Department of Transportation’s efforts to reduce spending on management support services contracts as part of a wider OMB-led “campaign to cut waste” have been delayed, the Transportation inspector general has said.
OMB set a goal for agencies to cut spending on management support by 15 percent from fiscal 2010 spending levels by the end of fiscal 2012, but Transportation, which spends over $1 billion a year on these contracts, actually increased spending in that area.
Further, over half of the department’s management support services contract obligations involve high-risk contract types, such as time-and-materials and cost-reimbursement contracts.
While the department said it achieved contract cost savings through an ongoing strategic sourcing initiative, it said DoT delayed implementing the phases of the strategic sourcing initiative that focus in part on management support services spending, and that it lacked comprehensive plans and policies for implementing these initiatives.
DoT recently initiated actions that could provide a foundation for improving its use of management support services contracts, such as revising its “Acquisition Oversight and Risk Management Policy,” but it has not implemented OMB’s suggested internal controls for managing and monitoring obligations for management support services contracts, according to the IG.
It said deferring these efforts to focus on management support services contracts has delayed opportunities to reduce spending and better manage these contracts.
The department agreed with recommendations to control spending and improve management of its management support services contracts.
