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Open Recommendations (26 total)

Federal Real Property: DHS and GSA Need to Strengthen the Management of DHS Headquarters Consolidation

GAO-14-648
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1 Open Recommendations
1 Priority
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
General Services Administration
Priority Rec.
In order to improve transparency and allow for more informed decision making by congressional leaders and DHS and GSA decision-makers, before requesting additional funding for the DHS headquarters consolidation project, after revising the DHS headquarters consolidation plans, the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Administrator of the General Services Administration should work jointly to develop revised cost and schedule estimates for the remaining portions of the consolidation project that conform to GSA guidance and leading practices for cost and schedule estimation, including an independent evaluation of the estimates.
Open – Partially Addressed
The Department of Homeland Security Headquarters Consolidation Accountability Act of 2015 (Pub. L. No. 114-150) was enacted on April 29, 2016. Among other things, the act requires DHS, in coordination with GSA, to submit information to Congress about DHS headquarters consolidation efforts not later than 120 days of enactment. Required information includes a comprehensive assessment of property and facilities utilized by DHS in the National Capital Region, and an analysis that identifies the costs and benefits of leasing and construction alternatives for the remainder of the consolidation project. However, this report did not contain sufficient cost and schedule information for us to perform a comprehensive analysis to assess reliability. In July 2023, GSA provided us with a report from a planning and funding reset for the project, and in December 2023, DHS provided us with updates for its estimates. As of February 2024, we continue to collect documentation from GSA and DHS that supported the updated cost and schedule estimates. Once we obtain all available documentation related to the leading practices for cost and schedule estimation, we will determine the extent to which GSA and DHS have adhered to these leading practices. Continued DHS and GSA attention to following leading practices for capital planning and cost and schedule estimation is critical given the project's multi-billion dollar cost and impact on future departmental operations.

Federal Real Property: GSA Should Improve Accuracy, Completeness, and Usefulness of Public Data

GAO-20-135
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1 Open Recommendations
1 Priority
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
General Services Administration
Priority Rec.
The Administrator of GSA should coordinate with agencies to ensure that street address information in the public database is complete and correctly formatted. (Recommendation 1)
Open – Partially Addressed
GSA agreed with the recommendation. As of March 2024, GSA officials said that they continue to coordinate with OMB and the Federal Real Property Council (FRPC)-made up of real property officials from federal agencies-to improve the quality of address data. For example, GSA officials said that the agency is implementing a phased action plan that requires commitments from FRPC member agencies and assists them in accurately reporting geographic data elements. In addition, the FRPC created an agency scorecard for federal agencies that tracks five metrics related to data reliability. It shows that numerous agencies continue to struggle with aspects of ensuring the quality of their real property data. According to GSA officials, its effort to flag anomalous location data improved the ability to map building locations by 13 percent in the most recent data from 2023. In addition, GSA officials said that they continue to collaborate with OMB to issue implementing guidance regarding OMB's requirements for agencies to establish a data quality improvement program and conduct a third party review every three years. According to the officials, this guidance further details the FRPC's process and guidance for agencies to comply with OMB's required third party data validation review. To fully implement this recommendation, GSA needs to continue to work closely with OMB and FRPC member agencies to complete its efforts to improve real property data. Improving the reliability of this data would increase its usefulness to the public, such as for users who may be interested in acquiring or leasing assets.

Federal Real Property: GSA Should Improve Accuracy, Completeness, and Usefulness of Public Data

