Report Contents
What OIG Audited
The Department of State (Department) often relies on contractors to execute important projects that support its mission. For contracts in Iraq, the Department’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs (NEA) nominates Contracting Officer’s Representatives (COR) and Government Technical Monitors (GTM) to oversee contracts valued at more than $3.1 billion.
The Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted this audit to determine whether (a) NEA’s nomination and selection process for CORs and GTMs in Iraq resulted in the designation of qualified personnel, (b) NEA established and implemented an effective process to hold CORs and GTMs accountable for their performance, and (c) CORs and GTMs documented contractor performance in the official contract file in accordance with Federal and Department requirements.
What OIG Recommends
OIG made 13 recommendations to improve the process to nominate and select CORs and GTMs, promote accountability of oversight staff, and advance the completeness of COR files. On the basis of management’s response to a draft of this report, OIG considers 1 recommendation closed and 12 recommendations resolved, pending further action. A synopsis of management’s comments regarding the recommendations made and OIG’s reply follow each recommendation in the Audit Results section of this report. Responses to a draft of this report from NEA and the Bureau of Administration, Office of the Procurement Executive, are reprinted in their entirety in Appendices B and C, respectively.
What OIG Found
OIG found that NEA did not consistently nominate CORs and GTMs with the required certification level and technical expertise to oversee contracts in Iraq. Specifically, 11 of 17 CORs and none of the 14 GTMs reviewed for this audit possessed the required level of certification for the contracts assigned when nominated. In addition, oversight personnel did not always possess sufficient technical expertise relative to the contract’s subject matter. These shortfalls occurred because NEA did not assess the qualifications and technical expertise needed and nominate qualified CORs and GTMs. In addition, the number of qualified CORs available was not sufficient to meet demand, which suggests a shortfall in human capital planning. Until these conditions are corrected, NEA will have limited assurance that contractors in Iraq are performing as required under the contract.
OIG also found that NEA did not consistently establish work commitments or seek feedback from the Contracting Officers (COs) to effectively hold CORs and GTMs accountable for their performance. For example, 7 of 13 CORs and 8 of 14 GTMs did not have work commitments that aligned with the duties assigned by the CO. According to NEA officials, this occurred because space on the evaluation form was too limited to include all work commitments. Furthermore, none of the CORs’ supervisors solicited performance feedback from the COs as required. According to NEA officials, this was an oversight. Without appropriate work commitments and input in evaluating COR and GTM performance, contract oversight performance cannot be fully recognized and assessed.
Finally, OIG found that CORs did not always maintain complete COR files. According to the CORs, sometimes they relied on the contractor to maintain certain documentation, some documentation was maintained in a different location, and they had limited time to organize the files. In addition, incomplete files were not identified during monthly reviews because these reviews were either not completed or not structured to identify certain required documentation. Without complete files, the Department may not have the records to demonstrate nonconformity with the contract and hold contractors accountable.
Report Terms
Report Recommendations
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs (a) analyze all contracts for which it assigns Contracting Officer’s Representatives and Government Technical Monitors and determine the appropriate level of Federal Acquisition Certification for Contracting Officer’s Representatives, the technical expertise, and other qualifications required; (b) document the analysis and determinations; (c) and provide the determinations to the Contracting Officers assigned to those contracts.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs compare Contracting Officer’s Representative and Government Technical Monitor nominee qualifications to the analysis conducted for the Bureau’s contracts as noted in Recommendation 1 and only nominate those with the necessary technical expertise and level of Federal Acquisition Certification for Contracting Officer’s Representatives to oversee the contract and hold contractors accountable for quality and cost performance in accordance with contract terms.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs include Contracting Officer’s Representative and Government Technical Monitor nominees’ technical expertise in the written nomination presented to the Contracting Officer, as required by 14 Foreign Affairs Handbook 2 H-143.2, “COR Appointment Procedures.”
