Recommendation: The Director of the Office of Management and Budget should (1) require that agencies explicitly document annual data center closure goals in their DCOI strategic plans and (2) track those goals on the IT Dashboard. (Recommendation 1)

Agency: Executive Office of the President: Office of Management and Budget
Status: Open

Comments: The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has not yet taken action to address this recommendation. We will continue to monitor the agency's efforts to implement this recommendation.

Recommendation: The Director of the Office of Management and Budget should require agencies to report in their quarterly inventory submissions those facilities previously reported as data centers, even if those facilities are not subject to the closure and optimization requirements of DCOI. (Recommendation 2)

Agency: Executive Office of the President: Office of Management and Budget
Status: Open

Comments: The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has not yet taken action to address this recommendation. We will continue to monitor the agency's efforts to implement this recommendation.

Recommendation: The Director of the Office of Management and Budget should document OMB's decisions on whether to approve individual data centers when designated by agencies as either a mission critical facility or as a facility not subject to DCOI. (Recommendation 3)

Agency: Executive Office of the President: Office of Management and Budget
Status: Open

Comments: The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has not yet taken action to address this recommendation. We will continue to monitor the agency's efforts to implement this recommendation.

Recommendation: The Director of the Office of Management and Budget should take action to address the key performance measurement characteristics missing from the DCOI optimization metrics, as identified in this report. (Recommendation 4)

Agency: Executive Office of the President: Office of Management and Budget
Status: Open

Comments: The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has not yet taken action to address this recommendation. We will continue to monitor the agency's efforts to implement this recommendation.

Recommendation: The Secretary of Agriculture should take action to achieve its data center-related cost savings target established under DCOI by OMB. (Recommendation 5)

Agency: Department of Agriculture
Status: Open

Comments: In comments on our report, the Department of Agriculture (Agriculture) agreed with our recommendation and stated that it planned to meet the cost savings target in 2020. We will continue to monitor Agriculture's efforts to implement this recommendation.

Recommendation: The Secretary of Commerce should take action to achieve its data center-related cost savings target established under DCOI by OMB. (Recommendation 6)

Agency: Department of Commerce: Office of the Secretary
Status: Open

Comments: In comments on our report, the Department of Commerce (Commerce) agreed with our recommendation and described actions that they planned to take in order to address the recommendation. We will continue to monitor Commerce's efforts to implement this recommendation.

Recommendation: The Secretary of Commerce should take action to meet its data center optimization metric targets established under DCOI by OMB. (Recommendation 7)

Agency: Department of Commerce: Office of the Secretary
Status: Open

Comments: In comments on our report, the Department of Commerce (Commerce) agreed with our recommendation and described actions that they planned to take in order to address the recommendation. We will continue to monitor Commerce's efforts to implement this recommendation.

Recommendation: The Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration should take action to achieve its data center-related cost savings target established under DCOI by OMB. (Recommendation 8)

Agency: National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Status: Open

Comments: In comments on our report, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) agreed with our recommendation and described actions that the agency planned to take to address the recommendation. NASA stated that it expected to complete these actions by March 31, 2020. Once we have obtained and assessed evidence of the agency's actions taken, we will update the status of this recommendation.

Recommendation: The Secretary of Agriculture should take action to meet the data center optimization metric targets established by OMB under DCOI. (Recommendation 1)

Agency: Department of Agriculture
Status: Open

Comments: In comments on our report, the Department of Agriculture (Agriculture) agreed with our recommendation and began taking action to implement it. After the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released the updated Data Center Optimization Initiative policy in June 2019, the department subsequently reported meeting its targets for the advanced energy metering and server utilization metrics. However, the department also reported that it had not yet met its target for the virtualization metric. We will continue to monitor Agriculture's progress in implementing this recommendation.

Recommendation: The Secretary of Commerce should take action to meet the data center closure targets established under DCOI by OMB. (Recommendation 2)

Agency: Department of Commerce
Status: Open

Comments: In comments on our report, the Department of Commerce (Commerce) agreed with our recommendation and began taking action to implement it. After the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released the updated Data Center Optimization Initiative policy in June 2019, the department subsequently reported meeting its targets for server utilization. However, the department also reported that it had not yet met its target for the virtualization and advanced energy metering metrics. We will continue to monitor Commerce's progress in implementing this recommendation.

Recommendation: The Secretary of Defense should take action to meet the data center closure targets established under DCOI by OMB. (Recommendation 3)

Agency: Department of Defense
Status: Open

Comments: In comments on our report, the Department of Defense agreed with our recommendation and began taking action to implement it. After the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released the updated Data Center Optimization Initiative policy in June 2019, the department established a new data center closures target. The department subsequently reported meeting its closure target for fiscal year 2019. However, given the short time to evaluate implementation efforts between when OMB released the updated policy in June 2019 and the end of fiscal year 2019, we will continue to monitor the department's efforts to implement this recommendation through fiscal year 2020.

Recommendation: The Secretary of Defense should identify additional savings opportunities to achieve the targets for data center-related cost savings established under DCOI by OMB. (Recommendation 4)

Agency: Department of Defense
Status: Open

Comments: The Department of Defense is taking action to implement our recommendation. In comments on our report, the department stated that it had already identified significant cost savings through activities such as the identification of system migration candidates and the use of cloud services. The department also said that while it would continue to optimize its data centers, the need for IT would continue to grow, and this growth might ultimately lead to an increase in total data center costs, despite overall per unit cost reductions. In addition, after the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released the updated Data Center Optimization Initiative policy in June 2019, the department reported achieving a total savings of $102.30 million and reported plans to save an additional $109.50 million in savings for fiscal year 2020. However, given the short time to evaluate implementation efforts between when OMB released the updated policy in June 2019 and the end of fiscal year 2019, we will continue to monitor the department's efforts through fiscal year 2020 to address the recommendation.

Recommendation: The Secretary of Defense should take action to meet the data center optimization metric targets established under DCOI by OMB. (Recommendation 5)

Agency: Department of Defense
Status: Open

Comments: The Department of Defense is taking action to implement our recommendation. After the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released the updated Data Center Optimization Initiative policy in June 2019, the department subsequently reported meeting its target for server utilization. However, the department also reported that it had not yet met its target for the virtualization metric and advanced energy metering. We will continue to monitor the department's efforts to address the recommendation.

Recommendation: The Secretary of Energy should take action to meet the data center closure targets established under DCOI by OMB. (Recommendation 6)

Agency: Department of Energy
Status: Open

Comments: In comments on our report, the Department of Energy (Energy) agreed with our recommendation and began taking action to implement it. After the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released the updated Data Center Optimization Initiative policy in June 2019, the department established a new data center closure target. The department subsequently reported meeting its closure target for fiscal year 2019. However, given the short time to evaluate implementation efforts between when OMB released the updated policy in June 2019 and the end of fiscal year 2019, we will continue to monitor Energy's progress in implementing this recommendation through fiscal year 2020.

