GAO critical of virtual fence work

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Washington Times:

The Department of Homeland Security has "largely defined but has not adequately implemented" controls over a "virtual fence" along the U.S.-Mexico border promised for completion in 2009 and, as a result, the multibillion-dollar project is behind schedule and over budget, a government report says.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO), in a 63-page report released Thursday, said the department had failed to effectively manage the project, known as the Secure Border Initiative Network (SBInet), or give sufficient oversight to its prime contractor -- resulting in costly rework and contributing to SBInet's "well-chronicled history of not delivering promised capabilities and benefits on time and within budget."

The report said that in an effort to deliver SBInet on target and on schedule, Homeland Security officials had relied heavily on the Boeing Co., the prime contractor, from whom they regularly received "incomplete and anomalous" cost information.

As a result, the report said, the department not been able to gain "meaningful and proactive insight into potential cost and schedule performance shortfalls, and thus take corrective actions to avoid shortfalls in the future." The data submitted by Boeing, according to the report, made the SBInet appear better that it actually was.

The report noted that during a 21-month period ending in February, Earned Value Management (EVM) reports submitted by Boeing to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) were not reliable because they contained misleading information, including the use of estimated rather than actual costs for subcontractor work. The report said that without reliable performance data, the true status of the SBInet program was unclear, limiting the department's ability to identify potential cost and schedule shortfalls.

...
I have been skeptical about the effectiveness of a virtual fence even if it were completed on time and under bid. That the contractor and the Department have had trouble getting it to work as planned is even more troubling. It makes you wonder whether a real fence would have been less costly and easier to finish on time.

The Houston Chronicle reports that the administration is preparing to scrap the fence.  Perhaps their mismanagement was an excuse for that.

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