GAO Report Points to Pentagon Waste

Defense Department Home to 8 of 25 Federal Programs Labeled High-Risk

By Christopher Lee

Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 26, 2005; Page A19

The U.S. government's biggest department is also one of the most prone to waste, fraud and abuse, raising concerns about the effectiveness of many of its programs, according to a new report by the Government Accountability Office.

The Department of Defense accounts for eight of the 25 federal programs, functions or offices that appear on the GAO's 2005 "high-risk" list. Two DOD functions -- inventory management and weapon systems acquisition -- have been on the list of problem programs since 1990.