GENERAL SERVICES

ADMINISTRATION

Leasing Practices in

Selected Regions

United States General Accounting Office

GAO Report to the Honorable

Fred Thompson, Chairman

Committee on Governmental Affairs

U.S. Senate

April 2000

GAO/GGD-00-88

United States General Accounting Office General Government Division

Washington, D.C. 20548

Page 1 GAO/GGD-00-88 Leasing Practices in Selected Regions

B-284261

April 14, 2000

The Honorable Fred Thompson

Chairman, Committee on Governmental Affairs

United States Senate

Dear Mr. Chairman:

This report responds to your request that we review the process used by

the General Services Administration’s (GSA) Public Buildings Service

(PBS) to procure leased space for federal agencies. You were particularly

interested in how different regional offices determine agencies’ space

requirements, conduct market surveys, and communicate with offerors

during the leasing process. You also expressed concerns about possible

limitations on competition during the lease solicitation process.

As agreed with your office, this report (1) identifies the approaches 3 of

GSA’s 11 regional offices use to lease space, including how each region

determines an agency’s space requirements, identifies and assesses

potential space, and communicates with actual offerors, and (2) assesses

the effect of solicitation practices on competition.

The three regional offices included in the review were Mid-Atlantic in

Philadelphia, PA; Southeast in Atlanta, GA; and National Capital (NCR) in

Washington, D.C. When combined, these regions account for over half of

PBS’ total amount of leased square footage and annual rent paid for leased

space.

All three regions used the traditional, simplified, and sole source

approaches to leasing. In addition, NCR has developed a leasing approach

unique to its region called the Advanced Acquisition Program (AAP),

which it uses extensively. Under the traditional leasing approach, a

specific space need is generally advertised in the local newspaper to allow

everyone who has space that could meet the agency’s requirements to

submit an offer. The simplified leasing approach is used to expedite the

leasing process for leases that are expected to be under $100,000 in net

annual rent. Under this approach, the contracting officer has to solicit only

three sources, to promote competition, or document the file to explain the

lack of competition. Because the agency’s space requirements are usually

less than 10,000 square feet, they are not required by regulation to be

advertised in the newspaper. The sole source approach is used when the

Results in Brief
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contracting officer determines that only one source can meet the agency’s

requirements, and thus only the one source is solicited. NCR’s AAP is a

variation of the traditional leasing approach under which NCR advertises

annually for a variety of generic space requirements; evaluates the offers it

receives; and develops an inventory of available space, based on

acceptable offers, from which it can quickly award leases when specific

space needs are identified.

In all three regions, specific space requirements are developed and defined

primarily by the customer agencies. PBS officials said that the contracting

officers typically question an agency’s requirements only if they have

concerns about their ability to secure sufficient competition because of the

nature of the space requirements. In these regions, potential sites are

identified in many ways, including through newspaper advertisements,

contacts with local real estate brokers, and the contracting officers’

knowledge of the area. To determine which sites could satisfy an agency’s

space requirements, the contracting officer or realty specialist and the

customer agency representative may visit the potential sites. According to

PBS officials, much of the communication with potential and actual

offerors during the leasing process is oral. We were unable to assess the

level of communication with potential offerors both because there are no

requirements related to communication with potential offerors and its

documentation, and because documentation of any communication varied

in the lease files we reviewed. Required communication with actual

offerors was well documented in some of the lease files we reviewed. For

other lease files, contracting officers told us that all required

communication occurred, even though it was not always documented as

required by regulation.

The processes used to develop the agencies’ space needs, identify and

assess potential space, and communicate with the actual offerors did not

appear to unduly restrict competition. We reviewed 45 of the 360 leases

that became effective1

 in the three regions in fiscal year 1999 and found

that (1) the space needs were generally broad enough to elicit multiple

offers; (2) representatives for the buildings that PBS identified and

assessed were solicited unless PBS determined that a building clearly

could not meet the agency’s requirements; and (3) communication with

actual offerors was generally conducted according to regulation, although

it was not always documented as required. In 10 of the 12 sole source

cases we reviewed, justifications for limiting the competition to one source

were prepared and approved as required. In the case of the other two sole

 

1

The effective date of the lease is the date on which the rent payments commence.
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source leases we reviewed, the justification for one was prepared but not

signed by the appropriate official, while the file for the other lease we

reviewed, which was for a few parking spaces that cost about $5,000

annually, did not contain documentation as to why only one offer was

solicited.

