Electronic Government: Funding of the Office of Management and	 
Budget's Initiatives (25-APR-05, GAO-05-420).			 
                                                                 
In accordance with the President's Management Agenda, the Office 
of Management and Budget (OMB) has sponsored initiatives to	 
promote electronic government--the use of information technology,
such as Web-based Internet applications, to enhance government	 
services. Generally, these "e-gov" initiatives do not have direct
appropriations but depend on a variety of funding sources,	 
including monetary contributions from participating agencies. GAO
was asked to review the funding of e-gov initiatives that relied 
on such contributions: specifically, to determine, for fiscal	 
years 2003 and 2004, whether agencies made contributions in the  
amounts planned and to determine the timing of these		 
contributions.							 
-------------------------Indexing Terms------------------------- 
REPORTNUM:   GAO-05-420 					        
    ACCNO:   A22578						        
  TITLE:     Electronic Government: Funding of the Office of	      
Management and Budget's Initiatives				 
     DATE:   04/25/2005 
  SUBJECT:   Electronic government				 
	     Federal agencies					 
	     Federal funds					 
	     Funds management					 
	     Information technology				 
	     Interagency relations				 
	     Regulatory agencies				 
	     Strategic planning 				 
	     E-Government Fund					 

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GAO-05-420

United States Government Accountability Office

GAO

                       Report to Congressional Requesters

April 2005

ELECTRONIC GOVERNMENT

          Funding of the Office of Management and Budget's Initiatives

GAO-05-420

[IMG]

April 2005

ELECTRONIC GOVERNMENT

Funding of the Office of Management and Budget's Initiatives

                                 What GAO Found

As shown below, most federal agencies contributed funds as originally
planned by the managing partners of the 10 initiatives that relied on such
contributions in fiscal years 2003 and 2004. Nevertheless, 6 of the 10
initiatives experienced shortfalls from their funding plans in fiscal year
2003 and 9 in 2004. The rationale provided by agencies for contributions
that were less than planned included: (1) substitution of in-kind
resources in lieu of funds, (2) lack of budget guidance from OMB
reflecting planned funding amounts, (3) inability to obtain permission to
reprogram funds from other accounts, and (4) organizational realignments
associated with creation of the Department of Homeland Security in fiscal
year 2003. For example, the e-Rulemaking initiative (managed by the
Environmental Protection Agency) received only 51 percent of its planned
fiscal year 2004 contributions. Although the initiative's funding plan
called for adding new funding partners in that year, OMB did not reflect
this expansion when it issued its annual budget guidance to agencies. As a
result, the newly added agencies generally did not contribute. According
to E-Rulemaking officials, the resulting shortfall in funds, along with
delays in receiving funds from other agencies, required them to
significantly scale back their plans.

In most cases, fiscal year 2003 and 2004 contributions from partner
agencies were made in the third and fourth quarters of the fiscal year.
Agency officials identified the administrative burden associated with
drafting, negotiating, and signing interagency agreements, as well as the
delayed enactment of the fiscal year 2003-2004 appropriations bills, as
contributing to this timing of contributions. However, according to
officials from several agencies, although the administrative burden is
still high, agencies have become more accustomed to funding strategies
based on partner agency contributions.

 Numbers of Contributing Partner Agencies by Initiative Fiscal year 2003 Fiscal
                                   year 2004

Initiative

# of funding partners

# contributing as planned

# of funding partners

# contributing as planned

                    Disaster Management     9        5         8            6 
                       e-Authentication    14        8        15           13 
                                e-Loans     5        4         5            4 
                           e-Rulemaking     9        7        35            9 
                    Geospatial One-Stop     8        7         8            6 
                            GovBenefits    10        10       10            9 
                             Grants.gov    11        11       12           11 
                 Integrated Acquisition                              
                            Environment    31        19       24           21 
                        Project SAFECOM     9        4         7            6 
                    Recreation One-Stop     4        4         4            4 
                                  Total    110       79       128          89 

Source: GAO analysis of agency-provided data.

United States Government Accountability Office

Contents

  Letter

Results in Brief
Background
Although Agencies Generally Contributed Amounts as Planned,

Shortfalls Nevertheless Occurred Contributions Were Often Made Late in the
Fiscal Year Conclusions Recommendation for Executive Action Agency
Comments 1

2 3

8 12 14 15 15

Appendix I Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

                                  Appendix II

Fiscal Years 2003 and 2004 Funding for Initiatives Relying on Financial
Contributions from Partner Agencies

Disaster Management
e-Authentication
e-Loans
e-Rulemaking
Geospatial One-Stop
GovBenefits
Grants.gov
Integrated Acquisition Environment (IAE)
Project SAFECOM
Recreation One-Stop

18

18 20 23 24 29 31 32 34 37 39

Tables

Table 1: Funding Strategies Employed by the 25 OMB-Sponsored e-Government
Initiatives in Fiscal Years 2003 and 2004 6 Table 2: E-Government Fund
Money Allocated to the 25 OMB-

Sponsored e-Gov Initiatives in Fiscal Years 2003 and 2004 8 Table 3:
Numbers of Contributing Partner Agencies by Initiative 9 Table 4: Disaster
Management Contributions for Fiscal Years 2003-

2004 18 Table 5: e-Authentication Contributions for Fiscal Years 2003-2004
21 Table 6: e-Loans Funding for Fiscal Years 2003-2004 24 Table 7:
e-Rulemaking Contributions for Fiscal Years 2003-2004 25 Table 8:
Geospatial One-Stop Funding for Fiscal Years 2003-2004 30

Table 9: GovBenefits Funding for Fiscal Years 2003-2004 32 Table 10:
Grants.gov Funding for Fiscal Years 2003-2004 33 Table 11: Integrated
Acquisition Environment Partner

Contributions for Fiscal Years 2003-2004 34 Table 12: Project SAFECOM
Funding for Fiscal Years 2003-2004 38 Table 13: Recreation One-Stop
Funding for Fiscal Years 2003-2004 40

Figures

Figure 1: OMB Management Structure for e-Government Initiatives 5 Figure
2: Shortfalls in Contributions and Agency Rationale for Fiscal Years 2003
and 2004 10 Figure 3: Finalization of Agency Funding Obligations by
Quarter for One e-Gov Initiative 13

Abbreviations

DHS Department of Homeland Security
DOD Department of Defense
EPA Environmental Protection Agency
FEMA Federal Emergency Management Agency
GSA General Services Administration
IAE Integrated Acquisition Environment
IT information technology
NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
OMB Office of Management and Budget
SBA Small Business Administration

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.

United States Government Accountability Office Washington, DC 20548

April 25, 2005

The Honorable Tom Davis
Chairman
Committee on Government Reform
House of Representatives

The Honorable Adam H. Putnam
House of Representatives

Generally speaking, e-government refers to the use of information
technology (IT), particularly Web-based Internet applications, to enhance
the access to and delivery of government information and service to
citizens, to business partners, to employees, and among agencies at all
levels of government. In 2001, under the leadership of the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB), a team known as the E-Government Task
Force identified a set of high-profile initiatives to lead the federal
government's drive toward e-government transformation. These
initiatives-now numbering 251-cover a wide spectrum of government
activities, ranging from centralizing various types of government
information on the Web to eliminating redundant, nonintegrated business
operations and systems. OMB has been overseeing the implementation of
these 25 high-priority, cross-agency e-government initiatives in support
of
the President's Management Agenda. Generally, these initiatives do not
have direct appropriations but depend on a variety of funding sources,
including, for 10 of the initiatives, joint funding from participating
agencies.

This report responds to your request that we review funding of the OMB
sponsored e-government initiatives. Specifically, as agreed with your
office, our objectives were, for fiscal years 2003 and 2004, to (1)
determine
whether federal agencies made contributions in the amounts planned to
the 10 e-gov initiatives that relied on such contributions and (2)
determine
the timing of these contributions and reasons for any contributions made
late in each fiscal year.

1For more information on the objectives and progress of these initiatives,
see GAO, Electronic Government: Initiatives Sponsored by the Office of
Management and Budget Have Made Mixed Progress, GAO-04-561T (Washington,
D.C.: Mar. 24, 2004).

Results in Brief

To address our objectives, we obtained and analyzed detailed funding data
and supporting documentation from the managing and funding partners of
these initiatives to identify the amount and timing of contributions for
fiscal years 2003 and 2004. Through interviews with agency officials, we
obtained explanations for any shortfalls in making planned contributions
and the circumstances that affected timing of contributions. Details of
our objectives, scope, and methodology are provided in appendix I. Our
work was conducted in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, from
September 2004 to April 2005, in accordance with generally accepted
government auditing standards.

Most federal agencies contributed funds as originally planned by the
managing partners of the 10 initiatives that relied on such contributions
in fiscal years 2003 and 2004.2 Specifically, in fiscal year 2003, 79 of
the 110 funding partner agencies made contributions as planned, as did 89
of 128 funding partner agencies in fiscal year 2004. Nevertheless,
shortfalls from originally planned contributions occurred; 6 of the 10
initiatives experienced shortfalls from their funding plans in fiscal year
2003 and 9 in fiscal year 2004. The rationale provided by agencies for
contributions that were less than planned included (1) substitution of
in-kind resources in lieu of monetary funds, (2) lack of budget guidance
from OMB reflecting the original planned amounts, (3) inability to obtain
congressional approval to reprogram funds from other accounts, and (4)
organizational realignments associated with creation of the Department of
Homeland Security (DHS) in fiscal year 2003. For example, the General
Services Administration (GSA), the managing partner for the Integrated
Acquisition Environment initiative, agreed to accept in-kind contributions
from the Department of Defense (DOD) consisting of staff and the use of
existing DOD systems instead of the funding contribution originally
planned for fiscal year 2004. As another example, in fiscal year 2004,
although the e-Rulemaking initiative's governing board had reached
agreement on a funding plan that called for expanding the number of
funding partners from 9 to 35 over the previous fiscal year, OMB did not
reflect this planned expansion in the budget guidance it provided to
agencies. As a result, the newly added agencies that did not receive
budget guidance to provide funds for e-Rulemaking in fiscal year 2004
generally did not contribute,

2These initiatives are Disaster Management, e-Authentication, e-Loans,
e-Rulemaking, Geospatial One-Stop, GovBenefits, Grants.gov, Integrated
Acquisition Environment, Project SAFECOM, and Recreation One-Stop.

except in three instances.3 Without receiving planned contributions,
officials had to delay implementation of key elements of the planned
initiative.

