SPOT Not Capable of Tracking All Required Information

SPOT currently lacks the capability to track all of the contract data  elements as agreed to in the MOU. However, due to limitations with the reported data, we  determined the data reported by the agencies should not be used to  identify trends or draw conclusions about the number of contractor  personnel in either country. Instead, State bureaus conducted periodic surveys of their contractors;  however, each bureau’s survey covered different time periods. Agencies’ Ability to Track Contractor Personnel Killed or Wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan Varies

Although USAID, State, and DOD are required to collect data on the total  number of contractor personnel who have been killed or wounded while  working on contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan, only USAID and State  tracked this information during our review period. Absent DOD-wide data and as was the case for our prior  report, DOD officials referred us to Defense Base Act (DBA) case data,  which are maintained by the Department of Labor, as a means of obtaining  information on killed and wounded contractor personnel. Labor DBA Data Are Not a Good Proxy for Contractor Personnel Killed or Wounded

Labor’s DBA case data do not provide an appropriate basis for determining  the number of contractor personnel killed or wounded in Iraq and  Afghanistan while working on DOD, State, or USAID contracts. As a result, the data may include cases for contractor personnel  working for agencies other than DOD, State, and USAID. Based on our review of 150 randomly selected DBA case files, we  estimated that about 11 percent of the deaths and injuries reported to  Labor for incidents that occurred in fiscal year 2008 resulted from hostile  actions. DOD  accounted for the vast majority of both the contracts and obligations. See appendix II for detailed information on each  agencies’ Iraq and Afghanistan contracts and obligations during our review  period. The agencies reported that  99 percent of the orders issued during our review period were competed. Specifically, there is a lack of  consistency as to which contractor personnel are entered into SPOT. In response to  this mandate, we analyzed agency-reported data for fiscal year 2008 and  the first half of fiscal year 2009 regarding (1) the status of the agencies’  implementation of the Synchronized Predeployment and Operational  Tracker (SPOT) database, (2) the number of contractor personnel,  including those performing security functions, working on DOD, State, and  USAID contracts with performance in Iraq and Afghanistan, (3) the  number of personnel killed or wounded, and (4) the number and value of  contracts that were active and awarded during our period of review and  the extent of competition for new contract awards. DOD did not collect and could not provide  such data. USAID reported that 90 percent of its contracts were competed,  including 126 (82 percent) that were awarded using full and open  competition. Appendix IV: Comments from the Department of State

Department of State Comments on GAO Draft Report  CONTINGENCY CONTRACTING:  DOD, State, and USAID Continue to  Face Challenges in Tracking Contractor Personnel and Contracts in Iraq and   (GAO-10-01, GAO Code 120790)
The Department of State appreciates the opportunity to review the  Government Accountability Office (GAO) draft report titled, “Contingency  Contracting:  DOD, State and USAID Continue to Face Challenges in Tracking  Contractor Personnel and Contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan.”
Recommendation:  To ensure that the agencies and Congress have reliable  information on contracts and contractor personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan, we  recommend that the Secretaries of Defense and State and the Administrator of  USAID jointly develop and execute a plan with associated timeframes for their  continued implementation of the NDAA for FY2008 requirements, specifically   Ensuring that the agencies’ criteria for entering contracts and contractor  personnel into the Synchronized Predeployment and Operational Tracker (SPOT)  are consistent with the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for FY2008  and with the agencies’ respective information needs for overseeing contracts and  contractor personnel;    Establishing uniform requirements on how contract numbers are to be  entered into SPOT so that contract information can accurately be pulled from  FPDS-NG as agreed to in the MOU; and    Revising SPOT’s reporting capabilities to ensure that they fulfill statutory  requirements and agency information needs, such as those related to contractor  personnel killed or wounded. However, not all contractor personnel, particularly local  nationals, in Iraq need LOAs and agency officials informed us that such personnel were  not being entered into SPOT.
Why GAO Did This Study

The Departments of Defense (DOD) and State and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) have relied extensively on contractors to provide a range of services in Iraq and Afghanistan, but as GAO has previously reported, the agencies have faced challenges in obtaining sufficient information to plan and manage their use of contractors. As directed by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year (FY) 2008, GAO analyzed DOD, State, and USAID data for Iraq and Afghanistan for FY 2008 and the first half of FY 2009 on the (1) status of agency efforts to track information on contracts and contractor personnel; (2) number of contractor personnel; (3) number of killed and wounded contractors; and (4) number and value of contracts and extent to which they were awarded competitively. GAO reviewed selected contracts and compared personnel data to other available sources to assess the reliability of agency-reported data.

What GAO Found

In response to a statutory requirement to increase contractor oversight, DOD, State, and USAID agreed to use the Synchronized Predeployment and Operational Tracker (SPOT) system to track information on contracts and contractor personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan. With the exception of USAID in Afghanistan, the agencies are in the process of implementing the system and require contractor personnel in both countries to be entered into SPOT. However, the agencies use differing criteria to decide which personnel are entered, resulting in some personnel not being entered into the system as required. Some agency officials also questioned the need to track detailed information on all contractor personnel, particularly local nationals. Further, SPOT currently lacks the capability to track all required data elements, such as contract dollar value and the number of personnel killed and wounded. As a result, the agencies rely on other sources for contract and contractor personnel information, such as periodic surveys of contractors. DOD, State, and USAID reported nearly 226,500 contractor personnel, including about 28,000 performing security functions, in Iraq and Afghanistan, as of the second quarter of FY 2009. However due to their limitations, the reported data should not be used to identify trends or draw conclusions about contractor personnel numbers. Specifically, we found that the data reported by the three agencies were incomplete. For example, in one quarterly contractor survey DOD did not include 26,000 personnel in Afghanistan, and USAID did not provide personnel data for a $91 million contract. The agencies depend on contractors to report personnel numbers and acknowledge that they cannot validate the reported information. USAID and State reported that 64 of their contractors had been killed and 159 wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan during our review period. DOD officials told us they continue to lack a system to reliably track killed or wounded contractor personnel and referred us to the Department of Labor's Defense Base Act (DBA) case data for this information. However, because DBA is a worker's compensation program, Labor's data include cases such as those resulting from occupational injuries and do not provide an appropriate basis for determining how many contractor personnel were killed or wounded while working on DOD, State, or USAID contracts in Iraq or Afghanistan. Nevertheless, the data provide insights into contractor casualties. According to Labor, 11,804 DBA cases were filed for contractors killed or injured in Iraq and Afghanistan during our review period, including 218 deaths. Based on our review of 150 randomly selected cases, we estimate that 11 percent of all FY 2008 DBA cases for the two countries resulted from hostile actions. DOD, State, and USAID reported obligating $38.6 billion on nearly 85,000 contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan during our review period. DOD accounted for more than 90 percent of the contracts and obligations. The agencies reported that 97 percent of the contracts awarded during our review period, accounting for nearly 71 percent of obligations, were competed.