Facility security assessments are conducted by the Pentagon Force  Protection Agency and the Federal Protective Service, using standards  set by the Interagency Security Committee. DOD Is Addressing Data Issues but Its Inventory Database Has Some Inaccurate and Incomplete Data on Leased Assets

While DOD is taking some steps to address data issues, it cannot fully  determine the number, size, and costs of its leases because RPAD  contains some inaccurate and incomplete data. Most of these errors were in the Army’s lease records; however,  the Army reported to us that it is aware of these issues and is taking steps  to correct future data. We also found that about 5 percent of the Army’s  lease records were not included in RPAD for fiscal year 2011 and fiscal  year 2013. DOD’s Guidance Results in the Square Footage for Some WHS Leased Space Being Overstated in RPAD

In our review of the various data elements used to record information  related to DOD leased assets, we found that DOD’s Real Property  Information Model does not include a data element that captures the  square footage associated with a given lease record. DOD Has Not Taken Full Advantage of Available Opportunities to Reduce Its Reliance on Leased Facilities

DOD is currently implementing a presidential memorandum and a series  of OMB memorandums instructing federal agencies to maintain or  reduce both owned and leased space; however, DOD is not projecting  any significant reductions in its leased space. Furthermore, our  works shows that potential future force structure reductions exist that may  offer DOD and the military services an opportunity to further reduce  reliance on leased space. DOD Does Not Have Oversight of the Status of Facility Security Assessments for All of Its Leased Facilities

DOD does not have oversight of information about the facility security  assessments for all of its leased facilities acquired through GSA. We found that the Pentagon Force  Protection Agency had completed the facility security assessments for the  leased facilities for which it is responsible between August 8, 2013 and  January 31, 2014. Some Late Assessments and Incomplete and Inaccurate Data Exist in the Federal Protective Service’s Facility Security Assessments Data

Our analysis of fiscal years 2011 and 2013 data from the database the  Federal Protective Service used to track scheduled and completed facility  security assessments for facilities leased by DOD through GSA identified  three issues: (1) some assessments were not scheduled within the  required time frames; (2) data on assessments completed, as required, is  unknown; and (3) dates for completed and next scheduled assessments  were not always recorded. Without periodically  obtaining information on whether facility security assessments for its  leased facilities are being completed in accordance with required  standards and without access to the results of the assessments, DOD is  not in a position to ensure that its tenants in leased space are secure. Recommendations for Executive Action

To improve DOD’s ability to oversee its inventory of leased real property,  we recommend that the Secretary of Defense take the following two  actions aimed at improving the accuracy and completeness of data in  RPAD:
Direct the Secretary of the Army to enforce DOD’s Real Property  Inventory (RPI) Reporting Guidance, which states that for multiple  assets associated with a single lease, the military departments and  WHS must provide a breakout of the annual rent plus other costs for  each asset on the same lease, to avoid overstating costs associated  with such leases. DOD did not concur with our remaining two  recommendations, which are discussed in detail below. Our report also states that DOD  reoccupied about 1.1 million square feet of leased space previously  vacated through BRAC 2005, which DOD’s letter confirmed. DOD also did not concur with our third recommendation that the military  departments look for opportunities to relocate DOD organizations in  leased space onto installations that may have underutilized space. Therefore, we believe this recommendation remains valid. Appendix I: Scope and Methodology

To determine the extent to which the Department of Defense (DOD) has  accurate and complete data on the number, size, and costs of its leases,  we obtained and analyzed selected data elements from the Real Property  Assets Database (RPAD) for fiscal years 2011 and 2013, as well as data  from the military departments’ and Washington Headquarters Services’  (WHS) real property inventory systems. Second, since the Army had the largest number of lease records in  RPAD—4,695 (approximately 79 percent) of 5,965 records in fiscal  year 2011 and 4,210 (approximately 76 percent) of the 5,538 records  in fiscal year 2013—we compared the records representing the  Army’s lease assets to the lease records maintained in the Army  Rental Facilities Management Information system to determine  whether the data for each of the data elements submitted by the Army  matched the data in RPAD for those same 2 years. We then analyzed some of the  lease data from RPAD for fiscal year 2013 to determine whether any  opportunities exist for DOD to reduce its leased space in geographic  locations that are in close proximity to the DOD installations that may  have unutilized or underutilized facilities based on these planned force  structure reductions. We also reviewed prior GAO reports on this issue. We found that the Pentagon Force Protection Agency’s data  were sufficiently reliable for our purposes. GAO-15-346. High-Risk Series: An Update. GAO-11-879T. GAO-10-873.
Why GAO Did This Study

