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Intergovernmental Personnel Act of 1970: Intergovernmental Purpose No Longer Emphasized

GGD-89-95 Published: Jun 19, 1989. Publicly Released: Jun 19, 1989.
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Highlights

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA) mobility program, focusing on: (1) changes to the program; (2) the extent and nature of the program's use; (3) program cost; (4) agreement purposes and benefits; and (5) Office of Personnel Management (OPM) guidance and oversight.

Recommendations

Matter for Congressional Consideration

Matter Status Comments
Congress may want to reassess and clarify the primary purpose of the mobility program.
Closed – Not Implemented
No congressional action has been taken on this recommendation in several years and no action is anticipated.
Because of the widespread use of mobility assignments among federal agencies and the importance agencies give to the program, Congress may want to require OPM to report periodically on issues like program costs and benefits, legislative or regulatory requirement compliance, and program results.
Closed – Not Implemented
No congressional action was taken on this recommendation in several years and no action is anticipated.

Recommendations for Executive Action

Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Office of Personnel Management To ensure effective use of the resources OPM has already committed to the mobility program, the Director, OPM, should implement a system to control the receipt of assignment agreements, agency evaluation reports, and other information necessary to effectively review federal agencies' use of the mobility program. OPM should use this information to direct agencies to make timely corrections of any improper agreements, as provided in current regulations.
Closed – Implemented
OPM has implemented an IPA control system.
Office of Personnel Management To ensure effective use of the resources OPM has already committed to the mobility program, the Director, OPM, should specify the circumstances in which nonfederal employees on detail to federal agencies should file financial disclosure reports.
Closed – Implemented
The Office of Government Ethics (OGE) interim regulation, revising the requirements for public and confidential financial disclosure reporting in the executive branch was published on April 7, 1992 (57 Fed. Reg. 11800). Although the regulation does not refer to IPA assignees, it will set criteria for the collection of such reports. Any IPA assignee meeting the criteria will have to file a report.

Full Report

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Topics

Colleges and universitiesConflict of interestsEmployee transfersFederal employeesstate relationsFinancial disclosureStaff utilizationIntergovernmental relationsReporting requirementsTemporary employment