Participants in PBS’ leasing process who believe that a contract has been

or is about to be awarded in violation of the laws and regulations that

govern contracting with the federal government can protest the awards to

GSA and us. In the three regions we visited, protests were filed in

connection with 4 of the 360 leases that became effective in fiscal year

1999. All of these protests were submitted by incumbent lessors who were

not successful in retaining their government lease when GSA conducted a

new acquisition for the expiring lease. Two of these protests were

withdrawn by the protesters before we issued a decision, and the other

two were denied.

As the federal government’s landlord, PBS provides space for most federal

agencies. It manages about 151 million square feet of leased space in about

6,400 private sector properties at an annual cost of about $2.7 billion. In

addition to the leased space, PBS also manages about 184 million square

feet of space in almost 2,000 government-owned properties.

Between 1993 and 1995, the National Performance Review, GSA’s

Inspector General, and we2

 raised several concerns about PBS’ leasing

program, including that PBS’ leasing program (1) was not efficient, (2) did

not promote competition, (3) took too long to award leases, and (4) was

not meeting the customers’ needs. Numerous recommendations were

made by these organizations and us to address the concerns that were

raised. The essence of the recommendations was to (1) adopt private

sector practices, (2) streamline procedures, (3) increase customer

satisfaction, (4) promote competition, and (5) separate policymaking from

oversight.

In July 1996, PBS reformed its leasing process nationwide to be more

businesslike and results-oriented through the implementation of its “Can’t

Beat GSA Leasing” program. Through this program, PBS responded to the

recommendations that had been made and adopted leasing practices

commonly used by the private sector, streamlined the leasing process by

eliminating or making optional many of the previously required reviews

 

2

Federal Office Space: More Businesslike Leasing Approach Could Reduce Costs and Improve

Performance (GAO/GGD-95-48, Feb. 27, 1995).

Background
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and paperwork, and reduced the time it took to acquire leases. Federal

agencies also now have the option either to use PBS to acquire new leased

space when necessary or to conduct the lease procurement themselves

after requesting a delegation of authority for leasing from PBS. To separate

policymaking from oversight, GSA established the Office of

Governmentwide Policy outside of PBS.

To understand PBS’ lease acquisition process, we reviewed PBS’ guidance

on its leasing process in the General Services Administration Acquisition

Regulation System (GSAR), 48 CFR Part 570, “Can’t Beat GSA Leasing”

desk guide, and several acquisition letters on real property leasing

activities. At your request, we visited PBS’ Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, and

National Capital (NCR) regions, which combined account for over half of

PBS’ total number of leased square feet and annual rent paid for leased

space. In these three regions, we identified (1) the leasing approaches

used—including how each region determined agencies’ space

requirements, identified and assessed potential space, and communicated

with actual offerors—and (2) the effect of solicitation practices on

competition.

We spoke with the cognizant officials in each region about the leasing

approaches used in the region. We reviewed a random sample of 42 of the

360 leases that the regional office officials identified as becoming effective

in these three regions in fiscal year 1999. Since the leasing approach can

vary based on the lease’s annual rent, we stratified the lease inventory in

each region into three groups based on annual rent below $100,000,

between $100,000 and $1.9 million, and above $1.9 million. We randomly

selected a sample of leases from each of these groups for review.3

However, because of the relatively small number of lease files we

reviewed, we did not generalize the results of our lease file reviews to the

universe of leases in the regions we visited. We reviewed GAO protest

decisions or protest files for the four leases that became effective in fiscal

year 1999 that the regions identified as having protests associated with

them. For three of the four protested leases, we also reviewed PBS’ lease

files. We did not review the other lease file because it contained classified

information.4

 In total, we reviewed 45 of PBS’ lease files in the three

regions we visited.

 

3

In the Southeast region, there were three leases above $1.9 million that became effective in fiscal year

1999, and we reviewed the files for all three of these leases. In the Mid-Atlantic region, there were no

leases above $1.9 million that became effective in fiscal year 1999.

4

We did not review any classified documents in the GAO protest files.

Scope and

Methodology
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We reviewed PBS’ lease files to examine the leasing approach used for

each lease, including (1) how space needs were determined, (2) how

potential sites were identified and assessed, and (3) what level of

communication with potential and actual offerors took place. We were

unable to assess the level of communication with potential offerors

because there were no requirements related to communication with

potential offerors and its documentation, and documentation of any

communication varied in the lease files we reviewed. While reviewing the

lease files, we also looked for the effect that these aspects of the leasing

process had on competition. When necessary, we spoke to the contracting

officers responsible for the lease files to clarify events that occurred

during the leasing process and to get answers to any questions we had on

the leasing approach.