In most cases, fiscal year 2003 and 2004 contributions from partner
agencies were made in the third and fourth quarters of the fiscal year.
Specifically, seven of the initiatives reported that they had finalized
half or more of their funding agreements with partner agencies in the
third or fourth quarter of the fiscal year. According to managing and
funding partner agency officials, factors contributing to this timing of
contributions included the administrative burden associated with drafting,
negotiating, and signing interagency agreements, as well as the timing of
enactment of the fiscal year 2003-2004 appropriations bills.4 However,
according to officials from several agencies, although the administrative
burden is still high, over time agencies have become more accustomed to
the requirements of the interagency agreement process.

In order to avoid errors and to better assist the managing partner
agencies in obtaining funds to execute the OMB-sponsored initiatives, we
are recommending that the Director of OMB take steps to ensure that OMB's
budget guidance to partner agencies correctly reflects the funding plans
of each of the initiatives that rely on funding contributions. In
commenting on a draft of this report, officials from OMB generally agreed
with its content and our recommendation.

Background 	E-government is seen as promising a wide range of benefits
based largely on harnessing the power of the Internet to facilitate
interconnections and information exchange between citizens and their
government. A variety of actions have been taken in recent years to
enhance the government's ability to realize the potential of e-government.
The President designated e-government as one of five priorities in his
fiscal year 2002 management agenda for making the federal government more
focused on citizens and results. According to the agenda, e-government is
expected to

3These instances include monetary contributions by the Pension Benefit
Guaranty Corporation, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Small Business
Administration; the National Archives and Records Administration made an
in-kind contribution in lieu of funds.

4Appropriations for fiscal year 2003, which began on October 1, 2002, were
not enacted for most agencies until February 20, 2003. Appropriations for
fiscal year 2004, which began on October 1, 2003, were not enacted for
most agencies until January 23, 2004.

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

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

o  cut government operating costs;

o  provide citizens with readier access to government services;

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

o  make government more transparent and accountable.

As the lead agency for implementing the President's management agenda, OMB
developed a governmentwide strategy for expanding e-government, which it
published in February 2002.5 In its strategy, OMB organized the 25
selected e-government initiatives into five portfolios: "government to
citizen," "government to business," "government to government," "internal
efficiency and effectiveness," and "cross-cutting." Figure 1 provides an
overview of this structure.

5Office of Management and Budget, E-Government Strategy (Washington, D.C.:
Feb. 27, 2002).

Figure 1: OMB Management Structure for e-Government Initiatives

Sources: GAO and OMB.

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. Partner responsibilities can include making contributions of
funding or in-kind resources (e.g., staff time). Most of the initiatives
do not have direct appropriations but rely instead on a variety of
alternative funding

strategies. Table 1 summarizes the funding strategies employed by the 25
OMB-sponsored e-gov initiatives in fiscal years 2003 and 2004.

Table 1: Funding Strategies Employed by the 25 OMB-Sponsored e-Government
Initiatives in Fiscal Years 2003 and 2004

       Initiative          Managing partner          Funding strategies       
    Business Gateway        Small Business        Managing partner funded,    
                            Administration            E-Government Fund       
Consolidated Health Department of Health and   In-kind contributions (no   
                       Human                           monetary funds)        
       Informatics             Services         
Disaster Management Department of Homeland   Partner agency contributions  
                       Security                 
    e-Authentication   General Services         Partner agency contributions  
                       Administration           
       e-Clearance     Office of Personnel         Managing partner funded    
                       Management               
         e-Loans                                 Partner agency contributions 
                       Department of Education    (Some partner agencies also 
                                                  separately funded their own 
                                                specific component projects.) 

Enterprise Human Resources Office of Personnel Management Managing partner
funded, fee for service Integration

                        Office of Personnel      Managing partner funded, fee 
        e-Payroll       Management                  for service, E-Government 
                                                                         Fund 
        e-Records       National Archives and                                 
                        Records                    Managing partner funded
                             Administration      
       e-Rulemaking     Environmental Protection Partner agency contributions 
                        Agency                   
                        Office of Personnel      Managing partner funded, fee 
        e-Training      Management                  for service, E-Government 
                                                                         Fund 
         e-Travel       General Services           Managing partner funded    
                        Administration           
         e-Vital            Social Security        Managing partner funded    
                             Administration      
Expanding Electronic    Department of the                                  
           Tax                  Treasury           Managing partner funded
       Products for                              
        Businesses                               
Federal Asset Sales  General Services           Managing partner funded    
                        Administration           
                           Department of the                                  
Geospatial One-Stop          Interior         Partner agency contributions

        GovBenefits         Department of Labor         Partner agency        
                                                         contributions        
                          Department of Health          Partner agency        
         Grants.gov       and Human                      contributions        
                                 Services         
                             General Services           Partner agency        
Integrated Acquisition     Administration             contributions        
        Environment                               
    International Trade                               Managing partner funded 
          Process                                      (Partner agencies also 
                          Department of Commerce                   separately 
        Streamlining                               funded their own specific  
                                                     component projects.)     
       IRS Free File         Department of the      Managing partner funded   
                                 Treasury         
      Project SAFECOM     Department of Homeland        Partner agency        
                          Security                       contributions        
                             Department of the          Partner agency        
    Recreation One-Stop          Interior         contributions, E-Government 
                                                             Fund             
                                                     Managing partner funded, 
                            Office of Personnel        participating agencies 
    Recruitment One-Stop        Management                           assessed 
                                                             fees             
        USA Services         General Services      Managing partner funded,   
                              Administration            fee for service       

                 Source: GAO analysis of agency-provided data.

A common strategy used in fiscal years 2003 and 2004 was to reach
agreement among the participating agencies on monetary contributions to be
made by each-10 of the 25 initiatives used this strategy. Initiatives used
different approaches in determining how much an agency should contribute.
For example, some adopted complex allocation formulas based on agency size
and expected use of the initiative's resources, while others decided to
have each agency contribute an equal share. In most cases, the funding
strategy and allocation formula adopted for an initiative was determined
by its governing board, with input from partner agencies and OMB. To
further reinforce the strategy of having partner agencies make financial
contributions, OMB generally reflected planned agency allocations in its
annual budget guidance to partner agencies, known as passback
instructions.

The remaining 15 initiatives used other funding approaches. Specifically,
for 7 of the 15, the managing partner contributed all necessary funds.
Seven others6 used a combination of managing partner funding and other
sources, such as charging fees for services provided, or received support
from the E-Government Fund, established by the E-Government Act of 2002.7

The E-Government Fund was intended to be used to support projects that
enable the federal government to expand its ability to conduct activities
electronically. The Director of OMB, supported by the E-Government
Administrator, is responsible for determining which projects are to
receive support from the E-Government Fund. Table 2 summarizes support
from the E-Government Fund given to the 25 OMB-sponsored initiatives in
fiscal years 2003 and 2004.

6The Consolidated Health Informatics initiative was supported by in-kind
contributions (no monetary funds).

744 U.S.C. 3604.

Table 2: E-Government Fund Money Allocated to the 25 OMB-Sponsored e-Gov
Initiatives in Fiscal Years 2003 and 2004

                              Dollars in millions

          Fiscal                                                        
            year Appropriated                     Initiatives supported Spent 
            2003            $5 Business Gateway, e-Payroll, Recreation   $3.1 
                                                   One-Stop, e-Training 
            2004             3            Business Gateway; independent 
                                  verification and validation of the 25 
                                               e-government initiatives 
           Total            $8                                           $5.4 

Source: GAO analysis of data provided by the General Services
Administration.

Note: Table does not reflect all activities for which E-Government Fund
money was allocated in each fiscal year.

As shown in table 2, $5.4 million of the available $8 million in the
E-Government Fund was spent on, among other things, 4 of the 25
initiatives. In addition to its use for the e-gov initiatives, OMB also
used the E-Government Fund to support development of its "lines of
business" initiatives8 (a total of $1.9 million) in fiscal years 2003 and
2004.

For fiscal years 2003 and 2004, agencies generally made funding
contributions in the amounts originally planned by the managing partners
of the 10 initiatives that relied on funding contributions. Table 3 shows
the specific numbers of partner agencies that made such contributions as
planned.

Although Agencies Generally Contributed Amounts as Planned, Shortfalls
Nevertheless Occurred

8In March 2004, OMB announced the launch of a task force to examine five
lines of business: case management, federal health architecture, grants
management, human resources management, and financial management.

Table 3: Numbers of Contributing Partner Agencies by Initiative

                       Fiscal year 2003 Fiscal year 2004

Number of Partners contributing

                               Number of funding

Partners contributing as plannedInitiative funding partners as planned

                                    partners

          Disaster Management              9            5             8       
           e-Authentication               14            8            15       
                e-Loans                    5            4             5       
             e-Rulemaking                  9            7            35       
          Geospatial One-Stop              8            7             8       
              GovBenefits                 10            10           10       
              Grants.gov                  11            11           12       
        Integrated Acquisition                                  
              Environment                 31            19           24       
            Project SAFECOM                9            4             7       
          Recreation One-Stop              4            4             4       
                 Total                    110           79           128      

Source: GAO analysis of agency-provided data.

