General Services Administration: GSA Should Clarify Its Reporting Exemption and Collect Additional Data on Executives' Use of Aircraft for Nonmission Purposes
Published: 2014-02-28T00:00:00

Fast Facts:

Highlights:
section_title: Why GAO Did This Study
paragraphs: The federal government owns or leases over 1,700 aircraft to accomplish a wide variety of missions. Federal agencies are generally required to report trips taken by senior federal officials on their aircraft to GSA unless the trips are classified pursuant to executive branch requirements. In February 2013, GAO reported on DOJ senior executives' use of DOJ aviation assets for nonmission purposes for fiscal years 2007 through 2011. GAO identified several issues with respect to the implementation of a provision of GSA regulations that exempts intelligence agencies from reporting information about government aircraft to GSA and that provision's application to unclassified data on senior federal official travel for nonmission purposes.
GAO was asked to review GSA's oversight of executives' use of government aircraft for nonmission purposes. This report addresses the extent to which (1) GSA's reporting exemption for intelligence agencies is consistent with executive branch requirements and (2) GSA ensures the accuracy of its reporting on the use of government aircraft by senior federal officials. GAO reviewed relevant executive branch requirements and GSA regulations, as well as data submitted by DOJ to GSA on trips taken by senior federal officials on DOJ aircraft and interviewed GSA officials.
section_title: What GAO Found
paragraphs: The exemption in General Services Administration (GSA) regulations that allows intelligence agencies not to report unclassified data on senior federal official travel for nonmission purposes is not consistent with executive branch requirements, and GSA has not provided a basis for deviating from these requirements. Specifically, executive branch documents—including Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-126, OMB Bulletin 93-11, and a 1993 presidential memorandum to the heads of all executive departments and agencies—require agencies to report to GSA, and for GSA to collect data, on senior federal official travel on government aircraft for nonmission purposes, except for trips that are classified. As a result, GSA is not collecting all specified unclassified data as directed, and GSA has not provided a basis for deviating from executive branch requirements. Identifying an adequate basis for the intelligence agency reporting exemption or removing the exemption from its regulations if a basis cannot be identified could help GSA ensure its regulations for senior federal official travel comply with executive branch requirements.
GSA aggregates data on senior federal official travel to create publically available Senior Federal Official Travel Reports that, among other things, provide transparency of senior federal officials' use of government aircraft. However, GSA does not determine which agencies' travel is not reported under the exemption for intelligence agencies. For example, in February 2013 GAO found that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)—which is a member of the intelligence community—did not report to GSA, based on the intelligence agency exemption, information for 395 unclassified nonmission flights taken by the Attorney General, FBI Director, and other Department of Justice (DOJ) executives from fiscal years 2009 through 2011. However, GSA's Senior Federal Official Travel Reports GAO reviewed for those years provided information on flights for other DOJ components but did not indicate that additional flights may have been omitted on the basis of GSA's exemption for intelligence agencies. GSA senior officials stated that they do not collect this information because they do not distinguish between instances where an agency reports no information because it is invoking the exemption or some other reason, such as that no flights were taken on its aircraft. However, these officials also stated that it could be possible to obtain follow-up information from agencies that did not provide travel data in order to determine why agencies had not reported data. Consistent with Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government , if GSA collected additional information from agencies on instances where nonmission travel was not reported because of the exemption for intelligence agencies, as opposed to some other reason, and included such information in its reports, it could help GSA ensure the accuracy of its Senior Federal Official Travel Reports.
section_title: What GAO Recommends
paragraphs: GAO recommends that GSA identify the basis of its reporting exemption, and collect additional information when travel is not being reported. GSA concurred and identified actions to address our recommendations.

section_title: Letter
paragraphs: The federal government owns or leases over 1,700 aircraft to accomplish  a wide variety of missions that include the management of natural  resources, fire fighting, research and development, and law enforcement.  These aircraft play a critical role in supporting agencies’ mission-related  responsibilities and operations. In addition, federal agencies use  government aircraft to transport certain executives for travel other than for  mission purposes.
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the General Services  Administration (GSA) established requirements for federal agencies  regarding the use of government aircraft, including executive travel on  these aircraft. OMB Circular A-126 sets forth requirements for agencies’  use of government aircraft, including the types of travel that are  appropriate and that travelers reimburse the government for use of these  aircraft for certain nonmission purposes. According to the circular,  agencies may use their aircraft only for official purposes and must report  semiannually to GSA each use of such aircraft for nonmission travel by  senior executives.which also requires federal agencies to report on the use of their aviation  assets, including executive travel. These provisions include the  presumption that travel by common air carrier is the most advantageous   GSA issued the Federal Travel Regulation (FTR),  method of transportation and must be used when reasonably available.  GSA regulations provide that taxpayers should pay no more than  necessary for the transportation and that travel on government aircraft  may be authorized only when a government aircraft is the most cost  effective mode of travel. In addition, agencies may not determine that  another mode of transportation is more advantageous on the basis of  personal preference or inconvenience to the traveler.
