Homeland Security. Further Action Needed to Promote Successful Use of Special DHS Acquisition Authority;Report to Congress

摘要

The Homeland Security Act of 2002 authorized the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to establish a pilot program for the use of acquisition agreements known as other transactions. Because they are exempt from many of the requirements that apply to government contracts, other transactions can be useful in acquiring cutting-edge technologies from entities that traditionally have declined to do business with the government. The act requires GAO to report to Congress on the use of other transactions by DHS. To fulfill this obligation, GAO (1) determined if DHS has developed policies and established a workforce to manage other transactions effectively and (2) evaluated how effectively DHS has used its other transactions authority to attract nontraditional government contractors. To promote the efficient and effective use of its other transactions authority GAO recommends that DHS (1) provide guidance on including audit provisions in other transactions agreements, (2) develop a training program in the use of other transactions, and (3) capture knowledge obtained during the acquisition process for use in planning and implementing future other transactions projects. DHS generally concurred with our recommendations.