What's a mere billion dollars anyway? Anyone can make a mistake in planning

[The Straight Story]

DHS radiation detection program may exceed cost estimates by $1 billion, GAO says
By Katherine McIntire Peters [e-mail] October 23, 2008

In a briefing for lawmakers and staff on Tuesday, the Government Accountability Office estimated the cost of the Homeland Security Department's program to equip ports of entry with radiation detection equipment will be $3.1 billion. That's $1 billion more than the agency told the White House and Congress it would cost last spring.

The department's Domestic Nuclear Detection Office estimated it would cost $2.1 billion to furnish ports with the equipment, an assessment GAO says "is unreliable because it omits major project costs and relies on a flawed methodology."

Preventing nuclear and radiological material from being smuggled into the United States has become a top national priority in recent years. In 2005, the White House created the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office at Homeland Security to manage the acquisition and deployment of radiation detection equipment at ports of entry. Previously those responsibilities were under the department's Customs and Border Protection directorate.

In briefing documents presented to Congress, GAO auditors wrote, "We believe our estimate helps clarify the program's true cost, while DNDO's estimate obscures it."

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