Unsecured spending

Monday, Nov. 24, 2008 | 2:08 a.m.

Homeland Security officials have failed to properly oversee the purchase of billions of dollars in equipment, an audit released last week found.

The Government Accountability Office found officials failed to control the costs, schedules or performance of 45 of 48 major projects costing $50 million or more.

As a result, 14 of those projects had cost overruns, delays or failures to perform. The GAO found some of the failures and overruns “substantial.”

The programs in question include border security measures and the Coast Guard’s troubled efforts to overhaul its fleet to meet its homeland security mission.

The audit blamed much of the problem on senior management, which either didn’t get involved or didn’t pay enough attention to what was going on. For example, the audit found that more than a third of the projects were approved even though proof hadn’t been shown that they met the department’s needs.

Projects worth $100 million or more are supposed to be reviewed by a panel including the deputy secretary, the department’s chief financial officer and its general counsel. But the GAO found that didn’t happen in more than 90 percent of the cases it examined.

Even when projects were properly reviewed, the department didn’t always make sure managers followed through on what they were supposed to do.

The GAO noted that the department has made several changes and is planning to provide greater accountability and oversight.

Created five years ago to protect the country, the department has had more than its share of high-profile problems, from FEMA’s failures during and after Hurricane Katrina to ineffective and inefficient border checks.

The GAO’s report points to the larger problem of the department — ineffective leadership. The Bush administration’s failures have been stunning, but in this case, it is more than a waste of tax dollars. The leadership void could result in failing to take the appropriate actions to protect the country. We expect the Obama administration will do much, much better.