Waste of the Day: GSA Does Not Monitor Federal Consultants

Topline: The General Services Administration spent $133 million hiring consultants to study its own buildings, but nobody is keeping track of what the studies found or checking if they are reliable, according to a March 6 report from the GSA inspector general.

Who studies the consultants?

Key facts: The money was paid from 2019 to 2024 by the GSA’s Public Buildings Service, which constructs and maintains federal buildings around the country. Consultants help determine which buildings need repairs and set construction plans and budgets. Using the study results, the GSA decides how to spend its Federal Buildings Fund, which held $20 billion at the start of 2025.

The inspector general reported that the GSA does not have “complete, accurate, and reliable data on the studies performed, or on the actions taken as a result of the studies.” There is no guarantee the studies got the “best value for taxpayers” or even followed the law.

The GSA was unable to provide a list of the studies it has paid for since 2019, which the audit claims violates the Federal Records Act of 1950. One director told the auditors he does not track the studies because there is “no business need to do so.”

Some studies appeared to be repeated without explanation. GSA records listed four studies of the pipes in a federal building in Portland, Oregon, each with a different price tag. The GSA could not figure out if the study was actually performed four times or if the records were inaccurate. 

The GSA agreed with all of the audit’s recommendations and said it plans to address them.

Search all federal, state and local salaries and vendor spending with the world’s largest government spending database at OpenTheBooks.com.

Lots of opportunities for overspending

Background: The lax approach to consultant spending is even more alarming when considering how many federal buildings are waiting for repairs. In 2024, the Government Accountability Office estimated it would cost $370 billion to repair all of the government’s buildings. Most of the expense comes from the Department of Defense’s buildings, including military barracks that are at risk of sewage overflow and have broken fire safety systems.

That makes it even more unreasonable to spend $133 million on consultants whose advice is lost to poor recordkeeping.

Summary: Amid the federal government’s current efforts to cut consultant spending, there’s no excuse for hiring experts and then not keeping track of their advice.

The #WasteOfTheDay is brought to you by the forensic auditors at OpenTheBooks.com.

This article was originally published by RealClearInvestigations and made available via RealClearWire.