Recommendation: The Secretary of Energy should take action to meet the data center optimization metric targets established under DCOI by OMB. (Recommendation 7)

Agency: Department of Energy
Status: Open

Comments: The Department of Energy (Energy) agreed with our recommendation and began taking action to implement it. After the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released the updated Data Center Optimization Initiative policy in June 2019, the department established new data center optimization targets. The department subsequently reported meeting its targets for the virtualization, advanced energy metering, and server utilization metrics. However, given the short time to evaluate implementation efforts between when OMB released the updated policy in June 2019 and the end of fiscal year 2019, we will continue to monitor Energy's efforts to implement this recommendation through fiscal year 2020.

Recommendation: The Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) should take action to meet the data center closure targets established under DCOI by OMB. (Recommendation 8)

Agency: Department of Health and Human Services
Status: Open

Comments: The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is taking action to implement our recommendation. After the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released the updated Data Center Optimization Initiative policy in June 2019, the department established a new data center closure target. The department subsequently reported meeting its closure target for fiscal year 2019. However, given the short time to evaluate implementation efforts between when OMB released the updated policy in June 2019 and the end of fiscal year 2019, we will continue to monitor HHS's efforts to implement this recommendation through fiscal year 2020.

Recommendation: The Secretary of HHS should take action to meet the data center optimization metric targets established under DCOI by OMB. (Recommendation 9)

Agency: Department of Health and Human Services
Status: Open

Comments: The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is taking action to implement our recommendation. After the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released the updated Data Center Optimization Initiative policy in June 2019, the department established new data center optimization targets. Subsequently, the department reported meeting its targets for the virtualization, advanced energy metering, and server utilization metrics. However, given the short time to evaluate implementation efforts between when OMB released the updated policy in June 2019 and the end of fiscal year 2019, we will continue to monitor HHS's efforts to implement this recommendation through fiscal year 2020.

Recommendation: The Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) should take action to meet the data center closure targets established under DCOI by OMB. (Recommendation 10)

Agency: Department of Homeland Security
Status: Open

Comments: In comments on our report, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agreed with our recommendation and began taking action to implement it. After the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released the updated Data Center Optimization Initiative policy in June 2019, the department established a new data center closure target. Subsequently, the department reported meeting its closure target for fiscal year 2019. However, given the short time to evaluate implementation efforts between when OMB released the updated policy in June 2019 and the end of fiscal year 2019, we will continue to monitor DHS's efforts to implement this recommendation through fiscal year 2020.

Recommendation: The Secretary of DHS should take action to meet the data center optimization metric targets established under DCOI by OMB. (Recommendation 11)

Agency: Department of Homeland Security
Status: Open

Comments: In comments on our report, The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agreed with our recommendation and began taking action to implement it. After the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released the updated Data Center Optimization Initiative policy in June 2019, the department established new data center optimization targets. The department subsequently reported meeting its targets for the virtualization, advanced energy metering, and server utilization metrics. However, given the short time to evaluate implementation efforts between when OMB released the updated policy in June 2019 and the end of fiscal year 2019, we will continue to monitor DHS's efforts to implement this recommendation through fiscal year 2020.

Recommendation: The Secretary of Interior should take action to meet the data center closure targets established under DCOI by OMB. (Recommendation 12)

Agency: Department of the Interior
Status: Open

Comments: The Department of the Interior (Interior) is taking action to implement our recommendation. After the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released the updated Data Center Optimization Initiative policy in June 2019, the department established a new data center closure target. Subsequently, the department reported meeting its closure goal for fiscal year 2019. However, given the short time to evaluate implementation efforts between when OMB released the updated policy in June 2019 and the end of fiscal year 2019, we will continue to monitor Interior's efforts to implement this recommendation through fiscal year 2020.

Recommendation: The Secretary of Interior should take action to meet the data center-related cost savings established under DCOI by OMB. (Recommendation 13)

Agency: Department of the Interior
Status: Open

Comments: The Department of Interior (Interior) is taking action to implement our recommendation. After the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released the updated Data Center Optimization Initiative policy in June 2019, the department established new data center related cost savings targets. Subsequently, the department reported achieving $0.2 million in data center-related cost savings and planned to save an additional $0.5 million in fiscal year 2020. We will continue to monitor the department's efforts through fiscal year 2020 to address the recommendation.

Recommendation: The Secretary of Interior should take action to meet the data center optimization metric targets established under DCOI by OMB. (Recommendation 14)

Agency: Department of the Interior
Status: Open

Comments: The Department of Interior (Interior) is taking action to implement our recommendation. After the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released the updated Data Center Optimization Initiative policy in June 2019, the department established new data center optimization targets. The department subsequently reported meeting its targets for the virtualization, advanced energy metering, and server utilization metrics. However, given the short time to evaluate implementation efforts between when OMB released the updated policy in June 2019 and the end of fiscal year 2019, we will continue to monitor Interior's efforts to implement this recommendation through fiscal year 2020.

Recommendation: The Attorney General should take action to meet the data center optimization metric targets established for Justice under DCOI by OMB. (Recommendation 15)

Agency: Department of Justice
Status: Open

Comments: In comments on our report, the Department of Justice (Justice) agreed with our recommendation and began taking action to implement it. After the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released the updated Data Center Optimization Initiative policy in June 2019, the department established new data center optimization targets. The department subsequently reported meeting its targets for the virtualization and advanced energy metering metrics. However, the department did not have an established target for the server utilization metric. Justice stated that, due to OMB issuance of the revised DCOI guidance and metrics, the department had not developed a baseline and target for server utilization. Once it can track server utilization for a few reporting periods, the department stated that it will finalize its definition for underutilized severs and establish an appropriate target for the metric. We will continue to monitor the department's progress in implementing this recommendation.

Recommendation: The Secretary of the Department of Labor (Labor) should take action to meet the data center optimization metric targets established under DCOI by OMB. (Recommendation 16)

Agency: Department of Labor
Status: Open

Comments: The Department of Labor (Labor) is taking action to implement our recommendation. After the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released the updated Data Center Optimization Initiative policy in June 2019, the department established new data center optimization targets. Subsequently, the department reported meeting its target for the server utilization metric. However, the department had not yet met its targets for the advanced energy metering and virtualization metrics. We will continue to monitor Labor's progress in implementing this recommendation.

Recommendation: The Secretary of State should take action to meet the data center closure targets established under DCOI by OMB. (Recommendation 17)

Agency: Department of State
Status: Open

Comments: In comments on our report, the Department of State (State) agreed with our recommendation and began taking action to implement it. After the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released the updated Data Center Optimization Initiative policy in June 2019, the department established a new data center optimization closure target. The department subsequently reported meeting its closure goal for fiscal year 2019. However, given the short time to evaluate implementation efforts between when OMB released the updated policy in June 2019 and the end of fiscal year 2019, we will continue to monitor State's efforts to implement this recommendation through fiscal year 2020.