Note: The count of agencies contributing as planned also includes partner
contributions that were greater than planned.

Although most contributions were made in the amounts planned, 6 of the 10
initiatives experienced funding shortfalls from their planned budgets in
fiscal year 2003, and 9 experienced shortfalls in fiscal year 2004.
Shortfalls in fiscal year 2003 totaled approximately $31 million (22
percent) of a planned budget of $138.7 million. In fiscal year 2004,
shortfalls totaled approximately $25.4 million (20 percent) of a planned
$124.2 million. The rationale provided by agencies for contributions that
were less than planned included (1) substitution of in-kind resources in
lieu of funds, (2) lack of budget guidance from OMB reflecting the
original planned amounts, (3) inability to obtain congressional approval
to reprogram funds from other accounts, and (4) organizational
realignments associated with creation of DHS in fiscal year 2003. Figure 2
shows the shortfalls in contributions for each fiscal year and the primary
rationale provided by agencies for those shortfalls.

Figure 2: Shortfalls in Contributions and Agency Rationale for Fiscal
Years 2003 and 2004

Fiscal year 2003

                                Fiscal year 2004

Other (12%)	$0.2M Organizational realignments associated

In-kind resources with the creation

provided in lieu of full of DHS (1%)

requested amount

(9%) Other (11%)

Planned amount not Reprogramming reflected in OMB request denied by
passback (15%) Congress (19%)

Organizational 	In-kind resources provided in lieu of full requested
amount

(29%) (28%)

Reprogramming Planned amount not request denied by reflected in OMB
Congress (35%) passback (41%) Source: GAO analysis of agency-provided
data.

As shown in figure 2, in some cases partner agencies negotiated with the
initiatives' managing partners for reductions in monetary contributions,
which often included an agreement for transfer of in-kind resources. For
example, in fiscal year 2004, the Social Security Administration provided
in-kind resources in lieu of requested funding to the e-Authentication
initiative, managed by GSA. Specific details of all initiative shortfalls
and associated agency explanations can be found in appendix II.

Most of the shortfalls that occurred in each fiscal year were concentrated
in one or two of the initiatives. For example, shortfalls in fiscal year
2003 experienced by the Project SAFECOM initiative-which is to serve as
the umbrella program within the federal government to help local, tribal,
state, and federal public safety agencies improve public safety response
through more effective and efficient interoperable wireless
communications- accounted for 57 percent of the total shortfall in that
year. According to program officials, these shortfalls resulted from two
major causes: (1) the inability of the Departments of Justice and the
Interior to obtain congressional approval to reprogram funds from other
accounts and

(2) the impact of organizational realignments associated with the creation
of DHS in fiscal year 2003. SAFECOM officials reported that the fiscal
year 2003 shortfalls resulted in delays in the development of standards
and architecture efforts related to communications interoperability. For
example, the timeline for development of a methodology for assessing
communications interoperability nationwide was postponed until sufficient
funding could be made available.

In fiscal year 2004, shortfalls experienced by the e-Rulemaking and
Integrated Acquisition Environment (IAE) initiatives accounted for nearly
two-thirds (64 percent) of the total shortfall. The e-Rulemaking
initiative, managed by EPA, received only $5,850,208 (51 percent) of its
planned fiscal year 2004 budget of $11,505,000 in partner agency
contributions. Although the initiative's funding plan had called for an
expanded number of funding partners (from 9 to 35) over the previous
fiscal year, OMB did not reflect that plan with passback instructions to
the new funding partners. According to OMB officials, the disconnect
between the initiative's funding strategy and OMB's passback instructions
represented a "timing problem," in that the passback instructions were
based on the previously defined project scope of 9 partners. However,
according to e-Rulemaking's funding plan for fiscal year 2004, the
project's scope had already been broadened at the time OMB issued its
passback instructions. Without passback instructions in fiscal year 2004,
planned partner agencies did not make contributions, except in a few
instances.9 E-Rulemaking officials reported that the resulting shortfall
in funds, compounded with delays in reaching agreements regarding
contributions from other agencies, required them to significantly scale
back agency migration to the Federal Docket Management System (FDMS), the
centerpiece of the initiative. Specifically, the number of agencies
planned to migrate to the system in its first phase of implementation was
reduced

9Three agencies contributed funds: Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation,
Federal Trade Commission, Small Business Administration. One agency, the
National Archives and Records Administration, contributed in-kind
resources in lieu of funds.

Contributions Were Often Made Late in the Fiscal Year

from 10 to 5, and 2 of those represented only component organizations
rather than entire agencies.10

In IAE's case, the shortfall in fiscal year 2004 also resulted in part
from OMB passback instructions to the Department of Energy not reflecting
the amount originally planned by GSA. According to OMB and GSA officials,
the passback instructions did not reflect the planned amount due to an
administrative error. IAE officials reported that as a result of this
shortfall, implementation of several planned systems applications was
postponed indefinitely. In addition, IAE received a smaller than
anticipated contribution in fiscal year 2004 from the Department of
Defense, because Defense provided in-kind resources in lieu of the
originally planned funding contribution.

Although initiatives generally received funding contributions from federal
agencies in the amounts planned, in most cases, funds were contributed in
the third and fourth quarters of the fiscal year. Specifically, seven of
the initiatives reported that they had finalized half or more of their
agreements with partner agencies in the third or fourth quarter of the
fiscal year. In providing a rationale for contributions made late in the
fiscal year, officials from both managing and funding partner agencies
reported that the administrative burden associated with drafting,
negotiating, and signing interagency agreements, as well as the timing of
appropriations bill enactment, contributed to these delays.

For illustrative purposes, figure 3 shows the timing of funding
obligations for one of the initiatives, IAE. As the figure shows, most
funding obligations were finalized in the last quarter of the fiscal year.

10The agencies originally included for phase 1 implementation included the
Departments of Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, the Interior,
and Transportation and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the
Federal Reserve System, the General Services Administration, the National
Archives and Records Administration, and the Small Business
Administration. Agencies scheduled to migrate to FDMS in phase 1 now
include EPA, Housing and Urban Development, the Animal Plant Health
Inspection Service (a component of Agriculture), portions of the
Department of Homeland Security, and the National Archives and Records
Administration.

Figure 3: Finalization of Agency Funding Obligations by Quarter for One
e-Gov Initiative

Both managing and funding partner agencies reported that the extended
process of drafting, negotiating, and signing interagency agreements
contributed significantly to the timing of funding contributions in fiscal
years 2003 and 2004. Officials from 5 of the 10 initiatives that relied on
funding contributions from partner agencies specifically cited the
administrative burden as a factor in interagency agreements being reached
in the third and fourth quarters of the fiscal year. Officials from the
Geospatial One-Stop initiative, managed by Interior, reported that
potential partner agencies that could have provided modest funding
contributions were sometimes not invited to do so because the resource
investment required to reach interagency agreements was prohibitively
high.

In addition to the administrative burden associated with finalizing
interagency agreements, managing and funding partner agencies also
attributed the timing of contributions to the enactment of appropriations
bills relatively late in the fiscal year. For example, in fiscal year
2003, appropriations were not enacted for most agencies until February 20,
2003, almost 5 months into the fiscal year.11 Further, managing partner
agencies did not begin the process of establishing memorandums of
understanding with partner agencies until after relevant appropriations
had been enacted. Although OMB instructed agencies in fiscal year 2004 to
make their funding obligations to managing partner agencies within 45 days
of enactment of appropriations, agencies reported that this deadline was
rarely achieved.

According to OMB officials overseeing the initiatives, partner agencies
should make every effort to provide promised contributions as early as
possible within a funding cycle because of the benefits in facilitating
implementation of the initiatives. However, for both fiscal years, agency
officials generally did not report that obtaining funds late in the fiscal
year caused their initiatives to suffer significant setbacks in executing
planned tasks or achieving planned goals. Further, several agency
officials noted that the process of drafting and negotiating memorandums
of understanding among agencies had improved over time and was becoming
more efficient in fiscal year 2005, for example, than in the two fiscal
years we examined.12 These officials attributed the greater efficiency to
increased knowledge and experience among officials involved in managing
the e-gov initiatives.

Most e-gov initiative partner agencies made contributions as planned to
the 10 initiatives that relied on such contributions in fiscal years 2003
and 2004, although shortfalls occurred for a variety of reasons. In fiscal
year 2004, the e-Rulemaking and IAE initiatives experienced shortfalls
when OMB did not reflect the initiatives' funding plans in budget guidance
to partner agencies. Without corresponding budget guidance from OMB,
partner agencies generally did not make planned contributions, and as a
result, officials had to delay implementation of elements of the planned
initiatives.

Conclusions

11Public Law 108-7. Fiscal year 2003 began on October 1, 2002.

12We did not include fiscal year 2005 in our review because data for that
year were not complete at the time of our review.

Recommendation for Executive Action

Agency Comments

Agreements on contributions often were not finalized until late in the
fiscal year, in large part because the administrative burden in obtaining
funds through interagency agreements was cumbersome. However, managing
partners generally did not report significant disruptions in their planned
milestones and objectives, and several commented that the interagency
agreement process was becoming more efficient over time.

In order to avoid errors and to better assist the managing partner
agencies in obtaining funds to execute the OMB-sponsored e-gov
initiatives, we recommend that the Director of OMB take steps to ensure
that OMB's budget guidance to partner agencies correctly reflects the
funding plans of each of the initiatives that rely on funding
contributions.