GAO-20-135
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3 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
General Services Administration The Administrator of GSA should coordinate with agencies to review V&V anomaly categories to better target incorrect data. (Recommendation 2)
Open – Partially Addressed
On August 4, 2023, GAO verified that GSA had partnered with the Office of Management and Budget to create an agency scorecard for federal agencies that tracks five metrics related to data reliability. GAO reviewed the scorecard and found a metric that relates to agency efforts to resolve V&V anomalies. It shows that the Department of Defense has not resolved its anomalous data in timely. GAO will continue to monitor GSA's efforts to improve the V&V process and agencies' responses to those efforts.
General Services Administration The Administrator of GSA should instruct each agency to apply a consistent, risk-based approach in determining which, if any, assets or asset-specific information should be withheld from public release. (Recommendation 4)
Open – Partially Addressed
In August 2023, GSA provided GAO with documented evidence that it revised FRPP data dictionary that GSA partnered with the FRPC data governance working group to create. The updated data dictionary instructed agencies to apply a consistent and risk-based process to the data being withheld from the public. GSA officials said that they would work with their partners to determine if the current guidance effectively addresses this recommendation. GAO agreed to revisit the recommendation in spring 2024.
General Services Administration The Administrator of GSA should allow agencies to provide summary data for secure installations. (Recommendation 5)
Open – Partially Addressed
In August 2023, GSA provided documentary evidence that it had worked with some agencies that had withheld their data for reasons of security to provide a publicly available summary of their real property data. GAO is assessing the extent to which this approach addresses this recommendation.

Federal Real Property: GSA Could Further Support Agencies' Post-Pandemic Planning for Office Space Use

GAO-22-105105
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1 Open Recommendations
1 Priority
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
General Services Administration
Priority Rec.
The Administrator of the GSA should develop a plan to broadly share with federal agencies, including those that do not use GSA services, information learned from GSA's pilots and other space utilization data collection efforts. (Recommendation 1).
Open – Partially Addressed
GSA has taken several steps to broadly share information on space utilization data through updates to the GSA website and a quarterly newsletter. These updates include information from pilot programs on the costs and benefits of different methods for collecting space utilization data. However, as of February 2024, GSA does not have a documented plan to ensure officials continue these efforts to publicize information that reaches federal agencies, including those that do not use GSA services. GAO will continue to monitor GSA's progress to address this recommendation.

Federal Real Property: GSA Should Leverage Lessons Learned from New Sale and Transfer Process

GAO-23-104815
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1 Open Recommendations
1 Priority
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
General Services Administration
Priority Rec.
The Administrator of the GSA, in consultation with relevant stakeholders, should develop a process to collect, share, and apply lessons learned from the implementation of FASTA to improve the final 2024 round and future disposal efforts, including reporting any lessons learned through this process, to Congress. (Recommendation 1)
Open – Partially Addressed
In February 2024, GSA officials provided additional information on ongoing collaboration with stakeholders and how FASTA lessons learned were being used to identify strategies for disposing of unneeded government properties, which could result in cost savings. To fully implement this recommendation, GSA needs to develop a documented process to work with relevant stakeholders to identify and implement solutions to address numerous setbacks encountered throughout the FASTA process. This action could leverage stakeholders' knowledge and experiences with FASTA to make and agree upon necessary changes for the final FASTA round, and identify useful and financially beneficial concepts to include as part of future efforts to reduce the federal government's real property inventory. GAO will continue to monitor GSA's progress to address this recommendation.

Single Audits: Improving Federal Audit Clearinghouse Information and Usability Could Strengthen Federal Award Oversight

GAO-24-106173
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
General Services Administration The Administrator of GSA should, upon consulting with professional audit organizations, provide additional training to auditors and recipients to help ensure that they complete FAC data collection forms accurately, completely, and consistent with the audit report. (Recommendation 8)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Federal Contracting: Opportunities Exist to Improve the Reporting of Waivers to Domestic Preference Laws

GAO-24-106166
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
General Services Administration The Administrator of GSA should conduct user testing with industry to obtain input on how, if at all, it could improve website functionality. (Recommendation 6)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Federal Contracting: Opportunities Exist to Improve the Reporting of Waivers to Domestic Preference Laws

GAO-24-106166
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
General Services Administration The Administrator of GSA should develop a formal agreement, such as a memorandum of understanding, with the Director of OMB to document the extent that further website development is necessary, and the resources needed for future development efforts. (Recommendation 7)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
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