In February 2013, we issued a report on the Department of Justice (DOJ)  senior executives’ use of DOJ aviation assets for nonmission purposes  for fiscal years 2007 through 2011.  In the course of our review, we  identified several issues with respect to the implementation of GSA  reporting requirements under its FTR and Federal Management  Regulation (FMR). The issues related to a provision of GSA regulations  that exempts intelligence agencies from reporting information about  government aircraft to GSA and that provision’s application to unclassified  data on senior federal official travel for nonmission purposes.
You asked us to review GSA’s oversight of executives’ use of federal  government aircraft for nonmission purposes, including the reporting of  these data to GSA. This report addresses the following questions: (1) To  what extent is GSA’s exemption for intelligence agencies to report senior  federal official travel for nonmission purposes consistent with executive  branch requirements? (2) To what extent does GSA ensure the accuracy  of its reporting on senior federal official use of government aircraft?
GAO, Department of Justice: Executives’ Use of Aircraft for Nonmission Purposes,  GAO-13-235 (Washington, D.C.: Feb. 26, 2013). Senior federal officials are persons  employed at the Senior Executive Service level or above, and include presidential  appointees, but for purposes of OMB Circular A-126, do not include active duty military  officers.
Circular A-126, and we reviewed GSA regulations. We also reviewed  GSA regulations and associated Federal Register notices from 1992— when the definition of “intelligence agencies” was first added to GSA  regulations—to 2012 to determine whether GSA provided a rationale for  the exemption for intelligence agencies to report information about  government aircraft. We reviewed information from our February 2013  report including information provided to us by the Federal Bureau of  Investigation (FBI), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and  GSA, as well as data submitted by DOJ to GSA on trips taken by senior  federal officials on DOJ aircraft for fiscal years 2007 through 2011. To  obtain GSA’s views on the authority for the exemption, its scope,  rationale, and applicability to nonmission senior federal travel, as well as  steps GSA takes to help ensure the accuracy of its reporting of such  travel data, we reviewed information provided by the Acting GSA  Administrator and interviewed senior GSA officials responsible for  collecting data about senior federal official travel. We compared the  information GSA officials provided to us and GSA regulations with  executive branch requirements and Standards for Internal Control in the  Federal Government.
We conducted this performance audit from June 2013 to February 2014  in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards.  Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain  sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our  findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We believe that  the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our findings and  conclusions based on our audit objectives.
subsections: section_title: Background
paragraphs: OMB Circular A-126 sets forth executive branch policy with respect to the  management and use of government aviation assets. The purpose of  the circular is to minimize cost and improve the management of  government aircraft. The circular provides that government aircraft must  be operated only for official purposes. Under the circular, there are three  kinds of official travel:
Travel to meet mission requirements: Mission requirements are  defined as “activities that constitute the discharge of an agency’s  official responsibilities,” and the circular provides examples of these  kinds of activities. For purposes of the circular, mission requirements do not include official travel to give speeches, attend  conferences or meetings, or make routine site visits.
Required use travel: Agencies are permitted to use government  aircraft for nonmission travel where it is required use travel—which is  travel that requires the use of government aircraft to meet bona fide  communications needs, security requirements, or exceptional  scheduling requirements of an executive agency.
Other travel for the conduct of agency business: Government  aircraft are also available for other travel for the conduct of agency  business when no commercial airline or aircraft is reasonably  available to fulfill the agency requirement or the actual cost of using a  government aircraft is not more than the cost of using commercial  airline or aircraft service.
In addition to other requirements for federal agencies, the circular directs  agencies that use government aircraft to report semiannually to GSA  each use of such aircraft for nonmission travel by senior federal officials,  members of the families of such officials, and any nonfederal travelers,  with certain exceptions. The circular provides that the format of the  report is to be specified by GSA, but must list all travel during the  preceding 6-month period and include the following information: the name  of each such traveler, the official purpose of the trip, and the  destination(s), among other things.