We received oral comments on a draft of this report from representatives
of OMB's Office of E-Government, including the Associate Administrator for
E-Government and Information Technology. These representatives generally
agreed with the content of our draft report and our recommendation and
provided technical comments, which have been incorporated where
appropriate.

OMB officials stated that, while there had been some problems in
administering the funding of the e-government initiatives in fiscal years
2003 and 2004, agencies had made substantial progress in fiscal year 2005
in executing memorandums of understanding as early as possible.
Specifically, OMB officials reported that as of April 8, 2005, about 80
percent of fiscal year 2005 funding commitments had been finalized.
Although we did not evaluate fiscal year 2005 as part of our review, we
noted in the report that the process of drafting and negotiating
memorandums of understanding among agencies had reportedly improved over
time. As described in the report, agency officials attributed the greater
efficiency to increased knowledge and experience among officials involved
in managing the e-gov initiatives.

Unless you publicly announce the contents of this report earlier, we plan
no further distribution until 30 days from the report date. At that time,
we will provide a copy of this report to the Director of OMB. In addition,
the report will be available at no charge on the GAO Web site at
http://www.gao.gov.

Should you have any questions about this report, please contact me at
(202) 512-6240 or John de Ferrari, Assistant Director, at (202) 512-6335.
We
can also be reached by e-mail at [email protected] and [email protected],
respectively. Other key contributors to this report included Barbara
Collier; Felipe Colon, Jr.; Wilfred Holloway; Sandra Kerr; Frank Maguire;
and Jamie Pressman.

Linda D. Koontz
Director, Information Management Issues

Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

Our objectives were, for fiscal years 2003 and 2004, to (1) determine
whether federal agencies made contributions in the amounts planned to the
10 e-gov initiatives that relied on such contributions, and (2) determine
the timing of these contributions and reasons for any contributions made
late in each fiscal year.

To determine whether federal agencies made monetary contributions to
OMB-sponsored e-gov initiatives for fiscal years 2003 and 2004 in the
amounts planned, we analyzed detailed funding data and supporting
documentation from both managing partner and funding partner agencies.
This documentation included the initiative's agreed-upon funding plans for
both fiscal years, as well as signed interagency agreements for each
contribution. We also held follow-up discussions with agency officials to
clarify the timing and amounts of contributions. For example, to determine
shortfalls, we compared planned contributions with amounts obligated by
funding partner agencies in their signed agreements and obtained rationale
from agency officials regarding any differences.

We determined the timing of partner agency contributions based on when in
the fiscal year funds were obligated-the dates on which formal agreements
such as memorandums of understanding and/or interagency agreements were
signed by both managing and funding partner agencies. We also obtained
rationale from agency officials regarding the major reasons why monetary
contributions were made late in the fiscal year.

Our work was conducted in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, from
September 2004 to April 2005, in accordance with generally accepted
government auditing standards.

Appendix II: Fiscal Year 2003 and 2004 Funding for Initiatives Relying on
Financial Contributions from Partner Agencies

                              Disaster Management

Managing partner agency: Department of Homeland Security (DHS)

Purpose: Provide federal, state, and local emergency managers online
access to disaster management-related information, planning, and response
tools.

Funding: Disaster Management project officials reported that their fiscal
year 2003 and 2004 funding plans were developed by the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) and communicated to partner agencies through
passback instructions. In fiscal year 2003, seven of nine partner agencies
were to make equal contributions totaling approximately $1.5 million each,
with DHS contributing a larger share than the others. In fiscal year 2004,
for most partners the per-partner contribution was decreased to $681,250,
again with DHS contributing a larger share. The decrease was due to a
rescoping of the initiative that cancelled plans to develop new tool sets
and reduced funding for the Disaster Management Web portal. Table 4
details contributions to the initiative for fiscal years 2003 and 2004.

     Table 4: Disaster Management Contributions for Fiscal Years 2003-2004

Fiscal year 2003 Fiscal year 2004

Funding
partner Planned Obligated Comment Planneda Obligated Comment

Agriculture $1,480,000 Same $681,250 Same

Commerce 1,480,000 Same 681,250 0	National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration was legally restricted from contributing to e-gov
initiatives

Defense                 1,480,000     Same              681,250       Same 
Environmental           1,480,000     Same              681,250       Same 
Protection                                                      
Agency                                                          
Health and              1,480,000     Same              681,250       Same 
Human                                                           
Services                                                        

Homeland   11,800,000 10,230,000  Federal Emergency        14,296,924 Same 
Security                          Management Agency                   
                                     (FEMA) moved to DHS                 
                                     in fiscal year 2003;                
                                     unpaid amount was                   
                                     subsequently paid by                
                                     DHS in fiscal year 2004             

Appendix II: Fiscal Year 2003 and 2004 Funding for Initiatives Relying on
Financial Contributions from Partner Agencies

Fiscal year 2003 Fiscal year 2004

Funding
partner Planned Obligated Comment Planneda Obligated Comment

Interior 1,163,000 0 President's fiscal year 1,844,250 0     Reprogramming 
                          2003 budget did not               request denied by 
                           include Interior                     Congress      
                               funding;                     
                        amount re-requested but             
                        still unpaid in fiscal              
                                 year                       
                                 2004                       

Justice     1,480,000      0 Reprogramming request       1,480,000    Same 
                                denied by Congress;                    
                                amount re-requested                    
                                and paid in fiscal year                
                                2004                                   

Transportation    1,480,000   1,016,000  Transportation Security   0   N/A 
                                            Administration and           
                                            Coast Guard moved to         
                                            DHS in fiscal year 2003;     
                                            amount was                   
                                            subsequently paid by         
                                            DHS in fiscal year 2004      

Total $23,323,000 $18,646,000 $21,027,424 $18,501,924

Source: GAO analysis of DHS-provided data.

aThe fiscal year 2004 planned amount reflects revisions due to revised
cost estimates. Note that fiscal year 2004 planned requests include unpaid
fiscal year 2003 amounts from Interior and Justice. The fiscal year 2004
DHS request also includes $1.57 million unpaid from DHS/FEMA and unpaid
amounts from two former Transportation agencies, the Transportation
Security Administration and Coast Guard.

Funding shortfalls occurred that were related to two funding partner
agencies: Interior did not make planned fiscal year 2003 or fiscal year
2004 contributions, and Commerce did not make its planned fiscal year 2004
contribution. Interior officials stated that their request to reprogram
funds in 2004 to support Disaster Management was not approved by Congress.
Commerce officials reported that they did not make their fiscal year 2004
contribution because Commerce's appropriations bill included a restriction
preventing the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the
principal Commerce participant for Disaster Management, from contributing
fiscal year 2004 funds to any of the e-gov initiatives.

DHS officials reported that the late timing of contributions was
predominantly the result of agencies having to reformulate internal
financial plans to meet the unforeseen e-government requirement. For
example, Justice and two agencies transferred from Transportation made
their fiscal year 2003 contributions in fiscal year 2004 for a variety of

Appendix II: Fiscal Year 2003 and 2004 Funding for Initiatives Relying on
Financial Contributions from Partner Agencies

reasons. Justice officials reported that they were not permitted to
reprogram the required funds during fiscal year 2003. Instead, they
negotiated with OMB to make their fiscal year 2003 contribution in fiscal
year 2004. A portion of Transportation's fiscal year 2003 contribution was
delayed by the transfer of key organizations-the Coast Guard and
Transportation Security Administration-to DHS.

According to Disaster Management officials, interruptions caused by late
funding contributions and shortfalls included a delay in adding new
responder groups to Disaster Management Interoperability Services (DMIS),1
delays in holding meetings and workshops with the emergency management
community (including first responders) to facilitate development of
interoperability standards, and delays in implementing an alternative site
to ensure continuity of operations for the DMIS and DisasterHelp.gov
servers.

                                e-Authentication

Managing partner agency: General Services Administration (GSA)

Purpose: Minimize the burden on businesses, the public, and government
when obtaining services online by providing a secure infrastructure for
online transactions, eliminating the need for separate processes for the
verification of identity and electronic signatures.

Funding: In fiscal year 2003, e-Authentication had 14 funding partner
agencies, and the funding plan called for $25 million in agency
contributions to be divided among these partners based on criteria such as
expected transaction volume and agency size. For fiscal year 2004, the
total funding requirement was divided equally among the partner agencies
($377,000 per partner), with GSA contributing a larger amount ($600,000).
On June 29, 2004, the e-Authentication project manager sent a memorandum
out to members of the Executive Steering Committee explaining that the new
federated identity architecture approach that the initiative had decided
to adopt could be completed at a lower cost ($1.86 million less) than the
original approach (developing an e-authentication gateway),2 and
therefore, the initiative was reducing expected fiscal year

1Disaster Management Interoperability Services provides information on
interoperability services to the responder community.

2For more information regarding the initiative's original approach, see
GAO, Electronic Government: Planned E-Authentication Gateway Faces
Formidable Development Challenges, GAO-03-952 (Washington, D.C.: Sept. 12,
2003).

Appendix II: Fiscal Year 2003 and 2004 Funding for Initiatives Relying on
Financial Contributions from Partner Agencies

2004 agency contributions from $377,000 to $244,361. Table 5 details
contributions to the initiative for fiscal years 2003 and 2004.

