DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Office of Inspector General

Office of Audits

An Audit of FEMA’s Acquisition

Workforce

OIG-04-12 March 2004

Preface

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) was established 

by the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-296) by amendment to the Inspector 

General Act of 1978. This is one of a series of audit, inspection, investigative, and special reports 

prepared by the OIG periodically as part of its oversight responsibility with respect to DHS to 

identify and prevent fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement.

This report is the result of an assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the program, 

operation, or function under review. It is based on interviews with employees and officials of 

relevant agencies and institutions, direct observations, and a review of applicable documents.

The recommendations herein have been developed on the basis of the best knowledge available 

to the OIG, and have been discussed in draft with those responsible for implementation. It is 

my hope that this report will result in more effective, efficient, and/or economical operations. I 

express my appreciation to all of those who contributed to the preparation of this report.

Clark Kent Ervin

Inspector General

An Audit of FEMA’s Acquisition Workforce Page 1

Contents

Introduction..................................................................................................................................... 3

Results in Brief ............................................................................................................................... 3

Background.................................................................................................................................... 4

Acquisition Workforce Files .......................................................................................................... 5

Regulations .................................................................................................................................... 6

FEMA Guidance ............................................................................................................................ 6

Non-Compliance with Guidance.................................................................................................... 7

Policy Staffing................................................................................................................................ 7

Conclusions and Recommendations.............................................................................................. 8

Appendices

Appendix 1: Purpose, Scope, and Methodology.................................................................. 10

Appendix 2: Recommendations............................................................................................11

Appendix 3: Management Comments ................................................................................. 12

Appendix 4: OIG Analysis of Management Comments.......................................................14

Appendix 5: Major Contributors To This Report ................................................................ 15

Appendix 6: Report Distribution ......................................................................................... 16

Abbreviations

CFR Code of Federal Regulations

FAR Federal Acquisition Regulation

FEMA Federal Emergency Management Agency

IDP Individual Development Plans

OFPP Office of Federal Procurement Policy
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Contents

OCPO Office of the Chief Procurement Officer

 OIG Office of Inspector General
An Audit of FEMA’s Acquisition Workforce Page 3

OIG

Department of Homeland Security

Office of Inspector General

Introduction

The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) acquisition workforce 

includes a senior procurement executive, a full-time professional staff of 51, 

and 23 temporary employees. They are located at FEMA headquarters, National 

Emergency Training Center, Mount Weather Emergency Assistance Center, and 

ten FEMA regional offices. FEMA acquires a wide range of goods and services 

- from office supplies and forklifts to laboratory and security services.

We conducted this audit to assess how well FEMA manages its acquisition 

workforce. The audit was conducted from November 2002 to June 2003 at 

FEMA headquarters, National Emergency Training Center, and Mount Weather 

Emergency Assistance Center.

Results in Brief

Numerous deficiencies in FEMA’s record keeping prevented the Office of 

Inspector General (OIG) from performing a thorough analysis of FEMA’s 

acquisition workforce capability and workload management. It was impossible 

to determine whether the acquisition personnel met training, education, and 

experience requirements. While it was not possible to evaluate workload 

management, there were indications that FEMA needs to manage its workload 

more effectively. The absence of capability and performance information in 

employee files, and the absence of operational reviews indicated that managers do 

not have the information needed to manage the workload.

The OIG recommends that the Chief Procurement Officer, Office of the Under 

Secretary for Management:

1. Review and update FEMA professionalism and warrant files to ensure that 

each employee meets the requirements for his or her position.
Page 4 An Audit of FEMA’s Acquisition Workforce 

2. Review and update 48 CFR 4401, FEMA Manual 4100.1, and FEMA 

Policy Memorandum 2001-02.

3. Ensure that FEMA’s acquisition policy and policy monitoring function is 

outside operational procurement branches.

4. Designate a competition advocate in writing.

Background

FEMA became part of the Department of Homeland Security in March 2003. 

FEMA’s mission is to reduce the loss of life and property, and protect our 

institutions, from all hazards. In support of this mission, FEMA processed over 

2,600 procurement actions for a total of $429 million during FY 2002. Actions 

ranged from awarding new contracts to making small purchases using simplified 

acquisition procedures. FEMA’s acquisition workforce is made up of 51 full-time 

professional staffers working at headquarters and other field office facilities. In 

addition, there are 23 temporary acquisition employees who work at disaster field 

offices to help respond to and recover from disasters. Of the 74 employees, 43 

have warrants to conduct contracting activities.