We did not evaluate the overall efficiency, effectiveness, and prices of, or

customer satisfaction with, PBS’ leasing program. Nor did we review PBS’

decisions to satisfy the agencies’ space requests through leasing rather

than construction or purchase of a building.5

 We also did not question PBS’

decisions regarding justifications for eliminating sites from competition

and for using sole source solicitations.

We did our work from October 1999 to March 2000 in accordance with

generally accepted government auditing standards. We requested

comments on a draft of this report from the Administrator of GSA. GSA’s

comments are discussed at the end of this report.

The Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, and National Capital (NCR) regions all used

the three basic leasing approaches that are provided for in statute or

regulationtraditional, simplified, and sole source. Because of NCR’s

history of volume leasing in a small geographic area, it has developed and

uses extensively a unique leasing approach called the Advanced

Acquisition Program (AAP), which regional officials said allows it to award

leases more quickly by developing an inventory of available space for

lease. The extent to which each leasing approach was used in the different

regions varied, but specific aspects of the process of acquiring a lease were

similar among the regions.

 

5

We previously reported that the federal government could realize significant savings if it owned some

of the space it leased, but that GSA had to lease the space because it lacked sufficient funds for

construction. See General Services Administration: Comparison of Space Acquisition Alternatives—

Leasing to Lease-Purchase and Leasing to Construction (GAO/GGD-99-49R, Mar. 12, 1999), Space

Acquisition Cost: Comparison of GSA Estimates for Three Alternatives (GAO/GGD-97-148, Aug. 6,

1997), and Federal Office Space: Increased Ownership Would Result in Significant Savings (GAO/GGD90-11, Dec. 22, 1989).

Many Similarities in

Leasing Approaches

Used in the Regions
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The Mid-Atlantic region and NCR used what they considered the quickest

and easiest leasing approach the majority of the time. The Mid-Atlantic

region used the simplified leasing approach for 58 percent of all its leases,

and NCR used the AAP approach for 54 percent of all its leases that

became effective in fiscal year 1999. The Southeast region used the

traditional and simplified leasing approaches equally—45 percent each.

Table 1 shows the percentage of each region’s use of each leasing

approach for leases that became effective in fiscal year 1999.

Percentage of leases using

Region

Total

number of

leases

Traditional

approach

Simplified

approach

Sole source

approach AAP

Southeast 193 45% 45% 11% N/A

Mid-Atlantic 108 32 58 10 N/A

NCR 59 24 5 17 54%

Note 1: Percentages may not add to 100 due to rounding.

Note 2: N/A = not applicable.

Source: PBS regional officials.

As a part of the “Can’t Beat GSA Leasing” program, PBS streamlined its

leasing process to make it more businesslike, thereby eliminating many of

the previously required reviews and documentation. The contracting

officer now has more flexibility to make business decisions about leasing,

and PBS relies on the contracting officer’s knowledge in making leasing

decisions. While more flexibility has been built into the process, statutes

and regulation still prescribe the circumstances in which the different

leasing approaches may be used and certain steps that must occur during

the leasing process.6

The traditional leasing approach, which can be used for all leases, uses the

full and open competition standard that allows all sources to compete for

the lease. Under the traditional leasing approach, once the agency’s space

requirements have been defined, they are generally advertised in the local

newspapers to identify potential sites. All space requirements exceeding

10,000 square feet are required by regulation to be advertised in the local

newspaper or the Commerce Business Daily. PBS officials told us that they

advertise in the local newspapers. The potential sites are visited to

determine whether they could satisfy the agency’s space requirements. The

contracting officer then prepares a Solicitation for Offers (SFO), which

contains the agency’s requirements and information related to submitting

 6

The specific federal statutes and executive orders that are applicable to PBS’ leasing program are

listed and explained in a letter we issued on this subject, Federal Statutes and Executive Orders

Applicable to the Public Buildings Service’s Leasing Program (GAO/GGD-00-27R, Oct. 18, 1999).

Table 1: Leasing Approaches Used in

Three PBS Regions for Leases Effective

in Fiscal Year 1999
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an offer. The SFO is to be sent to everyone who is determined to have

space that could meet the agency’s requirements or who requests the SFO.

After offers are received, they are to be evaluated based on the SFO

requirements and the offered price. These basic steps were taken in all

three regions when the traditional leasing approach was used.

