Washington, D.C. - Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI) today announced his intention to continue efforts to establish a Deputy Secretary for Management or chief management officer at both the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Senator Akaka made the remarks during a press conference announcing the release of the Government Accountability Office's (GAO) 2007 High-Risk List.

Senator Akaka, who along with Senator Thad Cochran (R-MS) first identified serious management challenges facing the U.S. Postal Service during their tenure on the Senate Postal Subcommittee, said he was especially pleased that the bipartisan, bicameral effort to enact postal reform legislation has resulted in postal transformation no longer being on the High-Risk List. "Senator Cochran and I worked hard to impress upon our colleagues the need to modernize the Postal Service. I'm delighted our early efforts helped pave the way for last year's success."

Senator Akaka noted that a large percentage of the programs on the 2007 High-Risk List come under the jurisdiction of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and the Armed Services Committees. "I'm especially proud of the work that Senator George Voinovich (R-OH) and I have done on two key high-risk areas - DoD logistics management and the backlog of DoD personnel security clearances. As the chairman of the Oversight of Government Management and the Armed Services Readiness Subcommittees, I am pleased that between these two subcommittees, we've brought some much needed oversight to these two DOD activities," Akaka said.

Akaka thanked David Walker and his staff at GAO for the important work they do in identifying and tracking federal programs at risk. "Together, we're working toward making good management decisions that save the taxpayers money."