Recommendation: The Secretary of State should take action to meet the data center optimization metric targets established under DCOI by OMB. (Recommendation 18)

Agency: Department of State
Status: Open

Comments: In comments on our report, the Department of State (State) agreed with our recommendation and began taking action to implement it. After the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released the updated Data Center Optimization Initiative policy in June 2019, the department established new data center optimization targets. Subsequently, the department reported meeting its targets for the virtualization, advanced energy metering, and server utilization metrics. However, given the short time to evaluate implementation efforts between when OMB released the updated policy in June 2019 and the end of fiscal year 2019, we will continue to monitor State's efforts to implement this recommendation through fiscal year 2020.

Recommendation: The Secretary of Transportation should take action to meet the data center closure targets established under DCOI by OMB. (Recommendation 19)

Agency: Department of Transportation
Status: Open

Comments: In comments on our report, the Department of Transportation (Transportation) neither agreed nor disagreed with the recommendation and has begun taking action to implement it. After the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released the updated Data Center Optimization Initiative policy in June 2019, the department established a new data center closure target. The department subsequently reported meeting its closure goal for fiscal year 2019. However, given the short time to evaluate implementation efforts between when OMB released the updated policy in June 2019 and the end of fiscal year 2019, we will continue to monitor Transportation's efforts to implement this recommendation through fiscal year 2020.

Recommendation: The Secretary of Transportation should take action to meet the data center optimization metric targets established under DCOI by OMB. (Recommendation 20)

Agency: Department of Transportation
Status: Open

Comments: The Department of Transportation (Transportation) is taking action to implement our recommendation. After the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released the updated Data Center Optimization Initiative policy in June 2019, the department established new data center optimization targets. Subsequently, the department reported meeting its target for server utilization. However, the department had not yet met its targets for the advanced energy metering and virtualization metrics. We will continue to monitor Transportation's progress in implementing this recommendation.

Recommendation: The Secretary of Treasury should take action to meet the data center optimization metric targets established under DCOI by OMB. (Recommendation 21)

Agency: Department of the Treasury
Status: Open

Comments: The Department of Treasury (Treasury) is taking action to implement our recommendation. After the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released the updated Data Center Optimization Initiative policy in June 2019, the department established new data center optimization targets. The department subsequently reported meeting its target for server utilization. However, the department had not yet met its targets for the advanced energy metering and virtualization metrics. We will continue to monitor Treasury's progress in implementing this recommendation.

Recommendation: The Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) should take action to meet the data center closure targets established under DCOI by OMB. (Recommendation 22)

Agency: Department of Veterans Affairs
Status: Open
Priority recommendation

Comments: VA agreed with our recommendation and, as of January 2020, the department reported that it had closed 16 data centers to meet its fiscal year 2019 closure target. To fully implement this recommendation, VA will need to demonstrate sustained implementation progress over time, including meeting its fiscal year 2020 data center closure target.

Recommendation: The Secretary of VA should take action to meet the data center-related cost savings established under DCOI by OMB. (Recommendation 23)

Agency: Department of Veterans Affairs
Status: Open
Priority recommendation

Comments: VA agreed with our recommendation and, as of January 2020, the department reported that it had met its fiscal year 2019 cost savings target. To fully implement this recommendation, VA will need to demonstrate sustained implementation progress over time, including meeting its fiscal year 2020 data center cost savings target.

Recommendation: The Secretary of VA should take action to meet the data center optimization metric targets established under DCOI by OMB. (Recommendation 24)

Agency: Department of Veterans Affairs
Status: Open
Priority recommendation

Comments: VA agreed with our recommendation and, as of January 2020, the department reported that it had met its fiscal year 2019 targets for three of the four data center optimization metrics tracked by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). To fully implement this recommendation, VA will need to meet all four of OMB's metrics, and also demonstrate sustained implementation progress over time by continuing to meet the four metrics across fiscal years.

Recommendation: The Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) should take action to meet the data center closure targets established under DCOI by OMB. (Recommendation 25)

Agency: Environmental Protection Agency
Status: Open

Comments: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking action to implement our recommendation. After the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released the updated Data Center Optimization Initiative policy in June 2019, the agency established a new data center closure target. EPA subsequently reported that it based its three planned closures for fiscal year 2019 on the data center definition applicable while developing its fiscal year 2019 DCOI strategic plan. However, when OMB updated its data center guidance it changed the definition of a data center, and as a result, the three facilities EPA planned to close no longer qualified as data centers. Further, EPA did not have plans to close any additional data centers. While EPA reported to us that it completed the planned closures, the three facilities did not represent what OMB now considers a data center, and so, EPA did not report the closures in its data center inventory update. However, we acknowledge that EPA closed the facilities identified in its April 2019 plan and did not plan to close any data centers that met OMB's new definition, meaning that the agency met its revised fiscal year 2019 goal of zero closures. However, given the short time to evaluate implementation efforts between when OMB released the updated policy in June 2019 and the end of fiscal year 2019, we will continue to monitor EPA's efforts to implement this recommendation through fiscal year 2020.

Recommendation: The Administrator of EPA should take action to meet the data center optimization metric targets established under DCOI by OMB. (Recommendation 26)

Agency: Environmental Protection Agency
Status: Open

Comments: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking action to implement our recommendation. The agency established new data center optimization targets after the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released the updated Data Center Optimization Initiative policy in June 2019. Subsequently, the agency reported meeting its targets for the advanced energy metering and server utilization metrics. However, the agency had not yet met its target for the virtualization metric. We will continue to monitor EPA's progress in implementing this recommendation.

Recommendation: The Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration should take action to meet the data center optimization metric targets established under DCOI by OMB. (Recommendation 28)

Agency: National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Status: Open

Comments: In comments on our report, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) agreed with our recommendation and began taking action to implement it. After the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released the updated Data Center Optimization Initiative policy in June 2019, the agency established new data center optimization targets. The agency subsequently reported meeting its targets for the virtualization, advanced energy metering, and server utilization metrics. However, given the short time to evaluate implementation efforts between when OMB released the updated policy in June 2019 and the end of fiscal year 2019, we will continue to monitor NASA's efforts to implement this recommendation through fiscal year 2020.

Recommendation: The Director of the National Science Foundation should take action to meet the data center optimization metric targets established under DCOI by OMB. (Recommendation 29)

Agency: National Science Foundation
Status: Open

Comments: The National Science Foundation (NSF) is taking action to implement our recommendation. After the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released the updated Data Center Optimization Initiative policy in June 2019, the agency established new data center optimization targets. Subsequently, the agency reported meeting its targets for the virtualization, advanced energy metering, and server utilization metrics. However, given the short time to evaluate implementation efforts between when OMB released the updated policy in June 2019 and the end of fiscal year 2019, we will continue to monitor NSF's efforts to implement this recommendation through fiscal year 2020.

Recommendation: The Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission should take action to meet the data center optimization metric targets established under DCOI by OMB. (Recommendation 30)

Agency: Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Status: Open

Comments: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is taking action to implement our recommendation. After the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released the updated Data Center Optimization Initiative policy in June 2019, the agency established new data center optimization targets. The agency subsequently reported meeting its targets for the virtualization, advanced energy metering, and server utilization metrics. However, given the short time to evaluate implementation efforts between when OMB released the updated policy in June 2019 and the end of fiscal year 2019, we will continue to monitor NRC's efforts to implement this recommendation through fiscal year 2020.