The simplified leasing approach used in the three regions expedites the

leasing process and can be used if the average annual rent is expected to

be $100,000 or less, excluding operating expenses. The process is intended

to be less formal than the traditional leasing approach, with much of it

handled by telephone or during on-site visits. Under the simplified

approach, the contracting officer only has to (1) solicit three sources to

promote competition or (2) document the file to explain the lack of

competition. Because space requirements are generally under 10,000

square feet, they are not required by regulation to be advertised in the local

newspaper. The potential sites may be visited to determine which three

sites satisfy the agency’s requirements and thus should be solicited. Offers

are to be evaluated by considering the agency’s space requirements and

the offered price.

Under the sole source leasing approach, the contracting officer determines

that there is only one source that can satisfy the agency’s space

requirements. Sole source lease awards typically occur as an outcome of

the traditional or simplified leasing approach, since the determination that

there is only one source that can satisfy the agency’s space requirements is

to be made after the market survey is completed. PBS can negotiate with

the one source for the space and then award the lease using a sole source

contract. For all sole source leases, there must be information in the file

explaining why only one source was solicited. If the lease’s annual rent is

$500,000 or more, and depending on the size of the lease, a justification to

use other than full and open competition must be approved by either (1)

the competition advocate in the region responsible for promoting full and

open competition, (2) the head of the procuring activity, or (3) the senior

procurement executive of the agency. The justification for using the sole

source contract must include an explanation of what was done to

determine that only one source could provide the space and that the price

offered was fair and reasonable.

NCR began to use AAP in 1991 to expedite the acquisition of small

amounts of space because of complaints from customer agencies that it

was taking too long to obtain needed space. NCR currently uses AAP for

leases of all sizes. Through this program, NCR conducts a competitive

procurement process through which it annually solicits potential offerors
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for generic space requirements, ranging from 2,000 to 440,000 square feet,

in a certain geographic area. NCR then evaluates the offers received and

develops an inventory of available space ranging from 2,000 to 440,000

square feet. When NCR receives a space request, the AAP inventory is

sorted according to the agency’s space requirements, and those sites in the

inventory that may satisfy the requirements are reviewed. The offeror of

the available space that will satisfy the agency’s requirements at the lowest

price is to be awarded the lease. NCR then states that it can award a lease

for this space without further competition or negotiation because it has

already gone through a competitive procurement process to acquire the

space. According to NCR officials, this approach has worked well for NCR

because of the large government presence and consequent high demand

for space in its relatively small geographic area.

Figure 1 summarizes the traditional, simplified, and AAP leasing

approaches. It does not include the sole source leasing approach since sole

source awards typically occur as an outcome of the traditional or

simplified leasing approach.
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Source: GAO summary of GSAR and information provided by regional PBS officials.

Figure 1: Key Steps in Various PBS Leasing Approaches
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There are certain aspects of the leasing process, such as the development

of space requirements, identification and assessment of potential sites, and

communication with actual offerors, that occur in all acquisitions,

regardless of the leasing approach used. These aspects of the leasing

process were essentially done the same way in each of the regions we

visited.

In all three regions, space requirements—including the amount of space,

location, and any required special features—were primarily developed by

the customer agency. PBS officials in the regions told us that they

generally question the customer agency’s space requirements only if they

have concerns about their ability to generate sufficient competition

because of the nature of the space requirements.

This is markedly different from how space needs were developed prior to

PBS’ “Can’t Beat GSA Leasing” program, when PBS prescribed what an

agency could or could not have for their office space. In fiscal year 1998,

PBS began preparing occupancy agreements to establish the relationship

between itself and its customer agencies. The occupancy agreement

includes the customer agency’s identified space requirements, the term of

the lease, and the estimated per square foot and annual rental costs of the

space requirements. The purpose of the agreement is to ensure that the

agency is aware of and agrees to the estimated cost of acquiring space to

satisfy its requirements, and understands how changes to the space

requirements can result in an increase in the total cost for the space.

Potential sites that may satisfy the agency’s space requirements are

identified in various ways. While space needs of 10,000 square feet or more

must be advertised in a local newspaper, the contracting officer has

flexibility in using other sources to identify potential sites to meet space

requirements. In the cases that we reviewed, the methods or sources used

to identify potential sites varied somewhat by contracting officer.

