A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) proposal to begin consolidation of chemical, radiological, nuclear and explosives (CBRNE) functions this month does not reflect recommendations made by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) in August 2016.
Congress directed DHS to review its weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs, including consolidation of CBRNE functions, in 2013. DHS has notified Congress that CBRNE consolidation will begin this month.
The CBRNE consolidation plan does not, however, account for recommendations of the 2016 GAO report. GAO found that DHS failed to consider key factors that could impact organizational consolidation. The review also found that DHS hadn’t conducted cost-benefit comparisons.
“Further, DHS conducted limited external stakeholder outreach, thus the proposal may not sufficiently account for stakeholder concerns,” GAO reported. “Attention to these key areas, identified from GAO’s analysis of previous organizational consolidations, would help provide DHS, Congress and other stakeholders, such as DHS components, with assurance that important aspects of effective organizational changes are addressed as part of the agency’s CBRNE reorganization decision-making process.”
However, DHS did not agree with GAO’s 2016 recommendations. The GAO review overlooked internal discussions and discussions with Congress about potential issues, DHS countered. DHS also argued that because the decision to consolidate CBRNE functions had already been made, additional analysis would be redundant.
GAO also recommended in 2016 that DHS consult previous GAO guidance on mergers and organizational transformations. DHS concurred with that recommendation in October, but it hasn’t been implemented.
“GAO will monitor DHS’s implementation of the key practices which will help to ensure that lessons learned from other organizations are considered during the consolidation effort,” the recent GAO report concluded.