Disaster Contracting: Action Needed to Improve Agencies' Use of Contracts for Wildfire Response and Recovery
Fast Facts
Wildfire season is getting longer, and the number of large fires is increasing—leaving more people and structures at risk.
Several federal agencies share responsibility for leading wildfire response and recovery. These agencies often work with private sector contractors to obtain life-saving goods and services quickly.
We looked at how three agencies contracted for goods and services for wildfire response. The agencies prioritized speed when ordering, but one agency had officials—who weren’t contracting officers—approve individual orders that exceeded their ordering limit.
We recommended that two of the agencies improve their ordering policies.
Highlights
What GAO Found
While federal agencies may provide direct support for disaster response and recovery, including for wildfires, they may also enter into contracts to obtain life-saving goods and services from the private sector. GAO's analysis of agencies' contracting data found that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Forest Service, and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) collectively obligated at least a total of $2 billion for wildfire response and recovery from fiscal years 2018 through 2021.
Aircraft Dropping Fire Retardant on a Wildfire
To mobilize goods and services quickly, the three selected agencies GAO studied used multiple approaches. For example, they used indefinite delivery contracts and assigned ordering officials, who can be authorized to place certain orders on behalf of the government. However, GAO found, for the orders reviewed, that BLM and Forest Service's use of ordering officials did not always align with their respective agency policies. For example, four of six BLM orders GAO reviewed exceeded the $25,000 ordering limit specified in policy. The cumulative values of these orders ranged from $900,000 to $2.1 million. BLM has since taken steps that will address the issues GAO identified for these orders, but has not yet updated all of its related policies.
Each of the selected agencies had processes in place for collecting lessons learned. For example, all three agencies have panels or forums that allow for discussion of contracting issues and conduct wildfire reviews resulting in reports that may cover contracting challenges. However, GAO found that the Forest Service has not yet established mechanisms to archive and track implementation of all lessons learned identified during these reviews. Without doing so, the Forest Service may miss opportunities to leverage and apply knowledge gained from lessons learned to future response efforts.
Why GAO Did This Study
The federal government obligates hundreds of millions of dollars annually to respond to wildfires. Use of contracts can play a key role in the immediate aftermath of a disaster and in community recovery.
The Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Act, 2019, included provisions for GAO to review issues related to major disasters, including wildfires. For wildfire-related contracts at selected agencies, this report examines (1) contract obligations from fiscal years 2018 through 2021 (the most recent available); (2) contracting approaches; and (3) the extent to which selected agencies collected, shared, and applied contracting lessons learned.
GAO analyzed contracting data from FEMA, BLM, and the Forest Service—agencies with key wildfire response and recovery responsibilities. From thousands of contract actions, GAO selected a non-generalizable sample of 14 contracts and 18 associated orders for review from these agencies based on factors such as total obligations. GAO also reviewed agency documentation and interviewed agency officials.
Recommendations
GAO is making six recommendations, including that BLM and Forest Service take steps to improve ordering official policies and their implementation; and that Forest Service develop mechanisms to archive and track lessons learned. All agencies concurred with our recommendations.
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Homeland Security | The Secretary of Homeland Security should takes steps to resolve the discrepancy between its practice of requiring two agencies that have exercised, or intend to exercise, their emergency acquisition flexibilities to request a National Interest Action code and its criterion as written in the associated memorandum of agreement, which does not specify that two agencies need to request a code. (Recommendation 1) |
The Department of Homeland Security concurred with this recommendation and estimated that an updated memorandum of agreement would be completed by October 2023. However, in October 2023, the Chief Acquisition Officers Council decided to discontinue use of National Interest Action codes, and, in January 2024, the Council announced that the National Interest Action code field would be removed from the Federal Procurement Data System. The Council identified other fields in the Federal Procurement Data System that agencies can use to associate contract actions with specific disasters. As of August 2024, GAO had not assessed the effectiveness of this new method of identifying contract actions associated with specific disasters. However, since National Interest Action codes are no longer in use, GAO considers this recommendation to no longer be valid.
