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GAO-18-385R 1 (2018-04-13)

handle is hein.gao/gaobacpia0001 and id is 1 raw text is: GAOU.S. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE 441 G St. N.W. Washington, DC 20548 April 13, 2018 Congressional Committees Coast Guard Acquisitions: Status of Coast Guard's Heavy Polar Icebreaker Acquisition Since 1965, U.S. Coast Guard has been responsible for providing polar icebreaking capability for the United States. The Coast Guard has two active polar icebreakers, including one heavy polar icebreaker that is nearing the end of its expected service life. To maintain its polar icebreaking capability, the Coast Guard is seeking to acquire three new heavy polar icebreakers. The Coast Guard established the heavy polar icebreaker acquisition program in 2012 and anticipates delivery of the lead ship in 2023. In 2016, the Coast Guard established an integrated program office with the Navy to leverage the Navy's shipbuilding expertise for acquiring the icebreakers.1 The Coast Guard, as a component within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), is generally required to follow DHS's acquisition policies. Section 122 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018 included a provision for us to assess issues related to the procurement of new heavy polar icebreaker vessels. This report provides information on (1) the status of the Coast Guard's and Navy's efforts to acquire new heavy polar icebreakers and (2) how DHS, Coast Guard, and Navy are planning to manage and oversee the heavy polar icebreaker acquisition through an integrated program office. We conducted this performance audit from January 2018 through April 2018 in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We believe that the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. In summary, we found: * The Coast Guard and the Navy have agreed to manage the program using a tailored acquisition approach that generally follows the DHS acquisition framework, with the DHS Undersecretary for Management retaining final approval authority for all acquisition decision events. DHS oversees the heavy polar icebreaker program's acquisition management activities, while the Coast Guard and the Navy share responsibilities for executing the acquisition through the integrated program office. * In February 2017, the Coast Guard awarded contracts to five shipbuilders-then valued at approximately $4 million each-to examine major design cost drivers and technology risks for the program. Coast Guard officials stated these design studies help to mitigate the program's schedule, cost, and technical risks by gaining knowledge before design and construction of the lead ship begins. * DHS's Acquisition Review Board approved the heavy polar icebreaker acquisition program's baselines in February 2018, and the corresponding Acquisition Decision 1This relationship was officially memorialized in three memoranda in 2017. GAO-1 8-385R Coast Guard Acquisitions Page 1

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