However, these differences did not appear to be due to regional office

preferences or direction, but rather to the contracting officer’s personal

preferences and knowledge of the real estate market. In addition to

advertising in local newspapers, contracting officers often contacted local

real estate brokers or used their own knowledge of the market to identify

potential sites. Examples of other sources that were contacted or reviewed

when trying to identify potential sites for leasing included the local

government, the chamber of commerce, an economic development

authority, a group representing shopping centers, and newspaper

advertisements offering space for lease.

Determination of Agency

Space Requirements

Identification and

Assessment of Potential

Space
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To assess a potential site’s ability to satisfy the agency’s space

requirements, the contracting officer or realty specialist and an agency

representative may visit the site. Representatives from those sites that

appear to satisfy the agency’s requirements are then asked to submit an

offer. Site visits may not be necessary when the contracting officer is

familiar with the potential sites and their ability to satisfy the agency’s

requirements. When visiting potential sites, it was the practice in all three

regions to have a customer agency representative accompany the

contracting officer or realty specialist. The PBS officials said that this is an

important step because if a particular building will not satisfy the agency’s

needs, it is important to identify this fact as early as possible and not spend

time soliciting such sites. According to PBS officials, there must be a valid

reason for why a site will not satisfy the agency’s space requirements,

since a key aspect of the contracting officer’s job is to generate

competition. In the cases that we reviewed that included site visits, it

appeared that the contracting officer or realty specialist and agency

representatives had agreed on which sites would satisfy the agency’s space

requirements.

According to PBS officials, much of the communication with actual

offerors is oral. Regulations require that a written record of all exchanges

related to negotiations be placed in the lease file, and that written notice

be provided to any offeror excluded from the competition as well as to any

unsuccessful offeror. The level of documented communication with actual

offerors in the lease files we reviewed varied by contracting officer. Some

of the lease files contained a summary, or detailed notes, or records of the

specific negotiations with each offeror and a clear trail of written

correspondence. Other lease files did not contain documentation of

negotiations held with offerors. All of the lease files involving leases where

offerors were excluded from competition contained supporting

documentation. However, some lease files did not contain documentation

of written notice to the unsuccessful offerors. Contracting officers told us

that in these cases all required communication occurred, even though it

was not documented in the file as is required.

When we brought the issue of lease files missing documentation to the

attention of NCR management, they said that their own review of lease

files in the region had also found documentation to be missing. As a result

of our work and their own review, in December 1999, NCR issued a real

estate bulletin on lease file documentation that contained a checklist of

required documents. In February 2000, NCR also issued a bulletin on the

memorandum the contracting officer is required to prepare that

summarizes the lease process, including the results of negotiations with

Communication With

Offerors
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actual offerors. NCR is also providing training for the staff on these

bulletins.

For the lease files we reviewed, the way in which (1) space needs were

determined, (2) potential sites were identified and assessed, and (3)

communication with actual offerors took place did not appear to unduly

restrict competition. Participants in PBS’ leasing process who believe that

a contract has been or is about to be awarded in violation of the laws and

regulations that govern contracting with the federal government can

protest the awards to GSA and us. According to officials in the three

regions we visited, about 1 percent (4 of 360) of the leases that became

effective in fiscal year 1999 were protested.

The space requirements as defined by the customer agency and reviewed

by the contracting officer were generally broad enough to elicit multiple

offers. Of the eight leases we reviewed that were awarded using the

traditional leasing approach, six received an average of about four offers,

with a range of from two to five offers for each lease. For the other two

leases, the agencies’ requirements that they be located in a geographically

small area because of their missions resulted in one offer being received

for each lease. Of the 19 leases that were awarded using the simplified

approach, the contracting officers solicited at least three sources to

promote competition or provided documentation to explain the lack of

competition. In the 12 lease cases we reviewed where the sole source

approach was used, the required justification for using other than full and

open competition was prepared and approved for 10 of the leases. Of the

other two sole source leases we reviewed, one had a justification that was

prepared but not signed by the appropriate official, while the file for the

other lease, which was for a few parking spaces that cost about $5,000

annually, did not document why only one offer was solicited.

Finally, while it was not required by regulation, five of the six lease files

we reviewed in NCR that used the AAP approach contained

documentation concerning the number of properties identified in the AAP

inventory that could satisfy the specific space requirement and how the

successful offer was selected. The other AAP lease file did not contain this

information.

