Under federal ethics policies, there is a general ban on accepting gifts from foreign governments valued above a threshold, currently $480. Image: Africa Studio/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffThe GSA offices responsible for accounting for and disposing of gifts federal agencies receive from foreign governments “generally lacked adequate inventory management controls, resulting in foreign gifts missing from the program’s inventory,” an inspector general report has said.
“We also identified prohibited gifts included in the inventory; inefficient inventory storage, labeling, and organization; gifts sitting in storage for years; and infrequent inventory activities and follow-up. Additionally, we observed vulnerabilities in the security of the foreign gifts, leaving them susceptible to loss or theft,” auditors said.
Under federal ethics policies, there is a general ban on accepting gifts from foreign governments valued above a threshold, currently $480, but there is an exception if refusing to accept it would likely cause offense or embarrassment to the donor or would adversely affect foreign relations. In that case, the gift may be accepted on behalf of the U.S. and it must be turned over to the employing agency. That agency in turn decides whether to keep it for official purposes such as for display; if it is not used for such purposes, it is to be turned over to the GSA for transfer, donation, or disposal.
Auditors found that: in a sample of 200 gifts, the GSA was unable to account for 14, worth $13,000; whiskey valued at nearly $9,000 was in the inventory even though alcohol is not to be retained; inventory tags had fallen off some items and were lying on the floor; and three-fifths of items had been in inventory for more than five years, some since the 1980s, despite a general policy that unused items should be disposed of as soon as it is practical.
The report also found foreign gifts sold by GSA to recipients and to the public “did not follow federal requirements and internal policies for essential documentation.” In a sample of 60 items that were sold, 26 did not have an estimated value pre-sale.
In response, GSA management noted that the general policy is not to sell items received during the term of a Presidential administration, which it said accounted for some of the delay in disposing of unused items, but otherwise agreed with recommendations to improve inventory controls.
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