Coast Guard: Opportunities Exist to Further Improve Acquisition Management Capabilities
Highlights
The Coast Guard manages a broad $27 billion major acquisition portfolio intended to modernize its ships, aircraft, command and control systems, and other capabilities. GAO has reported extensively on the Coast Guard's significant acquisition challenges, including project challenges in its Deepwater program. GAO's prior work on the Coast Guard acquisition programs identified problems in costs, management, and oversight, but it also recognized several steps the Coast Guard has taken to improve acquisition management. In response to the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2010, GAO (1) assessed Coast Guard capabilities to manage its major acquisition programs, and (2) determined the extent to which the Coast Guard leverages Department of Defense (DOD) and other agency contracts or expertise to support its major acquisition programs. GAO reviewed Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Coast Guard acquisition documents, GAO and DHS Inspector General reports, and selected DOD contracts; and interviewed Coast Guard, DHS, and DOD officials
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| United States Coast Guard | To provide Coast Guard program management staff with greater access to updated information about agreements in place with DOD to facilitate leveraging support for major acquisition programs, the Commandant of the Coast Guard should take steps to ensure all interagency agreements are captured in a database or other format and make this information readily accessible to program staff. |
In October 2011, the Coast Guard established an interagency agreement library, and sent out a related alert to Coast Guard officials and staff, to maximize the visibility and usefulness of existing interagency agreements for program staff, and contracting and acquisition professionals. The Coast Guard intends for the agreements to be fully searchable by program and contracting staff. The Coast Guard is also developing guidance for all contracting staff, which will require that all new interagency agreements be uploaded to the electronic library once it is online.
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