforcement of the
Jenkins Act Result in Loss of State Tax Revenue. GAO- 03- 714T.
Washington, D. C.: May 1, 2003.

Electronic Procurement: Business Strategy Needed for GSA*s Advantage
System. GAO- 03- 328. Washington, D. C.: February 19, 2002. Internet
Gambling: An Overview of the Issues. GAO- 03- 89.

Washington, D. C.: December 2, 2002.

International Electronic Commerce: Definitions and Policy Implications.
GAO- 02- 404. Washington, D. C.: March 1, 2002.

Electronic Commerce: Small Business Participation in Selected On- line
Procurement Programs. GAO- 02- 1. Washington, D. C.: October 29, 2001.

On- Line Trading: Investor Protections Have Improved but Continued
Attention Is Needed. GAO- 01- 858. Washington, D. C.: July 20, 2001.

Internet Pharmacies: Adding Disclosure Requirements Would Aid State and
Federal Oversight. GAO- 01- 69. Washington, D. C.: October 19, 2000.

Sales Taxes: Electronic Commerce Growth Presents Challenges; Revenue
Losses Are Uncertain. GGD/ OCE- 00- 165. Washington, D. C.: June 30, 2000.

Commodity Exchange Act: Issues Related to the Regulation of Electronic
Trading Systems. GGD- 00- 99. Washington, D. C.: May 5, 2000.

Trade with the European Union: Recent Trends and Electronic Commerce
Issues. GAO/ T- NSIAD- 00- 46. Washington, D. C.: October 13, 1999.

Page 24 GAO- 03- 1169T

Electronic Banking: Enhancing Federal Oversight of Internet Banking
Activities. GAO/ T- GGD- 99- 152. Washington, D. C.: August 3, 1999.

Electronic Banking: Enhancing Federal Oversight of Internet Banking
Activities. GAO/ GGD- 99- 91. Washington, D. C.: July 6, 1999.

Securities Fraud: The Internet Poses Challenges to Regulators and
Investors. GAO/ T- GGD- 99- 34. Washington, D. C.: March 22, 1999.

Retail Payments Issues: Experience with Electronic Check Presentment. GAO/
GGD- 98- 145. Washington, D. C.: July 14, 1998.

Identity Fraud: Information on Prevalence, Cost, and Internet Impact is
Limited. GAO/ GGD- 98- 100BR. Washington, D. C.: May 1, 1998.

Electronic Banking: Experiences Reported by Banks in Implementing On- line
Banking. GAO/ GGD- 98- 34. Washington, D. C.: January 15, 1998.

Electronic Government* Agency- Specific Initiatives

IRS*s 2002 Tax Filing Season: Returns and Refunds Processed Smoothly;
Quality of Assistance Improved. GAO- 03- 314. Washington, D. C.: December
20, 2002.

Tax Administration: Electronic Filing*s Past and Future Impact on
Processing Costs Dependent on Several Factors. GAO- 02- 205. Washington,
D. C.: January 10, 2002.

GSA On- Line Procurement Programs Lack Documentation and Reliability
Testing. GAO- 02- 229R. Washington, D. C.: December 21, 2001.

U. S. Postal Service: Update on E- Commerce Activities and Privacy
Protections. GAO- 02- 79. Washington, D. C.: December 21, 2001.

Computer- Based Patient Records: Better Planning and Oversight By VA, DOD,
and IHS Would Enhance Health Data Sharing. GAO01- 459. Washington, D. C.:
April 30, 2001.

USDA Electronic Filing: Progress Made, But Central Leadership and
Comprehensive Implementation Plan Needed. GAO- 01- 324. Washington, D. C.:
February 28, 2001.

Page 25 GAO- 03- 1169T

U. S. Postal Service: Postal Activities and Laws Related to Electronic
Commerce. GAO/ GGD- 00- 188. Washington, D. C.: September 7, 2000.

U. S. Postal Service: Electronic Commerce Activities and Legal Matters.
GAO/ T- GGD- 00- 195. Washington, D. C.: September 7, 2000.

Defense Management: Electronic Commerce Implementation Strategy Can Be
Improved. GAO/ NSIAD- 00- 108. Washington, D. C.: July 18, 2000.

Food Stamp Program: Better Use of Electronic Data Could Result in
Disqualifying More Recipients Who Traffic Benefits. GAO/ RCED- 00- 61.
Washington, D. C.: March 7, 2000.

National Archives: The Challenge of Electronic Records Management. GAO/ T-
GGD- 00- 24. Washington, D. C.: October 20, 1999.

National Archives: Preserving Electronic Records in an Era of Rapidly
Changing Technology. GAO/ GGD- 99- 94. Washington, D. C.: July 19, 1999.

Electronic Government* General

Geographic Information Systems: Challenges to Effective Data Sharing. GAO-
03- 874T. Washington, D. C.: June 10, 2003.

Electronic Government: Success of the Office of Management and Budget*s 25
Initiatives Depends on Effective Management and Oversight. GAO- 03- 495T.
Washington, D. C.: March 13, 2003. Electronic Government: Selection and
Implementation of the

Office of Management and Budget*s 24 Initiatives. GAO- 03- 229.
Washington, D. C.: November 22, 2002.

Electronic Government: Proposal Addresses Critical Challenges. GAO- 02-
1083T. Washington, D. C.: September 18, 2002.

Information Management: Update on Implementation of the 1996 Electronic
Freedom of Information Act Amendments. GAO- 02- 493. Washington, D. C.:
August 30, 2002.

Page 26 GAO- 03- 1169T

Information Technology: OMB Leadership Critical to Making Needed
Enterprise Architecture and E- government Progress. GAO02- 389T.
Washington, D. C.: March 21, 2002.

