Homeland Security: Planned Expenditures for U.S. Visitor and	 
Immigrant Status Program Need to Be Adequately Defined and	 
Justified (14-FEB-07, GAO-07-278).				 
                                                                 
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has established a	 
program--the U.S. Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator	 
Technology (US-VISIT)--to collect, maintain, and share		 
information, including biometric identifiers, on selected foreign
nationals who travel to the United States. By congressional	 
mandate, DHS is to develop and submit for approval an expenditure
plan for US-VISIT that satisfies certain conditions, including	 
being reviewed by GAO. GAO was required to determine if the plan 
satisfied these conditions, follow up on recommendations related 
to the expenditure plan, and provide any other observations. To  
address the mandate, GAO assessed plans against federal 	 
guidelines and industry standards and interviewed the appropriate
DHS officials.							 
-------------------------Indexing Terms------------------------- 
REPORTNUM:   GAO-07-278 					        
    ACCNO:   A65926						        
  TITLE:     Homeland Security: Planned Expenditures for U.S. Visitor 
and Immigrant Status Program Need to Be Adequately Defined and	 
Justified							 
     DATE:   02/14/2007 
  SUBJECT:   Accountability					 
	     Biometrics 					 
	     Congressional oversight				 
	     Documentation					 
	     Financial analysis 				 
	     Homeland security					 
	     Immigration and naturalization law 		 
	     Investment planning				 
	     Procurement planning				 
	     Program evaluation 				 
	     Program management 				 
	     Strategic planning 				 
	     Cost analysis					 
	     Transparency					 
	     DHS Visitor and Immigrant Status			 
	     Indicator Technology Program			 
                                                                 

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GAO-07-278

   

     * [1]Report to Congressional Committees

          * [2]February 2007

     * [3]HOMELAND SECURITY

          * [4]Planned Expenditures for U.S. Visitor and Immigrant Status
            Program Need to Be Adequately Defined and Justified

     * [5]Contents

          * [6]Compliance with Legislative Conditions
          * [7]Status of Open Recommendations
          * [8]Observations on the Expenditure Plan and Management of
            US-VISIT
          * [9]Conclusions
          * [10]Recommendations for Executive Action
          * [11]Agency Comments

     * [12]Briefing to the Staffs of the Subcommittees on Homeland Security,
       Senate and House Committees on Appropriations
     * [13]Comments from the Department of Homeland Security
     * [14]GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments

www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-07-278.

To view the full product, including the scope
and methodology, click on the link above.

For more information, contact Randolph C. Hite at (202) 512-3439 or
[email protected].

Highlights of GAO-07-278, a report to congressional committees

February 2007

HOMELAND SECURITY

Planned Expenditures for U.S. Visitor and Immigrant Status Program Need to
Be Adequately Defined and Justified

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has established a program--the
U.S. Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology (US-VISIT)--to
collect, maintain, and share information, including biometric identifiers,
on selected foreign nationals who travel to the United States. By
congressional mandate, DHS is to develop and submit for approval an
expenditure plan for US-VISIT that satisfies certain conditions, including
being reviewed by GAO. GAO was required to determine if the plan satisfied
these conditions, follow up on recommendations related to the expenditure
plan, and provide any other observations. To address the mandate, GAO
assessed plans against federal guidelines and industry standards and
interviewed the appropriate DHS officials.

[15]What GAO Recommends

GAO is recommending that the Secretary of DHS direct the US-VISIT program
director to increase program transparency and accountability by defining
and justifying planned investments and effectively measuring and reporting
on their progress and to determine and mitigate risks associated with not
fully satisfying legislative conditions and report these risks to DHS
senior leadership and to the appropriate congressional committees. DHS
agreed with GAO's findings and recommendations.

The US-VISIT expenditure plan, related program documentation, and program
officials' statements satisfied or partially satisfied each  of the
legislative conditions required by the Department of Homeland Security
Appropriations Act, 2006. For example, they satisfied the condition that
the agency provide certification that an independent verification and
validation agent is currently under contract for the program and partially
satisfied the condition that US-VISIT comply with DHS's enterprise
architecture.

DHS also completed or partially completed each of GAO's prior expenditure
plan-related recommendations. For example, the department completed
recommendations that it provide an expenditure plan to the Senate and
House Appropriations Subcommittees on Homeland Security before obligating
restricted fiscal year funds and that it identify and disclose management
reserve funding in those plans. However, DHS only partially completed
recommendations that the plan fully disclose how the US-VISIT acquisition
is being managed and that it fully disclose US-VISIT's cost, schedule,
capabilities, and benefits.

GAO identified several additional areas of concern. First, DHS has not
adequately defined and justified its proposed fiscal year 2006
expenditures for pilot and demonstration projects aimed at collecting
information on persons exiting the country at air, sea, and land borders.
Second, DHS has continued to invest in US-VISIT without a clearly defined
operational context that includes explicit relationships with related
border security and immigration enforcement initiatives. Third, US-VISIT
program management costs have risen sharply, while costs for development
have decreased, without any accompanying explanation of the reasons.

Overall, the US-VISIT fiscal year 2006 expenditure plan and other
available program documentation do not provide a sufficient basis for
Congress to exercise effective oversight of the program and to hold the
department accountable for results. For proper oversight and
accountability to occur, it is essential that DHS increase US-VISIT
program transparency and accountability by justifying planned investments
on the basis of adequate definition and disclosure of planned
expenditures, timelines, capabilities, and benefits, and by effectively
measuring and reporting progress against each. It is also essential for
DHS to fully satisfy each of the conditions legislated by Congress,
because doing so will minimize the program's exposure to risk.

*** End of document. ***