White House

The White House acquired the Resumix computer system to process the flood of resumes of individuals seeking presidential appointments. Resumix appeared to have several advantages over the existing White House system, boasting more modern, less labor-intensive technology as well as potential cost savings. Also, with the large number of resumes expected, it seems unlikely that the existing system could have met the President's needs within the required deadlines. Efforts to meet federal contracting regulations governing sole-source contracting, however, had not been completed as of June 1993--four months after Resumix was leased. Although it was understandable that these were not met before Resumix was leased in February 1993, it would have been better business practice to meet them before the end of the three-month period. GAO found no evidence to support newspaper accounts of problems with the Resumix operations or the possibility of financial ties of key White House personnel with the system's suppliers.

GAO found that: (1) Resumix appears to be an improvement over the existing Office of Presidential Personnel system, since the system uses more modern technology, is less labor-intensive, and has the capability to reduce White House staff costs; (2) White House officials used a sole-source contract to lease Resumix because of the urgent need for the system; (3) efforts to meet sole-source procurement regulations were underway but had not been completed as of June 1993; (4) it is not possible to determine whether Resumix is the most cost-effective system to meet resume processing needs at the White House without competition of interested vendors and a comparison of the cost to update the existing system; and (5) financial statements of the Resumix project manager did not reflect financial interests with Resumix suppliers.