IRM/General Government Division Issue Area Plan--Fiscal Years 1994-96
(Letter Report, 03/01/95, GAO/IAP-95-8).
GAO provided information on its Information Resources
Management--General Government Division issue area plan, focusing on:
(1) the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) tax system modernization
initiatives; (2) reducing the financial burden that illegal aliens place
on federal programs; (3) the Customs Service's modernization efforts;
and (4) reducing the risk of unauthorized access to government systems.
GAO plans to: (1) assess IRS progress toward developing a modernized tax
administration system; (2) identify security needs in current systems
that contain taxpayer data; (3) assess Customs' progress toward
modernizing its systems; (4) improve domestic security by developing
alternatives for identifying illegal and criminal aliens; (5) provide
information to Congress on actions to ensure wiretapping capabilities;
and (6) assess the effectiveness of the judicial branch's criminal debt
collection system.
--------------------------- Indexing Terms -----------------------------
REPORTNUM: IAP-95-8
TITLE: IRM/General Government Division Issue Area Plan--Fiscal
Years 1994-96
DATE: 03/01/95
SUBJECT: Strategic information systems planning
Taxpayers
Tax administration systems
Computer security
Illegal aliens
Information dissemination operations
Trade policies
Information resources management
Systems analysis
Financial management systems
IDENTIFIER: NAFTA
North American Free Trade Agreement
TSM
IRS Tax System Modernization Program
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Cover
================================================================ COVER
Accounting and Information Management Division
March 1995
IRM/GENERAL GOVERNMENT DIVISION
ISSUE AREA PLAN - FISCAL YEARS
1994-96
GAO/IAP-95-8
Abbreviations
=============================================================== ABBREV
IRS -
NIS -
TSM -
INS -
FOREWORD
============================================================ Chapter 0
The Information Resources Management--General Government Division
issue area is one of the General Accounting Office's 35 issue areas.
Relying heavily on consultation with congressional committees, as
well as industry, academia, and agency officials and other experts,
GAO develops issue area plans to ensure that its limited resources
are directed toward the most important concerns of the Congress. For
each issue area, GAO's strategic plan describes the significance of
the issues, our objectives, and the focus of our work. GAO serves as
a source of timely, accurate information and unbiased analysis for
decisionmakers in the Congress and executive agencies. Our work
results in such products as reports, briefings, and testimonies.
Budgetary pressures and dissatisfaction with government's performance
in information technology have focused attention on the urgent need
to reform and modernize the operations of federal agencies.
Work in the Information Resources Management--General Government
Division issue area focuses on critical information management issues
at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Immigration and
Naturalization Service (INS), and the U.S. Customs Service. The
issue area also covers information management issues at the Federal
Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration, Federal
Reserve System, Securities and Exchange Commission, Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation, Resolution Trust Corporation, Office of
Personnel Management, Postal Service, and District of Columbia. We
also review agencies' programs to disseminate information to the
public, such as Census Bureau and Government Printing Office
programs.
The principal issues in the information resources management--general
government area are
� ensuring that IRS' multibillion dollar tax systems modernization
(TSM) initiative will result in a virtually paperless tax processing
system that makes taxpayer information available to IRS employees
wherever and whenever it is needed;
� reducing the financial burden that illegal aliens place on social
services, education, and health-care systems by finding more
effective ways for INS to identify these individuals;
� ensuring that Customs' ongoing modernization efforts will better
enable the agency to serve the public and enforce trade laws; and
� reducing the risk of unauthorized access to government systems.
In the pages that follow, we describe planned work on these issues.
Because events may significantly affect even the best of plans, our
planning process allows for updating the plan and responding quickly
to emerging issues. If you have any questions or suggestions about
this plan, please call me at (202) 512-6419.
Hazel E. Edwards
Director
Information Resources Management--
General Government Issues
CONTENTS
============================================================ Chapter 1
FOREWORD
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 1:1
1
TABLE I KEY ISSUES
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 1:2
4
TABLE II PLANNED MAJOR WORK
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 1:3
6
TABLE III GAO CONTACTS
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 1:4
7
TABLE I: KEY ISSUES
============================================================ Chapter 2
Issue Significance
--------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------
Tax policy and administration: How can By the end of fiscal year 1995, IRS
IRS design, acquire, and maintain will have spent over $2.5 billion on
computerized systems that streamline its $8 billion TSM initiative to
operations and are secure? streamline selected tax processing
functions. Yet, the overall design of
TSM remains incomplete, and IRS is
continuing to automate existing
functions with limited demonstration of
how or if the pieces of the system will
fit together to improve tax processing.