Federal laws and regulations govern what FEMA can buy, the methods used to 

purchase items, and who is allowed to make purchases. The Federal Acquisition 

Regulation (FAR) is the primary document governing acquisitions by executive 

agencies such as FEMA. The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 48 4401 is 

FEMA’s regulation implementing the FAR.

In addition to the regulations, FEMA implements internal agency guidance 

that directs, guides, informs, and instructs employees in performing their jobs. 

FEMA Manual 4100.1, Acquisition Management, summarizes federal and FEMA 

acquisition guidance. Policy Memorandum 2001-02, Revised Procurement Career 

Management Program, outlines minimum acquisition workforce training and 

experience requirements and provides guidance for granting, maintaining, and 

revoking acquisition skill level certifications and contracting officer authority.
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Acquisition Workforce Files

FEMA has not maintained accurate or up-to-date acquisition workforce files. A 

majority of the information on warrants, training, education, experience, waivers, 

and certifications was not maintained in the files, as required by FEMA Policy 

Memorandum 2001-02, FAR 1.603, and Office of Federal Procurement Policy 

(OFPP) guidance. FEMA maintains a consolidated professionalism and warrant 

file for each acquisition employee in the contract specialist job series. As a result 

of the inadequate files, the OIG was unable to assess the qualifications of the 

workforce. Because FEMA’s acquisition workforce files were not maintained 

pursuant to applicable federal guidelines, FEMA may be at risk that its acquisition 

workforce is not qualified. In addition, inadequate warrant files increase the 

risk that contracting officer authority might be granted to those without the 

qualifications or need for such authority.

The OIG reviewed professionalism files for the 45 employees in the contract 

specialist job series and 43 warrant files. All but one of the 45 professionalism 

files did not have sufficient documentation as to whether employees completed 

the mandatory core training requirements for their respective grade levels. 

Thirty-seven of 43 warrant files had inadequate supporting documentation for 

experience; 35 had insufficient supporting documentation regarding educational 

requirements; 21 had inadequate supporting documentation regarding training; 

and 17 had insufficient supporting documentation regarding continuing education. 

Two waivers of education requirements had been granted for promotions to grades 

13 and 14 without the required documentation in the employees’ files. In addition, 

none of the personnel files for FEMA’s 23 temporary acquisition employees 

who work at disaster field offices contained copies of performance appraisals, as 

required by FEMA policy. A FEMA official told the OIG that FEMA did not have 

a file retention plan, which is also required by FEMA policy.

During the course of the OIG’s audit work, FEMA found some of the missing 

file documentation and increased its efforts to organize and manage acquisition 

workforce files. FEMA officials said that the files had not been adequately 

maintained because they did not have sufficient resources devoted to maintaining 

them. They said there were many other competing priorities and not enough time 

or staff to complete them all. The OIG, however, did not independently verify that 

this was the case.
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Regulations

The FAR is supplemented by 48 CFR 4401, which codifies uniform policies and 

procedures for FEMA acquisitions. FEMA has not updated 48 CFR 4401 for at 

least two years, although federal regulations require annual updates. As a result, 

the regulation is outdated and contains inaccurate information. It lists offices and 

functions that no longer exist, policies and procedures that are no longer relevant, 

and delegations that are no longer effective. For example, according to the most 

current version of 48 CFR 4401, FEMA’s competition advocate is the chief, 

Policy and Planning Division, Office of Acquisition Management. However, that 

division no longer exists.

In another example, 48 CFR 4401 allows unlimited contracting authority to be 

granted to people who have a minimum of two years specialized experience. 

However, current FEMA policy is that such authority be granted only to people 

who have at least five years of progressively complex government contracts 

related experience. The regulation needs to be updated to match the current policy.

FEMA Guidance

FEMA instructions and manuals direct, guide, inform and instruct employees in 

the performance of their jobs. Consequently, they should be updated periodically 

to enable employees to work effectively. FEMA has not updated its acquisition 

guidance to reflect current federal regulations. FEMA Manual 4100.1, Acquisition 

Management, was last updated in 1993. It requires compliance with the Brooks 

Automatic Data Processing Act, a law that was repealed and replaced by the 

Clinger Cohen Act of 1996. Additionally, it states that multiple small business 

sources are to be used for procurements of $25,000 or less. Current federal 

regulations require that acquisitions between $2,500 and $100,000 be reserved for 

small business sources.

Policy Memorandum 2001-02, Revised Procurement Career Management 

Program, dated March 5, 2001, outlines minimum acquisition workforce training 

and experience requirements. It provides guidance for granting, maintaining, and 

revoking acquisition skill level certifications and contracting officer authority, too. 