Recommendation: The Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) should take action to meet the data center-related cost savings established under DCOI by OMB. (Recommendation 31)

Agency: Office of Personnel Management
Status: Open

Comments: In comments on our report, The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) agreed with our recommendation and began taking action to implement it. After the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released the updated Data Center Optimization Initiative policy in June 2019, the agency established a new data center-related cost savings target. Subsequently, the agency reported meeting its fiscal year 2019 target of $7.65 million and planned to save an additional $7.65 million in fiscal year 2020. However, given the short time to evaluate implementation efforts between when OMB released the updated policy in June 2019 and the end of fiscal year 2019, we will continue to monitor OPM's progress in implementing this recommendation through fiscal year 2020.

Recommendation: The Director of OPM should take action to meet the data center optimization metric targets established under DCOI by OMB. (Recommendation 32)

Agency: Office of Personnel Management
Status: Open

Comments: In comments on our report, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) agreed with our recommendation and began taking action to implement it. After the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released the updated Data Center Optimization Initiative policy in June 2019, the agency established new data center optimization targets. The agency subsequently reported meeting its targets for the virtualization and server utilization metrics. However, it had not met its target for advanced energy metering. We will continue to monitor OPM's progress in implementing this recommendation.

Recommendation: The Administrator of the Small Business Administration should take action to meet the data center optimization metric targets established under DCOI by OMB. (Recommendation 33)

Agency: Small Business Administration
Status: Open

Comments: In comments on our report, the Small Business Administration (SBA) agreed with our recommendation and began taking action to implement it. After the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released the updated Data Center Optimization Initiative policy in June 2019, the agency established new data center optimization targets. Subsequently, the agency reported meeting its target for server utilization. However, the agency had not yet met its targets for the advanced energy metering and virtualization metrics. We will continue to monitor SBA's progress in implementing this recommendation.

Recommendation: The Commissioner of the Social Security Administration (SSA) should take action to meet the data center-related cost savings established under DCOI by OMB. (Recommendation 34)

Agency: Social Security Administration
Status: Open

Comments: In comments on our report, the Social Security Administration (SSA) agreed with our recommendation and began taking action to implement it. After the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released the updated Data Center Optimization Initiative policy in June 2019, the agency established a new data center-related cost savings target. The agency subsequently reported meeting its fiscal year 2019 cost savings target of $0. However, given the short time to evaluate implementation efforts between when OMB released the updated policy in June 2019 and the end of fiscal year 2019, we will continue to monitor SSA's efforts to implement this recommendation through fiscal year 2020.

Recommendation: The Commissioner of SSA should take action to meet the data center optimization metric targets established under DCOI by OMB. (Recommendation 35)

Agency: Social Security Administration
Status: Open

Comments: In comments on our report, the Social Security Administration (SSA) agreed with our recommendation and began taking action to implement it. After the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released the updated Data Center Optimization Initiative policy in June 2019, the agency established new data center optimization targets. Subsequently, the agency reported meeting its targets for the virtualization, advanced energy metering, and server utilization metrics. However, given the short time to evaluate implementation efforts between when OMB released the updated policy in June 2019 and the end of fiscal year 2019, we will continue to monitor SSA's efforts to implement this recommendation through fiscal year 2020.

Recommendation: The Secretary of Agriculture should amend its analysis of selected data centers to address key elements of a cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analysis as defined by OMB Circular A-94 and relevant agency guidance. (Recommendation 1)

Agency: Department of Agriculture
Status: Open

Comments: In March 2020, the Department of Agriculture asserted that it has implemented the recommendation but has not provided sufficient evidence to support its assertion.

Recommendation: When amending its analysis of the selected data centers, the Secretary of Agriculture should report on the assessment of each facility's protective measures, as outlined by the Interagency Security Committee guidance. (Recommendation 2)

Agency: Department of Agriculture
Status: Open

Comments: In March 2020, the Department of Agriculture asserted that it has implemented the recommendation but has not provided sufficient evidence to support its assertion.

Recommendation: When amending its analysis of the selected data centers, the Secretary of Agriculture should report on an analysis of the information security controls for each data center, in order to evaluate the data center's information security capabilities. (Recommendation 3)

Agency: Department of Agriculture
Status: Open

Comments: In March 2020, the Department of Agriculture asserted that it has implemented the recommendation but has not provided sufficient evidence to support its assertion.

Recommendation: When amending its analysis of the selected data centers, the Secretary of Agriculture should report on each data center's demonstrated history of restoring continuity of operation functions in the event of a service disruption. (Recommendation 4)

Agency: Department of Agriculture
Status: Open

Comments: In March 2020, the Department of Agriculture asserted that it has implemented the recommendation but has not provided sufficient evidence to support its assertion.

Recommendation: To better ensure that agencies complete important DCOI planning documentation and that the initiative improves governmental efficiency and achieves intended cost savings, the Director of OMB should direct the Federal chief information officer to formally document a requirement for agencies to include plans, as part of existing OMB reporting mechanisms, to implement automated monitoring tools at their agency-owned data centers.

Agency: Executive Office of the President: Office of Management and Budget
Status: Open

Comments: In June 2019, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued an updated Data Center Optimization Initiative (DCOI) policy that encouraged federal agencies to implement automated monitoring tools at agency-owned data centers using more than 100 kilowatt hours of electricity. However, the updated policy did not require agencies to document a plan for implementing the tools as we recommended. As of January 2020, we have not received further update from OMB and the recommended action has not yet been taken. We will continue to monitor the status of this recommendation.

Recommendation: The Secretaries of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Homeland Security, Energy, HHS, Interior, Labor, State, Transportation, Treasury, and VA; the Attorney General of the United States; the Administrators of EPA, GSA, and SBA; the Director of OPM; and the Chairman of NRC should take action to, within existing OMB reporting mechanisms, complete plans describing how the agency will achieve OMB's requirement to implement automated monitoring tools at all agency-owned data centers by the end of fiscal year 2018.

Agency: Department of Commerce
Status: Open

Comments: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) agreed with our recommendation and described planned actions to address it. Specifically, the department noted that, as part of its effort to consolidate, define, and establish a plan to deploy an enterprise-wide automated monitoring tool, it had identified two component agencies that would offer a data center infrastructure management tool as a service. The department added that this approach would allow it to monitor and report cost savings and avoidances more efficiently. In November 2019, Commerce reported that it had 73 agency-owned data centers that the department planned to keep open. However, of those 73, only seven had implemented the required advanced monitoring tools. As of January 2020, we have not received a more recent update from the department about how it will meet the Data Center Optimization Initiative requirement to implement monitoring tools at the remaining 66 of its agency-owned data centers. We will continue to monitor the status of this recommendation.

