State Department

Proposed Overseas Housing Standards Not Justified Gao ID: NSIAD-90-17 December 18, 1989

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the State Department's proposal for revising housing space standards for overseas employees, focusing on the: (1) proposal methodology and data; and (2) proposal's financial impact.

GAO found that: (1) the methodology did not justify using employee rank as a factor in authorizing housing size increases; (2) the housing policy was intended to provide housing comparable to employee residences in the District of Columbia metropolitan area, but revision data did not reflect the District's current housing market, construction standards, or average employee housing size; (3) since State compared proposed space standards with overseas housing which already exceeded current standards, it underestimated the financial impact of the proposed revision; and (4) the proposed standards would increase State housing costs by about $10.9 million, representing a 22-percent increase in overseas living space.

Recommendations

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