       Table 5: e-Authentication Contributions for Fiscal Years 2003-2004

                          Fiscal year 2003               Fiscal year 2004     
     Funding                                         
    partner a     Planned Obligated Comment Plannedb    Obligated Comment     
Agriculture $1,200,000       Same        $244,361           Same           
    Commerce      500,000       Same         244,361        $234,969 NOAA was 
                                                           legally restricted 
                                                         from contributing to 
                                                                        e-gov 
                                                      projects in fiscal year 
                                                                         2004 
     Defense    2,500,000       Same         244,361           Same           

Education     2,500,000 2,000,000 Negotiated reduction;     244,361   Same 
                                  Education agreed to                  
                                   lead a proof-of-                    
                                    concept effort                     

                           Energy 0 N/A 244,361 Same

Environmental    2,300,000  350,000 Negotiated reduction;    244,361  Same 
Protection                        included agreement                 
Agency (EPA)                     for in-kind resources               
                                       and grant to be                  
                                     administered by EPA                

      General     2,800,000        Same         600,000 Same 
      Services                                               
Administration                                            
     Health and    500,000         Same         244,361 Same 
       Human                                                 
      Services                                               
                            279,000 Negotiated          Same 
    Housing and    300,000      reduction;      244,361      
       Urban                agency did not have              
    Development                enough funds                  
                                 available                   
      Justice             0         N/A         244,361 Same 
       Labor      2,000,000        Same         244,361 Same 
      National              450,000 Negotiated          Same 
                   500,000      reduction;      244,361      
    Aeronautics             agency did not have              
     and Space                 enough funds                  
Administration                available                   
       Social                      Same                    0 In-kind resource 
                  3,000,000                     244,361           provided in 
      Security                                                   lieu of      
                                                             requested funds  
Administration                                            
       State      2,000,000        Same               0  N/A 

Appendix II: Fiscal Year 2003 and 2004 Funding for Initiatives Relying on
Financial Contributions from Partner Agencies

Fiscal year 2003 Fiscal year 2004

Funding
partnera Planned Obligated Comment Plannedb Obligated Comment

Treasury      3,200,000 3,179,000 Negotiated reduction;     244,361   Same 
                                  agency did not have                  
                                     enough funds                      
                                       available                       

Veterans 1,700,000 Same 244,361 Same Affairs

Total $25,000,000 $22,458,000 $4,021,054 $3,767,301

Source: GAO analysis of GSA-provided data.

aIn July 2003, the Executive Steering Committee voted to add an additional
10 members (the Departments of Energy, Justice, Homeland Security, the
Interior, and Transportation and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the
National Science Foundation, the Office of Personnel Management, the Small
Business Administration, and the U.S. Agency for International
Development); however, only two members (Energy and Justice) were asked to
contribute in fiscal year 2004. Funds were to be requested of all 10
members in fiscal year 2005.

bPlanned amounts reflect the fiscal year 2004 reduction based on the lower
cost of the federated identity architecture approach.

GSA officials reported that five agencies did not make their full monetary
contributions as planned in fiscal year 2003 and two agencies did not do
so in fiscal year 2004. In each of these instances, reductions were
negotiated between GSA and the funding partner agency and generally
included a provision for in-kind resources (e.g., staff time) in lieu of
the full monetary amount. For example in fiscal year 2003, in lieu of the
$2.3 million contribution planned for EPA, GSA agreed to a $350,000 cash
transfer; a $125,000 grant to be funded, administered, and managed by EPA;
and various in-kind contributions. As another example, the Department of
Education agreed to lead a proof-of-concept effort to test the use of its
federal student aid personal identification number identity credential
through the planned E-Authentication gateway in lieu of providing the full
requested monetary amount. Project officials reported that NASA, the
Treasury, and Housing and Urban Development's contributions were reduced
because these agencies simply did not have the funds available to
contribute the planned amounts. In fiscal year 2004, the Social Security
Administration provided in-kind resources in lieu of its planned funding
contribution. Finally, in fiscal year 2004, Commerce did not make its full
planned contribution because a stipulation in the fiscal year 2004 omnibus
appropriations bill prohibited NOAA from spending any fiscal year 2004
appropriations on the OMB-sponsored e-government initiatives.

GSA officials reported that the administrative burden associated with the
memorandum of understanding process and appropriations enacted late in the
fiscal year contributed to the late timing of contributions in fiscal
years

Appendix II: Fiscal Year 2003 and 2004 Funding for Initiatives Relying on
Financial Contributions from Partner Agencies

2003 and 2004. For example, the officials noted that in some cases
proposed memorandums of understanding that had already been signed by GSA
officials were lost in the process of traversing partner agency offices,
resulting in the need to obtain signatures from high-level officials
multiple times.

e-Loans

Managing partner agency: Department of Education

Purpose: Create a single point of access for citizens to locate
information on federal loan programs, and improve back-office loan
functions.

Funding: Although the funding allocation for each of the e-Loans
initiative's five partners is very simple ($397,000 per agency for both
fiscal years), the initiative is somewhat unusual in that the managing
partner does not centrally manage all the funds or activities of the
initiative. Rather, the initiative is divided into four work streams with
partner agencies taking the lead on specific work streams. The lead
agencies used their own funding up to $397,000 per fiscal year, and if
planned costs exceeded that amount, they obtained contributions from other
funding partner agencies. For example, the Department of Housing and Urban
Development manages one of the four work streams and used its own fiscal
year 2003-2004 funds to support it, as well as receiving contributions
from Agriculture in 2003 and 2004 and from Veterans Affairs in 2004. Table
6 details monetary contributions to the e-Loans initiative for fiscal
years 2003 and 2004.

Appendix II: Fiscal Year 2003 and 2004 Funding for Initiatives Relying on
Financial Contributions from Partner Agencies

              Table 6: e-Loans Funding for Fiscal Years 2003-2004

Fiscal year 2004 Fiscal year 2004

Funding partner Planned Obligated Comment Planned Obligated Comment

Agriculture $397,000 Same $397,000 Same

Education 397,000 Same 397,000 Same

Housing and 397,000 Same 397,000 Same
Urban
Development

                                  Negotiated                       Negotiated 
       Small      397,000 175,000 reduction due  397,000 97,000    reduction; 
                                                                         work 
                                  to reduced                    could be      
      Business                    contract costs                supported     
                                                                under         
                                     for work                     existing    
Administration                     stream                     contract at  
                                                                     no       
                                                                 additional   
                                   deliverable                      cost      

Veterans 397,000 Same 397,000 Same Affairs

Total $1,985,000 $1,763,000 $1,985,000 $1,685,000

Source: GAO analysis of Education-provided data.

Two shortfalls from planned amounts were associated with the Small
Business Administration (SBA); however, both instances represent
negotiated reductions. In fiscal year 2003, as a result of e-Loans budget
negotiations between SBA and OMB and the expected contract cost of work
stream deliverables, SBA's fiscal year 2003 contribution was reduced.
Education officials stated that this decision was supported by the partner
agencies. In fiscal year 2004, SBA originally intended to spend $300,000
of its $397,000 commitment for activities that SBA subsequently determined
could be supported under an existing contract at no additional cost.
Accordingly, SBA reallocated the funds to support other e-gov work.

Education officials noted that all partner agencies were affected by the
enactment of appropriations late in fiscal years 2003 and 2004, which
affected agencies' ability to transfer or make funds available.
Nevertheless, the officials reported that despite the timing of
appropriations, partner agencies made their contributions in a timely
manner.

e-Rulemaking Managing partner agency: Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA)

Purpose: Allow citizens to easily access and participate in the rulemaking
process. Improve access to, and quality of, the rulemaking process for
individuals, businesses, and other government entities while streamlining
and increasing the efficiency of internal agency processes.

Appendix II: Fiscal Year 2003 and 2004 Funding for Initiatives Relying on
                 Financial Contributions from Partner Agencies

Funding: In fiscal year 2003, the e-Rulemaking project management office
requested $100,000 apiece from nine partner agencies to support the
initiative's activities. These allocations were reflected in OMB's
passback instructions to the agencies. In addition, the Department of
Transportation-the former managing partner of the initiative-was asked to
transfer $5 million to EPA. For fiscal year 2004, the initiative's funding
workgroup developed a plan allocating a budget of $11.5 million among 35
anticipated funding partners, based on criteria such as agency budget size
and average number of rules issued per year. OMB, however, issued passback
instructions to only eight of the nine agencies that had funded the
initiative in fiscal year 2003 and DHS.3 Table 7 details contributions to
the initiative for fiscal years 2003 and 2004.

         Table 7: e-Rulemaking Contributions for Fiscal Years 2003-2004

                           Fiscal year 2003              Fiscal year 2004     
       Funding                                        
       partner     Planned Obligated Comment Planneda    Obligated Comment    
                        $0                   $775,000   $0 Planned amount not 
     Agriculture                  N/A                            reflected in 
                                                           OMB passback       
      Commerce           0                    300,000    0 Planned amount not 
                                  N/A                            reflected in 
                                                           OMB passback       
                         0                     85,000    0 Planned amount not 
      Commodity                   N/A                            reflected in 
Futures Trading                                         OMB passback       
     Commission                                       
       Defense     100,000       Same         775,000          Same           
      Education          0                               0 Planned amount not 
                                  N/A         150,000            reflected in 
                                                           OMB passback       
                                 Same                  186,000 Planned amount 
       Energy      100,000                    300,000        not reflected in 
                                                           OMB passback       
    Environmental  100,000       Same         775,000          Same           
     Protection                                       
       Agency                                         
       Federal           0                    300,000    0 Planned amount not 
                                  N/A                            reflected in 
Communications                                          OMB passback       
     Commission                                       
                         0                               0 Planned amount not 
Federal Deposit                N/A          85,000            reflected in 
      Insurance                                            OMB passback       
     Corporation                                      

3In fiscal year 2004, OMB did not issue passback instructions to the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission for funding contributions to e-Rulemaking.

