GAO: Information technology weaknesses threaten HUD's mission

Weaknesses in the information technology systems at the Housing and Urban Development Department threaten its ability to perform its mission, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office.

According to the report (GAO-09-675), the department's IT systems are outdated, inefficient and expensive to maintain. In addition, ineffective management controls and inadequate technological expertise have left a departmentwide IT modernization program at risk.

"HUD's current IT environment does not effectively support its ongoing business operations," the report stated. "Its information systems are overlapping and duplicative, are not integrated, necessitate manual workloads, and employ antiquated technologies that are costly to maintain."

The department relies heavily on IT to help it process 50,000 loan requests weekly and tens of thousands of grant requests annually. Under the Recovery Act, HUD received $61 million to spend on IT, of which $1.5 million will go toward a computer system to support reporting requirements for stimulus fund recipients. The remainder will be used to maintain or enhance existing systems.

GAO found that HUD has more than 200 separate information systems, including 16 financial management systems and multiple grants management systems that are unable to share data. Yet the department still relies on a spreadsheet application to track more than $16 billion in housing grants and manages another $7 billion in grants manually using a paper-intensive process because its aging systems are unable to handle the workload.

"For example, HUD relies on several different operating systems and 35 different programming languages, each of which requires specialized skills to operate and maintain," the report stated. "In addition, a 2007 study of HUD's IT environment found that the average age of its information systems was nearly 15 years, which is more than twice that of other agencies (six years)."

Another concern GAO highlighted is the department's inability to adequately manage its IT workforce. HUD officials said a lack of resources combined with high turnover among senior leaders in the Office of the Chief Information Officer have hampered their ability to address the weakness, pointing out that the department's IT workforce has decreased by 26 percent since 2006.

The report also recommended HUD develop a plan and establish an enterprisewide program management office to monitor progress on its modernization program. The department currently is not tracking its performance on IT strategic goals, but a 2007 assessment showed it was either behind schedule or not making progress on 46 percent of the activities outlined. HUD officials said no program office has been established due to funding constraints.