Commerce Dept. failures leave key NOAA operations uncertain and unable to track bills

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Commerce Committee Ranking Member Ted Cruz (R-Texas) last week led a group of Senate colleagues in demanding answers regarding the implementation of the Department of Commerce’s (DOC) new financial management system, which has disrupted the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) weather forecast operations, delayed aid money for fishery disasters, particularly in Alaska’s small coastal communities, threatened the availability of safety information for aviators and mariners, and left agency employees without reimbursement for official travel expenses.

NOAA was the first agency to implement the DOC’s new $341 million “Business Application Solution (BAS)” program built by Accenture Federal Services. Designed to modernize financial and business management applications, the software’s implementation has resulted in significant system failures, delays, and cost overruns.

The Senators wrote:

“The first rollout, at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in October 2023, has caused a backlog of thousands of unpaid invoices reportedly resulting in a loss of both alerts in tornado prone areas and vital weather information for pilots. Even a short-term interruption in vital weather information and alert systems is an unacceptable tradeoff for transitioning to a new financial management system. In addition to these disruptions, there have been unnecessary delays in Fishery Disaster allocations. There are currently seven separate unfunded fishery disaster requests for salmon fisheries alone. This delay has been particularly catastrophic for small communities, like St. Paul Island, Alaska, where the collapse of crab fisheries has had enormous economic impacts. We are concerned what other adverse effects may result if the Department continues to roll out the new system without changes.

“It is our understanding the Department has been aware of the need for improved transition management for some time. One year after the Department awarded the contract for the new system—known as the Business Application Solution (BAS)—the DOC Office of the Inspector General (OIG) issued a Management Alert, stating that DOC needed to develop key inputs and align with known best practices. The Department failed to heed this warning as two subsequent OIG audit reports pointed, again, to a failure to implement basic management controls.

“OIG’s most recent report also found that changes in the BAS system to fix the issues experienced by NOAA will likely result in significant cost increases.”

The Senators’ inquiry seeks to understand the magnitude of the issues NOAA has been plagued with, the impacts on U.S. citizens, and when the problems will be rectified. 

Joining Sen. Cruz in sending this letter are Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), and Katie Britt (R-Ala.).

Read the full text of the letter HERE.

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