GAO spots new targets for Pentagon cost cutting

The Defense Department could save money in the coming years if it were to assign a single organization to oversee Global Positioning System receiver card modernization and streamline defense distribution centers, according to an annual report on efficiency and waste from the Government Accountability Office.

The Pentagon, "to reduce the risk of unnecessary duplication," should make a single organization responsible for "ensuring that common solutions for Global Positioning System receiver card modernization efforts are collected and shared among hundreds of programs," GAO states.

To illustrate the potential scope of the savings, GAO notes that receiver card modernization for a small portion of weapon systems is estimated to cost $2.5 billion through fiscal year 2021.

The report also states that DOD could minimize unnecessary overlap and duplication by more efficiently using its defense distribution centers store and process goods for troop support.

"The Department of Defense could potentially save approximately $527 million over [five] years," the report states.

Additionally, the Pentagon could potentially save "tens of millions of dollars" if it were to more efficiently and effectively manage foreign currency funds, as well as improve the effectiveness of supply operations at Army and Marine Corps depots and Navy shipyards.

GAO states that the Pentagon saved $36 billion on weapon systems between 2011 and 2015 by acting on the office's past recommendations. As of March 2018, 74 of 176 actions GAO recommended DOD take remained unaddressed.

"DOD represented about 14 percent of federal spending in fiscal year 2017, with outlays totaling about $635.5 billion," the report states. "Our work suggests that effectively implementing these open actions [ . . . ] could yield substantial financial benefits and improve DOD's effectiveness."