What GAO Discovered

The Architect of the Capitol (AOC) has substantially finished three of five prepared phases to renovate the Cannon Dwelling Office Creating (Cannon venture). AOC completed Stage utility work the Phase 1 operate to renovate the building’s west aspect, the Phase 2 work to renovate the building’s north side and work is underway on Phase 3 of the building’s east facet.

Cannon Household Place of work Developing, Washington, D. C.

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From 2009 to 2018, AOC regularly estimated the challenge price at $753 million, In 2014, GAO discovered that AOC’s price tag estimate of $753 million reflected various of GAO’s primary practices for substantial-good quality, trustworthy cost estimates, such as that AOC experienced done a possibility and uncertainty analysis. GAO located that AOC’s value estimating insurance policies and guidance did not call for a quantitative risk and uncertainty investigation nor the reporting of the ensuing self-confidence level of the estimate. GAO manufactured tips for AOC to incorporate major practices into agency steering and post self-assurance concentrations of value estimates to Congress. AOC implemented our recommendations. In January 2018, AOC up-to-date its assessment of hazards by endeavor an built-in cost-schedule risk analysis. AOC’s 2018 investigation arrived at the exact summary as its earlier analysis—that the project’s believed $753 million complete value was sufficient to complete the project. Having said that, AOC’s 2018 examination indicated that inaccurate estimates of expenses for possibility mitigations, mysterious risks, and optimistic assumptions about the effect of danger mitigations on the project’s cost and routine could influence its whole cost. AOC up-to-date the assessment in December 2019 and believed the project expense at $890 million.

Two unidentified pitfalls materialized following the December 2019 estimate: the result of COVID-19 and the January 2021 security events–their influence on the venture is unsure. In its March 2021 undertaking summary, AOC claimed that a revised funds would be formulated after the completion of an analysis in December 2021. Toward this close, in May possibly 2021, AOC started updating its integrated price-routine danger assessment, with the aim of a lot more correctly identifying the extent to which the project’s expenditures are increasing and its believed charge at completion.

Why GAO Did This Analyze

In its Cannon challenge, the AOC intends to maintain the historic character even though enhancing the features of the 113 year-aged Cannon Building—the oldest congressional business building—as very well as address deterioration to the developing and its factors. The project—nearing year 7 of its prepared 10-yr duration—is getting executed in 5 sequential phases with an initial stage (Stage ) for utility perform and 4 subsequent phases (Phases 1 through 4) to renovate the north-, south-, east-, and west-experiencing sides of the developing. Each phase is scheduled all around a 2-year congressional session.

This assertion describes: (1) the standing of the Cannon task and (2) modifications to the project’s approximated price tag at completion. This assertion is based mostly on GAO’s prior reports in 2009 and 2014 and ongoing monitoring of the project. To check the job, GAO has been observing the ongoing design, attending task meetings, and analyzing AOC files.