WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The US government and its agencies wasted a great deal of money in the $33.1 billion they bought from the Federal Supplies Schedule (FSS) program in 2014, the Government Accountability Office said in a report.
“Agencies are paying insufficient attention to prices when using FSS,” the report, released on Monday, said. “Ordering agencies did not consistently seek discounts from schedule prices, even when required.”
The FSS program, directed and managed by the General Services Administration, was designed to provide US federal agencies with a simplified process for obtaining commonly used commercial supplies and services at prices associated with volume buying.
GAO investigators found many cases in which officials did not assess prices for certain items, as required, or had insufficient information to assess prices, the report said.
Contracting officials were not always aware of the requirement to seek discounts and told GAO that the need to assess prices was not emphasized in training and guidance, it added.
“When contracting officials are not aware of these regulations, agencies may be missing opportunities for cost savings,” the report concluded.
The US Government Accountability Office is an independent, nonpartisan agency that works for Congress and investigates how the federal government spends taxpayer dollars.
