The start of this year's Congress marked the 15th anniversary of the "high risk" list of federal activities. "Unfortunately," Sen. George V. Voinovich (R-Ohio) said, "this anniversary is not something worth celebrating."
The list, prepared by the Government Accountability Office, points out troubled federal programs and projects that are vulnerable to waste, fraud and mismanagement. Many problem areas are complex and seem to defy remedy. But at a briefing on the list, members of Congress who deal with federal management issues signaled that there might be limits to their patience.
 
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Voinovich pointed out that six high-risk areas have been on the list from the start. "And I just think it's unacceptable . . . [Defense Department] supply chain management -- 15 years; DOD weapons system acquisition, we're talking billions and billions of dollars -- 15 years, and nothing's been done," Voinovich said.
He added that the Energy Department, NASA, Medicare and tax law issues also have been on the high-risk list too long.
Of the 25 high-risk areas on this year's list, the Defense Department is a key player in 14. "This is unacceptable and should not be tolerated," David M. Walker, the head of GAO, said at the Capitol Hill briefing.
Voinovich suggested that the revolving door between government and big business might contribute to the Pentagon's lack of ability to deal with complex management issues.
"I happen to believe that part of the problem in the Defense Department is the built-in incest, and that is that if you look around the country to see who runs all of the major manufacturing companies, many of them are people that have been in the Department of Defense -- and this has been the kind of a policy that's been followed for a long period of time," he said. "They work in the department, they make a lot of friends, they leave the department, they go to work for major corporations, and this ball just keeps being batted back and forth."
In addition, he said, members of Congress have military installations in their states and maintain pressure to ensure that federal dollars go to the bases. The combination of "built-in incest" and congressional favoritism "makes it very tough to get any of the changes that need to be made in the defense establishment," Voinovich said.
Walker recommended that the Pentagon name a high-level executive who has a record of success to head the department's "business transformation" effort. The executive should be given full responsibility for the project and control over the money and staffing needed to do the job, Walker said.
"Other changes are critical, but this change is essential for success," Walker said. "The failure to effectively address these many high-risk areas within DOD results in billions of dollars of waste each year and inadequate accountability to the Congress and the American people."
GAO provided some good news, however, at the Jan. 25 briefing. The agency reported that progress is being made in several areas, including U.S. Postal Service operations and Bush administration efforts to forecast what kinds of skilled employees the government will need in the future.
GAO also removed three areas from the high-risk list. The student financial aid programs at the Education Department and the financial management operations at the Federal Aviation Administration and the Forest Service showed substantial progress in turning around their problems, GAO said.
Retirements
David G. Badman, hematology program director, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, and deputy director, Division of Kidney, Urologic and Hematologic Diseases at the National Institutes of Health, retired Dec. 31 after 30 years of federal service.
Bruce E. McCarthy, an expert on emergency preparedness, retired Jan. 3 from the Department of Housing and Urban Development after 38 years of government service.
Walter O. Neal, visual information specialist at the Office of Personnel Management, will retire March 1 after 31 years of government service.
Diary Live
Mary E. Lacey, program executive officer of the National Security Personnel System at the Defense Department, will be the guest on Federal Diary Live at noon Wednesday on www.washingtonpost.com. Please join us with your questions and comments.
E-mail: barrs@washpost.com
