Message from the Inspector General
I am pleased to submit to Congress our Semiannual Report for the period of October 1, 2022, through March 31, 2023. Our oversight work during this reporting period yielded significant results across GSA’s operations.
Based on a referral from the agency, our evaluation report, GSA Misled Customers on Login.gov’s Compliance with Digital Identity Standards, found that GSA knowingly billed 22 federal agencies more than $10 million for online user identity verification services purported to meet a government standard which they actually did not meet. GSA also made misleading statements to obtain $187 million from the Technology Modernization Fund for enhancing Login.gov. In late March, I testified about the report before the House Oversight and Accountability Subcommittee on Government Operations and the Federal Workforce. Our findings and recommendations from this evaluation, with which GSA has agreed, are summarized in more detail in the Inspections section of this report.
Highlights of our auditors’ work include our February audit report, GSA is not Monitoring Data from Access Card Readers to Identify Risks to GSA Personnel and Federal Property. That data shows more than 32,000 failed access attempts at GSA facilities over a 2-year period. Some of these could be deliberate tries at unauthorized entry. We recommended GSA take action to monitor and use the data to strengthen security, and the agency agreed.
Appendix V of this report details our disagreement with GSA’s management decision to reject our audit recommendations to address significant deficiencies with Federal Acquisition Service’s (FAS) pricing methodologies in its Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) Program. Last fiscal year, federal agencies spent more than $40 billion on products and services sold under MAS contracts. Our audit found that the price analyses employed by GSA contracting staff is so deficient that FAS cannot provide customer agencies with assurance that their purchases under the program get the best prices for the taxpayer.
During this period, our investigative results included a government contractor sentenced to 40 months in prison for selling counterfeit uniforms and equipment, another sentenced to 30 months in prison and fined $5 million for fraudulently obtaining contracts set-aside for disadvantaged businesses, and a military officer sentenced to 3 years in prison for stealing firearms obtained through GSA’s Federal Surplus Property program. Our investigative efforts also resulted in monetary recoveries and receivables totaling more than $13.5 million.
Additionally, our contract audit work identified over $242.2 million in potential cost savings and recoveries for the federal government.
We appreciate the continued support of our work by Congress and the cooperation of agency management in taking corrective actions. As always, the talented and dedicated employees of the GSA OIG deserve our warmest thanks.
Carol F. Ochoa
Inspector General
March 31, 2023
REPORT:
