	Background

OMB Circular A-126 sets forth executive branch policy with respect to the  management and use of government aviation assets. In addition to other requirements for federal agencies, the circular directs  agencies that use government aircraft to report semiannually to GSA  each use of such aircraft for nonmission travel by senior federal officials,  members of the families of such officials, and any nonfederal travelers,  with certain exceptions. GSA’s Intelligence Agency Exemption for Reporting Senior Federal Official Travel for Nonmission Purposes Is Inconsistent with Executive Branch Requirements, and GSA Has Not Identified a Basis for the Exemption

Through issued executive branch documents, agencies are required to  provide data about senior federal official nonmission travel—except for  classified trips—to GSA, and GSA has been directed to collect this  specified information. Specifically, GSA exempted intelligence  agencies from reporting any information on senior federal travel on  government aircraft regardless of whether it is classified or unclassified. GSA senior officials  told us that the exemption for intelligence agencies enabled intelligence  agencies to comply with Executive Order 12333, which requires the  heads of departments and agencies with organizations in the intelligence  community or the heads of such organizations, as appropriate, to “protect  intelligence and intelligence sources and methods from unauthorized  disclosure with guidance from the Director of Central Intelligence.”  However, GSA has not articulated how an exemption for senior federal  official travel data for nonmission purposes is necessary for agencies to   Identifying an adequate basis for  comply with Executive Order 12333.the intelligence agency reporting exemption or removing the exemption  from its regulations if an adequate basis cannot be identified could help  GSA ensure its regulations for senior federal official travel comply with  executive branch requirements. GSA Does Not Identify Which Agencies Do Not Report Senior Federal Travel Data as a Result of the Intelligence Agency Exemption, Which Limits the Accuracy of Its Reports

GSA aggregates the data reported by agencies on senior federal travel to  produce publically available reports describing the use of government  aircraft by senior federal officials and how government aircraft are used to  support agency missions. did not indicate that additional flights may have been omitted on the basis  of GSA’s exemption for intelligence agencies. These officials stated that this is  because they do not distinguish between instances where an agency  reports no information because the agency is invoking the exemption and  instances where the agency reports no information for some other  reason, such as that no flights were taken on agency aircraft. to obtain follow-up information from agencies that did not provide travel  data in order to determine why agencies had not reported data. Collecting  additional information on which agencies are invoking the exemption and  including such information in its reports could help ensure more complete  reporting on the use of government aircraft, which could help provide  GSA with reasonable assurance that its Federal Official Travel Reports  are accurate and also provide the public a more comprehensive  understanding of these trips. GSA has not identified the basis—specifically, a  source of authority or rationale—for this exemption as applied to senior  federal official travel for nonmission purposes that would allow for it to  deviate from executive branch specifications. Recommendations for Executive Action

We recommend that the Administrator of GSA take the following two  actions:
To help ensure that GSA regulations comply with applicable executive  branch requirements, identify an adequate basis for any exemption  that allows intelligence agencies not to report to GSA unclassified  data on senior federal official travel for nonmission purposes. To help ensure the accuracy of its Senior Federal Official Travel  Reports, collect additional information from agencies on instances  where travel is not being reported because of an exemption for  intelligence agencies, as opposed to some other reason, and include  such information in its reports where departmental data do not include  trips pursuant to an agency’s exercise of a reporting exemption. In commenting on our report, GSA concurred with  both of the recommendations and identified actions to address them. As a consequence, the  exemption for intelligence agencies, which is only contained in the FMR,  will no longer be applicable to unclassified data on senior federal official  travel for nonmission purposes.
Why GAO Did This Study

The federal government owns or leases over 1,700 aircraft to accomplish a wide variety of missions. Federal agencies are generally required to report trips taken by senior federal officials on their aircraft to GSA unless the trips are classified pursuant to executive branch requirements. In February 2013, GAO reported on DOJ senior executives' use of DOJ aviation assets for nonmission purposes for fiscal years 2007 through 2011. GAO identified several issues with respect to the implementation of a provision of GSA regulations that exempts intelligence agencies from reporting information about government aircraft to GSA and that provision's application to unclassified data on senior federal official travel for nonmission purposes.
GAO was asked to review GSA's oversight of executives' use of government aircraft for nonmission purposes. This report addresses the extent to which (1) GSA's reporting exemption for intelligence agencies is consistent with executive branch requirements and (2) GSA ensures the accuracy of its reporting on the use of government aircraft by senior federal officials. GAO reviewed relevant executive branch requirements and GSA regulations, as well as data submitted by DOJ to GSA on trips taken by senior federal officials on DOJ aircraft and interviewed GSA officials.

What GAO Found

The exemption in General Services Administration (GSA) regulations that allows intelligence agencies not to report unclassified data on senior federal official travel for nonmission purposes is not consistent with executive branch requirements, and GSA has not provided a basis for deviating from these requirements. Specifically, executive branch documents—including Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-126, OMB Bulletin 93-11, and a 1993 presidential memorandum to the heads of all executive departments and agencies—require agencies to report to GSA, and for GSA to collect data, on senior federal official travel on government aircraft for nonmission purposes, except for trips that are classified. As a result, GSA is not collecting all specified unclassified data as directed, and GSA has not provided a basis for deviating from executive branch requirements. Identifying an adequate basis for the intelligence agency reporting exemption or removing the exemption from its regulations if a basis cannot be identified could help GSA ensure its regulations for senior federal official travel comply with executive branch requirements.
GSA aggregates data on senior federal official travel to create publically available Senior Federal Official Travel Reports that, among other things, provide transparency of senior federal officials' use of government aircraft. However, GSA does not determine which agencies' travel is not reported under the exemption for intelligence agencies. For example, in February 2013 GAO found that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)—which is a member of the intelligence community—did not report to GSA, based on the intelligence agency exemption, information for 395 unclassified nonmission flights taken by the Attorney General, FBI Director, and other Department of Justice (DOJ) executives from fiscal years 2009 through 2011. However, GSA's Senior Federal Official Travel Reports GAO reviewed for those years provided information on flights for other DOJ components but did not indicate that additional flights may have been omitted on the basis of GSA's exemption for intelligence agencies. GSA senior officials stated that they do not collect this information because they do not distinguish between instances where an agency reports no information because it is invoking the exemption or some other reason, such as that no flights were taken on its aircraft. However, these officials also stated that it could be possible to obtain follow-up information from agencies that did not provide travel data in order to determine why agencies had not reported data. Consistent with Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government , if GSA collected additional information from agencies on instances where nonmission travel was not reported because of the exemption for intelligence agencies, as opposed to some other reason, and included such information in its reports, it could help GSA ensure the accuracy of its Senior Federal Official Travel Reports.

What GAO Recommends

GAO recommends that GSA identify the basis of its reporting exemption, and collect additional information when travel is not being reported. GSA concurred and identified actions to address our recommendations.