Recommendation: The Secretaries of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Homeland Security, Energy, HHS, Interior, Labor, State, Transportation, Treasury, and VA; the Attorney General of the United States; the Administrators of EPA, GSA, and SBA; the Director of OPM; and the Chairman of NRC should take action to, within existing OMB reporting mechanisms, complete plans describing how the agency will achieve OMB's requirement to implement automated monitoring tools at all agency-owned data centers by the end of fiscal year 2018.

Agency: Department of Energy
Status: Open

Comments: The Department of Energy (Energy) concurred with our recommendation and described planned actions to implement it. Specifically, the department stated that it established plans to implement automated monitoring tools at its 78 department-owned tiered data centers and planned to evaluate whether its 68 department-owned non-tiered data centers should be consolidated or closed. In November 2017 correspondence to GAO, the department further stated that, for the non-tiered centers projected to remain open, it expected to complete plans for automated server utilization by September 30, 2019. In November 2019, Energy reported that it had 92 agency-owned data centers that the department planned to keep open, of which the Office of Management and Budget exempted three from optimization requirements by. However, of the remaining 89 data centers, only 37 had implemented the advanced monitoring tools. As of January 2020, we have not received a more recent update from the department about how it will meet the Data Center Optimization Initiative requirement to implement monitoring tools at the remaining 52 agency-owned data centers. We will continue to monitor the status of this recommendation.

Recommendation: The Secretaries of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Homeland Security, Energy, HHS, Interior, Labor, State, Transportation, Treasury, and VA; the Attorney General of the United States; the Administrators of EPA, GSA, and SBA; the Director of OPM; and the Chairman of NRC should take action to, within existing OMB reporting mechanisms, complete plans describing how the agency will achieve OMB's requirement to implement automated monitoring tools at all agency-owned data centers by the end of fiscal year 2018.

Agency: Department of Health and Human Services
Status: Open

Comments: The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) concurred with our recommendation and described planned actions to implement it. Specifically, the department stated that HHS would direct its operating and staff divisions to acquire and install automated monitoring tools in all agency-owned data centers by the close of fiscal year 2018. In November 2019, HHS reported that it had 35 agency-owned data centers that the department planned to keep open. Of those 35, 22 had implemented the advanced monitoring tools. As of January 2020, we have not received a more recent update from the department about how it will meet the Data Center Optimization Initiative requirement to implement monitoring tools at the remaining 12 of its agency-owned data centers. We will continue to monitor the status of this recommendation.

Recommendation: The Secretaries of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Homeland Security, Energy, HHS, Interior, Labor, State, Transportation, Treasury, and VA; the Attorney General of the United States; the Administrators of EPA, GSA, and SBA; the Director of OPM; and the Chairman of NRC should take action to, within existing OMB reporting mechanisms, complete plans describing how the agency will achieve OMB's requirement to implement automated monitoring tools at all agency-owned data centers by the end of fiscal year 2018.

Agency: Department of the Interior
Status: Open

Comments: The Department of the Interior (Interior) partially concurred with our recommendation. Specifically, the department stated that it was committed to completing its plan on schedule, but that its ability to meet the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) requirement to implement automated monitoring tools at all department-owned data centers by the end of fiscal year 2018 depended on many factors and variables, including the availability of funding and other resources. Nevertheless, in October 2017 correspondence to GAO, the department stated that it expected to complete planning for the deployment of automated monitoring in agency-owned data centers by September 30, 2018 and to complete implementation by December 31,2023. The letter noted that Interior would prioritize implementation at major tiered data centers, with implementation at other data centers as budgets permitted. In November 2019, Interior reported that it had 55 agency-owned data centers that the department planned to keep open, one of which OMB exempted from optimization requirements. However, of the remaining 54 data centers, only 17 had implemented the advanced monitoring tools. As of January 2020, we have not received a more recent update from the department about how it will meet the Data Center Optimization Initiative requirement to implement monitoring tools at the remaining 37 agency-owned data centers. We will continue to monitor the status of this recommendation.

Recommendation: The Secretaries of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Homeland Security, Energy, HHS, Interior, Labor, State, Transportation, Treasury, and VA; the Attorney General of the United States; the Administrators of EPA, GSA, and SBA; the Director of OPM; and the Chairman of NRC should take action to, within existing OMB reporting mechanisms, complete plans describing how the agency will achieve OMB's requirement to implement automated monitoring tools at all agency-owned data centers by the end of fiscal year 2018.

Agency: Department of Transportation
Status: Open

Comments: The Department of Transportation (Transportation) agreed with our recommendation and, in November 2017 correspondence to GAO, described planned actions to implement it. Specifically, the department stated that its Office of the Chief Information Officer would create a plan of action to address the multi-layer requirements applicable to the department. Transportation expected to develop a plan of action that addressed the Office of Management and Budget's August 2016 Data Center Optimization Initiative (DCOI) guidance memorandum. The department expected to implement its plan by September 30, 2018. In November 2019, Transportation reported that it had 17 agency-owned data centers that the department planned to keep open. However, of those 17 data centers, only one had implemented the advanced monitoring tools. As of January 2020, we have not received a more recent update from the department about how it will meet the Data Center Optimization Initiative requirement to implement monitoring tools at the remaining 17 agency-owned data centers. We will continue to monitor the status of this recommendation.

Recommendation: The Secretaries of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Homeland Security, Energy, HHS, Interior, Labor, State, Transportation, Treasury, and VA; the Attorney General of the United States; the Administrators of EPA, GSA, and SBA; the Director of OPM; and the Chairman of NRC should take action to, within existing OMB reporting mechanisms, complete plans describing how the agency will achieve OMB's requirement to implement automated monitoring tools at all agency-owned data centers by the end of fiscal year 2018.

Agency: Department of the Treasury
Status: Open

Comments: In November 2019, the Department of the Treasury reported that it had 16 agency-owned data centers that the department planned to keep open. However, of those 16 data centers, only four had implemented the advanced monitoring tools. As of January 2020, we have not received a more recent update from the department about how it will meet the Data Center Optimization Initiative requirement to implement monitoring tools at the remaining 12 agency-owned data centers. We will continue to monitor the status of this recommendation.

Recommendation: The Secretaries of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Homeland Security, Energy, HHS, Interior, Labor, State, Transportation, Treasury, and VA; the Attorney General of the United States; the Administrators of EPA, GSA, and SBA; the Director of OPM; and the Chairman of NRC should take action to, within existing OMB reporting mechanisms, complete plans describing how the agency will achieve OMB's requirement to implement automated monitoring tools at all agency-owned data centers by the end of fiscal year 2018.

