Defense Management and Procurement Issues

GAO discussed Department of Defense (DOD) procurement problems relating to fraud. GAO noted that DOD: (1) needs to increase the professionalism of its procurement work force; (2) failed to fully comply with requirements regarding disclosure of contractor profits and weapon system cost data; (3) has consistently resisted many proposed improvements to its procurement procedures; and (4) failed to fully implement management procedures to identify and report weaknesses in its internal controls. GAO also found that: (1) the Department of Justice (DOJ) lacked sufficient resources to handle DOD procurement fraud cases; and (2) DOJ did not have a system for distinguishing the particular prosecutive effort needed for each type of case.