Appendix II: Fiscal Year 2003 and 2004 Funding for Initiatives Relying on
Financial Contributions from Partner Agencies

                             Fiscal year 2003              Fiscal year 2004   
       Funding                                           
       partner      Planned  Obligated Comment  Planneda  Obligated Comment   
Federal Election       0       185,000              0         N/A          
      Commission                                         
                          0                              0 Planned amount not 
    Federal Energy                  N/A          300,000         reflected in 
      Regulatory                                             OMB passback     
      Commission                                         
       Federal            0                              0 Planned amount not 
                                    N/A           85,000         reflected in 
       Maritime                                              OMB passback     
      Commission                                         
Federal Reserve        0                              0 Planned amount not 
                                    N/A          150,000         reflected in 
        Board                                                OMB passback     
    Federal Trade         0         N/A           85,000         Same         
      Commission                                         
       General            0                              0 Planned amount not 
                                    N/A          150,000         reflected in 
       Services                                              OMB passback     
    Administration                                       
      Health and    100,000        Same          775,000         Same         
    Human Services                                       
       Homeland           0         N/A          750,000         Same         
       Security                                          
     Housing and    100,000        Same          300,000         Same         
        Urban                                            
     Development                                         
       Interior           0                              0 Planned amount not 
                                    N/A          750,000         reflected in 
                                                             OMB passback     
       Justice            0                              0 Planned amount not 
                                    N/A          300,000         reflected in 
                                                             OMB passback     
        Labor       100,000        Same          775,000         Same         
       National           0                              0 Planned amount not 
                                    N/A          150,000         reflected in 
Aeronautics and                                           OMB passback     
        Space                                            
    Administration                                       
       National           0                                0 In-kind resource 
                                    N/A           85,000          provided in 
     Archives and                                         lieu of requested   
                                                                funds         
       Records                                           
    Administration                                       
       National           0                              0 Planned amount not 
                                    N/A           85,000         reflected in 
       Science                                               OMB passback     
      Foundation                                         
       Nuclear                                           0 Planned amount not 
                    100,000 0 Agency unable to   150,000         reflected in 
      Regulatory            contribute funds to              OMB passback     
      Commission                development              
      Office of           0         N/A           85,000  0 No reason given   
      Management                                         
      and Budget                                         

Appendix II: Fiscal Year 2003 and 2004 Funding for Initiatives Relying on
Financial Contributions from Partner Agencies

                              Fiscal year 2003             Fiscal year 2004   
       Funding                                           
       partner        Planned Obligated Comment Planneda  Obligated Comment   
      Office of             0                    150,000 0 Planned amount not 
                                     N/A                         reflected in 
      Personnel                                              OMB passback     
      Management                                         
Pension Benefit          0        N/A          85,000         Same         
       Guaranty                                          
     Corporation                                         
                            0                            0 Planned amount not 
     Security and                    N/A         300,000         reflected in 
       Exchange                                              OMB passback     
      Commission                                         
                                                               25,000 Planned 
    Small Business          0                            amount not reflected 
                                     N/A         150,000                   in 
    Administration                                           OMB passback     
                            0                               $0 Planned amount 
Social Security                   N/A         300,000     not reflected in 
    Administration                                           OMB passback     
        State               0                            0 Planned amount not 
                                     N/A         150,000         reflected in 
                                                             OMB passback     
                                                           544,208 Balance to 
                              4,847,500 In-kind             be paid in fiscal 
    Transportation  5,100,000     resources      775,000                 year 
                               provided in lieu                  2005         
                                             of          
                               full requested            
                                   amount                
       Treasury       100,000       Same         775,000         Same         
Veterans Affairs         0                            0 Planned amount not 
                                     N/A         300,000         reflected in 
                                                             OMB passback     

               Total $5,900,000 $5,732,500 $11,505,000 $5,850,208

Source: GAO analysis of EPA-provided data.

aPlanned amount reflects the amount requested by the e-Rulemaking project
management office based on the plan approved by the initiative's funding
workgroup.

E-Rulemaking officials reported that the combination of shortfalls and
late contributions negatively affected the initiative, specifically in
fiscal year 2004. In fiscal year 2003, two agencies, the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission (NRC) and Transportation, did not make their full
contributions as planned. Although OMB's passback to NRC for fiscal year
2003 included the $100,000 amount allocated to each partner, NRC asserted
that it was not subject to OMB's budget guidance because it derives most
of its budget from user fees. Accordingly, NRC did not make its planned
contribution. Transportation, the former managing partner of the
initiative, provided monetary funds and in-kind support in lieu of its
full planned contribution in fiscal year 2003. In fiscal year 2004,
Transportation did not make its full contribution because it believed the
amount should be reduced because of the transfer of the Transportation
Security Administration and the Coast Guard to DHS in fiscal year 2003.
However, based on subsequent discussions between E-Rulemaking and

Appendix II: Fiscal Year 2003 and 2004 Funding for Initiatives Relying on
Financial Contributions from Partner Agencies

Transportation officials, Transportation officials told us that they have
agreed to pay the remaining fiscal year 2004 balance in fiscal year 2005.
Additionally, the Department of Energy did not make its full contribution
as planned because the OMB passback did not reflect the planned amount.
This occurred because OMB erroneously assessed the Department of Energy at
the same total contribution to e-gov initiatives in the passback as it had
the Department of Education (the two departments have similar
abbreviations).

In fiscal year 2004, although e-Rulemaking requested funds from 35
agencies based on the budget workgroup's funding plan, OMB issued passback
instructions to just nine agencies, resulting in a shortfall of $5.6
million, nearly half of the initiative's planned budget. Of the agencies
that did not receive passback instructions, only three agencies
contributed monetary resources in fiscal year 2004, and one agency
contributed in-kind resources in lieu of funds. E-Rulemaking officials
reported that they were not provided with an explanation as to why OMB did
not issue passback instructions to all 35 agencies as had been planned.
According to OMB officials, the disconnect between the initiative's
funding strategy and OMB's passback instructions represented a "timing
problem," in that the passback instructions were based on the previously
defined project scope of nine partners. The OMB officials did not state
that the planned expansion of e-Rulemaking was inappropriate, noting that
fiscal year 2005 passback instructions did reflect the larger number of
partners. However, without passback instructions in fiscal year 2004,
planned partner agencies did not make contributions, except in a few
instances.4 E-Rulemaking officials reported that the resulting shortfall
in funds, compounded with delays in receiving funds from other agencies,
required them to scale back agency migration to the Federal Docket
Management System (FDMS), the centerpiece of the initiative. Specifically,
although the initiative planned to migrate 10 agencies to the FDMS in its
first phase of

4Three agencies contributed funds: the Pension Benefit Guaranty
Corporation, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Small Business
Administration. One agency, the National Archives and Records
Administration, contributed in-kind resources in lieu of funds.

Appendix II: Fiscal Year 2003 and 2004 Funding for Initiatives Relying on
Financial Contributions from Partner Agencies

implementation, the revised schedule now includes only 5 agencies, 2 of
which are component agencies of larger departments.5

                              Geospatial One-Stop

Managing partner agency: Department of the Interior

Purpose: Provide federal and state agencies with a single point of access
to map-related data to enable consolidation of redundant data.

Funding: Planned contributions to the Geospatial One-Stop initiative were
initially distributed among the agencies that were major federal
geospatial data producers or were members of the Federal Geographic Data
Committee. Partner agency concurrence in both fiscal years was obtained at
a meeting hosted by the Interior. Partners willing to contribute more than
the minimum $100,000 agency allocation indicated their intention to do so.
Table 8 details funding for the initiative for fiscal years 2003 and 2004.

5The agencies originally included for phase 1 implementation included the
Departments of Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, the Interior,
and Transportation and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the
Federal Reserve System, the General Services Administration, the National
Archives and Records Administration, and the Small Business
Administration. Agencies scheduled to migrate to FDMS in phase 1 now
include EPA, Housing and Urban Development, the Animal Plant Health
Inspection Service (component of Agriculture), portions of DHS, and
National Archives and Records Administration.

Appendix II: Fiscal Year 2003 and 2004 Funding for Initiatives Relying on
Financial Contributions from Partner Agencies

        Table 8: Geospatial One-Stop Funding for Fiscal Years 2003-2004

                 Fiscal year 2003                    Fiscal year 2004         
      Funding                                
      partner    Planned Obligated   Planned        Obligated Comment         
                      Comment                
    Agriculture    $135,000 Same    $135,000               Same               
     Commerce      200,000 Same      300,000 100,000 NOAA was legally         
                                             restricted from                  
                                               contributing to e-gov projects 
                                                                    in fiscal 
                                                        year 2004             
     aDefense     425,000 625,000    425,000             624,200              
Environmental   160,000 Same      160,000               Same               
    Protection                               
      Agency                                 
     Homeland      100,000 Same      100,000               Same               
     Securityb                               
     Interior      245,000 Same    1,925,000   225,000 Requested $1.5 million 
                                                                 increase was 
                                             not funded by Congress; $200,000 
                                                                           in 
                                                in-kind resources provided    

National                200,000    Same             200,000      Same 
Aeronautics                                                 
and Space                                                   
Administration                                              

Transportation 200,000 100,000 	Negotiated reduction 200,000 Same due to
in-kind resources provided

                Total $1,665,000 1,765,000 $3,445,000 $1,744,200

Source: GAO Analysis of Interior provided data.

aThe Defense components involved were the National Geospatial-Intelligence
Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

bUpon formation of DHS, e-gov funding moved from FEMA to DHS department
level.

Although the Geospatial One-Stop initiative experienced no shortfalls from
its overall planned budget in fiscal year 2003, one agency,
Transportation, contributed less than planned because in-kind resources
were provided in lieu of the full requested amount. In fiscal year 2004
there were two shortfalls. Geospatial One-Stop officials reported that
shortfall from Interior arose because its fiscal year 2004 requested
increase was not funded by Congress and an agreement was made for Interior
to provide $200,000 of in-kind resources in lieu of monetary funds.
Additionally, there was a shortfall of $200,000 from Commerce because of
the prohibition on NOAA contributing funds to e-government projects in
fiscal year 2004.

