	Compliance with Legislative Conditions

The US-VISIT expenditure plan, including related program documentation  and program officials’ statements, satisfies or partially satisfies some, but  not all, of the legislative conditions. DHS has partially implemented this recommendation. Recommendation: Define performance standards for US-VISIT that are  measurable and reflect the limitations imposed on US-VISIT capabilities  by relying on existing systems. DHS has had ample opportunity to address these many issues, but it has  not. As a result, there is no reason to expect that its newly launched exit  endeavor, for example, will produce results different from past  endeavors—namely, DHS will not have an operational exit solution despite  expenditure plans allocating about a quarter of a billion dollars to various  exit activities. Similarly, on the basis of past efforts, there is no reason to  believe that the program’s disproportionate investment in management- related activities represents a prudent and warranted course of action. However, we do not agree with the  department’s position relative to the scope of US-VISIT’s security  strategy in that it does not address known vulnerabilities associated  with a US-VISIT component system—TECS. meets the capital planning and investment control review requirements established by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), including Circular A-11, part 7;

complies with DHS’s enterprise architecture;  complies with the acquisition rules, requirements, guidelines, and systems  acquisition management practices of the federal government; includes a certification by the DHS Chief Information Officer (CIO) that an  independent verification and validation (IV&V) agent is currently under contract  for the project;  is reviewed and approved by the DHS Investment Review Board (IRB), the  Secretary of Homeland Security, and OMB;  is reviewed by GAO; includes a comprehensive US-VISIT strategic plan; and  includes a complete schedule for biometric exit implementation. As agreed, our objectives were to

1. determine whether the US-VISIT fiscal year 2007 expenditure plan satisfies  2. determine the status of our oldest open recommendations pertaining to US- 3. provide observations about the expenditure plan and management of the  program. DHS data show that the US-VISIT prime contract is being executed according  to cost and schedule expectations, as defined and measured by a well- accepted progress measurement technique known as earned value  management. DHS continues to propose disproportionately heavy investment in US-VISIT  program management-related activities without adequate justification or full  disclosure, to the point of spending $1.25 on management for every dollar  invested in new development. DHS continues to propose spending tens of millions of dollars on exit projects  that are not well-defined, planned, or justified on the basis of costs, benefits  and risks. Condition 2. The plan satisfies the requirement that it be reviewed by GAO. The plan does not satisfy the condition that it include a  comprehensive US-VISIT strategic plan. While the US-VISIT program is not required to explicitly follow these guidelines, the  guidelines nonetheless provide a framework for effectively developing strategic  plans and the basis for program accountability. The plan, including related program documentation and program  officials’ statements, does not satisfy the condition that it include a complete  schedule for biometric exit implementation. However, the scope of this strategy does not  extend to all the systems that comprise US-VISIT. Without such information, the  expenditure plan does not provide Congress with enough information to exercise  effective oversight and hold the department accountable. However, the benefits are broadly stated. Both the legislative conditions and our open recommendations are aimed at accomplishing these improvements, and thus they need to be addressed quickly and completely. Homeland Security: Planned Expenditures for U.S. Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology Program.
Why GAO Did This Study

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has established a program known as U.S. Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology (US-VISIT) to collect, maintain, and share information, including biometric identifiers, on certain foreign nationals who travel to the United States. By congressional mandate, DHS is to develop and submit an expenditure plan for US-VISIT that satisfies certain conditions, including being reviewed by GAO. GAO reviewed the plan to (1) determine if the plan satisfied these conditions, (2) follow up on certain recommendations related to the program, and (3) provide any other observations. To address the mandate, GAO assessed plans and related documentation against federal guidelines and industry standards and interviewed the appropriate DHS officials.

What GAO Found

The US-VISIT expenditure plan, including related program documentation and program officials' statements, satisfies or partially satisfies some but not all of the legislative conditions required by the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2007. For example, the department satisfied the condition that it 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. However, the department did not satisfy the conditions that the plan include a comprehensive US-VISIT strategic plan and a complete schedule for biometric exit implementation. DHS partially implemented GAO's oldest open recommendations pertaining to US-VISIT. For example, while the department partially completed the recommendation that it develop and begin implementing a US-VISIT system security plan, the scope of the plan does not extend to all the systems that comprise US-VISIT. In addition, while the expenditure plan provides some information on US-VISIT's cost, schedule, and benefits associated with planned capabilities, the information provided is not sufficiently defined and detailed to address GAO's recommendation and provide a reasonable basis for measuring progress and holding the department accountable for results. GAO identified several additional observations. On the positive side, DHS data show that the US-VISIT prime contract is being executed according to cost and schedule expectations. However, DHS continues to propose disproportionately heavy investment in US-VISIT program management-related activities without adequate justification or full disclosure. Further, DHS continues to propose spending tens of millions of dollars on US-VISIT exit projects that are not well-defined, planned, or justified on the basis of costs, benefits, and risks. Overall, the US-VISIT fiscal year 2007 expenditure plan and other available program documentation do not provide a sufficient basis for effective program oversight and accountability. Both the legislative conditions and GAO's open recommendations are aimed at accomplishing both, and thus they need to be addressed quickly and completely. However, despite ample opportunity to do so, DHS has not done so and the reasons why are unclear. Until these recommendations are addressed, GAO does not believe that the program's disproportionate investment in management-related activities represents a prudent and warranted course of action or to expect that the newly launched exit endeavor will produce results different from past results--namely, no operational exit solution despite expenditure plans allocating about a quarter of a billion dollars to various exit activities.