	Initial Steps to Implement the FAIR Act

The FAIR Act requires executive agencies to submit each year to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) inventories of activities that, in the judgment of the head of the agency, are not inherently governmental functions. The next step in implementing the FAIR Act includes potential challenges to the lists. Initial Implementation of the FAIR Act Raises Important Questions

Clearly, executive agencies and OMB still have plenty of work ahead to implement even the first step of the FAIR Act—the public release of inventories. A major area of interest during the initial implementation of the FAIR Act concerns the decisions agencies made about whether or not activities were eligible for competition and the reasons for those decisions. What Processes Did Agencies Use to Develop Their FAIR Act Inventories? questions about the efforts thus far which we will be reviewing for the Subcommittee. How useful are the FAIR Act inventories? What supplemental information can be included to increase the usefulness of inventories? By enacting the FAIR Act, Congress has increased the visibility of agencies’ commercial activities. Continuing congressional interest in the FAIR Act process is needed in order to maintain serious agency attention to developing and using the FAIR Act inventories. Oversight hearings, such as today’s hearing, send clear messages to agencies that Congress is serious about improving the efficiency and effectiveness of government operations and the effective implementation of the FAIR Act.
Why GAO Did This Study

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed its observations on the initial implementation of the Federal Activities Inventory Reform (FAIR) Act of 1998, focusing on: (1) the progress to date in developing and releasing agencies' FAIR Act inventories; (2) the status of the initial steps taken to implement the FAIR Act; and (3) issues related to the Department of Commerce, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the General Services Administration FAIR Act inventories.

What GAO Found

GAO noted that: (1) most agencies' FAIR Act inventories have been submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and consultation, and the first group of inventories is now publicly available; (2) clearly, executive agencies and OMB still have plenty of work ahead to implement the FAIR Act, including the public release of more inventories and the resolution of any challenges; (3) nevertheless, GAO's initial review of selected inventories raise some questions about the efforts thus far which GAO will be reviewing for the House Subcommittee on Government Management, Information and Technology; (4) these questions concern: (a) the decisions agencies make about whether or not activities were eligible for competition and what the reasons for those decisions were; (b) the processes agencies use to develop their FAIR Act inventories; (c) how useful the FAIR Act inventories are; and (d) what supplemental information can be included to increase the usefulness of inventories; (5) by enacting the FAIR Act, Congress has increased the visibility of agencies' commercial activities; (6) continuing congressional interest in the FAIR Act process is needed in order to maintain serious agency attention to developing and using the FAIR Act inventories; and (7) oversight hearings send clear messages to agencies that Congress is serious about improving the efficiency and effectiveness of government operations and the effective implementation of the FAIR Act.