Agency: Department of Veterans Affairs
Status: Open

Comments: The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) agreed with our recommendation, and in November 2017 correspondence to GAO, described completed and planned actions to address it. Specifically, the department stated that it's Office of Information and Technology (OI&T) was developing a plan to fully comply with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) requirements to implement automated monitoring tools at all agency-owned data centers by the end of fiscal year 2018. According to the department, OI&T had taken a series of actions such as determining a strategy to meet OMB reporting requirements and reviewing the existing automated tools in use at VA. As part of its planning effort, OI&T was analyzing its data centers, collecting data through a web-based portal and automated tools, and implementing change management processes to manage IT assets in VA data centers. According to the department, OI&T expected to complete a written comprehensive plan by November?30, 2017. In May 2018, VA indicated that it had engaged OMB in discussions regarding how to classify its data centers and that the comprehensive plan would be completed by October 2018. In November 2019, VA reported that it had 279 agency-owned data centers that the department planned to keep open, of which OMB exempted 67 from optimization requirements and another 204 were pending OMB review to determine whether they would also be exempt. However, of the remaining eight data centers, none had implemented the advanced monitoring tools. As of January 2020, we have not received a more recent update from the department about how it will meet the Data Center Optimization Initiative requirement to implement monitoring tools at the remaining eight agency-owned data centers. We will continue to monitor the status of this recommendation.

Recommendation: The Secretaries of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Homeland Security, Energy, HHS, Interior, Labor, State, Transportation, Treasury, and VA; the Attorney General of the United States; the Administrators of EPA, GSA, and SBA; the Director of OPM; and the Chairman of NRC should take action to, within existing OMB reporting mechanisms, complete plans describing how the agency will achieve OMB's requirement to implement automated monitoring tools at all agency-owned data centers by the end of fiscal year 2018.

Agency: Department of State
Status: Open

Comments: The Department of State agreed with our recommendation and described completed and planned actions to address it. Specifically, the department stated that it performed an analysis of tools, including shared services and commercial-off-the-shelf products. The department also stated that it was developing an acquisition strategy based on its research and planned to pursue a commercially available product. However, the department noted that budgetary constraints may delay the acquisition until fiscal year 2019 or later. In October 2019, staff from State's Office of the Chief Information Officer reported that 3,897 of the department's 4,137 servers (94.2 percent) had monitoring tools installed. In January 2020, the staff indicated that the department planned to continue installing tools as funds were available, with the goal of completing installation by the end of fiscal year 2020. We will continue to monitor the status of this recommendation.

Recommendation: The Secretaries of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Homeland Security, Energy, HHS, Interior, Labor, State, Transportation, Treasury, and VA; the Attorney General of the United States; the Administrators of EPA, GSA, and SBA; the Director of OPM; and the Chairman of NRC should take action to, within existing OMB reporting mechanisms, complete plans describing how the agency will achieve OMB's requirement to implement automated monitoring tools at all agency-owned data centers by the end of fiscal year 2018.

Agency: Environmental Protection Agency
Status: Open

Comments: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) described planned actions to address our recommendation. Specifically, the agency detailed plans to address OMB's requirements, such as leveraging EPA's current investment in a network monitoring tool and the intent to procure and deploy a data center infrastructure management tool by the end of fiscal year 2018. However, in December 2018, EPA determined it will leverage its current network monitoring tool for server utilization monitoring. The agency expects to have most data center servers monitored by the end of CY 2019. Once servers are monitored, the agency said that it will follow the most current OMB guidance to report required metrics. In November 2019, EPA reported that it had four agency-owned data centers that the agency planned to keep open. However, of those four data centers, one had implemented the advanced monitoring tools. As of January 2020, we have not received a more recent update from the agency about how it will meet the Data Center Optimization Initiative requirement to implement monitoring tools at the remaining three agency-owned data centers. We will continue to monitor the status of this recommendation.

Recommendation: The Secretaries of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Homeland Security, Energy, HHS, Interior, Labor, State, Transportation, Treasury, and VA; the Attorney General of the United States; the Administrators of EPA, GSA, and SBA; the Director of OPM; and the Chairman of NRC should take action to, within existing OMB reporting mechanisms, complete plans describing how the agency will achieve OMB's requirement to implement automated monitoring tools at all agency-owned data centers by the end of fiscal year 2018.

Agency: Office of Personnel Management
Status: Open

Comments: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) stated that it partially concurred with our recommendation and described plans to address it. Specifically, the agency stated that it plans to consolidate its remaining data centers into two main locations by the end of fiscal year 2018. OPM further stated that this consolidation will obviate the need to implement automated monitoring tools at the data centers that are closing. Finally, the agency noted that it is implementing automated monitoring tools at the designated core data centers. In November 2019, OPM reported that it had two agency-owned data centers that the agency planned to keep open. However, of those two data centers, only one had implemented the advanced monitoring tools. As of January 2020, we have not received a more recent update from the agency about how it will meet the Data Center Optimization Initiative requirement to implement monitoring tools at the remaining agency-owned data center. We will continue to monitor the status of this recommendation.

Recommendation: To help the department achieve the benefits anticipated from JIE, the Secretary should direct the DOD CIO and other entities, as appropriate, to develop a reliable JIE cost estimate and baseline, consistent with the best practices described in this report.

Agency: Department of Defense
Status: Open

Comments: DOD partially concurred with our recommendation; however, it has not yet implemented it. In its written response to our draft report, DOD stated that its partial concurrence was due to the language we used to introduce the recommendations. Specifically, we stated that the Secretary of Defense should direct the appropriate entities to implement the recommendations. In its comments, DOD stated that the DOD Chief Information Officer (CIO) was responsible for implementing JIE, and referred to a May 2013 memo from the Deputy Secretary of Defense directing DOD components to participate in and implement JIE under the direction of the DOD CIO. In response to DOD's comments, we revised the language used to introduce our recommendations. Specifically, we revised the language to call for the Secretary to direct the DOD CIO and other entities, as appropriate, to take the recommended actions. Since we made our recommendation, the department approved a cost baseline for one of the components of JIE, the Joint Regional Security Stacks (JRSS), and developed a cost estimate for another component, the Enterprise Collaboration and Productivity Services (ECAPS) program. The ECAPS cost estimate was substantially consistent with the practices described in the report. However, the JRSS cost estimate was not developed consistent with the best practices described in the report. Specifically, the department did not demonstrate that the cost estimate was well documented, comprehensive, accurate, and credible. In May 2019, officials in the Office of the DOD CIO stated that it would provide documentation to address the gaps in the JRSS cost estimate; however, as of July 2019, DOD had not provided the documentation. The officials also stated that planning for JIE components other than JRSS and ECAPS had not begun; therefore, there were no other JIE component cost estimates. We will continue to monitor the department's efforts to implement this recommendation.

Recommendation: To help the department achieve the benefits anticipated from JIE, the Secretary should direct the DOD CIO and other entities, as appropriate, to develop a JIE schedule management plan and reliable schedule, consistent with practices described in this report.

