Pursuit's Take
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) awarded a human capital services contract valued at $1.2 billion. OIG conducted this audit to determine the extent to which TSA is effectively monitoring and enforcing the terms and conditions of the contract.
TSA’s oversight of the HR Access contract needs improvement. Specifically, TSA has limited options for holding the contractor accountable for performance deficiencies. There were instances in which TSA did not hold the contractor monetarily accountable for personally identifiable information (PII) violations. Had TSA consistently applied the terms and conditions of the contract, the agency could have saved approximately $4.2 million.
dditionally, TSA needs to improve its assessment and monitoring of contractor performance. TSA inflates performance evaluation scores, and those scores are not consistently affected by poor performance. Had TSA not inflated performance scores and given the contractor positive scores for work that was not completed, the agency could have saved approximately $350,000 in performance awards paid.
TSA’s lack of contract oversight resulted in performance awards that do not accurately reflect performance. In addition, award fees, totaling $4.5 million, may not be justified, and TSA has no assurance it received the best value for its money.