FEMA’s acquisition workforce is required to plan its education, training, and work 

assignments according to this policy memorandum. However, it is inconsistent 

with OFPP Policy Letter 97-01. FEMA’s policy memorandum is deficient in that 
An Audit of FEMA’s Acquisition Workforce Page 7

minimum training and experience requirements are not identified for acquisition 

personnel in the purchasing occupational series, those in non-contracting series 

with contracting authority at or below the simplified acquisition threshold, or 

those assigned as contracting officer representatives. Also, it does not address 

funding of acquisition workforce education and training.

Non-Compliance with Guidance

Although it was not possible to perform a comprehensive assessment of FEMA’s 

compliance with acquisition regulations and policies, the OIG noted several 

instances of non-compliance. The OIG determined from its review of acquisition 

employee files and interviews with acquisition staff that policies on education 

waiver requirements were not followed for two employees. In addition, records 

did not document that contracting officer authority was properly granted or 

revoked in 17 instances. For example, FEMA granted $25,000 of non-disaster 

contracting officer authority to a regional support coordination assistant without 

adequate documentation justifying the action. The employee was not in the 

contracting occupational series, and the employee’s position description did not 

identify non-disaster procurement responsibilities.

In addition, FEMA has not prepared individual development plans (IDPs) for 

its acquisition employees, as required under FEMA Policy Memorandum 2001-

02. The IDP identifies the education, training, and developmental needs of an 

employee. It documents the necessary planning, scheduling, and budgeting 

of training and development for employees to be effective and advance in the 

acquisition field. Only one of the 45 contract specialists had an IDP. FEMA 

officials told the OIG they have not required IDPs for its acquisition employees 

for several years. The absence of an IDP hampers FEMA’s ability to ensure that 

its acquisition workforce is qualified and that adequate funds are set aside for 

education and training.

Policy Staffing

Interpreting, implementating, and monitoring acquisition policy are important 

functions that should be given high priority and a reasonable degree of 

independence. FEMA assigned acquisition policy responsibilities to procurement 

analysts in one of the functional procurement branches, thus limiting the 

independence and effectiveness of the policy function. In addition, the 
Page 8 An Audit of FEMA’s Acquisition Workforce 

competition advocate position, an important function required to ensure that 

competition policies were enforced, was not clearly established. Although 

FEMA’s web site named a division director as the competition advocate, 

acquisition officials said that the competition advocate’s functions were verbally 

assigned to a senior procurement analyst within the branch. In any case, the 

competition advocate, as a part of the operational branch, did not have the 

independence necessary to be effective in the position.

FEMA has not reviewed its contracting operations for effective competition since 

FY 1992. Federal regulations require these reviews to be conducted annually to 

ensure that agencies are promoting full and open competition to the maximum 

extent practicable. After interviewing staff and reviewing FY 2001 small business 

goals and procurement data, the OIG determined that FEMA also failed to meet 

its FY 2001 small business goals, and that a required written justification and 

corrective action plan was not submitted to the Small Business Administration.

Prior to 1996, FEMA conducted biennial procurement system reviews to evaluate 

the effectiveness of FEMA procurement activities and compliance with governing 

laws and regulations. However, FEMA has not conducted the reviews since then. 

Acquisition officials told the OIG that they did not have the resources to perform 

the biennial reviews. These independent management reviews represented 

an important quality control mechanism for ensuring that procurements were 

conducted effectively and according to federal laws and regulations.

Conclusions and Recommendations

FEMA has inadequate controls to ensure that its acquisition workforce meets 

training, education, and experience requirements and can function according 

to federal regulations. Specifically, FEMA’s acquisition personnel records 

are incomplete, and management has not performed all required personnel 

management functions. FEMA is aware of these deficiencies and has requested 

additional acquisition resources to address the problem.

The OIG recommends that the Chief Procurement Officer, Office of the Under 

Secretary for Management:

1. Review and update FEMA professionalism and warrant files to ensure that 

each employee meets the requirements for his or her position.
An Audit of FEMA’s Acquisition Workforce Page 9

2. Review and update 48 CFR 4401, FEMA Manual 4100.1, and FEMA 

Policy Memorandum 2001-02.

3. Ensure that FEMA’s acquisition policy and policy monitoring function is 

outside operational procurement branches.

4. Designate a competition advocate in writing.
Page 10 An Audit of FEMA’s Acquisition Workforce 

Appendix 1

Purpose, Scope, and Methodology

Purpose, Scope, and Methodology

The objective of this audit was to assess FEMA’s management of its acquisition 

workforce. The review process included interviewing FEMA officials, evaluating 

and comparing FEMA’s acquisition guidance with federal acquisition laws and 

regulations; and, analyzing warrant and certification files, position descriptions, 

mission and function statements, organizational and staffing charts, personnel 

records, budget justification documentation, workload history, and overtime 

records.

