Whistleblower Identified Long-Standing Contracting Violations at an Agency

November 24, 2015

OSC reported violations of contracting rules and regulations at the U.S. Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad (Commission) in a letter sent In a letter sent to the White House

In a letter sent to the White House and Congress today, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) reported violations of contracting rules and regulations at the U.S. Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad (Commission). The Commission is a small, independent federal agency whose mission is to preserve overseas cemeteries, monuments, and historic buildings in Eastern and Central Europe that are associated with the heritage of U.S. citizens.

The Commission’s sole federal employee disclosed to OSC that the Commission’s executive director was a parttime contractor who performed “inherently governmental functions” in violation of federal regulations. These are functions that the federal government has determined can only be performed by federal government employees, rather than contractors, in order to protect taxpayers and the public interest. Among the inherently governmental functions the executive director performed: supervising a federal employee, serving as the Designated Agency Ethics Official, preparing responses to Government Accountability Office audits, obligating agency funds, certifying and approving financial transactions, including payments to his firm and other contractor personnel.  The executive director was also conducting business related to his outside lobbying practice from the Commission’s office.  After OSC’s intervention, the Commission agreed to curtail the contractor’s duties so he no longer performed these roles, and he was instructed to cease using the Commission’s office for non-Commission work.

An investigation by the General Services Administration Office of Inspector General (GSA OIG), prompted by OSC’s referral of the whistleblower’s allegations, raised additional concerns. The GSA OIG investigation confirmed that the executive director had worked for 13 years as a contractor without a written contract, despite receiving annual payments of around $100,000. In addition, the Commission did not track the amount of time the executive director worked, nor did the executive director report his hours. The Commission acknowledged that the executive director worked fewer than 800 hours a year, or an average of 15 hours a week, for several years.

Ultimately, the Commission transferred the inherently government functions previously performed by the executive director to its Chair and negotiated a written contract with the executive director. OSC has urged the Commission to reconsider its staffing needs. The limitations on the executive director’s current role raise several questions, including whether it is more cost-effective to have a permanent employee fill this position, rather than a part-time contract expert consultant who is paid more than $100,000 per year, yet is required by law to perform a smaller range of duties while earning the same pay.