OSC Settles Former GSA Commissioner’s Whistleblower Case; Finds GSA’s Response to Confirmed Mismanagement Inadequate
July 06, 2017
The GSA grossly mismanaged its Technology Transformation Service, according to a report submitted by GSA to OSC.
The General Services Administration (GSA) grossly mismanaged its Technology Transformation Service (TTS), according to a report submitted by GSA to the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC). OSC sent the GSA report to the White House and Congress today, finding the GSA’s response to confirmed whistleblower disclosures unreasonable.
Thomas A. Sharpe, Jr., the GSA whistleblower and former Commissioner of the Federal Acquisition Service (FAS), also claimed that the GSA retaliated against him for speaking out about gross mismanagement of TTS. In a separate report, issued on June 22, 2017, the GSA Office of Inspector General (OIG) found that former GSA leadership retaliated against Mr. Sharpe for his disclosures about TTS mismanagement. The GSA OIG referred its retaliation findings to OSC. On June 28, 2017, after reviewing the GSA OIG’s findings, OSC obtained relief for Mr. Sharpe, who entered into a settlement with the GSA to resolve his whistleblower retaliation claim.
TTS is a GSA-run service that provides technology and software solutions to federal agencies. In its report to OSC, the GSA accepted the findings of two previous GSA OIG reports, which substantiated Mr. Sharpe’s allegations that the GSA grossly mismanaged TTS, and improperly financed TTS with significant Acquisition Services Fund monies in violation of the Economy Act. In its report, the GSA noted that TTS financial forecast models reflected an established pattern of over-estimating revenue projections and willfully disregarding losses. These losses exceeded $31 million, according to Mr. Sharpe and the GSA OIG, and continued to grow in fiscal year 2016. The GSA found that TTS violated the Economy Act by failing to recover costs of work performed through inaccurate financial projections and excessive staffing levels. The GSA did not substantiate Mr. Sharpe’s related allegation that the legal framework for TTS also violated the General Services Modernization Act.
Earlier in June 2017, the GSA notified OSC of its intent to move TTS under FAS, stating that the move “is intended to address the funding and management control issues identified” in the initial GSA report to OSC. In a letter to the President and Congress, Acting Special Counsel Adam Miles noted, “The realignment of TTS may resolve concerns about the legal framework for these services.” However, OSC’s letter continues, “without additional details on improved management controls, the realignment does not address Mr. Sharpe’s broader, substantiated concerns about mismanagement, and his related questions about whether the taxpayers are receiving a solid benefit from this program.”
OSC’s letter to the President and Congress, the GSA reports, and Mr. Sharpe’s comments can be found here. OSC thanks the GSA OIG for its efforts to protect Mr. Sharpe from retaliation and for referring its report to OSC for resolution.