GAO Reports on Gov't Waste - Targets N. Border, Food Safety, CBP, Hazmats, Etc.

Congress asked GAO to conduct this work and to report annually on its findings to inform government policymakers as they address the rapidly building fiscal pressures facing the federal government.

Northern Border Inter-Agency Security Forums Overlap

GAO reported on overlap and duplicating efforts of interagency forums securing the Northern Border, especially the Integrated Border Enforcement Team (IBET) and the Border Enforcement Security Task Force (BEST). IBET members focus on national security, organized crime, and other criminal activity between ports of entry. BEST members work to identify, disrupt, and dismantle organizations seeking to exploit border vulnerabilities.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the U.S. Coast Guard, along with Canadian law enforcement partners participate in 24 IBETs (which are part of 15 regions across the northern border) and 3 BESTs (led by Immigration and Customs Enforcement) that have been established across the northern border. According to GAO, there are often duplicated efforts by these two forums, and it suggests that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) oversee elimination of the duplication.

According to GAO, DHS does intend to outline a vision for interagency coordination with an emphasis on partnerships, including the Canadian government, through its northern border strategy scheduled to be issued in calendar year 2011.

Oversight of Food Safety Is Fragmented, Ineffective, Inefficient

GAO states that the fragmented federal oversight of food safety has caused inconsistent oversight, ineffective coordination, and inefficient use of resources. Fifteen federal agencies collectively administer at least 30 food related laws. Budget obligations for the two primary food safety agencies—the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS)—totaled over $1.6 billion in fiscal year 2009.

The report uses the example of eggs to highlight food safety fragmentation. FDA is generally responsible for ensuring that shell eggs are safe, wholesome, and properly labeled. FSIS is responsible for the safety of eggs processed into egg products. The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) sets quality and grade standards for eggs. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) helps ensure the health of the young chicks that are supplied to egg farms, while FDA oversees the safety of the feed they eat.

One of GAO’s examples of ineffective food safety oversight is the fact that CBP’s import screening system does not notify FDA’s or FSIS’s systems when imported food shipments arrive at U.S. ports. Without access to time-of-arrival information, FDA and FSIS may not know when shipments that require examinations arrive at the port, which could increase the risk that unsafe food could enter U.S. commerce.

GAO says it has made numerous recommendations over the years to address the fragmented federal oversight of the nation’s food supply, including a government-wide performance plan for food safety and consolidating the work of overlapping agencies.

CBP Has $640M of Unobligated Funds in Customs User Fee Account

GAO explains that CBP collects user fees to recover certain costs incurred for processing, among other things, air and sea passengers; and various private and commercial land, sea, air, and rail carriers and shipments. These fees were created by the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA) and are deposited into the Customs User Fee Account.

GAO discovered that CBP has a $639.4 million unobligated balance in its Customs User Fee Account as a result of excess collections from a temporary fee increase and elimination of North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) country exemptions from January 1, 1994, to September 30, 1997.

Clarifying the availability of unobligated balances in CBP’s Customs User Fee Account could enable Congress to revise the agency’s future appropriations, thereby producing a one-time savings of up to $640 million.

TSA and FMCSA Have Similar HAZMAT Trucking Security Review Programs

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the Department of Transportation (DOT’s) Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) have similar security review programs for hazardous material trucking companies. TSA conducts corporate security reviews - voluntary in-person reviews of a trucking company’s security practices and plans. FMCSA, which has primary responsibility for commercial trucking safety, conducts security contact reviews - mandatory in-person reviews that enforce the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s (PHMSA’s) regulations on hazardous material trucking companies’ security plans.

GAO found that 43% of the 95 questions in a TSA review were either “somewhat similar” or “substantially or entirely similar” to one or more of the questions in an FMCSA review, and almost all (92%) of the 48 questions that comprise an FMCSA review were either “somewhat similar” or “substantially or entirely similar” to one or more of the questions in a TSA review. Furthermore, 71 of the 200 TSA reviews performed from fiscal years 2006 through 2010 by TSA staff on hazardous material trucking companies were conducted on companies that had received an FMCSA review during the same period; of these, 31 were conducted less than 2 years after the FMCSA review.

GAO says that certain steps have been taken to improve the situation, but there is still overlap.

Five DOT Agencies Oversee 100 Separate Transportation Programs

The current federal approach to surface transportation was established in 1956 to build the Interstate Highway System, but has not evolved to reflect current national priorities and concerns. Over the years, in response to changing transportation, environmental, and societal goals, federal surface transportation programs grew in number and complexity to encompass broader goals, more programs, and a variety of program approaches and grant structures.

This has resulted in a fragmented approach in which five DOT agencies with 6,000 employees administer over 100 separate programs with separate funding streams for highways, transit, rail, and safety functions. This fragmentation impedes effective decision making and limits the ability of decision makers to devise comprehensive solutions to complex challenges. For example, the federal government largely lacks mechanisms for aiding projects that span multiple jurisdictions and implementing projects that involve more than one state or local sponsor or multiple transportation modes.

Comptroller General’s statement on the report, dated 03/03/11, available here.