Agency: Department of Defense
Status: Open

Comments: DOD partially concurred with our recommendation; however, it has not yet implemented it. In its written response to our draft report, DOD stated that its partial concurrence was due to the language we used to introduce the recommendations. Specifically, we stated that the Secretary of Defense should direct the appropriate entities to implement the recommendations. In its comments DOD stated that the DOD Chief Information Officer (CIO) is responsible for implementing JIE, and referred to a May 2013 memo from the Deputy Secretary of Defense directing DOD components to participate in and implement JIE under the direction of the DOD CIO. In response to DOD's comments we revised the language used to introduce our recommendations. Specifically, we revised the language to call for the Secretary to direct the DOD CIO and other entities, as appropriate, to take the recommended actions. In March 2017, the JIE Executive Committee approved a schedule baseline for the Non-secure Internet Protocol Router network part of the Joint Regional Security Stacks (JRSS) component; however, the schedule was not consistent with the practices described in our report. In addition, In May 2019, officials in the Office of the DOD CIO stated that another JIE initiative, the Enterprise Collaboration and Productivity Services program, had an approved baseline schedule. However, as of July 2019, DOD had not provided the schedule.

Recommendation: To help the department achieve the benefits anticipated from JIE, the Secretary should direct the DOD CIO and other entities, as appropriate, to develop a JRSS schedule management plan and reliable JRSS schedule and schedule baseline, consistent with practices described in this report.

Agency: Department of Defense
Status: Open

Comments: DOD partially concurred with our recommendation; however, it has not implemented it. In its written response to our draft report, DOD stated that its partial concurrence was due to the language we used to introduce the recommendations. Specifically, we stated that the Secretary of Defense should direct the appropriate entities to implement the recommendations. In its comments DOD stated that the DOD Chief Information Officer (CIO) is responsible for implementing JIE, and referred to a May 2013 memo from the Deputy Secretary of Defense directing DOD components to participate in and implement JIE under the direction of the DOD CIO. In response to DOD's comments we revised the language used to introduce our recommendations. Specifically, we revised the language to call for the Secretary to direct the DOD CIO and other entities, as appropriate, to take the recommended actions. In March 2017, the JIE Executive Committee approved a schedule baseline for the Non-secure Internet Protocol Router network component of JRSS; however, the schedule was not consistent with the practices described in our report. In May 2019, officials in the Office of the DOD CIO said that the JRSS schedule had not been re-baselined and the department had not developed a schedule management plan. We will continue to monitor the department's efforts to implement the recommendation.

Recommendation: To help the department achieve the benefits anticipated from JIE, the Secretary should direct the DOD CIO and other entities, as appropriate, to complete an assessment to determine the number of staff and the specific skills and abilities needed to effectively achieve JIE, consistent with the workforce planning practices described in this report.

Agency: Department of Defense
Status: Open

Comments: DOD partially concurred with our recommendation and has taken steps to implement it; however, more needs to be done. In its written response to our draft report, DOD stated that its partial concurrence was due to the language we used to introduce the recommendations. Specifically, we stated that the Secretary of Defense should direct the appropriate entities to implement the recommendations. In its comments, DOD stated that the DOD Chief Information Officer (CIO) is responsible for implementing the Joint Information Environment (JIE), and referred to a May 2013 memo from the Deputy Secretary of Defense directing DOD components to participate in and implement JIE under the direction of the DOD CIO. In response to DOD's comments, we revised the language used to introduce our recommendations. Specifically, we revised the language to call for the Secretary to direct the DOD CIO and other entities, as appropriate, to take the recommended actions. Since we made our recommendation, the department has developed an inventory of cybersecurity knowledge and skills of existing staff. Specifically, we reported in our June 2018 report Cybersecurity Workforce: Agencies Need to Improve Baseline Assessments and Procedures for Coding Positions (GAO-18-466) that the department had developed an assessment that included the percentage of cybersecurity personnel holding certifications and the level of preparedness of personnel without existing credentials to take certification exams. In August 2018, the office of the DOD CIO stated that the department planned to identify work roles of critical need and establish gap assessment and mitigation strategies by April 2019. However, as of July 2019, the department had not provided an update on the status of its efforts to address the recommendation.

Recommendation: To help the department achieve the benefits anticipated from JIE, the Secretary should direct the DOD CIO and other entities, as appropriate, to develop a strategy for conducting JIE security assessments that describes the resources needed to execute the strategy, responsible organizations, and a schedule to complete the assessments.

Agency: Department of Defense
Status: Open

Comments: DOD partially concurred with our recommendation; however, as of August 2018, it has not provided evidence that it has addressed it. In its written response to our draft report, DOD stated that its partial concurrence was due to the language we used to introduce the recommendations. Specifically, we stated that the Secretary of Defense should direct the appropriate entities to implement the recommendations. In its comments, DOD stated that the DOD Chief Information Officer (CIO) is responsible for implementing the Joint Information Environment (JIE), and referred to a May 2013 memo from the Deputy Secretary of Defense directing DOD components to participate in and implement JIE under the direction of the DOD CIO. In response to DOD's comments, we revised the language used to introduce our recommendations. Specifically, we revised the language to call for the Secretary to direct the DOD CIO and other entities, as appropriate, to take the recommended actions. In May 2019, the office of the DOD CIO stated that it had developed a schedule to complete JIE security assessments. However, as of July 2019, the office had not provided the schedule or demonstrated that it has a strategy for conducting JIE security assessments that includes the rest of the elements of our recommendation.

Recommendation: To help the department achieve the benefits anticipated from JIE, the Secretary should direct the DOD CIO and other entities, as appropriate, to develop a reliable Joint Regional Security Stacks (JRSS) cost estimate and baseline, consistent with practices described in this report.

Agency: Department of Defense
Status: Open

Comments: DOD partially concurred with our recommendation; however it has not fully implemented it. In its written response to our draft report, DOD stated that its partial concurrence was due to the language we used to introduce the recommendations. Specifically, we stated that the Secretary of Defense should direct the appropriate entities to implement the recommendations. In its comments, DOD stated that the DOD Chief Information Officer (CIO) is responsible for implementing JIE, and referred to a May 2013 memo from the Deputy Secretary of Defense directing DOD components to participate in and implement JIE under the direction of the DOD CIO. In response to DOD's comments, we revised the language used to introduce our recommendations. Specifically, we revised the language to call for the Secretary to direct the DOD CIO and other entities, as appropriate, to take the recommended actions. Since we made our recommendation, in April 2017, the JRSS program office documented the methodology, ground rules and assumptions, among other things, used to develop the cost estimate we reviewed in our report, and the JIE Executive Committee established the estimate as its JRSS cost baseline. However, the cost estimate documentation was not sufficient to address our recommendation. Specifically, it did not demonstrate that the cost estimate was well documented, comprehensive, accurate and credible. In May 2019, officials in the Office of the DOD CIO stated that it would provide documentation to address the gaps. However, as of July 2019, DOD had not provided the documentation.

Recommendation: To improve the department's IT savings reinvestment plans, the Secretary of Agriculture should direct the CIO to ensure that the department's integrated data collection submission to OMB includes, for all reported initiatives, complete plans to reinvest any resulting cost savings and avoidances from OMB-directed IT reform-related efforts.