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| Department of Homeland Security | The Secretary of Homeland Security, in coordination with the Secretary of Defense, should revise the National Interest Action code memorandum of agreement to clarify the process and criteria for requesting a National Interest Action code. (Recommendation 2) |
The Department of Homeland Security concurred with this recommendation and estimated that an updated memorandum of agreement would be completed by October 2023. However, in October 2023, the Chief Acquisition Officers Council decided to discontinue use of National Interest Action codes, and, in January 2024, the Council announced that the National Interest Action code field would be removed from the Federal Procurement Data System. The Council identified other fields in the Federal Procurement Data System that agencies can use to associate contract actions with specific disasters. As of August 2024, GAO had not assessed the effectiveness of this new method of identifying contract actions associated with specific disasters. However, since National Interest Action codes are no longer in use, GAO considers this recommendation to no longer be valid.
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| Department of Defense | The Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the Secretary of Homeland Security, should revise the National Interest Action code memorandum of agreement to clarify the process and criteria for requesting a National Interest Action code. (Recommendation 3) |
The Department of Defense concurred with this recommendation and planned to issue a revised memorandum of agreement in the first quarter of fiscal year 2024. However, in October 2023, the Chief Acquisition Officers Council decided to discontinue use of National Interest Action codes, and, in January 2024, the Council announced that the National Interest Action code field would be removed from the Federal Procurement Data System. The Council identified other fields in the Federal Procurement Data System that agencies can use to associate contract actions with specific disasters. DOD issued a memorandum to alert procurement activities of this change. As of August 2024, GAO had not assessed the effectiveness of this new method of identifying contract actions associated with specific disasters. However, since National Interest Action codes are no longer in use, GAO considers this recommendation to no longer be valid.
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| Department of the Interior | The Secretary of the Interior should ensure the Director of the Bureau of Land Management revises the bureau's acquisition manual in a timely manner to reflect 2018 and 2022 changes to its policies regarding use of ordering officials. (Recommendation 4) |
The department concurred with our recommendation and established a goal of completing necessary coordination and policy revisions by June 2024. In August 2024, the department reported that revisions to address the recommendation were being made through a significant revision of the Bureau of Land Management's acquisition manual, which had not been updated since June 2000. The Bureau has drafted its revisions and coordinated with the U.S. Forest Service, which has the authority to use the Bureau's contracts. The Department of Interior is also reviewing its own emergency procurement policy to determine if changes are needed. The Bureau has revised its target date for completing revisions to July 2025.
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| Department of Agriculture | The Secretary of Agriculture should ensure that the Forest Service conducts technical supervision and annual reviews of orders placed by ordering officials as outlined in policy. (Recommendation 5) |
The department generally agreed with our recommendation. In January 2023, the Forest Service revised its policies to clarify supervision and review requirements related to purchases made by ordering officials. The revised policy states that the Mission Area Senior Contracting Official (MASCO) is expected to provide technical supervision and ensure that an annual physical inspection of ordering official purchases occurs. In October 2023, the Forest Services' Logistics Contracting Branch, which employs ordering officials on contracts for food and shower services, fire retardant, and firefighting crews, reported to the MASCO that a physical inspection had been completed and that ordering officials had followed proper procedures. The Logistics Contracting Branch is the only branch within the Forest Service that use ordering official arrangements.
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| Department of Agriculture | The Secretary of Agriculture should ensure the Forest Service develops a mechanism to implement, track, and archive the lessons learned developed through its large fire reviews. (Recommendation 6) |
The department concurred with our recommendation. In November 2023, the Forest Service's Director of Fire and Aviation Management notified wildfire personnel that a website had been created to store large fire reports, track and archive implementation status of lessons-learned, and integrate them into future fire management practices. The website provides staff with a summary of the topics discussed within a large fire report, access to to completed reports, and a spreadsheet of related lessons-learned. Staff were asked to promote the use of the site, which Forest Service officials stated will facilitate examination of lessons learned and other reviews by fire management personnel and interested parties.
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