Given such concerns and budget
constraints, the Congress reduced IRS'
fiscal year 1995 budget request by $339
million. In making decisions on IRS'
fiscal year 1996 budget, the Congress
will need to know whether the
management of TSM has improved.
Administration of justice: What are the Customs and INS have significant roles
barriers to effectively using in guarding the nation's borders.
information at key law enforcement
agencies and what changes are needed to Customs' ability to combat unfair trade
enhance law enforcement efforts? practices and protect the American
public from unsafe goods has been
hampered by a poor organizational
structure, paper-intensive business
processes, and outdated automated
systems. The Modernization Act, which
was part of the North American Free
Trade Agreement (NAFTA), removes
legislative constraints that required
importers to submit paper documents for
each import transaction and allows for
electronic submission of documents. In
response to the act, Customs is
reorganizing and modernizing its
systems. Congressional oversight
committees are concerned about the
implementation of the systems
modernization project--a process that
is estimated to cost about $100
million.
In fiscal year 1993, the estimated cost
to provide public education to
undocumented alien children in seven
states exceeded $3 billion, while the
cost to incarcerate criminal aliens
totaled nearly $500 million.
Controlling these types of costs
depends on INS' ability to quickly
determine whether aliens are eligible
for U.S. public education, employment,
and social programs and its ability to
identify and deport criminal aliens.
Aided with almost $158 million
authorized under the 1994 Violent Crime
Control and Law Enforcement Act, INS is
embarking on a number of information
system projects designed to help the
agency accomplish its mission more
effectively. The Congress will need to
know whether the implementation of
these projects will improve INS'
enforcement efforts.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Objectives Focus of work
--------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------
� Assess IRS' progress toward � Assess whether total system
developing a modernized system for tax development plans adequately address
administration and provide the Congress TSM business requirements and
with information needed to oversee and incorporate appropriate technical
gauge the effectiveness of TSM. guidelines or standards.
� Identify security needs in current �Review budget and schedules for TSM
systems that contain taxpayer data. projects.
�Review information access controls to
protect against unauthorized tax data
disclosure.
�Review Treasury's efforts to implement
a departmentwide communications
network.
� Assess Customs' progress toward �Review status of Customs' systems
modernizing and redesigning its modernization and redesign efforts.
systems.
�Review management of criminal alien
�Improve domestic security by providing information.
the Congress with alternatives for
identifying illegal and criminal � Review technology available for
aliens. identifying aliens.
�Provide information to the Congress on �Review costs of modifying the public
Federal Bureau of Investigation and telephone network to preserve
telecommunications industry actions to wiretapping capabilities.
ensure wiretapping capabilities.
�Review the courts' efforts to develop
�Assess the effectiveness of the a centralized criminal debt collection
judicial branch's criminal debt system.
collection system.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TABLE II: PLANNED MAJOR WORK
============================================================ Chapter 3
Issue Planned major job starts
------------------------- -----------------------------------------------------
Tax policy and --Review IRS' management of TSM.
administration
--Identify the costs, benefits, and schedules of the
projects that make up TSM and determine the
implications for the TSM fiscal year 1996 budget
request.
--Review IRS' document processing system.
--Review status of IRS' systems security.
--Examine Treasury's efforts to implement its planned
Treasury communications system
Administration of --Review Customs' planned modernization of its
justice automated commercial system.
--Review technology available for identifying
aliens.
--Review costs of modifying the public telephone
network to preserve wiretapping capabilities.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TABLE III: GAO CONTACTS
============================================================ Chapter 4
DIRECTOR
-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 4:0.1
Hazel Edwards (202) 512-6278
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR
-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 4:0.2
Linda Koontz (202) 512-7487
ASSISTANT DIRECTORS
-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 4:0.3
Ronald Bageant
Leonard Baptiste
Antionette Cattledge
Mary Ellen Chervenic
Mark Heatwole
Charles Hughes
Brian Spencer
Randolph Tekeley
*** End of document. ***