Overreliance on costly leasing is one of the major reasons that federal real property management remains on GAO's high-risk list. GAO's prior work has shown that owning buildings often costs less than operating leases, especially where there are long-term needs for space.
House Report 113-102 included a provision that GAO review DOD's management of leased space. For fiscal years 2011 and 2013, this report evaluates the extent to which DOD (1) has accurate and complete data on the number, size, and costs of its leases; (2) has taken actions to reduce its reliance on leased space; and (3) has oversight of the status of security assessments conducted for leased facilities contracted through GSA. GAO analyzed lease data from the real property systems kept by DOD, the military departments, WHS, and GSA, and facility security assessment data from FPS and the Pentagon Force Protection Agency; reviewed guidance; and interviewed cognizant officials.

What GAO Found

While the Department of Defense (DOD) is taking some steps to address data issues, it cannot fully determine the number, size, and costs of its leases for real property because its Real Property Assets Database (RPAD), the real property inventory system that DOD uses to report on its leased assets, contains some inaccurate and incomplete data. GAO found that about 15 percent of the RPAD lease records for fiscal year 2011 and 10 percent of the records for fiscal year 2013 were inaccurate. Most of these errors were in the lease records for the Army (the manager of about 80 percent of the leased assets records in RPAD); however, the Army is aware of these issues and is taking steps to correct future data. GAO also found that RPAD did not include about 5 percent of the Army's lease records for fiscal years 2011 and 2013. GAO conducted a random sample of the fiscal year 2013 RPAD data and found that the data element required to calculate costs was unreliable for 11 of the 84 Army sample records. GAO found that the Army was not following DOD's guidance for reporting costs on leases that have multiple assets associated with them. Furthermore, GAO found that RPAD does not contain a data element for the square footage for leases in which there are multiple tenants occupying space in the same building, as is the case for some Washington Headquarters Services (WHS) leases.
DOD is implementing a presidential memorandum and a series of Office of Management and Budget memorandums to maintain or reduce owned and leased space, but has projected minimal change to its leasing activities. There have been opportunities in the past to reduce its leased space; however, DOD reoccupied over 1.1 million square feet in leased space previously vacated when it implemented the 2005 Base Closure and Realignment recommendations. In some cases, DOD tenants occupy leased space close to large installations that may have had unused facilities. Potential force structure reductions may offer an opportunity to further reduce DOD's reliance on leased space in the future, if DOD actively identifies suitable underutilized facilities on its installations.
DOD does not have complete oversight of the security assessments conducted for its leased facilities acquired through the General Services Administration (GSA). Facility security assessments, which are required to be conducted every 3 to 5 years, are conducted by the Pentagon Force Protection Agency and the Federal Protective Service (FPS) using established standards. The Pentagon Force Protection Agency had completed the required assessments for the facilities for which it is responsible between August 8, 2013, and January 31, 2014. However, DOD has not requested information on whether FPS, the primary agency for protecting federal facilities, has completed its facility security assessments as required for all DOD-leased locations. GAO analyzed the FPS assessment data for fiscal years 2011 and 2013 and identified several issues: (1) some assessments were not scheduled within required time frames, (2) data on previously recorded assessment dates were overwritten when updated, and (3) dates for completed and next-scheduled assessments were not always recorded. While FPS is not required to inform DOD about assessment schedules, without periodically requesting information on whether facility security assessments have been conducted, DOD does not have the information it needs to ensure that its leased facilities are secure.

What GAO Recommends

GAO recommends four actions to improve DOD's management of its leased facilities. DOD concurred with GAO recommendations to (1) enforce its guidance to provide annual rent plus other costs for each asset on the same lease, and (2) request information from FPS on facility security assessments. DOD did not concur with GAO recommendations to capture total square footage, by lease, or to look for opportunities to move DOD organizations in leased space onto installations. As discussed in the report, GAO believes that these recommendations remain valid.