FBI Voice Privacy

GAO provided a supplement evaluating the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) response to a GAO evaluation of the FBI Voice Privacy Program, specifically: (1) the initial program cost estimate; (2) alleged errors in the GAO evaluation; and (3) GAO compliance with generally accepted auditing standards.

GAO found that FBI alleged that: (1) its initial program costs estimate was $132.4 million, rather than the $79.3 million that GAO reported; (2) the report contained erroneous statements concerning cost estimate revisions and the reasons for increases; and (3) the report did not comply with generally accepted auditing standards. GAO also found that: (1) FBI memoranda and other documentation indicated that $79.3 million was the appropriate tracking point for program cost increases; (2) FBI cited essentially the same reasons for cost increases that GAO cited in its initial report; (3) some of the discrepancies in attribution of cost increases stemmed from differences of opinion regarding the initial cost estimates; (4) it properly gathered and interpreted relevant evidence and did not rely on hearsay, as FBI alleged; and (5) it properly focused its work in response to a congressional request and evaluated the program in terms of history, cost, and status.