GPEA makes OMB responsible for ensuring that federal agencies meet the act’s October 21, 2003, implementation deadline. In September 2000, we concluded that OMB’s GPEA guidance—as well as the guidance and supplementary efforts being undertaken by Treasury, the National Archives and Records Administration, the Departments of Justice and Commerce and others— provided a useful foundation of information to assist agencies with GPEA implementation and the transition to electronic government (e- government). This letter is the part of the plan that provides an agencywide perspective on GPEA compliance efforts. PRA information collections include such things as requests for forms and publications, tax-related forms, and business- production reports. Treasury’s plan provides the kind of information stipulated in OMB’s July 2000 guidance. The Office of the CIO did not review the data it received from the various DOD components for completeness or accuracy before reporting the information to OMB in October 2000. In reviewing the data, we found indications that some may be inaccurate, incomplete, or duplicative. First, all three agencies have determined that the security assurances provided through the use of PKI technology will be needed to enable many of their sensitive electronic transactions. OMB Will Be Challenged in Overseeing Agency Strategic GPEA- Related Activities

OMB will also be challenged in its oversight role of ensuring that agencies comply with GPEA. However, the GPEA implementation plans submitted by federal agencies do not provide sufficient information with which to assess whether agencies have been engaging in these processes. While OMB’s subsequent July reporting guidance called for a brief cover letter describing an agency’s overall strategy and actions to comply with the act, it did not stipulate a full report on the variety of strategic activities and other tasks that agencies were expected to perform, and their schedules for carrying them out.
What GAO Found

The Government Paperwork Elimination Act (GPEA) requires that by 2003 federal agencies provide the public the option of submitting, maintaining, and disclosing required information--such as employment records, tax forms, and loan applications--electronically, instead of on paper. In October 2000, federal agencies submitted GPEA implementation plans to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), which is responsible for executive branch oversight of GPEA. The plans submitted by the the Department of the Treasury and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) generally provide the kind of information that was specified in OMB's July 2000 guidance. However, the Department of Defense's (DOD) plan did not describe the department's overall GPEA strategy and, in some cases, the data provided for specific information collections may be inaccurate, incomplete or duplicative. Officials at all three agencies said that they faced challenges in complying with GPEA, particularly with regard to implementing adequate security assurances for sensitive electronic transactions and in planning for and implementing computer network infrastructures. Furthermore, OMB will be challenged in providing oversight of agency GPEA activities because the plans submitted by the agencies go not document key strategic actions, nor do they specify when they will be undertaken. Taken in isolation, the plans do not provide enough information to assess agencies' progress in meeting the objectives of the act. OMB may wish to require agencies to report on major agencywide activities, including specific planned tasks and milestones and the rationale for adopting them.