OPM’s inspector general is pushing for greater oversight of OPM’s Revolving Fund, through which the agency provides services such as background checks and HR management services to other agencies on a reimbursable basis.
OPM’s fiscal obligations for the fund will exceed $2 billion but the agency’s inspector general, Patrick McFarland, told the House federal workforce subcommittee recently that oversight of the fund is largely missing and that his office has "only scratched the surface when it comes to conducting oversight" of large programs administered through the fund including Federal Investigative Services and Human Resources Solutions.
McFarland told the panel that his office needs direct access to the Revolving Fund to step up oversight. Given that fund personnel make up over 60 percent of OPM’s full time employees and fund programs rely heavily on contract employees – for example, FIS uses about 6,100 contract employees through three contracts – McFarland spoke confidently that his office could find opportunities to reduce waste.
