DOT switching gears on ITOP

The Transportation Department will no longer run its $10 billion Information Technology Omnibus Procurement program as a governmentwide contract, but will continue to offer it within the department for existing and new task orders, a transportation official said June 6.

DOT is considering using ITOP as a vehicle for the new Transportation Security Administration's information technology systems, the official said. The not-yet-released contract for TSA's IT infrastructure could be worth $1 billion or more, according to sources.

ITOP was one of several governmentwide acquisition contracts (GWACs) that could be used by any agency to procure IT services.

Transportation officials decided not to seek an extension from the Office of Management and Budget of the executive agent designation that allowed the department to run ITOP as a GWAC, following a critical audit by the department's inspector general.

"DOT reviewed the IG report, agreed that ITOP was losing money and did not seek an extension," Transportation chief financial officer Donna McLean said. "However, ITOP will still be functioning within DOT, and if we improve our management over the next few years, we may reapply for executive agent status."

The Transportation Administration Service Center (TASC) handles the program's day-to-day operations. The office is undergoing a review and is trying to implement some management measures, the transportation official said.

The April 15 audit found fees paid to TASC for administering ITOP didn't generate enough revenue to cover its expenses.

Additionally, DOT was a secondary user of the program with about $200 million in procurements — just 8 percent of the $2.4 billion awarded to ITOP contractors, according to the IG.

"Overall, we found that ITOP has not served DOT's mission as envisioned, is not financially self-sufficient and has received little oversight from DOT management," DOT Inspector General Kenneth Mead said in his report.