GSA Needs To Strengthen Its Inspection and Testing To Make Sure the Government Gets the Quality It Pays For

The General Services Administration (GSA) acquires common use items for federal agencies. The GSA quality control program provides little assurance that goods purchased for use by government agencies meet contract specifications or user needs. During fiscal year 1978, GSA inspected and accepted $1.3 billion of common use items. Historically, the quality of items provided by GSA has been subjected to much debate. Many agencies complain that defective or low quality merchandise is often provided.