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Department of State
U.S. Agency for Global Media
OIG recommends that the Department remove classified material from all unclassified paper and electronic archives associated with Secretaries Powell and Rice and their staff.
The Bureau of Diplomatic Security, in coordination with the Office of Legal Adviser, should revise the Memorandum of Agreement between the Department and the U.S. Marine Corps to reflect changes in the types of threats facing U.S. missions overseas, Marine Security Guard duties, and Chief of Mission procedures for handling disciplinary issues.
The Bureau of Diplomatic Security should issue guidance to Chiefs of Mission on U.S. military assets available during emergency situations.
The Bureau of Administration, in coordination with the Bureau of Diplomatic Security, should implement a service level agreement to address and clarify the roles and responsibilities of International Programs Directorate desk officers and acquisition management analysts and Office of Acquisition Management contracting staff assigned within the directorate and to establish performance metrics and timelines.
The Bureau of Diplomatic Security should implement an orientation program for incoming Office of Overseas Protective Operations and embedded Office of Acquisition Management staff to quickly give them a thorough overview of Office of Overseas Protective Operations contracting.
The Bureau of Administration, in coordination with the Bureau of Diplomatic Security, should include in the contracting officers’ and contracting officer’s representatives’ work commitments the requirement to input timely contract data into the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System for all International Programs Directorate contracts and task orders.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration, Office of Logistics Management, Office of Acquisitions Management, recover the $13.6 million in deferred assessments from SOC.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration, Office of Logistics Management, Office of Acquisitions Management, determine the allowability of and recover, as appropriate, the $652,061 in unallowed costs identified in this report.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration, Office of Logistics Management, Office of Acquisitions Management, determine whether unsupported costs are allowable and recover, as appropriate, the $6.5 million in unsupported costs identified in this report.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Diplomatic Security, Overseas Protective Operations, Worldwide Protective Services Division, in conjunction with the Bureau of Administration, Office of Logistics Management, Office of Acquisitions Management, review the duties of desk officers and, as necessary, adjust duties or dedicate additional resources to prioritize and ensure a thorough review of all invoices and supporting documentation.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Diplomatic Security, in conjunction with the Bureau of Information Resource Management, finalize and implement the Joint Cyber Security Concept of Operations Memorandum of Understanding.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Diplomatic Security (DS) amend the Computer Incident Response Team Standard Operating Procedures to provide management oversight responsibility to the Office of Cybersecurity. Specifically, DS should ensure that responsible supervisory personnel follow established categorization guidelines, reporting requirements, and remediation timelines in accordance with the Department of State’s cyber security incident response and reporting policies and procedures.
The Bureau of Energy Resources should institute a travel and leave plan for front office principal officers to ensure appropriate oversight and direction of the bureau.
The Bureau of Energy Resources should adjust the size of the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary’s supervisory portfolio for improved focus on bureau organizational management and oversight.
The Bureau of Energy Resources should comply with Department guidelines for formal reporting by cables or State Messaging and Archive Retrieval Toolset archive record emails on activities and meetings of the Special Envoy and other bureau staff members.
The Bureau of Energy Resources should include all pertinent regional and functional bureaus in its clearance practices, consistent with Department guidelines.
The Bureau of Energy Resources should conduct annual reviews of bureau priorities and objectives and align them with available resources
The Bureau of Energy Resources, in coordination with the Under Secretary for Management and the Bureau of Human Resources, should conduct a comprehensive review of the bureau’s organizational structure and manpower needs and reallocate resources and responsibilities to achieve operational efficiencies.
The Bureau of Energy Resources should define and publish, according to current work commitments, the responsibilities of each of its employees, in accordance with Department regulations.
The Bureau of Energy Resources should establish a policy for use of a common contact database.
The Bureau of Energy Resources, in coordination with the Office of the Legal Adviser, should determine if the services provided under contract SAQMMA14F2914 should be terminated.
The Bureau of Energy Resources should review all bureau magazine and newspaper subscriptions and cancel those that are available from other sources in the Department.
The Bureau of Energy Resources, in coordination with the Office of Civil Rights, should facilitate the training and certification of its designated Equal Employment Opportunity counselors.
The Bureau of Energy Resources, in coordination with the Bureau of Diplomatic Security, should implement a domestic security program that meets Department standards.
The Bureau of Energy Resources should certify its Bureau Emergency Action Plan and provide a copy of the signed certification page of the plan to the Department’s Office of Emergency Management.
