Defense Management: DOD Should Collect More Stakeholder Input and Performance Data on Its Congressional Reporting Process
Fast Facts
The Department of Defense is required to report to Congress on an array of national security topics each year. The number of new reporting requirements increased from 513 in FY 2000 to 1,429 in FY 2020, according to DOD. Recent legislation has sought to reform this process.
We identified challenges in DOD's reporting process and instances of delays, duplication, and fragmentation. Reforms are underway that should address most of these challenges, but DOD's efforts would be improved with greater outreach to stakeholders within DOD and better data gathering. Our recommendations address these issues.
Number of New Department of Defense Congressional Reporting Requirements over Time
Highlights
What GAO Found
GAO identified six challenges with the Department of Defense's (DOD) process for responding to congressional reporting requirements, including instances of delays, duplication, and fragmentation. For example, the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Legislative Affairs (ASD(LA)), which oversees the congressional reporting process and is responsible for identifying reporting requirements, takes as long as 3 to 6 months to do so, according to ASD(LA) officials. ASD(LA) is undertaking a number of efforts to reform and modernize the process. GAO found that these reform and modernization efforts will address or partially address most of the identified challenges with DOD's congressional reporting process. (See table.) For example, ASD(LA) plans to reduce the time required to identify and assign reporting requirements by using spreadsheets of reporting requirements provided by the congressional defense committees.
Extent to Which Department of Defense's (DOD) Reform and Modernization Efforts Address Challenges with the Congressional Reporting Process
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Challenge |
Extent to which DOD's plans address challenge |
|---|---|
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The Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Legislative Affairs (ASD(LA)) often takes several months to identify and assign reporting requirements. |
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ASD(LA) does not always accurately assign reporting requirements, and reassignment deliberations are not consistently documented. |
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DOD officials independently assign and track their reporting requirements using separate systems. |
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Reports to Congress have been primarily delivered in hard copies. |
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ASD(LA) is not always timely in closing completed reporting requirements. |
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DOD has limited performance data on its process. |
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Legend: ● Addresses; ◐ Partially addresses; ○ Does not address
Source: GAO analysis of DOD information. | GAO-22-105183
Better stakeholder outreach and performance data could help address the unresolved challenges and improve DOD's efforts. Specifically:
- GAO found that ASD(LA) conducted limited outreach to internal DOD stakeholders in developing its reform efforts, and many stakeholders were not aware of the extent of ASD(LA)'s efforts. Conducting additional outreach could help ASD(LA) more fully address stakeholders' challenges with the process, such as needing to rely on their own separate systems to track congressional reporting requirements.
- GAO also found that ASD(LA) has limited performance data on its congressional reporting process, such as the time that it takes officials to complete various steps of the process. Establishing performance measures and outcome-oriented goals, and collecting the necessary data to assess its progress would better position DOD to evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of its reform and modernization efforts and identify additional opportunities for reform.
Why GAO Did This Study
DOD must respond to congressional reporting requirements on various national security topics each year. Congress has expressed concerns with DOD's congressional reporting process, and recent legislation has included provisions to reform and modernize it.
The William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 includes a provision for GAO to examine DOD's current congressional reporting process as well as DOD's ongoing reform and modernization efforts. This report (1) examines the challenges DOD faces with its congressional reporting process; and (2) assesses the extent to which DOD's reform and modernization efforts address these challenges.
GAO analyzed relevant DOD guidance, reform and modernization plans and proposals, cost estimates, and other documentation. GAO also interviewed officials about their experiences and challenges with DOD's congressional reporting process as well as its reform and modernization efforts.
Recommendations
GAO is recommending that DOD ensures ASD(LA) (1) consults with internal stakeholders to inform DOD's reform and modernization efforts, and (2) establishes performance measures and outcome-oriented goals, and collects the data needed to assess DOD's progress. DOD concurred with GAO's recommendations.
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Defense | The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Legislative Affairs consults with internal stakeholders to inform DOD's congressional reporting reform and modernization efforts, including identifying opportunities to address stakeholders' challenges and better manage duplication and fragmentation within DOD's congressional reporting process. (Recommendation 1) |
DOD concurred with our recommendation. In its written comments on our report, DOD described planned efforts to address this recommendation, including working collaboratively with components to better address the identification, assignment, and completion of reporting requirements. In August 2022, DOD restated these planned efforts but did not provide evidence that they had been completed. As of February 2024, DOD has not provided an update on its efforts to address this recommendation. In order to close this recommendation as implemented, DOD would need to provide documentation or other evidence to demonstrate implementation.
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| Department of Defense | The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Legislative Affairs, as part of DOD's reform and modernization efforts, establishes performance measures and outcome-oriented goals, and collects the necessary data to assess progress toward achieving those goals. (Recommendation 2) |
DOD concurred with our recommendation. In its written comments on our report, DOD described planned efforts to address this recommendation, including developing performance goals and metrics and gathering workload and cost data for both individual reports and the overall congressional reporting process. In August 2022, DOD restated these planned efforts but did not provide evidence that they had been completed. As of February 2024, DOD has not provided an update on its efforts to address this recommendation. In order to close this recommendation as implemented, DOD would need to provide documentation or other evidence to demonstrate implementation.
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