Summary: This is an unclassified summary of a recent classified GAO report on oversight policies and practices at Defense Department (DOD) special access acquisition programs. These programs--also known as "black programs"--are highly secret projects with tightly controlled access and stringent security measures beyond those of standard classified programs. Beginning in the mid-1980s, Congress repeatedly voiced concerns about the growing number of special access programs and the Pentagon's refusal to provide information Congress needed to effectively oversee these programs. In a 1989 report, GAO noted a trend toward increased oversight and centralization of oversight of special access programs within DOD--a trend that continues today. As a result of congressional and other external pressures, DOD has taken additional steps to bolster and centralize oversight of special access programs. The DOD Inspector General and the military services' audit agencies and inspectors general have also increased their oversight of these programs.
