The Committee was required to include, at a minimum,  representatives from OMB, OPM, the Assistant to the President for  National Security Affairs, DOD, and the Departments of State and  Homeland Security. As part of the implementation of the section 1107  Interagency Rotation Program, the statute required the policies,  processes, and procedures included in the Strategy to provide that the  program be carried out in at least two Interagency Communities of  Interest—Emergency Management and Stabilization and  Reconstruction—and that no fewer than 20 executive branch employees  be assigned to participate in the program in each of the first 4 fiscal years  after the enactment of the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2013—fiscal years 2014,  2015, 2016, and 2017. Committee on National Security Personnel’s Strategy Addressed Most Statutory Requirements, but Implementation of the Program Has Languished

In March 2014, the Committee issued the Strategy required by section  1107 of the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2013. However, implementation of the program has languished because there  has been limited leadership and oversight of the program, and no national  security personnel had been assigned for rotations as of September  2015. The Committee on National Security Personnel Developed and Issued a Strategy that Addresses Most of the Statutory Requirements

In addition to establishing the Committee on National Security Personnel,  section 1107 of the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2013 required the Committee to  develop and issue a National Security Human Capital Strategy that  provided for the implementation of an interagency rotation program. We also found that the  Strategy discusses (1) training and education requirements; (2)  prerequisites or requirements for participation; and (3) performance  measures, reporting requirements, and other accountability devices  associated with participation in and evaluation of the program. We found that the Strategy does not address 2 of the 17 requirements. Further, our draft report  and the report on performance measures were due on the same day. Agencies and Organizations Have Taken Limited Steps to Address Assigned Roles, Responsibilities, and Tasks to Implement the Interagency Rotation Program

Agencies and organizations have taken limited steps to address the roles,  responsibilities, and tasks assigned to them in the Strategy for  implementing the section 1107 Interagency Rotation Program, and they  had not implemented that program as of September 2015. We identified other roles, responsibilities, and tasks assigned to the  departments and agencies, among others, during our review of  supporting documentation, including meeting minutes, organization  charters, and implementation plans. Officials from  participating departments told us they could not proceed with taking  action on their tasks because they were waiting for further guidance from  OPM. When asked about the need for such guidance,  OPM officials stated that the departments and agencies do not need  additional guidance from OPM to proceed with their assigned roles,  responsibilities, and tasks under the Strategy. Without committed leadership and oversight from all of the relevant  entities—most specifically, the Committee on National Security Personnel  and OPM—to oversee the implementation of the section 1107  Interagency Rotation Program and actions taken on necessary steps to  proceed with the program’s implementation, it is unlikely that the goals of  section 1107 of the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2013 will be addressed and that  the section 1107 program will be implemented within the specified  timeframes. Without a  clear leadership structure for the Committee that can work with  departments and agencies to identify and take action on any steps that  are necessary for the program’s implementation, Congress’s intentions  for the program and the benefits that could stem from it will also remain  unfulfilled. Recommendations for Executive Action

To provide greater assurance that the Interagency Rotation Program for  national security personnel will be implemented as provided in section  1107 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013, we  recommend that the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, in  collaboration with the Committee on National Security Personnel, take the  following two actions:  (1)  establish a clear leadership and oversight structure to guide future  (2)  work with the departments and agencies to identify and take action on  necessary next steps to proceed with the program’s implementation,  including developing and issuing required guidance for  implementation within identified timeframes. The statute  included 19 requirements related to the development and issuance of the  Strategy and the subsequent implementation and monitoring of the  section 1107 Interagency Rotation Program; however, for 2 of these  requirements we had no basis to judge because these requirements are  contingent on actions that had not yet occurred.
Why GAO Did This Study

Complex national security challenges—including nuclear proliferation and terrorist attacks—require a federal government workforce that can collaborate effectively across agency lines. Congress established the section 1107 Interagency Rotation Program in which national security personnel could be assigned to work at another agency for professional development purposes and to enhance the government's ability to collaborate and respond effectively to such challenges. Section 1107 of the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2013 included a provision for GAO to review the program. This report provides an assessment of the extent to which actions have been taken to establish and implement the Interagency Rotation Program, as required by law.
GAO analyzed actions taken by the Committee and assessed its Strategy against 17 statutory requirements; reviewed other supporting documentation; and interviewed OPM, OMB, and Departments of Defense, State, and Homeland Security officials on the status of the program.

What GAO Found

As required by section 1107 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2013, the Committee on National Security Personnel (Committee) has taken steps to establish the Interagency Rotation Program for national security personnel, including developing a National Security Human Capital Strategy (Strategy). However, implementation of the program has languished and no personnel have participated in the program as of September 2015.
The Committee was established within the Executive Office of the President and consists of representatives from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), Office of Management and Budget, the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, and the Departments of Defense, State, and Homeland Security. The Committee issued the Strategy in March 2014, which addresses 13 of the 17 statutory requirements. For instance, the Strategy discusses, among other things, training and education requirements, prerequisites or requirements for participation, and performance measures to be used for personnel participating in the program. The Strategy also partially addresses 2 requirements, but does not address 2 other requirements, including providing that, at a minimum, 20 employees would participate in the section 1107 program in each of the first 4 fiscal years after the NDAA was enacted. GAO had no basis to assess 2 additional requirements, also related to the program's implementation and reporting on performance measures, because these requirements are contingent on actions that had not yet occurred.
Implementing the section 1107 Interagency Rotation Program has languished because there has been limited leadership and oversight of the program, including necessary actions to be taken by the departments, agencies, and other organizations to complete their assigned roles, responsibilities, and tasks. The Strategy and other documents specifically assign roles, responsibilities, and tasks to the Committee on National Security Personnel, OPM, the Communities of Practice, and the participating departments and agencies. For instance, OPM is tasked with issuing guidance on the rights and responsibilities of employees returning from rotational service, but OPM officials told GAO that they have not done so and could not give timeframes for completion. Similarly, participating departments and agencies are tasked with identifying particular positions and personnel for rotations, but they have not used the procedures laid out in the Strategy because officials said they needed further guidance from OPM. OPM officials stated that the departments and agencies do not need further guidance from them to proceed with their assigned roles, responsibilities, and tasks. Importantly, the Strategy specifically identifies that the Committee will work with OPM to implement the Strategy. Further, officials that GAO interviewed stated they perceive that OPM is the lead for the program. Officials also noted that differing opinions about next steps have resulted in action not being taken on some assigned roles, responsibilities, and tasks, including the issuance of guidance. Without a clear leadership and oversight structure for the section 1107 program and efforts to identify and take action on next steps for implementation, it is unlikely that implementation of the program will move forward.

What GAO Recommends

GAO recommends that OPM, in collaboration with the Committee, establish a clear leadership and oversight structure to guide implementation of the Interagency Rotation Program and work with the departments and agencies to identify and take action on necessary next steps for implementation. OPM generally concurred with the recommendations, but raised issues primarily about the roles and responsibilities that GAO addresses in the report.