DOD Blamed For Duplicative IT Systems

The U.S. Comptroller Generation has identified two Department of Defense (DOD) IT programs that signify a duplication of federal IT resources and programs, a problem the Obama administration is trying to clear up as a cost-savings measure.

The money the DOD is spending on its Military Health System (MHS) and a plan to develop an electronic health record system does not justify the work being done on the projects, said U.S. Comptroller Gene Dodaro in recent testimony before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs. The Government Accountability Office published the testimony in a report this week.

Costs for the DOD MHS more than doubled in nine years--from $19 billion in fiscal-year 2001 to $49 billion in 2010--and are expected to increase even more, to $62 billion by 2015, Dodaro said.

Moreover, the project is plagued by decentralized, nebulous management--responsibilities for the system are distributed among several DOD organizations without central command authority nor a single person who holds accountability for it.