Depot Maintenance: DOD Needs Plan to Ensure Compliance with Public- and Private-Sector Funding Allocation
GAO-04-871
Published: Sep 29, 2004. Publicly Released: Sep 29, 2004.
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Highlights
Under 10 U.S.C. 2466, the military departments and defense agencies can use no more than 50 percent of annual depot maintenance funding for work performed by private-sector contractors. DOD also must submit two reports to the Congress annually on the division of depot maintenance funding between the public and private sectors--one about the percentage of funds spent in the previous 2 fiscal years (prior-years report) and one about the current and 4 succeeding fiscal years (future-years report). As required, GAO reviewed the two DOD reports submitted in early 2004 and is, with this report, submitting its views to the Congress on whether (1) the military services met the so-called "50-50 requirement" for fiscal years 2002-3 and (2) the projections for fiscal years 2004-8 are reasonable estimates. GAO also identified key limitations in the 50-50 process that affect the department's ability to comply with the 50-50 requirement.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Defense | The Secretary of Defense should direct the Secretaries of the military departments, within 30 days of reporting 50-50 data indicating that past, current, or budget year data are within 2 percent of exceeding the 50 percent threshold, to submit a plan to the Office of the Secretary of Defense that identifies actions the military department shall take to ensure continued compliance, including the identification of decisions on candidate maintenance workload sourcing that could be made to support remaining within the 50 percent threshold. |
Closed – Implemented
DOD concurred with our recommendation and in its FY2004 data call to the DOD military departments directed that in cases where workload projections are within 2 percent of the 50 percent limitation on contracting for depot-level maintenance and repair in a fiscal year, the military department shall submit a plan to Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Logistics and Material Readiness within 30 days that identifies actions the military department will take to ensure continued compliance including identification of decisions on candidate maintenance workload sourcing that could be made to support remaining within compliance with the 50 percent limitation.
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| Department of Defense | The Secretary of Defense should require the Secretaries of the military departments to direct the use of the services' audit agencies or an agreed-upon alternate method for third-party review and validation of 50-50 data and to ensure that auditor-identified errors in the data are corrected before the data are sent to the Congress. |
Closed – Implemented
DOD agreed with our recommendation and in its FY2004 data call to the DOD military departments directed the military departments to use either Service audit agency or an agreed-upon alternate method for third party review and validation of this data and ensure that auditor-identified errors in the data are corrected before submission of the data.
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| Department of Defense | The Secretary of Defense should direct the Secretaries of the military departments to emphasize that individuals and staff receive proper and prompt training for 50-50 data gathering and reporting and that management at all levels afford the 50-50 process the level of attention necessary to produce an accurate and complete 50-50 report. |
Closed – Implemented
DOD agreed with our recommendation and in its FY2004 data call to the DOD military departments directed the Secretaries of the military departments to emphasize that individuals and staff receive proper and prompt training for 50-50 data gathering and reporting and that management at all levels afford the 50-50 process the level of attention necessary to produce an accurate and complete 50-50 report.
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| Department of Defense | The Secretary of Defense should direct the Commandant of the Marine Corps to require the Marine Corps' command responsible for weapon systems management to compile a consolidated report on its depot maintenance funding allocation between the public and private sectors. |
Closed – Implemented
DOD agreed with our recommendation and in its FY2004 data call to the DOD military departments requested that the Marine Corps implement GAO recommendation to establish a single point within Marine Corps Systems Command to consolidate reporting within that command to eliminate errors and omissions.
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Topics
Data collectionData integrityDefense budgetsDefense procurementDepartment of Defense contractorsFinancial analysisFinancial management systemsFinancial recordsFuture budget projectionsMaintenance costsMaintenance services contractsPrivate sectorReporting requirements