Combating Terrorism: Spending on Governmentwide Programs Requires Better Management and Coordination
NSIAD-98-39
Published: Dec 01, 1997. Publicly Released: Dec 03, 1997.
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Highlights
Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed interagency processes intended to ensure the efficient allocation of funding and resources for the federal government's efforts to combat terrorism, focusing on: (1) federal funding for unclassified programs and activities to combat terrorism; (2) whether any agency or entity has been designated to coordinate budget proposals, establish priorities, manage funding requirements, and help ensure the efficient allocation of federal resources for combating terrorism across federal agencies; (3) opportunities for agencies to expand coordination of terrorism-related programs and activities under the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) principles and framework; and (4) issues concerning the reimbursement of support provided to agencies with lead counterterrorism responsibilities.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| National Security Council | Consistent with the responsibility for coordinating efforts to combat terrorism, the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, NSC, in consultation with the Director, OMB, and the heads of other executive branch agencies, should take steps to ensure that governmentwide priorities to implement the national counterterrorism policy and strategy are established. |
Presidential Decision Directive 62 established within the National Security Council a National Coordinator for Security, Infrastructure Protection and Counter-Terrorism. Under the Coordinator is a Weapons of Mass Destruction Working Group and a number of subgroups. These working groups will analyze information on agencies' terrorism-related programs and activities, and will recommend to the Coordinator and to OMB requirements and priorities governmentwide. The National Coordinator will establish priorities. This action is in response to GAO's recommendation, according to OMB.
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| National Security Council | Consistent with the responsibility for coordinating efforts to combat terrorism, the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, NSC, in consultation with the Director, OMB, and the heads of other executive branch agencies, should take steps to ensure that agencies' programs, projects, activities, and requirements for combating terrorism are analyzed in relation to established governmentwide priorities. |
OMB is collecting data on federal agencies' funding for terrorism-related programs. This data will be used to analyze programs, projects, activities, and requirements for combating terrorism. The new NSC National Coordinator will work with OMB to review crosscutting projects, programs, and activities for combating terrorism to ensure that national priorities are being met and to avoid overlap and duplication.
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| National Security Council | Consistent with the responsibility for coordinating efforts to combat terrorism, the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, NSC, in consultation with the Director, OMB, and the heads of other executive branch agencies, should take steps to ensure that resources are allocated based on the established priorities and assessments of the threat and risk of terrorist attack. |
Presidential Decision Directive 62 established within the National Security Council a National Coordinator for Security, Infrastructure Protection and Counter-Terrorism. Under the Coordinator is a Weapons of Mass Destruction Working Group and a number of subgroups. These working groups will analyze information on agencies' terrorism-related programs and activities in relation to the threat of terrorism, and will recommend to the Coordinator and to OMB requirements and priorities governmentwide. OMB will ensure that resources are allocated accordingly. This action is in response to GAO's recommendation, according to OMB.
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| Office of Management and Budget | To ensure that federal expenditures for terrorism-related activities are well-coordinated and focused on efficiently meeting the goals of U.S. policy under PDD 39, the Director, OMB, should use data on funds budgeted and spent by executive departments and agencies to evaluate and coordinate projects and recommend resource allocation annually on a crosscutting basis to ensure that governmentwide priorities for combating terrorism are met and programs are based on analytically sound threat and risk assessments and avoid unnecessary duplication. |
An amendment to the 1998 Defense Authorization Act required OMB to gather data on federal agencies' spending for terrorism-related programs, projects, and activities. OMB did collect data for FY1998 enacted and FY1999 planned. OMB plans to continue collecting data in progressively more detail to assist in its crosscutting analysis of agencies' programs. According to OMB, this data will be used to better plan, oversee, and analyze this spending for combating terrorism. The NSC's National Coordinator will be responsible for establishing requirements and priorities and for ensuring that programs are coordinated and are not duplicative.
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Agency missionsBudget administrationCrime preventionHomeland securityInteragency relationsIntergovernmental fiscal relationsLaw enforcement information systemsPerformance measuresReimbursements to governmentStrategic planningCombating terrorism