Agency: Department of Agriculture
Status: Open

Comments: The Department of Agriculture agreed with our recommendation and has taken initial steps to implement it. Specifically, as of May 2020, the department's integrated data collection submission to the Office of Management and Budget included reinvestment plans for 37 of 68 reported cost savings and avoidance initiatives. However, the department reported about $122.8 million in cost savings and avoidances in the 31 initiatives that did not include plans regarding how these savings would be reinvested. The department expects to provide an update in June 2020. We will continue to evaluate the department's progress in implementing this recommendation.

Recommendation: To improve the department's IT savings reinvestment plans, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development should direct the CIO to ensure that the department's integrated data collection submission to OMB includes, for all reported initiatives, complete plans to reinvest any resulting cost savings and avoidances from OMB-directed IT reform-related efforts.

Agency: Department of Housing and Urban Development
Status: Open

Comments: The Department of Housing and Urban Development agreed with, and has taken initial steps to implement, our recommendation. Specifically, as of May 2020, the department's integrated data collection submission included reinvestment plans for one of the eight cost savings and avoidance initiatives reported. However, the seven remaining initiatives, with savings and avoidances totaling approximately $6.3 million, did not include reinvestment plans. The department expects to provide an update in June 2020. We will continue to evaluate the department's progress in implementing this recommendation.

Recommendation: To improve the department's IT savings reinvestment plans, the Secretary of the Treasury should direct the CIO, as part of any future update to the department's IRM strategic plan or equivalent document, to include information regarding the approach to reinvesting savings from the consolidation of commodity IT resources (including data centers) in accordance with OMB's guidance.

Agency: Department of the Treasury
Status: Open

Comments: The Department of the Treasury has not yet taken steps to implement our recommendation. Specifically, as of May 2020, the department had not yet updated its Information Resources Management (IRM) Strategic Plan to include information regarding the approach to reinvesting savings from the consolidation of commodity IT resources. In addition, in an April 2020 e-mail, the department's GAO liaison stated that Treasury had not yet updated its IRM strategic plan, but might have other, more current, strategic documents that described its reinvestment plans. The department expects to provide an update in June 2020. We will continue to evaluate the department's progress in implementing this recommendation.

Recommendation: To improve the department's IT savings reinvestment plans, the Secretary of the Treasury should direct the CIO to ensure that the department's integrated data collection submission to OMB includes, for all reported initiatives, complete plans to use any resulting cost savings and avoidances from OMB-directed IT reform-related efforts.

Agency: Department of the Treasury
Status: Open

Comments: The Department of the Treasury has not yet taken steps to implement our recommendation. Specifically, as of May 2020, the department's quarterly integrated data collection submission to the Office of Management and Budget did not include reinvestment plans for 15 of the 27 reported cost savings and avoidance initiatives. For example, the department reported about $100 million in cost avoidances from its data center consolidation and optimization initiatives, but did not provide information regarding how it plans to reinvest these avoidances. The department expects to provide an update in June 2020. We will continue to evaluate the department's progress in implementing this recommendation.

Recommendation: To improve the department's IT savings reinvestment plans, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs should direct the CIO to ensure that the department's integrated data collection submission to OMB includes, for all reported initiatives, complete plans to reinvest any resulting cost savings and avoidances from OMB-directed IT reform-related efforts.

Agency: Department of Veterans Affairs
Status: Open

Comments: The Department of Veterans Affairs agreed with, and took initial steps to implement, our recommendation. Specifically, in November 2015, the department's Chief of Staff stated that the Office of Information and Technology was working to establish an office to close monitor program performance, deliver, cost, schedule, return on investment, and total cost of ownership, which will enable reinvestment opportunities. However, as of May 2020, the department's quarterly integrated data collection submission to the Office of Management and Budget did not include reinvestment plans for five of the 10 reported cost savings and avoidance initiatives. For example, the department reported about $229 million in cost avoidances associated with renegotiating an enterprise license agreement with Microsoft, but did not provide information regarding how it plans to reinvest these avoidances. The department expects to provide an update in June 2020. We will continue to evaluate the department's progress in implementing this recommendation.

Recommendation: To improve the agency's IT savings reinvestment plans, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency should direct the CIO to ensure that the agency's integrated data collection submission to OMB includes, for all reported initiatives, complete plans to reinvest any resulting cost savings and avoidances from OMB-directed IT reform-related efforts.

Agency: Environmental Protection Agency
Status: Open

Comments: The Environmental Protection Agency agreed with our recommendation, but has not yet taken steps to implement it. Specifically, as of May 2020, the agency's quarterly integrated data collection submission to the Office of Management and Budget did not include reinvestment plans for any of the 12 reported cost savings and avoidance initiatives. For example, the agency reported about $34.0 million in cost savings and avoidances in 2019 related to data center, commodity IT, and software licensing initiatives, but did not provide information regarding how it plans to reinvest these savings and avoidances. The agency expects to provide an update in June 2020. We will continue to evaluate the agency's progress in implementing this recommendation.

Recommendation: To improve the agency's IT savings reinvestment plans, the Director of the Office of Personnel Management should direct the CIO, as part of any future update to the agency's IRM strategic plan or equivalent document, to include information regarding the approach to reinvesting savings from the consolidation of commodity IT resources (including data centers) in accordance with OMB's guidance.

Agency: Office of Personnel Management
Status: Open

Comments: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) agreed with our recommendation, but has not yet taken action to implement it. Specifically, in November 2015, OPM's Acting Director stated that information regarding the approach to reinvesting savings from the consolidation of commodity IT resources (including data centers) would be included in future updates to OPM's Strategic IT Plan. In August 2019, OPM's GAO liaison stated that the agency intended to update its Strategic IT Plan in fiscal year 2020 and intended to include reinvestment language as part of the update. However, as of May 2020, the agency had not yet updated its strategic plan to include this information. The agency expects to provide an update in June 2020. We will continue to evaluate the OPM's progress in implementing this recommendation.

Recommendation: To help ensure the success of FDA's modernization efforts, the Commissioner of FDA should direct the CIO to, in completing the assessment of Mission Accomplishments and Regulatory Compliance Services (MARCS), develop an integrated master schedule (IMS) that (1) identifies which legacy systems will be replaced and when; (2) identifies all current and future tasks to be performed by contractors and FDA; and (3) defines and incorporates information reflecting resources and critical dependencies.

Agency: Department of Health and Human Services: Food and Drug Administration
Status: Open

Comments: In 2018, we confirmed that FDA, in response to our recommendation, began efforts to identify which legacy systems will be replaced. FDA also developed an IMS for fiscal year (FY) 2017 and 2018 that identifies current and future tasks to be performed by contractors and FDA. However, FDA's IMS for FY 2017 and 2018 does not fully and clearly define resources. For example, although the FY 2017 IMS includes 265 names, roles, and teams, only 16 percent of activities have resource assignments. Further, FDA's fiscal year 2018 IMS does not fully define critical dependencies. For example, there are 14 activities and milestones with finish dates that are not properly tied to logic. Specifically, the finish dates of the 14 activities are not clearly tied to succeeding activities in the schedule. We contacted FDA in September and December 2019 and January 2020 for an update on the actions taken to implement the recommendation, but have not received a response. We will update the recommendation when additional information is obtained.