The Government Accountability Office (GAO) on Wednesday released its biennial report on the status of more than 30 high-risk areas in the federal government and said one area, which involves sharing and management of terrorism-related information, has been removed from the list.
“We removed the areas of “Establishing Effective Mechanisms for Sharing and Managing Terrorism-Related Information to Protect the Homeland” from the High-Risk List because the Program Manager for the Information Sharing Environment (ISE) and key departments and agencies have made significant progress to strengthen now intelligence on terrorism, homeland security, and law enforcement, as well as other information…is shared among federal, state, local, tribal, international, and private-sector partners,” GAO says in its 684-page report, High-Risk Series: Progress on Many High-Risk Areas, While Substantial Efforts Needed on Others.
The ISE is within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and includes participation from a number of federal departments and agencies. The ISE was established in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks against the United States to facilitate the sharing of terrorism-related information among all partners and stakeholders.
GAO cautions that even though the ISE program has met all the criteria for removal from the high-risk list, “it does not mean the government has eliminated all risk associated with sharing terrorism-related information. It remains imperative that the Program Manager and key departments and agencies continuer their efforts to advance and sustain ISE.”
Of the 32 high-risk areas on GAO’s list, 11 showed progress and two declined since the audit agency last reported on the programs in 2015. In addition to the sharing of terrorism-related information, the other areas that have shown improvement include Strengthening Department of Homeland Security Management Functions, Department of Defense Supply Chain Management, Mitigating Gaps in Weather Satellite Data, Enforcement of Tax Laws, Managing Federal Real Property, Transforming the Environmental Protection Agency’s Processes for Assessing and Controlling Toxic Chemicals, DoD Approach to Business Transformation, Strategic Human Capital Management, the Department of Energy’s Contract Management for the National Nuclear Security Administration and Office of Environmental Management, and Limiting the Federal Government’s Fiscal Exposure by Better Managing Climate Change Risks.
The areas showing declines on the list include Protecting Public Health through Enhanced Oversight of Medical Products, and Management of Federal Oil and Gas Resources.
Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), ranking member on the House Homeland Security Committee, said in a statement that the progress made by DHS in its management functions “is a reflection of the hard work and commitment provided by former DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson, who in his exit memorandum emphasized the importance of Unity of Effort and an aggressive campaign to improve employee morale at the department.”