Pentagon's A-76 savings can't be verified

The Defense Department's outsourcing efforts are saving money, but the amount of savings is unclear because of limited cost and savings data, according to a new General Accounting Office report.

In the report, "DoD Competitive Sourcing: Results of A-76 Studies Over the Past Five Years" (GAO-01-20), auditors said they could not accurately verify DoD's claim of saving $290 million since 1995 by opening about 10,000 jobs to commercial competition. By 2005, the Pentagon wants to open more than 200,000 jobs to commercial competition with a goal of saving $11 billion.

Under rules outlined in Office of Management and Budget Circular A-76, a competition between federal employees and a contractor is held before any work is outsourced with the work going to the lowest bidder. About 40 percent of the work competed since 1995 ended up going to contractors, the GAO found.

GAO said it was difficult to calculate precise savings because DoD relied on data collected by its Commercial Activities Management Information System (CAMIS). In the past, GAO has found the cost data collected in the system is "inaccurate and inconsistent" and said that despite some improvements, information for many A-76 studies is still "incomplete."

Randall Yim, deputy undersecretary of Defense for installations, said DoD recognizes the limitations of CAMIS and is currently upgrading the system. However, Yim said, DoD believes the data are accurate enough to show that "savings are substantial and sustained over time."