The Bureau of Energy Resources should bring its records management program, including the retention and storage of electronic and hard-copy files, into compliance with Department standards.
The Bureau of Information Resource Management, in coordination with the regional bureaus, should include the requirement to complete and test information technology contingency plans in the work requirements for information management personnel.
The Bureau of Administration should require bureaus and posts to submit the results of annual purchase card reviews to allow the Bureau of Administration to monitor compliance.
The Bureau of Administration should update the Foreign Affairs Manual to identify the office within the Bureau of Administration that has responsibility for overseeing and administering the Department purchase card program.
OIG recommends that the Broadcasting Board of Governors Office of Technology, Services, and Innovation amend and implement the Computer Security Incident Response Policy and the Computer Security Incident Response Procedure to reflect all elements of an effective incident response and reporting program in accordance with National Institute of Standards and Technology Special Publication 800-61, Revision 2.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Diplomatic Security establish a monitoring plan to assist it in achieving its stated goal to complete the physical security surveys by September 2016. The monitoring plan should consist of critical tracking metrics such as key interim milestones, percentage of completion, and other status or performance indicators to assess progress against stated goals.
OIG recommends that the Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Diplomatic Security send a cable to all post security officers and applicable post management emphasizing the importance of completing physical security surveys on time. The cable should instruct posts to dedicate sufficient resources to post security officers to meet their deadlines.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Diplomatic Security (DS) populate the Deficiencies Database no later than December 31, 2015, with deficiencies identified as of September 1, 2015. If DS cannot populate the Deficiencies Database with available information by December 31, 2015, DS must provide a justification for the delay and a revised schedule for accomplishing the task as soon as possible.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Diplomatic Security develop and implement standard policies and procedures for populating the Deficiencies Database with deficiencies from all potential sources. The policies and procedures should include specified timeframes for populating deficiencies into the database and approving them within reasonable timeframes once deficiencies have been identified.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Diplomatic Security (DS) update the Deficiencies Database to include a data field to track the results of the vetting process as either valid or invalid. If DS concludes that a deficiency is not valid, a justification for this conclusion should be required within the vetting comments field.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations develop and implement a method to track the funding status of every physical security deficiency identified by the Bureau of Diplomatic Security in the Deficiencies Database.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations, in coordination with the Bureau of Diplomatic Security, develop and implement formal standardized processes to prioritize physical security-related deficiencies at posts by category, such as major physical security upgrades, forced-entry/ballistic-resistant projects, and minor physical security upgrades. The prioritizations should be performed based on a comprehensive list of all physical security needs and should be periodically updated based on changes in risk factors or posts’ needs. The processes used to perform the prioritizations should be documented and repeatable. In addition, in developing the processes, consideration should be given to how the Overseas Security Policy Board standards will be utilized, what risk factors will be considered, and what impact upcoming major rehabilitation projects or new construction would have on the prioritized rankings.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations, in coordination with the Bureau of Diplomatic Security, develop and issue a Long-Range Physical Security Plan.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations develop and implement a process to respond to posts' formal requests for physical security-related funding, which should include commitments to respond within certain timeframes.
OIG recommends BBG include the complete citation for 2 CFR 200.113, Mandatory Disclosure, in all grants and attachments, cooperative agreements, and other Federal assistance awards.
OIG recommends BBG insert the following language in all grants and attachments, cooperative agreements, and other Federal assistance awards: “Consistent with 2 CFR §200.113, applicants and recipients must disclose, in a timely manner, in writing to the Office of Inspector General (OIG) for the Department of State and the Broadcasting Board of Governors, with a copy to the cognizant Grants Officer, all violations of Federal criminal law involving fraud, bribery, or illegal gratuities potentially affecting the Federal award. Sub-recipients must disclose, in a timely manner, in writing to the OIG and to the prime recipient (pass-through entity) all violations of Federal criminal law involving fraud, bribery, or illegal gratuities potentially affecting the Federal award. Failure to make required disclosures can result in any of the remedies described in §200.338 Remedies for noncompliance, including suspension or debarment. Disclosures must be sent to: U.S. Department of State Office of Inspector General, P.O. Bo
OIG recommends BBG amend all active grants, cooperative agreements, and other Federal assistance awards to include the language cited in recommendations 1 and 2 supra.
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Note: The information includes all open recommendations from reports that were issued October 1, 2014. Potential Monetary Benefits values are as stated in reports—subsequent Department and USAGM management decisions and actions may result in different values.