We conducted our audit between November 2002 and June 2003 according to 

generally accepted government auditing standards.

Throughout the audit, OIG worked closely with FEMA acquisition and human 

resource officials. The cooperation and courtesies extended to the audit team 

are appreciated. The principal OIG points of contact for the audit are Assistant 

Inspector General for Audits, J. Richard Berman at (202) 254-4100, and Dennis 

White, Director, Emergency Preparedness and Response at (202) 254-4157. Major 

OIG contributors to the project are identified in Appendix 5.
An Audit of FEMA’s Acquisition Workforce Page 11

The OIG recommends that the Chief Procurement Officer, Office of the Under 

Secretary for Management:

1. Review and update FEMA professionalism and warrant files to ensure that 

each employee meets the requirements for his or her position.

2. Review and update 48 CFR 4401, FEMA Manual 4100.1, and FEMA 

Policy Memorandum 2001-02.

3. Ensure that FEMA’s acquisition policy and policy monitoring function is 

outside operational procurement branches.

4. Designate a competition advocate in writing.

Appendix 2

Recommendations
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Appendix 3

Management Comments
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Appendix 3

Management Comments
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Appendix 4

OIG Analysis of Management Comments

The OIG evaluated the Office of the Chief Procurement Officer’s (OCPO) written comments and has 

made changes to the report where appropriate. A summary of the written comments and our analysis 

regarding the recommendations made in the report is as follows:

Recommendations

1. Review and update FEMA professionalism and warrant files to ensure that each employee 

meets the requirements for his or her position.

OCPO agrees with this recommendation. FEMA is in the process of updating records for all GS1102 personnel. FEMA is also taking action to ensure that contracting warrants are issued and 

maintained in accordance with DHS management directives. OCPO and FEMA plan to complete this 

corrective action by December 31, 2004.

The OIG concurs with OCPO’s response.

2. Review and update 48 CFR 4401, FEMA Manual 4100.1, and FEMA Policy Memorandum 

2001-02.

OCPO concurs with the intent of this recommendation. FEMA has assembled a team to review 

and update the policies and procedures to ensure compliance with the DHS Security Acquisition 

Regulation and DHS Acquisition Manual. FEMA has committed to complete this corrective action 

by December 31, 2004. OCPO will monitor FEMA’s progress.

The OIG concurs with OCPO’s response.

3. Ensure that FEMA’s acquisition policy and policy monitoring function is outside 

operational procurement branches.

OCPO agrees with this recommendation. FEMA will establish a separate policy branch by December 

31, 2004. OCPO will monitor the progress of this corrective action.

The OIG concurs with OCPO’s response.

4. Designate a competition advocate in writing.

OCPO agrees with this recommendation and a Competition Advocate will be designated in writing. 

OCPO and FEMA plan to complete this corrective action by December 31, 2004.

 The OIG concurs with OCPO’s response.
An Audit of FEMA’s Acquisition Workforce Page 15

Appendix 5

Major Contributors To This Report

Gina Smith, Audit Manager, Department of Homeland Security, Office of Audits, 

Emergency Preparedness and Response

Leigh Johnson-Steele, Auditor, Department of Homeland Security, Office of 

Audits, Border and Transportation Security

John Woo, Auditor, Department of Homeland Security, Office of Audits, 

Emergency Preparedness and Response
Page 16 An Audit of FEMA’s Acquisition Workforce

Appendix 6

Report Distribution

Department of Homeland Security

Office of the Under Secretary for Management

Emergency Preparedness and Response Directorate

Federal Emergency Management Agency

Office of Management and Budget

Homeland Bureau Chief

DHS OIG Budget Examiner

Congress

Congressional Oversight and Appropriations Committee as Appropriate

Additional Information and Copies

To obtain additional copies of this report, call the Office of Inspector General (OIG) 

at (202) 254-4100, fax your request to (202) 254-4285, or visit the OIG web site at 

www.dhs.gov.

OIG Hotline

To report alleged fraud, waste, abuse or mismanagement, or any other kind of criminal 

or noncriminal misconduct relative to department programs or operations, call the OIG 

Hotline at 1-800-323-8603; write to Department of Homeland, Washington, DC 20528, 

Attn: Office of Inspector General, Investigations Division – Hotline. The OIG seeks to 

protect the identity of each writer and caller.