Electronic Government: Challenges to Effective Adoption of the Extensible
Markup Language. GAO- 02- 327. Washington, D. C.: April 5, 2002.

Information Resources Management: Comprehensive Strategic Plan Needed to
Address Mounting Challenges. GAO- 02- 292. Washington, D. C.: February 22,
2002. Elections: Perspectives on Activities and Challenges Across the

Nation. GAO- 02- 3. Washington, D. C.: October 15, 2001.

Electronic Government: Better Information Needed on Agencies*
Implementation of the Government Paperwork Elimination Act. GAO- 01- 1100.
Washington, D. C.: September 28, 2001.

Electronic Government: Challenges Must Be Addressed With Effective
Leadership and Management. GAO- 01- 959T. Washington, D. C.: July 11,
2001.

Electronic Government: Selected Agency Plans for Implementing the
Government Paperwork Elimination Act. GAO- 01- 861T. Washington, D. C.:
June 21, 2001.

Information Management: Electronic Dissemination of Government
Publications. GAO- 01- 428. Washington, D. C.: March 30, 2001.

Information Management: Progress in Implementing the 1996 Electronic
Freedom of Information Act Amendments. GAO- 01- 378. Washington, D. C.:
March 16, 2001.

Regulatory Management: Communication About TechnologyBased Innovations Can
Be Improved. GAO- 01- 232. Washington, D. C.: February 12, 2001.

Electronic Government: Opportunities and Challenges Facing the FirstGov
Web Gateway. GAO- 01- 87T. Washington, D. C.: October 2, 2000.

Page 27 GAO- 03- 1169T

Electronic Government: Government Paperwork Elimination Act Presents
Challenges for Agencies. GAO/ AIMD- 00- 282. Washington, D. C.: September
15, 2000.

Internet: Federal Web- based Complaint Handling. GAO/ AIMD- 00- 238R.
Washington, D. C.: July 7, 2000.

Federal Rulemaking: Agencies* Use of Information Technology to Facilitate
Public Participation. GAO/ GGD- 00- 135R. Washington, D. C.: June 30,
2000.

Electronic Government: Federal Initiatives Are Evolving Rapidly But They
Face Significant Challenges. GAO/ T- AIMD/ GGD- 00- 179. Washington, D.
C.: May 22, 2000.

Information Technology: Comments on Proposed OMB Guidance for Implementing
the Government Paperwork Elimination Act. GAO/ AIMD- 99- 228R. Washington,
D. C.: July 2, 1999.

Electronic Signatures

Bank Regulators* Evaluation of Electronic Signature Systems. GAO- 01-
129R. Washington, D. C.: November 8, 2000. Electronic Signature: Sanction
of the Department of State*s System. GAO/ AIMD- 00- 227R. Washington, D.
C.: July 10, 2000. Internet

Internet Management: Limited Progress on Privatization Project Makes
Outcome Uncertain. GAO- 02- 805T. Washington, D. C.: June 12, 2002.

Telecommunications: Characteristics and Competitiveness of the Internet
Backbone Market. GAO- 02- 16. Washington, D. C.: October 16, 2001.

Telecommunications: Characteristics and Choices of Internet Users. GAO-
01- 345. Washington, D. C.: February 16, 2001.

Telecommunications: Technological and Regulatory Factors Affecting
Consumer Choice of Internet Providers. GAO- 01- 93. Washington, D. C.:
October 12, 2000.

Page 28 GAO- 03- 1169T

Department of Commerce: Relationship with the Internet Corporation for
Assigned Names and Numbers. GAO/ OGC- 00- 33R. Washington, D. C.: July 7,
2000.

Privacy

Internet Privacy: Implementation of Federal Guidance for Agency Use of
*Cookies.* GAO- 01- 424. Washington, D. C.: April 27, 2001.

Record Linkage and Privacy: Issues in Creating New Federal Research and
Statistical Information. GAO- 01- 126SP. Washington, D. C.: April 2001.

Internet Privacy: Federal Agency Use of Cookies. GAO- 01- 147R.
Washington, D. C.: October 20, 2000.

Internet Privacy: Comparison of Federal Agency Practices with FTC*s Fair
Information Principles. GAO- 01- 113T, Washington, D. C.: October 11,
2000.

Internet Privacy: Comparison of Federal Agency Practices with FTC*s Fair
Information Principles. GAO/ AIMD- 00- 296R. Washington, D. C.: September
11, 2000.

Internet Privacy: Agencies* Efforts to Implement OMB*s Privacy Policy.
GAO/ GGD- 00- 191. Washington, D. C.: September 5, 2000.

Social Security Numbers: Subcommittee Questions Concerning the Use of the
Number for Purposes Not Related to Social Security. GAO/ HEHS/ AIMD- 00-
253R. Washington, D. C.: July 7, 2000.

Security

Electronic Government: Challenges to the Adoption of Smart Card
Technology. GAO- 03- 1108T. Washington, D. C.: September 9, 2003.

Electronic Government: Progress in Promoting Adoption of Smart Card
Technology. GAO- 03- 144. Washington, D. C.: January 3, 2003.

Computer Security: Weaknesses Continue to Place Critical Federal
Operations and Assets at Risk. GAO- 01- 600T. Washington, D. C.: April 5,
2001.

Page 29 GAO- 03- 1169T

Information Security: Advances and Remaining Challenges to Adoption of
Public Key Infrastructure Technology. GAO- 01- 277. Washington, D. C.:
February 26, 2001.

Information Security: IRS Electronic Filing Systems. GAO- 01- 306.
Washington, D. C.: February 16, 2001. (310389)

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