Project officials stated that extensive paperwork and staff time were
invested in getting agreements drafted, reviewed, finalized, and signed.

Appendix II: Fiscal Year 2003 and 2004 Funding for Initiatives Relying on
                 Financial Contributions from Partner Agencies

Some potential partners who could have participated at a lower level of
funding were not invited because of the high overhead required to
establish interagency agreements. The project officials stated their
belief that the considerable amount of staff time required for managing
the cross-agency approach to funding could be more effectively used
carrying out the actual work of the project. They also stated that the
burden of the administrative overhead to administer agreements made it
infeasible to allocate costs fairly among partner agencies.

                                  GovBenefits

Managing partner agency: Department of Labor

Purpose: Provide a single point of access for citizens to locate and
determine potential eligibility for government benefits and services.

Funding: Planned funding partner contributions for the GovBenefits
initiative were based on a funding plan developed in October 2002 that
placed each of the 10 partner agencies, including Labor, into one of three
categories based on the anticipated volume of benefit program information
each agency would generate for the GovBenefits Web site. The same approach
was used in fiscal years 2003 and 2004. As managing partner, Labor
contributed the largest share. Table 9 details GovBenefits funding for
fiscal years 2003 and 2004.

Appendix II: Fiscal Year 2003 and 2004 Funding for Initiatives Relying on
                 Financial Contributions from Partner Agencies

Table 9: GovBenefits Funding for Fiscal Years 2003-2004 Fiscal year 2003 Fiscal
                                   year 2004

Funding partner   Planned   Obligated     Planned    Obligated Comment     
     Agriculture    $1,019,000   Same     $1,019,000           Same           
      Educationa    1,019,000    Same      1,019,000           Same           
        Energy       491,000     Same        491,000           Same           
      Health and    1,019,000    Same      1,019,000           Same           
    Human Services                                   
       Homeland                  Same                    0 Planned amount not 
                     491,000                 491,000             reflected in 
       Security                                            OMB passback       
     Housing and    1,019,000    Same      1,019,000           Same           
        Urban                                        
     Development                                     
        Labor       2,000,000    Same      4,000,000           Same           
Social Security  1,019,000    Same      1,019,000           Same           
    Administration                                   
        State        755,000     Same        755,000           Same           
Veterans Affairs 1,019,000    Same      1,019,000           Same           
        Total       $9,851,000   Same    $11,851,000       $11,360,000        

Source: GAO analysis of Labor-provided data.

aIn addition to its fiscal year 2003 contribution, the Department of
Education transferred $500,000 to the GovBenefits initiative to build a
Web site for the e-Loans initiative, which is not reflected in the planned
or obligated amount.

The GovBenefits initiative received all planned contributions from funding
partners in fiscal year 2003. In fiscal year 2004, only one agency, DHS,
failed to make its contribution as planned, resulting in a $491,000
shortfall. According to OMB officials, the planned allocation for
GovBenefits was erroneously not included in its annual budget guidance to
DHS. GovBenefits project officials reported that funding partner agencies
transferred funds as soon as memorandums of understanding were agreed
upon.

Grants.gov Managing partner agency: Health and Human Services

Purpose: Create a single portal for all federal grant customers to find,
apply for, and ultimately manage grants online.

Funding: Planned contributions for Grants.gov's 11 partner agencies were
allocated based on a fiscal year 2002-2004 funding algorithm that
classified grant-making agencies by size. In addition to the 11 partner

Appendix II: Fiscal Year 2003 and 2004 Funding for Initiatives Relying on
                 Financial Contributions from Partner Agencies

agency requests, OMB identified development, modernization, and
enhancement funds in specific agencies' budgets for Grants.gov funding.6
Health and Human Services also received contributions in fiscal year 2004
from the Department of Energy and GSA. Table 10 details funding for
Grants.gov for fiscal years 2003 and 2004.

            Table 10: Grants.gov Funding for Fiscal Years 2003-2004

Fiscal year 2003 Fiscal year 2004

      Funding                                 
      partner     Planned Obligated   Planned        Obligated Comment        
                       Comment                
    Agriculture     $450,000 Same    $445,500              Same               
      Commerce      450,000 Same      225,000 118,038 NOAA legally restricted 
                                                            from contributing 
                                                to e-gov initiatives; in-kind 
                                                                     resource 
                                                     provided in lieu of full 
                                                             requested amount 
      Defense       450,000 Same    1,442,000              Same               
     Education     1,365,000 Same     855,000              Same               
     Health and    1,365,000 Same   1,902,500              Same               
       Human                                  
      Services                                
      Homeland      450,000 Same      635,000              Same               
      Security                                
    Housing and    1,365,000 Same   1,076,500              Same               
       Urban                                  
    Development                               
      Justice       910,000 Same      805,000              Same               
       Labor        910,000 Same      630,000              Same               
      National      910,000 Same      455,000              Same               
      Science                                 
     Foundation                               
Transportation  1,365,000 Same     682,500              Same               

U.S. Agency             0     N/A               1,132,000       Same 
for                                                       
International                                             
Development                                               

Total $9,990,000 Same $10,286,000 $10,179,038

      Source: GAO analysis of data provided by Health and Human Services.

6The agencies that contributed development, modernization, and enhancement
funds included the Departments of Agriculture, Defense, Education, Health
and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development,
Labor, and Justice and the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Appendix II: Fiscal Year 2003 and 2004 Funding for Initiatives Relying on
Financial Contributions from Partner Agencies

Note: The table reflects agency contributions allocated by year, but these
were not necessarily provided during that year. For example, the National
Science Foundation provided its entire fiscal year 2002-2004 contribution
in fiscal year 2002. Most Grants.gov partners provided funding in one
fiscal year that covered more than one fiscal year.

In addition, Grants.gov received funding of $799,800 in fiscal year 2004
from nonpartner agencies. These funds consisted of $262,000 from the
Department of Energy and $537,800 from the GSA.

Grants.gov received all of its planned partner contributions from its
funding partner agencies in fiscal year 2003. In fiscal year 2004,
Grants.gov received almost all of its planned partner contributions from
its funding partner agencies; the exception was Commerce, because of the
appropriations bill restriction on NOAA contributing funds to e-gov
initiatives. Commerce contributed in-kind resources in lieu of the full
requested funds in fiscal year 2004.

Integrated Acquisition Environment (IAE)

Managing partner agency: General Services Administration

Purpose: Create a secure business environment that will facilitate and
support the cost-effective acquisition of goods and services by agencies,
while eliminating inefficiencies in the current acquisition environment.

Funding: In addition to funding from GSA's General Supply Fund, the IAE
initiative relied on monetary contributions from partner agencies in
fiscal years 2003 and 2004. Planned contributions were allocated based on
each agency's procurement volume as reported in the Federal Procurement
Data System. Table 11 details funding for the IAE initiative for fiscal
years 2003 and 2004.

Table 11: Integrated Acquisition Environment Partner Contributions for
Fiscal Years 2003-2004

                          Fiscal year 2003           Fiscal year 2004         
     Funding                                 
     partner    Planned   Obligated Comment     Planned Obligated Comment     
Agriculture  $635,334      $740,000                $759,909 Same           
                   6,868 0 Decision made not                                  
Broadcasting                  to                       0 N/A
     Board of              pursue funding    
    Governors                                
     Commerce                                    245,229 129,385 NOAA legally 
                 205,196       204,997                             restricted 
                                                         from contributing to 
                                                            e-gov initiatives 

Defense 8,585,596 Same 14,652,000 8,083,000 Negotiated reduction; inkind
resources provided in lieu of full requested amount

Education 79,846 Same 95,000 Same

Appendix II: Fiscal Year 2003 and 2004 Funding for Initiatives Relying on
Financial Contributions from Partner Agencies

                                Fiscal year 2003                Fiscal year   
                                                                    2004      
      Funding                                                  
      partner      Planned     Obligated Comment       Planned   Obligated    
                                                                  Comment     
                  4,792,480  93,000 Planned amount   5,344,555 95,000 Planned 
       Energy                         not                          amount not 
                                reflected in OMB                 reflected in 
                                                                          OMB 
                                    passback                      passback    
Environmental    190,600           Same             228,000      Same      
     Protection                                                
       Agency                                                  
       Equal          4,293 0 Decision not to pursue         0      N/A       
     Employment                     funding                    
    Opportunity                                                
     Commission                                                
     Executive        2,576 0 Decision not to pursue         0      N/A       
Office of the                    funding                    
     President                                                 
      Federal                0 FEMA transfer to DHS          0                
                     26,615            in                           N/A
     Emergency              fiscal year 2003; unpaid           
     Management                amount included in              
       Agency                DHS's fiscal year 2004            
       (FEMA)                       request                    
      General     3,250,507           Same           3,869,486      Same      
      Services                                                 
Administration                                              
     Health and     794,168           Same             953,000      Same      
       Human                                                   
      Services                                                 
      Homeland            0   206,910 Coast Guard                             
                                  contribution         944,090   1,181,000
      Security                    (moved from                  
                            Transportation to DHS in           
                               fiscal year 2003)               
    Housing and      66,968           Same              81,000      Same      
       Urban                                                   
    Development                                                
      Interior      371,756           Same             446,000      Same      
      Justice       734,068           Same             556,492      Same      
       Labor        240,397           Same             288,000      Same      
      National                2,120,000 Negotiated                  Same      
                  2,729,361        reduction;        2,183,104 
    Aeronautics               agency did not have              
     and Space               enough funds available            
Administration                                              

National                    4,293      Same                  0         N/A 
Archives and                                                   
Records                                                        
Administration                                                 

