DHS procurement chief needs more clout: GAO

The chief procurement officer of the Homeland Security Department needs more authority to do proper oversight, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office.

The CPO has made progress in conducting reviews of the nine component acquisition offices at the department, GAO said. The central office has added seven staff members in the last year to assist with that oversight, bringing the total assigned to those duties to nine.

However, most of the department's nine acquisition offices did not conduct their annual reviews in 2006 as required, and the chief procurement officer did not check on those components to see if they have adequately conducted those reviews, GAO said.

"The CPO, who is held accountable for departmentwide management and oversight of the acquisition function, lacks sufficient authority to ensure components take corrective actions based on oversight review recommendations," GAO concluded.