As discussed previously, it was the practice in the three regions we visited

to have a customer agency representative accompany the contracting

officer or realty specialist on the visits to the potential sites to help

determine which sites could satisfy the agency’s requirements and whose

representatives should be asked to submit an offer. In the cases we

Leasing Processes Did

Not Unduly Restrict

Competition
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reviewed in which site visits occurred, we found nothing in the files to

indicate that the presence of the agency representative on these visits

caused sites to be eliminated from consideration without justification. For

those cases where the site’s representative was not asked to submit an

offer, there was generally a reason noted for why the particular site would

not satisfy the agency’s requirements.

As discussed earlier, the level of communication with the actual offerors

that was documented in the lease files varied by contracting officer. PBS

contracting officers stated that not all communication with offerors that

occurred was documented. However, we did not find anything to suggest

that the same information was not being provided to all offerors at the

same time. Based on the lease files we reviewed, there was no indication

that the extent or means of communications with the actual offerors had

an adverse effect on competition.

According to PBS officials in the 3 regions we visited, only 4 of the 360

leases that became effective in fiscal year 1999 were protested. All of these

protests were submitted to GAO by incumbent lessors who were not

successful in retaining their government lease when GSA conducted a new

acquisition for the expiring lease. One protester7

 filed a protest over PBS’

determination that its building would not be considered since it was not

located within the central business area (CBA) in accordance with

executive order 12072.8

 GAO denied this protest because PBS reasonably

determined that the protester’s building was outside the CBA and thus was

not entitled to consideration for lease under the terms of executive order

12072. Another protester filed a protest alleging that PBS deliberately

excluded it from the competition when it did not send the protester a copy

of the solicitation.9

 GAO denied the protest because PBS advertised the

requirements for leased space as required, and obtained full and open

competition and a reasonable price for the space in response to the SFO.

Additionally, GAO stated that there was no evidence that the contracting

officer deliberately excluded the protester from competing. The other two

protests were withdrawn by the protesters before GAO issued a decision.

In one of these protests, the protester argued that a sole source contract to

acquire space was not justified. In reviewing this file, we found that PBS

awarded a sole source contract to utilize vacant space that it was already

 

7

Peachtree 25th LLC d/b/a American Management Company, B-281185.2, Dec. 4, 1998, 98-2 CPD 126.

8

Executive order 12072 requires that GSA, in leasing office space in an urban area, give first

consideration to a city’s centralized business area.

9

Interproperty Investments, Inc., B-281600, March 8, 1999, 99-1 CPD 55.
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leasing and paying rent on. Furthermore, PBS had determined that the

protester’s space did not meet the agency’s minimum requirements. The

other withdrawn protest stated that PBS intentionally precluded

competition through the use of arbitrary requirements. The lease in

question contained relevant security requirements for an agency that

required a high level of security.

The GSAR contains the basic leasing approaches and actions that must

occur when leasing space for federal agencies. The three regional offices

we visited used these basic leasing approaches—traditional, simplified,

and sole source—and generally complied with the requirements pertaining

to the steps of the leasing process. NCR uses the three leasing approaches

contained in the GSAR but has also developed the AAP, which is a

variation of the traditional leasing approach. NCR uses AAP extensively to

expedite the acquisition of leased space in its region, which is

characterized by a large federal presence in a relatively small geographical

area.

PBS’ contracting officers have been allowed to exercise flexibility and

discretion in acquiring leased space for federal agencies. Based on the

lease files that we reviewed, we did not find any indication that the

process by which leased space was being acquired adversely affected

competition.

We requested comments on a draft of this report from the Administrator of

GSA. On March 21, 2000, we met with GSA’s Assistant Commissioner,

Office of Business Performance, and other GSA officials to discuss our

draft report. The officials said that they agreed with the report and noted

the weakness in documentation in the lease files. An NCR official said that

they too had found weaknesses in documentation of lease files in NCR and

have instituted a training program to address the issue. On March 30, 2000,

the Assistant Commissioner sent an e-mail message to all GSA regional

offices emphasizing the need to document in the lease files conversations

with and notification to unsuccessful offerors.

We are sending copies of this report to Senator Joseph I. Lieberman,

Ranking Minority Member of your committee; Senator George V.

Voinovich, Chairman, and Senator Max Baucus, Ranking Minority Member,

Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Senate Committee on

Environment and Public Works; Representative Bob Franks, Chairman,

and Representative Robert Wise, Jr., Ranking Democratic Member,

Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, Hazardous

Materials and Pipeline Transportation, House Committee on

Conclusions

Agency Comments
B-284261

Page 15 GAO/GGD-00-88 Leasing Practices in Selected Regions

Transportation and Infrastructure; the Honorable David J. Barram,

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