Exempting FAA from Procurement and Personnel Rules

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on its previous work on the need for procurement and personnel reforms at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). GAO noted that: (1) FAA cost and schedule problems have not been due to federal procurement regulations, but rather to technical and managerial factors and the lack of continuity in top management; (2) the FAA modernization program's cost has increased from $12 billion to $37 billion and its implementation schedule has increased from 10 years to over 20 years; (3) FAA actions to improve its acquisition management include increased mission analysis to justify capital expenditures and reengineering efforts to make FAA more business-like; (4) concerns about personnel recruitment and retention regulations are widespread throughout the government and, therefore, personnel reforms are best addressed on a governmentwide rather than an agency-specific basis; and (5) if Congress decides to exempt FAA from federal procurement and personnel regulations, it needs to establish goals for and require evaluation of the new FAA procurement system prior to approval of new FAA personnel authority.