GSA and DoD contracting and program management officials continue to purchase goods and services without fully complying with appropriation law, the Federal Acquisition Regulation, and DoD procurement regulations, the DoD inspector general has said in a follow–up report to an audit last year that identified problems with purchases made through GSA client support centers.
GSA’s Federal Technology Service provides assisted acquisition support for federal agencies and through its client support centers awarded about 18,960 orders for goods and services on behalf of DoD worth about $3 billion in fiscal 2005 — over 83 percent of the $3.6 billion of their annual business, according to Defense IG Report No. D–2007–007.
It said that even though GSA and DoD officials have improved the assisted acquisition contracting process, 55 of the 56 purchases reviewed were either hastily planned or improperly executed or funded.
According to the report, on 55 of 56 purchases, DoD organizations lacked acquisition planning; on 54 of 56 purchases, DoD organizations did not have adequate interagency agreements with GSA; on 6 of 14 sole–source purchases reviewed, GSA support centers did not provide adequate justification for sole–source procurements; and on 42 of 51 purchases, DoD did not develop and implement adequate quality assurance surveillance plans.
Further, it said that on 11 of 54 purchases both GSA and the DoD requesting activity had used government funds that did not meet a bona fide needs rule, that on one of 54 purchases DoD used the incorrect appropriation, and on 11 of 56 purchases, DoD did not maintain an audit trail of the funds used to make the purchase.
The IG also identified four of 11 support centers that did not comply with DoD procurement and funding regulations, such as 12 potential Antideficiency Act violations — for spending beyond appropriations — and the lack of adequate interagency agreements.
