Watchdog agency to preview findings on Federal Protective Service
Senate hearing this week will highlight an upcoming report on management challenges at the agency, congressional spokeswoman says.
The Government Accountability Office is set to reveal findings from its review of the agency charged with safeguarding 9,000 federal buildings nationwide during a Senate oversight hearing on Wednesday.
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing, titled "The Federal Protective Service: Time for Reform," will examine funding and management problems at FPS, according to a spokeswoman for the panel. Speaking on background in advance of the hearing, she said witnesses and lawmakers will preview an upcoming GAO report detailing a range of problems related to training and staffing.
GAO has been conducting a comprehensive review of the protective agency for more than one year. In June 2008, GAO released a report calling into question the placement of FPS -- formerly a component of the General Services Administration -- in the Homeland Security Department's Immigration and Customs Enforcement bureau. Since being transferred to ICE in 2003 when DHS was created, the protective service has faced numerous funding and management challenges.
During a hearing to discuss the 2008 review, Mark Goldstein, GAO director of physical infrastructure issues and author of the report, told lawmakers that virtually everyone interviewed by watchdog agency officials said FPS should not be part of ICE. Goldstein, who will testify Wednesday, then announced ongoing investigations into the agency's troubled contract guard program and into human capital issues stemming from its placement within ICE.
The contract guard program has been a perennial area of concern for lawmakers and supervisory agencies. A report from the Homeland Security inspector general, released in April, showed inconsistent contract award practices and insufficient oversight of contract guards. In the report, IG Richard Skinner warned that inconsistent selection practices could lead to disparate levels of contractor quality and leave the agency open to criticism.
Skinner also wrote that FPS failed to ensure contractors were deploying qualified guards and meeting contract requirements by inspecting guards at their posts, monitoring certification records and evaluating performance. "Until these shortfalls are addressed, the agency cannot ensure that guards are complying with contract requirements or effectively using past performance as an evaluation factor in guard service procurements," the report stated. "This may lead to decreased security, putting federal employees, facilities and visitors at risk."
FPS Director Gary Schenkel also will testify at Wednesday's hearing. Schenkel has acknowledged the agency had a difficult transition from GSA to DHS, but also said the ship is slowly turning in the right direction.