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs discontinue the practice of nominating Contracting Officer’s Representatives and Government Technical Monitors who do not meet Level III Federal Acquisition Certification for Contracting Officer’s Representatives and technical expertise requirements for its contracts or obtain a temporary waiver from the Bureau of Administration, Office of the Procurement Executive, as required by Procurement Information Bulletin No. 2012-15.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration, Office of the Procurement Executive create, organize, and lead a multi-bureau working group with the goal of remedying identified shortfalls with the current and future Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) workforce. The working group should, at a minimum: (a) explore building a roster of certified Federal Acquisition Certification for Contracting Officer’s Representatives and their technical expertise and a mechanism to keep this roster current, (b) research the inclusion of CORs in the strategic human capital plan with the goal of addressing current and future COR needs and developing plans Department-wide to alleviate identified shortfalls, (c) study other alternatives for feasibility of implementation, such as using special pay incentives or a new COR skill code or employment track within the Foreign Service, and (d) provide its documented results and recommendations to the Under Secretary for Management for his awareness and consideration.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, in coordination with the Bureau of Human Resources, evaluate and document the expanded use of personal services contractors to serve as Contracting Officer’s Representatives for large and complex contracts requiring a Level III Federal Acquisition Certification for Contracting Officer’s Representatives and sufficient technical expertise in the contract’s subject matter, and report the results of the evaluation to the Deputy Secretary of State for his awareness and consideration.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs evaluate and document the use of limited non-career appointees to serve as Contracting Officer’s Representatives (CORs) when Foreign Service Officers bidding for COR positions in Iraq are not qualified with the appropriate level of Federal Acquisition Certification for Contracting Officer’s Representatives and sufficient technical expertise in the contract subject matter, and report the results of the evaluation to the Deputy Secretary of State for his awareness and consideration.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs develop and implement a process that requires Contracting Officer’s Representatives and Government Technical Monitors whose contract administration and oversight duties entail 25 percent or more of their workload to establish work commitments in annual performance evaluations that are aligned with their delegated contracting administration and oversight responsibilities and consistent with 14 Foreign Affairs Handbook-2 H-114, “COR Work Commitments.”
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs develop and implement procedures that require rating officials of Contracting Officer’s Representatives to solicit performance input from the Contracting Officer via email or memorandum for related work commitments when the Contracting Officer’s Representatives’ duties entail 25 percent or more of their workload, as required by 14 Foreign Affairs Handbook-2 H-114, “COR Work Commitments.”
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration, Office of the Procurement Executive update 14 Foreign Affairs Handbook-2 H-114, “COR Work Commitments,” to include a requirement for rating officials of Government Technical Monitors to solicit performance input from the Contracting Officer’s Representative or other informed contracting personnel via email or memorandum for related work commitments when the Government Technical Monitors’ duties entail 25 percent or more of their workload.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs require the Contract Management Office in Iraq to update its Contract and Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) File Maintenance Standard Operating Procedure and corresponding checklists to require CORs to maintain all pertinent documentation, including contractor progress reports, in the COR files in accordance with 14 Foreign Affairs Handbook-2 H-517, “Standard Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) Working File.”
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs require the Contracting Officer’s Representatives (CORs) for contracts SAQMMA12D0165, SAQMMA13D0120, SAQMMA17C0180, SAQMMA16C0203, SAQMMA16C0313, and SAQMMA17C0085 to retroactively populate the COR files for these contracts to include all contractor progress reports, contract-related documentation, trafficking-in-persons inspections, and other deliverables.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs require the Contract Management Office in Iraq to (a) conduct inspections of the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) files for contracts SAQMMA12D0165, SAQMMA13D0120, SAQMMA17C0180, SAQMMA16C0203, SAQMMA16C0313, and SAQMMA17C0085 within 30 days of the date of this report and (b) certify whether the COR files are complete and, if not, report the corresponding COR’s non-compliance to the appropriate supervisor in accordance with the bureau’s guidance.