GAO: Smart-card use growing

Despite a number of discontinued pilot programs, smart-card use in government is growing, according to a recent Government Accountability Office report.

Of 52 agency smart-card projects identified in GAO's January 2003 review, 28 have been canceled or folded into other projects. But as of June 2004, at least 12 large-scale smart-card projects that GAO first identified in 2003 are still under way.

The Defense Department's Common Access Card program is issuing about 3.5 million cards, and the Transportation Security Administration's Transportation Worker Identification Credential program will supply about 6 million cards.