The circular provides for one exception to these reporting requirements:  Agencies using the aircraft are not required to report classified trips to  GSA, but must maintain information on those trips for a period of 2 years  and have the data available for review as authorized. In addition, in a  memorandum to the heads of executive departments and agencies and  employees of the Executive Office of the President, the President  specifically directed that “all use of Government aircraft by senior  executive branch officials shall be documented and such documentation  shall be disclosed to the public upon request unless classified.” The  OMB bulletin implementing this memorandum explains that “it is  imperative that we not spend  hard-earned tax  dollars in ways that may appear to be improper.”
GSA has issued regulations applicable to federal aviation activities. The  FTR implements statutory requirements and executive branch policies for  travel by federal civilian employees and others authorized to travel at  government expense. The FMR generally pertains to the management  of federal property and includes a specific part on management of  government aircraft.
As shown in table 1, the FTR specifically exempts from reporting trips that  are classified,  but does not contain any exemption for reporting by  intelligence agencies. In contrast, the FMR states that intelligence  agencies are exempt from the requirement to report to GSA on  government aircraft.
According to senior GSA officials, although the exemption for intelligence  agencies is contained in the FMR—which largely deals with the  management of federal property—it applies to reporting requirements in  the FTR for senior federal officials who travel on government aircraft.
section_title: GSA’s Intelligence Agency Exemption for Reporting Senior Federal Official Travel for Nonmission Purposes Is Inconsistent with Executive Branch Requirements, and GSA Has Not Identified a Basis for the Exemption
paragraphs: Through issued executive branch documents, agencies are required to  provide data about senior federal official nonmission travel—except for  classified trips—to GSA, and GSA has been directed to collect this  specified information. Accordingly, through its regulations, GSA has  directed agencies to report required information on senior federal official  travel; however, its regulations allow certain trips not to be reported, in  addition to classified trips. Specifically, GSA exempted intelligence  agencies from reporting any information on senior federal travel on  government aircraft regardless of whether it is classified or unclassified.  This is inconsistent with executive branch requirements we indentified.  GSA has not articulated a basis—specifically, a source of authority or  rationale—that would allow it to deviate from collecting what it has been  directed to collect by the President and OMB. This could undermine the  purposes of these requirements, which include aiding in the oversight of  the use of government aircraft and helping to ensure that government  aircraft are not used for nongovernmental purposes. Further, GSA  officials stated that it is the agency’s practice to implement regulations  that do not introduce real or potential conflicts with other authorities.
According to GSA senior officials, the agency is unable to identify the  specific historical analysis for inclusion of the intelligence agencies’  reporting exemption in the FMR. GSA added the exemption for  intelligence agency reporting of information on government aircraft to the  FMR in 2002; however, there is no explanation for the inclusion of the  exemption in the regulation or implementing rule. GSA senior officials  told us that the exemption for intelligence agencies enabled intelligence  agencies to comply with Executive Order 12333, which requires the  heads of departments and agencies with organizations in the intelligence  community or the heads of such organizations, as appropriate, to “protect  intelligence and intelligence sources and methods from unauthorized  disclosure with guidance from the Director of Central Intelligence.”  However, GSA has not articulated how an exemption for senior federal  official travel data for nonmission purposes is necessary for agencies to   Identifying an adequate basis for  comply with Executive Order 12333.the intelligence agency reporting exemption or removing the exemption  from its regulations if an adequate basis cannot be identified could help  GSA ensure its regulations for senior federal official travel comply with  executive branch requirements.
section_title: GSA Does Not Identify Which Agencies Do Not Report Senior Federal Travel Data as a Result of the Intelligence Agency Exemption, Which Limits the Accuracy of Its Reports
paragraphs: GSA aggregates the data reported by agencies on senior federal travel to  produce publically available reports describing the use of government  aircraft by senior federal officials and how government aircraft are used to  support agency missions. Specifically, these Senior Federal Travel  Reports provide analysis on the number of trips taken by senior federal  officials, the costs of such trips, the number of agencies reporting, and the  number and costs of trips taken by cost justification. The reports also list  those departments, agencies, bureaus, or services that report no use of  senior federal official travel during the reporting time frame. According to  the reports, they are intended to provide transparency and better  management and control of senior federal official use of government  aircraft and the ability to examine costs as they relate to trip use  justifications.
Specifically, according to the FBI, the exemption contained in FMR § 102-33.385 applies  to all data on government aircraft stated in FMR § 102-33.390, which includes senior  federal travel information. The FBI also determined that the exemption applies to all of the  FBI, not just the intelligence elements, and includes all flights, both mission and  nonmission. did not indicate that additional flights may have been omitted on the basis  of GSA’s exemption for intelligence agencies. GSA senior officials told  us that they cannot identify which organizations, components, or offices of  departments or agencies within the intelligence community do not report  senior federal official travel data to GSA. These officials stated that this is  because they do not distinguish between instances where an agency  reports no information because the agency is invoking the exemption and  instances where the agency reports no information for some other  reason, such as that no flights were taken on agency aircraft. Asking  agencies to identify instances where they are invoking the exemption  would better position GSA to collect and report on this information.
Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government calls for  agencies to establish controls, such as those provided through policies  and procedures, to provide reasonable assurance that agencies and  operations comply with applicable laws and regulations. These standards  also call for the accurate and timely recording of transactions and events  to help ensure that all transactions are completely and accurately  recorded, as well as for an agency to have relevant, reliable, and timely   Further, GSA officials stated that it could be possible  communications. to obtain follow-up information from agencies that did not provide travel  data in order to determine why agencies had not reported data. Collecting  additional information on which agencies are invoking the exemption and  including such information in its reports could help ensure more complete  reporting on the use of government aircraft, which could help provide  GSA with reasonable assurance that its Federal Official Travel Reports  are accurate and also provide the public a more comprehensive  understanding of these trips.
section_title: Conclusions
paragraphs: departments and agencies, the only exception for the reporting of this  kind of travel is for classified trips. However, GSA has established an  exception to these reporting requirements that is inconsistent with the  executive branch requirements that gave GSA authority to collect senior  federal travel data. GSA has not identified the basis—specifically, a  source of authority or rationale—for this exemption as applied to senior  federal official travel for nonmission purposes that would allow for it to  deviate from executive branch specifications. Identifying an adequate  basis for the intelligence agency reporting exemption or removing the  exemption from its regulations if an adequate basis cannot be identified  could help GSA ensure its regulations for senior federal official travel  comply with executive branch requirements. In addition, collecting  additional information on which agencies or organizations within the  federal government are utilizing this exemption, and including such  information in its Senior Federal Travel Reports, could help provide GSA  with reasonable assurance that its published reports using these data are  accurate.
section_title: Recommendations for Executive Action
paragraphs: We recommend that the Administrator of GSA take the following two  actions:
To help ensure that GSA regulations comply with applicable executive  branch requirements, identify an adequate basis for any exemption  that allows intelligence agencies not to report to GSA unclassified  data on senior federal official travel for nonmission purposes. If GSA  cannot identify an adequate basis for the exemption, GSA should  remove the exemption from its regulations.
To help ensure the accuracy of its Senior Federal Official Travel  Reports, collect additional information from agencies on instances  where travel is not being reported because of an exemption for  intelligence agencies, as opposed to some other reason, and include  such information in its reports where departmental data do not include  trips pursuant to an agency’s exercise of a reporting exemption.
section_title: Agency Comments
paragraphs: We provided a draft of this report to GSA for review and comment. GSA  provided written comments which are reprinted in appendix I and  summarized below. In commenting on our report, GSA concurred with  both of the recommendations and identified actions to address them.
In response to our recommendation that GSA identify an adequate basis  for the intelligence agency exemption as applied to senior federal official  travel for nonmission purposes, or remove it from its regulations, GSA  stated that it will remove the exemption. Specifically, GSA stated that it  will remove section 102.33.390(b) in Subpart E of the FMR, "Reporting  Information on Government Aircraft.” This action will remove the reporting  requirement related to senior federal official travel from the FMR and such  reporting will continue to be governed by the FTR. As a consequence, the  exemption for intelligence agencies, which is only contained in the FMR,  will no longer be applicable to unclassified data on senior federal official  travel for nonmission purposes.
In response to our recommendation that GSA collect and report additional  information from agencies on instances where travel is not being reported  because of an exemption for intelligence agencies, GSA stated that it will  add indicator data elements for agencies to identify when classified data  is withheld from the senior federal official travel data they submit to GSA.
These actions, when fully implemented, will address both of our  recommendations.
As agreed with your office, unless you publicly announce the contents of  this report earlier, we plan no further distribution until 30 days from the  report date. At that time, we will send copies to the Attorney General and  other interested parties. This report will also be available at no charge on  GAO’s website at http://www.gao.gov.
If you or your staff have any questions about this report, please contact  me at (202) 512-9627 or maurerd@gao.gov. Contact points for our Office  of Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be found on the last  page of this report. Key contributors to this report are listed in appendix II.
section_title: Appendix I: Comments from the General Services Administration
section_title: Appendix II: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments
subsections: section_title: GAO Contact
section_title: Staff Acknowledgments
paragraphs: In addition to the contact named above, Chris Currie, Assistant Director;  Chris Ferencik, Analyst in Charge; Janet Temko, Senior Attorney; and  Mary Catherine Hult made significant contributions to the work.