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The Office of the Secretary of Health and Human Services Did Not Comply with Federal Regulations for Chartered Aircraft and Other Government Travel Related to Former Secretary Price

Issued on  | Posted on  | Report number: A-12-17-00002

Report Materials

Former Secretary Price's use of chartered aircraft, MilAir, and commercial aircraft did not always comply with applicable Federal regulations and HHS policies and procedures. As a result, the Office of the Secretary improperly used Federal funds related to former Secretary Price's Government travel. Of the 21 trips, we determined that for one trip all applicable Federal requirements had been followed. The remaining 20 trips did not comply with Federal requirements, including all 12 chartered aircraft trips. Examples of noncompliance related to use of chartered aircraft included not completing a cost comparison to commercial airline service, not adhering to contract requirements, and not properly authorizing the use of chartered aircraft. We also found specific instances of noncompliance related to the travel records for former Secretary Price and certain HHS travelers. Insufficient review of authorizations and vouchers and many employees' failure to complete required travel card training contributed to these instances of noncompliance. Overall, we determined that the use of chartered aircraft and identified noncompliance issues resulted in waste of Federal funds totaling at least $341,000.

We recommend that the Office of the Secretary review the lack of compliance with Federal requirements, and based on the review, determine appropriate administrative actions to recoup (1) $333,014 related to the authorization and use of chartered aircraft; (2) $4,926 related to travel that started or ended in locations other than the official duty station; and (3) $2,960 related to other excess travel costs. We also make procedural recommendations to improve processes and internal controls related to the use of chartered aircraft and to ensure compliance with applicable Federal regulations and HHS policies and procedures.

In written comments on our draft report, HHS concurred with most of our recommendations and described actions that it has taken or planned to take to address them, such as implementing mandatory travel policy training to all non-career personnel and issuing new policy. HHS also asked us to clarify amounts used in our first monetary recommendation to estimate waste totaling $333,014. In response, we updated the recommendation to reflect the specific waste amounts.

18-A-12-131.01 to OS - Open Unimplemented
Update expected on 07/11/2022
We recommend that the Office of the Secretary review the lack of compliance with the OMB Circular A-126, Federal Travel Regulations, and HHS Travel Policy Manual related to the authorization and use of chartered aircraft during former Secretary PriceÆs tenure, and on the basis of the review, determine and take appropriate administrative actions to recoup $333,014 of identified waste, including the $12,178 for the June 6 trip to Nashville for which the chartered aircraft was not cancelled after receiving confirmation that the White House event would not occur, providing an opportunity for the use of commercial flights; the $36,313 for the June 24¢26 trip to San Diego, Aspen, and Salt Lake City that included only 3.5 hours of official engagements; the $10,001 for the September 15 trip to Philadelphia for not using options other than chartered aircraft; the $12,346 for the Raleigh to Brunswick travel leg in which former Secretary Price used the chartered aircraft to attend an event in a p

18-A-12-131.02 to OS - Open Unimplemented
Update expected on 07/11/2022
We recommend that the Office of the Secretary review the lack of compliance with the HHS Travel Policy Manual related to travel that started or ended in locations other than former Secretary PriceÆs official duty station, and on the basis of the review, determine and take appropriate administrative actions to recoup $4,926 identified as waste the $818 for the July 6 trip to Chattanooga in travel costs for an employee to travel to Atlanta on July 5; the $580 for the Raleigh to Brunswick leg in which HHS travelers had to fly commercially back to DC because former Secretary Price used the chartered aircraft to attend an event in a personal capacity; and the $3,528 for the September 18 trip to Marathon and Stillwater.

18-A-12-131.03 to OS - Open Unimplemented
Update expected on 07/11/2022
We recommend that the Office of the Secretary review the lack of compliance with the FTR and the HHS Travel Policy Manual related to other excess travel costs, and on the basis of the review, determine and take appropriate action to recoup $2,960 of identified waste the $1,568 of excess lodging costs that were not pre-authorized; the $727 of excess costs incurred for a rental vehicle and pre-paid fuel; and the $665 to Government travelers for travel costs that included unallowable meal costs and incorrect amounts entered on vouchers.

18-A-12-131.04 to OS - Open Unimplemented
Update expected on 07/11/2022
We recommend that the Office of the Secretary request a repayment totaling $716 for former Secretary PriceÆs wifeÆs use of one flight aboard a chartered aircraft.

18-A-12-131.05 to OS - Open Unimplemented
Update expected on 07/11/2022
We recommend that the Office of the Secretary train responsible HHS personnel and put controls in place to ensure that the following requirements are met for future procurements; preparing and maintaining documentation regarding the rationale for quote selections when the lowest quote is not selected is prepared and included in the contract file as required by the FAR; and verifying that sole-source justification requirements are adhered to and documentation related to sole-source awards is prepared in accordance with the FAR.

18-A-12-131.06 to OS - Open Unimplemented
Update expected on 07/11/2022
We recommend that the Office of the Secretary train responsible HHS personnel and put controls in place to ensure that the following requirements are met for future travel; conducting a cost analysis and maintaining documentation to support each use of chartered aircraft that is consistent with each charter justification and ensure compliance with the FTR and the HHS Travel Policy Manual; following the HHS Travel Policy Manual when making travel decisions for the Secretary and accompanying staff when they are not traveling from or to their official duty stations; ensuring authorizations and vouchers are completed in accordance with the FTR and the HHS Travel Policy Manual; cancelling travel reservations to ensure that the value of an unused ticket is not charged to HHSÆs centrally billed account and then paid, in accordance with the FTR; ensuring existing and newly assigned individuals complete all required training before Government travel in compliance with OMB Circular No. A-123 and

18-A-12-131.07 to OS - Open Unimplemented
Update expected on 07/11/2022
We recommend that the Office of the Secretary assess the roles, responsibilities, and actions of Federal personnel involved in scheduling, preparing, procuring, and approving the use of chartered aircraft for former Secretary PriceÆs travel and take all appropriate actions related to their performance or conduct.

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Report Type
Audit
HHS Agencies
Office of the Secretary
Issue Areas
Contracts Departmental Operational Issues Financial Stewardship
Target Groups
-
Financial Groups
Other Funding

Notice

This report may be subject to section 5274 of the National Defense Authorization Act Fiscal Year 2023, 117 Pub. L. 263.