Washington, DC - Statement by Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh C. Johnson on DHS’ Progress on GAO High-Risk Priorities:

As Secretary of Homeland Security, management reform continues to be one of my top priorities.

Yesterday, members of my leadership team along with representatives from the Government Accountability Office and the Department’s Inspector General testified before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs to discuss proposed legislation on DHS Management and Acquisition Reform.  During the hearing, both the GAO representatives and the DHS Inspector General testified about the progress the Department has made in improving our acquisition and management processes, many of which address issues on GAO’s “high risk” list.  In the words of Rebecca Gambler of GAO, we have “put the building blocks in place to stay off the high risk list.” Both the DHS Inspector General and GAO agree that we are nearly two-thirds of the way there. 

I want to acknowledge the hard work across the Department that has placed us on the path towards removal from the high risk list. We’ve made significant progress, and although we have more work to do, we are firmly committed to getting there.

Both the IG and the GAO have stated their support for the proposed legislation, which would enact into law many of the improvements we have put in place to provide stronger, more efficient, and mission focused budgeting, programming and acquisition processes. I urge Congress to pass the bills to codify the progress we have made as a Department and to sustain our efforts going forward.