Report Contents
What OIG Audited
The Department of State (Department) operates a worldwide fleet of motor vehicles to support its global diplomatic mission. According to the Department’s records, the overseas unarmored vehicle fleet consisted of 8,602 vehicles as of September 30, 2019, with an acquisition cost of about $300 million. The Department’s Bureau of Administration, and specifically the Overseas Fleet Division (OF), is responsible for the development, implementation, and oversight of policy and regulations governing the Department’s overseas vehicle fleet.
The Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted this audit to determine whether the Bureau of Administration administered the Department’s overseas motor vehicle fleet in accordance with Federal guidelines and Department policy. OIG also determined whether selected overseas posts acquired, accounted for, used, maintained, and disposed of motor vehicles in accordance with applicable policy and guidelines. OIG conducted audit fieldwork at U.S. Embassies Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; Georgetown, Guyana; Vienna, Austria; Tbilisi, Georgia; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; and Maputo, Mozambique.
What OIG Recommends
OIG made 21 recommendations to address the deficiencies identified in the unarmored overseas motor vehicle program. On the basis of management’s response to a draft of this report, OIG considers 20 recommendations resolved, pending further action, and 1 recommendation unresolved. A synopsis of management’s response to the recommendations is offered and OIG’s reply follow each recommendation in the Results section of this report. Management’s response to a draft of this report is reprinted in its entirety in Appendices E through H.
What OIG Found
OF is not administering the unarmored overseas vehicle program in accordance with Department policies and guidelines. Specifically, OIG found that OF has not developed and implemented an internal control environment to successfully fulfill its role and responsibilities, as outlined in the Department’s Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM). Those responsibilities include managing the acquisition, use, maintenance, and disposal of the Department’s unarmored overseas vehicle fleet.
OIG surveyed posts worldwide and found that 10 percent of the 125 posts that responded had more vehicles than were needed, while 6 percent stated they did not have enough vehicles to support their diplomatic mission. In addition, according to the Department’s own analysis provided in May 2019, 167 of 271 posts (62 percent) had more vehicles than allowed based on each post’s target fleet size. Furthermore, OIG conducted work at six posts and found that the posts did not always obtain, or obtain in a timely manner, waivers from OF to procure vehicles locally; properly track vehicles in the Department’s inventory system; document daily vehicle usage; sufficiently maintain vehicles in their possession; or dispose of vehicles in accordance with Department requirements.
These deficiencies occurred, in part, because OF has not developed and communicated a structured, detailed vehicle program plan or standard operating procedures to help manage the Department’s overseas vehicle fleet. In addition, OF has not established and implemented processes to obtain reliable data regarding its vehicle fleet or established a methodology to enforce overseas post compliance with applicable fleet management guidelines. Until these deficiencies are addressed, OF will remain incapable of effectively executing its role in strategically planning and overseeing the unarmored overseas motor vehicle program and will be unable to ensure compliance with Federal guidelines and Department policies governing its unarmored overseas vehicle fleet.
