Postal Service:
Issues Related to Settling a Disputed Contract for Air Transportation
GGD-94-92: Published: Mar 24, 1994. Publicly Released: Mar 24, 1994.
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Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the U.S. Postal Service's (USPS) court-approved settlement of a disputed contract for air transportation services, focusing on whether the: (1) payments to the awardee were legitimate; (2) settlement served the best interest of USPS; and (3) USPS followed proper contracting procedures by settling the dispute instead of resoliciting the procurement.
GAO found that: (1) the awardee's settlement payments represented the full settlement costs that might be due it under the contract's termination provisions and did not reflect any real work completed by the awardee; (2) the awardee used the settlement payments to cover its bid preparation and start-up costs, attorneys' fees, and commitment to purchase 23 Boeing 727 aircraft; (3) the awardee agreed to release the remaining litigants from any claims because one of the litigants agreed to purchase most of the aircraft; (4) USPS reasonably determined that the settlement would be less costly and quicker than resoliciting the procurement; (5) the financial benefits expected from the settlement were overstated because start-up operations after settlement took longer than expected; (6) no significant changes occurred between the time of the original award and the settlement that would have made resolicitation preferable; (7) the decision to resolve the procurement through litigation and a court-approved settlement was reasonable and in accordance with procurement regulations, and enabled USPS to satisfy its own needs and the interests of the litigants and the court; and (8) USPS would have been required to resolicit the procurement if it had not reached a settlement with the parties.
Mar 2, 2021
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High-Risk Series:
Dedicated Leadership Needed to Address Limited Progress in Most High-Risk AreasGAO-21-119SP: Published: Mar 2, 2021. Publicly Released: Mar 2, 2021. -
High-Risk Series:
Dedicated Leadership Needed to Address Limited Progress in Most High-Risk AreasGAO-21-383T: Published: Mar 2, 2021. Publicly Released: Mar 2, 2021. -
High-Risk Series:
Dedicated Leadership Needed to Address Limited Progress in Most High-Risk AreasGAO-21-384T: Published: Mar 2, 2021. Publicly Released: Mar 2, 2021.
Feb 3, 2021
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Fixed-Price-Incentive Contracts:
DOD Has Increased Their Use but Should Assess Contributions to OutcomesGAO-21-181: Published: Feb 3, 2021. Publicly Released: Feb 3, 2021.
Jan 29, 2021
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Federal Real Property:
Additional Documentation of Decision Making Could Improve Transparency of New Disposal ProcessGAO-21-233: Published: Jan 29, 2021. Publicly Released: Jan 29, 2021.
Jan 19, 2021
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Federal Rulemaking:
Selected EPA and HHS Regulatory Analyses Met Several Best Practices, but CMS Should Take Steps to Strengthen Its AnalysesGAO-21-151: Published: Dec 17, 2020. Publicly Released: Jan 19, 2021.
Jan 13, 2021
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Department of Energy Contracting:
Improvements Needed to Ensure DOE Assesses Its Full Range of Contracting Fraud RisksGAO-21-44: Published: Jan 13, 2021. Publicly Released: Jan 13, 2021.
Dec 16, 2020
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Data Governance:
Agencies Made Progress in Establishing Governance, but Need to Address Key MilestonesGAO-21-152: Published: Dec 16, 2020. Publicly Released: Dec 16, 2020.
Dec 9, 2020
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2020 Census:
The Bureau Concluded Field Work but Uncertainty about Data Quality, Accuracy, and Protection RemainsGAO-21-206R: Published: Dec 9, 2020. Publicly Released: Dec 9, 2020.
Dec 3, 2020
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2020 Census:
Census Bureau Needs to Assess Data Quality Concerns Stemming from Recent Design ChangesGAO-21-142: Published: Dec 3, 2020. Publicly Released: Dec 3, 2020.
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