Special Programs Obtained Property They Should Not Have Received

Between 1995 and 2000, the three special programs obtained items valued  at millions of dollars that they were not eligible to receive. We also found that the programs’ lists of  eligible property were not comprehensive and did not include other  mission-related items that were similar to items already permitted. Some Program Officials Were Unaware of Receiving Ineligible Hazardous and Restricted Property

All of the special programs received restricted and/or hazardous excess  property, although not all of the program officials were aware that their  programs had obtained the items. Control Weaknesses Allowed Special Programs to Obtain Ineligible Items

The three special programs obtained ineligible excess property partly  because of internal control weaknesses at the Defense reutilization  facilities, which are not required to determine whether a program is  allowed to have a requested item, and partly because program officials do  not consistently follow guidelines when approving requests for property. This  lack of accountability increases the property’s vulnerability to misuse,  loss, and theft. Items for sale  included office equipment and supplies, paper products, hand tools, and  furniture. Further, because these  programs have obtained property that they are not eligible to have, the  property is unavailable for reuse by federal agencies or other special  programs. Key contributors to this report are listed in appendix VII. Appendix I: Scope and Methodology

We selected the Military Affiliate Radio System, the Civil Air Patrol, and  the 12th Congressional Regional Equipment Center for review because  they (1) were found by our Office of Special Investigations to have  obtained and used some excess property that was not consistent with their  mission, (2) store their data in relatively few locations, (3) are subject  exclusively to Department of Defense oversight, and (4) have information  about their excess property that is readily available from the Defense  Reutilization and Marketing Service.
Why GAO Did This Study

The Defense Department (DOD) encourages the reuse of excess property, including vehicles, weapons, hand tools, lumber, medical equipment, and furniture. DOD components, civilian federal agencies, and "special programs" have equal priority and first rights to excess property. This report discusses excess property issued to three of 12 special programs--the Military Affiliate Radio System, the Civil Air Patrol, and the 12th Congressional Regional Equipment Center.

What GAO Found

Between 1995 and 2000, these programs obtained $34 million worth of items that they were not eligible to receive. The three programs were able to obtain the items because the DOD facilities that store the property are not required to verify which items the programs are eligible to receive, and because program officials do not consistently follow applicable guidelines. GAO also noted that the programs' lists of property they are allowed to obtain are not comprehensive because the lists exclude mission-related items similar to those already permitted. Furthermore, these programs did not have reliable records for more than three-quarters of their excess property. Together, the three special programs obtained more than 80,000 hazardous supplies. In many cases, program officials were unaware that their programs had received such items. GAO found similar problems in other special programs. This lack of accountability increases the risk of mishandling excess property and the potential for waste, fraud, and abuse.