Report Terms
Report Recommendations
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration, in coordination with the Fleet Management Council, develop and implement a detailed vehicle program plan that (a) contains clear, measurable goals and objectives; (b) establishes internal controls within all facets of the motor vehicle program; and (c) defines areas of authority, roles, and responsibilities for personnel responsible for carrying out the motor vehicle program.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration, in coordination with the Fleet Management Council, develop and implement a formal strategy to communicate updates or changes to vehicle program requirements to affected stakeholders.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration update the Foreign Affairs Manual to require use of the internal controls developed in response to Recommendation 1 in this OIG report.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration (a) conduct a staffing study of its Office of Logistics Management, Office of Program Management and Policy, Overseas Fleet Division, to determine appropriate staffing levels, whether its staff have requisite fleet management expertise, and whether staff are in the right positions to perform the duties for which they are assigned; and (b) develop and implement a plan to address the results of the study.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations, in coordination with the Bureau of Administration, (a) update any bureau-specific motor vehicle procedures in place to comply with the Foreign Affairs Manual and Bureau of Administration guidance within 90 days of final report issuance; and (b) establish a process to review and update these procedures, as appropriate, at least annually thereafter.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Diplomatic Security, in coordination with the Bureau of Administration, (a) update any bureau-specific motor vehicle procedures in place to comply with the Foreign Affairs Manual and Bureau of Administration guidance within 90 days of final report issuance; and (b) establish a process to review and update these procedures, as appropriate, at least annually thereafter.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration, in coordination with the Fleet Management Council, develop and implement detailed standard operating procedures related to vehicle acquisitions. These procedures should, at a minimum, include (a) guidance to assist posts in understanding the vehicle allocation methodology and target fleet size to allow posts to more effectively determine an appropriate number of vehicles needed, (b) steps to be taken to address the overage of fleet sizes, and (c) guidance on requesting and documenting waivers.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration, in coordination with the Fleet Management Council, develop and implement a formal process to oversee post’s motor vehicle acquisitions and to periodically perform an independent validation to determine whether posts are complying with vehicle acquisition requirements. This process should, at a minimum, include a review of post’s vehicle allocation methodology justifications for keeping vehicles that the Overseas Fleet Division determined were questionable or should be eliminated.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration, in coordination with the Fleet Management Council, develop and implement a policy related to posts’ local acquisition of used vehicles. This policy should include the circumstances in which a used vehicle may be purchased locally, how to acquire it, and how to record it in the Integrated Logistics Management System.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration perform an analysis to determine whether (a) posts are legally allowed to standardize locally purchased foreign-made vehicles, (b) it would be cost-beneficial to allow such standardization, and (c) this type of standardization should be allowed.
OIG recommends that, if the Bureau of Administration determines that posts will be allowed to standardize the acquisition of foreign-made vehicles (Recommendation 10), the Bureau of Administration update the Foreign Affairs Manual (14 FAM 436.4) and Department of State Acquisition Regulation (§ 606.370) to formalize this policy.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration, in coordination with the Fleet Management Council, develop and implement (a) a policy to comply with 14 FAM 431.6-2(b)(6) and 14 FAM 436.5(a) to maintain all post vehicles in the Integrated Logistics Management System, including vehicles acquired without authorization; and (b) procedures for how posts should enter and track vehicles in the Integrated Logistics Management System that have been purchased without authorization or that exceed post’s target fleet size, including used vehicles.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration, in coordination with the Fleet Management Council, develop and implement a method to accurately record and verify vehicle identification numbers in the Integrated Logistics Management System.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration, in coordination with the Fleet Management Council, (a) conduct a study to determine effective mileage and utilization standards for the Department of State’s overseas fleet; and (b) develop and implement a plan to address the results of the study.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration, in coordination with the Fleet Management Council, (a) conduct a study of Form OF-108, Daily Vehicle Use Record, to determine an effective method for capturing the required vehicle information in accordance with the Foreign Affairs Manual (14 FAM 437.2); and (b) develop and implement a plan to address the results of the study.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration, in coordination with the Fleet Management Council, develop and implement a supply-chain mechanism to allow posts that do not have access to parts for American-made vehicles to be able to obtain needed parts for maintaining vehicles in a timely manner.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration require responsible officials at overseas posts to use the Fleet Management Information System as a tracking mechanism for preventive maintenance for each unarmored motor vehicle.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration, in coordination with the Fleet Management Council, develop and implement a method to verify that posts perform preventive maintenance on vehicles at appropriate intervals and timely document the maintenance performed in the Fleet Management Information System.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration, in coordination with the Fleet Management Council, develop and implement detailed standard operating procedures to assist posts in tracking and documenting vehicle maintenance in accordance with Department of State policies and procedures.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration, in coordination with the Fleet Management Council, develop and implement a methodology for posts to use when considering the disposal of an unarmored motor vehicle and codify the methodology in the Foreign Affairs Manual. The methodology should include a quantitative minimum for vehicle age, use, and maintenance costs. The methodology should also require posts to conduct and document a disposal analysis to ensure the vehicle meets the necessary criteria for disposal.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration complete the development of and implement detailed standard operating procedures to assist posts in completing vehicle disposals and forms. These procedures should include guidance on conducting periodic checks of disposal forms, entering information into the Integrated Logistics Management System, and performing disposal analyses (Recommendation 20).