Despite a requirement for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to justify technology purchases costing more than $30 million at least 30 days before awarding a contract, the TSA did not submit its first justifications until last August, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) found.
The requirement was included in the 2014 Transportation Security Administration Reform Act, which was intended to promote greater transparency and accountability about purchases. TSA only reported limited purchases between December 2014 and August 2018.
The TSA purchased approximately $1.4 billion in security-related technology and associated services through July. This includes seven orders, each totaling more than $30 million.
The agency did not submit justifications because the purchases did not align with TSA’s policy, TSA officials said. The policy stipulates that the $30 million threshold relates to the initial contract and not to individual delivery orders.
GAO made three recommendations for the TSA administrator.
The first is to revise TSA policy to require that the agency also submit information before the award of contracts and blanket purchase agreements exceed $30 million.
The second is to revise TSA policy to require that the agency also submit information before the issuance of individual task and delivery orders that exceed $30 million.
The third is to clarify and document what constitutes security-related technology.