The Government Accountability Office found gaps in the Department of Veterans Affairs’ process for analyzing data regarding contracts that need additional government oversight.
A new GAO study published Thursday showed that VA did not fully implement guidance from the Office of Management and Budget’s Office of Federal Procurement Policy, resulting in unreliable and incomplete data on its obligations for service contracts.
The findings were based on GAO’s analysis of 12 contracts between 2018 and 2022 in the Federal Procurement Data System.
The report showed that VA lacked directions in terms of contract planning and oversight. It also did not provide relevant training and allocation of employees that could give heightened management attention to certain service functions, such as legal consultations and budget preparation support.
GAO recommended that VA specifically track and monitor special interest functions to improve the completeness of its contract inventory. The government watchdog also urged the secretary of veterans affairs to comply with OMB guidance and direct its procurement and human resources leaders to address workforce gaps in paying more attention to flagged service functions.