THE CHAIRMAN OF THE HOUSE GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS COMMITTEE HAS CRITICIZED GAO FOR NOT FOLLOWING THE PROVISIONS OF THE BROOKS BILL WHICH REGULATES THE AUTOMATED DATA PROCESSING CHAIN OF COMMAND. IN RESPONSE, GAO MANAGEMENT REVIEWED THEIR COMPUTER POLICIES AND FORMULATED A 3 TO 5-YEAR PLAN WITH THE CHIEF COMPONENT BEING THE AUTOMATED INFORMATION RESOURCES SYSTEM (AIRES). THIS INTEGRATED SETUP WILL INCLUDE THREE SUBSYSTEMS: ASSIGNMENT MANAGEMENT PLANNING, BUDGET COST ACCOUNTING, AND PERSONNEL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT. HOWEVER, GAO'S NEW PLANS HAVE SPAWNED A RASH OF CRITICISM. PROBLEMS AROSE WHEN GAO AWARDED A CONTRACT TO AMERICAN MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS (AMS) TO RECONFIGURE AN INTERIM COMPUTER SYSTEM AS PART OF AIRES WITHOUT FOLLOWING PROCUREMENT REGULATIONS. A COMPETITOR FILED A PROTEST, AND GAO WAS REPRIMANDED BY THE GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION AND TOLD THAT THE AMS CONTRACT WAS INVALID. CONSEQUENTLY, GAO'S PLANNING SCHEDULE WILL BE DELAYED AND AIRES COULD BE ABANDONED. IN THE LAST 2 YEARS, GAO HAS SHIFTED FROM RELYING ON COMPUTER CAPACITY WITHIN THE GOVERNMENT COMMUNITY TO CONTRACTING WITH PRIVATE COMPANIES FOR DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT WORK. CONGRESSIONAL PERSONNEL ARE CONCERNED ABOUT THIS TREND AND, IN VIEW OF THE AMS DECISION, GAO MAY HAVE TO REDEFINE ITS STRATEGIES. GAO CLAIMS THAT ITS DIFFICULTIES STEM FROM USE OF THE INFONET TIME-SHARING NETWORK ON A SOLE-SOURCE BASIS, BUT OTHERS CONSIDER THE BASIC PROBLEM TO BE POOR MANAGEMENT. CONGRESS FEARS THAT GAO WILL CLOSE SOME COMPUTER OPERATIONS, BUT AN AGENCY OFFICIAL PREDICTS THAT THEY WILL COMPLETE THE AMS CONTRACT AND SALVAGE SOME OF THE COMPLETED DEVELOPMENT WORK. (MJM)