Review of Furniture Purchases by Federal Labor Relations Authority

In response to a congressional request, GAO reviewed purchases of furniture and furnishings by the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA). The request stemmed from allegations of purchases of unusually high-priced office furniture and furnishings for three members of FLRA and its general counsel. GAO reviewed the contract file under which the furniture was purchased. At the time the contract was awarded, a Presidentially directed moratorium on furniture procurement was in effect. Furniture was not to be purchased by Federal agencies unless an exemption was obtained from the Office of Management and Budget. GAO found no indication that such a waiver was sought or obtained by FLRA. Absent such a written waiver, the agency should not have initiated this procurement and, if they had followed proper procurement procedures, the procurement would not have been authorized. GAO will compare the prices paid by FLRA to the prices which they would have paid had the purchase been made through the General Services Administration. The funds utilized to purchase the furniture and furnishings were from a 1979 one-year appropriation initially obligated in 1979. GAO found no indication that these funds were ever deobligated. The contract awarded caused these funds to be obligated without any available budget authority. Finally, preliminary results indicate that, while FLRA is only 3 years old, thousands of dollars worth of serviceable furniture is either in storage or is being surplused.