Several agencies with important roles in responding to natural disasters are falling short in assessing whether they have a sufficient network of contracting specialists to purchase the goods and services needed quickly in such events, GAO has said.
It said, for example, that while the Army Corps of Engineers has not formally assessed its contracting workforce to determine if it can fulfill those roles; the Coast Guard does not account for contracting for disaster response activities; and the Interior Department does not account for disaster contracting responsibilities.
“Contracting officials at all three of these agencies identified challenges executing their regular responsibilities along with their disaster-related responsibilities during the 2017 and 2018 hurricane and wildfire seasons. For example, Coast Guard contracting officials stated they have fallen increasingly behind since 2017 and that future disaster response missions would not be sustainable with their current workforce,” it said.
“Without accounting for disaster response contracting activities in workforce planning, these agencies are missing opportunities to ensure their contracting workforces are equipped to respond to future disasters,” it added.
In contrast, the Forest Service has “initiated efforts to address its disaster response contracting workforce needs” and the EPA “indicated it did not have concerns fulfilling its disaster contracting responsibilities,” GAO said. However, it added that those two have not completed fraud risk profiles for their purchase card programs that align with leading practices in GAO’s fraud risk framework; purchase cards commonly are used in disaster situations for faster procurement.
The report did not examine FEMA, the leading disaster relief agency, because that agency has been studied in detail individually in prior reports.
Dispute over Schedule F Order Increases Risk of Shutdown
In Change of Position, White House Now Supports Federal Pay Freeze