National 15,454 Same 18,000 Same
Science
Foundation

Appendix II: Fiscal Year 2003 and 2004 Funding for Initiatives Relying on
                 Financial Contributions from Partner Agencies

                              Fiscal year 2003               Fiscal year 2004 
      Funding                                       
      partner     Planned     Obligated Comment     Planned Obligated Comment 
      Nuclear       6,868  0 Agency restriction on         8,000 Same         
     Regulatory               spending funds on     
     Commission                  development        
     Office of     24,040           Same                   29,000 Same        
     Personnel                                      
     Management                                     
    Peace Corps     2,576 Same Decision made to not           0 N/A           
                              pursue funding in     
                               subsequent year      
Securities and   2,576  0 Decision made to not             0 N/A           
      Exchange                 pursue funding       
     Commission                                     
       Small        6,010           Same                   7,000 Same         
      Business                                      
Administration                                   
    Smithsonian     8,586  0 Decision made to not             0 N/A           
    Institution                pursue funding       
       Social      95,300           Same                   57,217 Same        
      Security                                      
Administration                                   
       State      364,888           Same                  438,000 Same        

Transportation     418,119   181,830 Coast Guard and        171,514   Same 
                                  Transportation Security              
                                  Administration moved to              
                                 DHS in fiscal year 2003;              
                                 Coast Guard contribution              
                                    was made apart from                
                                  Transportation, unpaid               
                                      TSA amount was                   
                                  included in DHS fiscal               
                                     year 2004 request                 

                       Treasury 557,205 Same 443,280 Same

U.S. Agency               65,251     Same               78,000        Same 
for                                                            
International                                                  
Development                                                    

Veterans 1,510,206 Same 1,812,000 Same Affairs

             Total $25,798,001 $20,505,866 $33,707,876 $22,010,387

Source: GAO analysis of GSA-provided data.

IAE project officials reported that for fiscal years 2003 and 2004, the
Department of Energy contribution was lower than the planned amount
because of an error by OMB that assessed the Department of Energy the

Appendix II: Fiscal Year 2003 and 2004 Funding for Initiatives Relying on
Financial Contributions from Partner Agencies

same amount as the Department of Education (the two departments have
similar abbreviations). This resulted in nearly a $10 million shortfall
over fiscal years 2003 and 2004. Officials reported that this indirectly
impacted the initiative and reported that several applications were
postponed and are now indefinite because the funds were not available at
that time. In fiscal year 2004, remaining shortfalls from the planned
amount represented negotiated reductions. For example, as reported by both
IAE and DOD officials, DOD contributed less than the planned amount,
instead providing in-kind support (e.g., staff time and existing IT
resources) for project activities. Commerce's fiscal year 2004 shortfall
was again attributable to the fiscal year 2004 appropriations bill
language that prohibited NOAA from contributing to any of the e-gov
initiatives.

GSA officials reported that continuing resolutions and "red-tape" issues
such as paperwork and lost documents prolonged the transfer of funds.
Specifically noted was the administrative burden on both the managing and
funding partner agencies in crafting interagency agreements. Although in
fiscal year 2003, requests were made from the smaller agencies (including
the Broadcasting Board of Governments, the Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission, the Executive Office of the President, the Securities and
Exchange Commission, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Peace Corps),
only the Peace Corps made its requested contribution. The IAE project
manager reported that a decision was made that the administrative costs to
process the memorandum of understanding and funding requests could not be
offset by the funds collected and therefore fiscal year 2003 contributions
were not pursued and funds were not sought from these agencies in fiscal
year 2004.

Project SAFECOM Managing partner agency: Department of Homeland Security

Purpose: Serve as the umbrella program within the federal government to
help local, tribal, state, and federal public safety agencies improve
public safety response through more effective and efficient interoperable
wireless communications.

Funding: According to SAFECOM project officials, contributions were
determined by OMB and communicated through budget passback instructions.
Table 12 summarizes funding for fiscal years 2003 and 2004.

Appendix II: Fiscal Year 2003 and 2004 Funding for Initiatives Relying on
                 Financial Contributions from Partner Agencies

 Table 12: Project SAFECOM Funding for Fiscal Years 2003-2004 Fiscal year 2003
                                Fiscal year 2004

Funding partner    Planned Obligated Comment     Planned Obligated Comment 
     Agriculture   $1,431,000        Same        $1,520,000       Same        
       Defense     3,345,000         Same         1,770,000       Same        
       Energy      1,431,000         Same         1,430,000       Same        
       Federal                0 FEMA transfer to          0                   
      Emergency    3,435,000       DHS in fiscal                   N/A
     Management                year 2003; unpaid            
       Agency                         amount was            
       (FEMA)                   not re-requested            
                                  in fiscal year            
                                     2004                   
     Health and                      Same                         Same        
        Human      1,431,000                      1,520,000 
      Services                                              
      Homeland              0        N/A         12,520,000       Same        
      Security                                              
      Interior                  0 President's                                 
                   1,431,000   fiscal year 2003   2,951,000   0 Reprogramming
                                  budget did not               request denied 
                                include Interior            
                                 funding; amount            
                                 re-requested in            
                              fiscal year 2004,             
                                 still unpaid               

Justice     9,485,000  0 Reprogramming request denied    4,312,000    Same 
                             by Congress; negotiated a                 
                            reduced amount to be paid in               
                          fiscal year 2004                             

Transportation     3,435,000   0 Transportation Security          0    N/A 
                                   Administration transfer to DHS       
                                     in fiscal year 2003; unpaid        
                                   amount was not re-requested in       
                                  fiscal year 2004                      

                       Treasury 9,485,000 9,500,000 0 N/A

             Total $34,909,000 $17,138,000 $26,023,000 $23,072,000

Source: GAO analysis of DHS-provided data.

SAFECOM officials reported experiencing shortfalls and receiving funds
from partner agencies late in the fiscal year. As we previously reported,
SAFECOM has been managed by three different agencies since its inception.7
In fiscal year 2003, SAFECOM received only about $17 million of the $34.9
million OMB had allocated as contributions from funding partners.
According to program officials, these shortfalls resulted from two major
causes: (1) the inability of the Departments of Justice and the Interior
to obtain congressional approval to reprogram funds from other accounts
and (2) the impact of organizational realignments associated

7GAO, Project SAFECOM: Key Cross-Agency Emergency Communications Effort
Requires Stronger Collaboration, GAO-04-494 (Washington, D.C.: Apr. 16,
2004).

Appendix II: Fiscal Year 2003 and 2004 Funding for Initiatives Relying on
                 Financial Contributions from Partner Agencies

with the creation of DHS in fiscal year 2003. SAFECOM officials reported
that the shortfall experienced in fiscal year 2003 resulted in delays in
the development of the standards and architecture efforts related to
communications interoperability. For example, the timeline of the National
Baseline Methodology and Assessment of communications interoperability was
extended until sufficient funding was available. According to agency
officials, Justice was not authorized to reprogram funds and negotiated to
provide its fiscal year 2003 allocation in fiscal year 2004. The total
amount contributed was a reduced amount negotiated with OMB. Although
SAFECOM re-requested Interior's unpaid fiscal year 2003 contribution in
addition to its fiscal year 2004 allocation, Interior officials reported
that their reprogramming request was denied. According to DHS officials,
fiscal year 2003 unpaid amounts from FEMA and the Transportation Security
Administration were not re-requested in fiscal year 2004 at the direction
of the DHS Under Secretary for Management.

SAFECOM officials also reported that in fiscal year 2004, they were unable
to collect funding resources in a timely manner because of enactment of
the fiscal year 2004 appropriation bill late in the fiscal year. Project
officials reported that this affected the initiative's progress by
delaying start dates for certain tasks and creating breaks in project
service and performance.

                              Recreation One-Stop

Managing partner agency: Department of the Interior

Purpose: Provide a single-point-of-access, user-friendly, Web-based
resource to citizens, offering information and access to government
recreational sites.

Funding: The Recreation One-Stop initiative relied on monetary
contributions from four partner agencies, including Interior, in fiscal
years 2003 and 2004. Additionally, the initiative received $800,000 from
the E-Government Fund8 in fiscal year 2003. According to project
officials, Recreation One-Stop partners agreed that agencies receiving
major benefits from the initiative would contribute $50,000 annually, and
agencies receiving fewer benefits would contribute $25,000 annually, with

8Title I, Section 101 of the E-Government Act of 2002 (Section 3604 of
Title 44) establishes the E-Government Fund, which is to be used to
support projects that enable the federal government to expand its ability
to conduct activities electronically.

Appendix II: Fiscal Year 2003 and 2004 Funding for Initiatives Relying on
Financial Contributions from Partner Agencies

the managing partner contributing a larger share. Table 13 details
contributions for fiscal years 2003 and 2004.

Table 13: Recreation One-Stop Funding for Fiscal Years 2003-2004

                                     Fiscal year a 2003    Fiscal year 2004   
                    Funding partner   Planned Obligated     Planned Obligated 
                        Agriculture     $50,000 Same            $50,000a Same 
                  Defense (Corps of           50,000 Same       50,000        
                         Engineers)                                      Same 
                           Interior     200,000 Same             200,000 Same 
            Smithsonian Institution           25,000 Same         25,000 Same 
                              Total     $325,000 Same           $325,000 Same 

Source: GAO analysis of Interior-provided data.

Note: Recreation One-Stop also received $800,000 from the E-Government
Fund in fiscal year 2003.

aUSDA's Forest Service directly paid for a Recreation One-Stop activity,
in lieu of funds coming through the managing partner.

Recreation One-Stop officials reported that all fiscal year 2003 and 2004
planned contributions had been received; however, officials noted that the
logistics of transferring funds according to agency-specific procedures
was time-consuming, and as a result funding requests from "minor partners"
were eliminated for fiscal year 2006.

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