GAO: Agencies uneven on Networx track

Two senators have called for agencies to improve their efforts to move to the new Networx telecommunications contract program after a Government Accountability Office report highlighted uneven progress.

Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) noted that the GAO report showed that agencies have adopted only some of the transition practices GAO had earlier recommended.

“I am dismayed that some agencies still have not developed reasonable standards for this massive transition,” Lieberman said. “Agencies should take advantage of the services that [the General Services Administration] offers to help make the transition as orderly and effective as possible.”
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said GAO’s findings are disappointing.

GAO considered only six agencies in its assessment — the Homeland Security, Commerce and Agriculture departments; the Small Business Administration; the Army Corps of Engineers; and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. In the July 28 report, it found that although all of the agencies had adopted some of the recommended strategies, none had implemented all of them.

For example, Commerce does not have a plan that identifies all of the key transition roles and responsibilities. DHS does not plan to identify local and regional points of contact, and NRC does not plan to establish measures of success.

The sound practices that GAO had earlier recommended — and agencies are generally maintaining — include establishing their starting inventories and developing transition plans that include specific preparation tasks and timelines.