Government Civil Aircraft: Longstanding Management Problems

GAO discussed its reviews of acquisition, management, and uses of government civilian aircraft. GAO noted that: (1) civilian agencies own at least 1,300 aircraft worth $2 billion; (2) agencies use most aircraft to satisfy special mission requirements such as firefighting and law enforcement, but 100 are configured and used for routine passenger transportation; (3) over the past 15 years, it has documented numerous, persistent examples of executive agencies' mismanagement and wasteful use of aircraft; (4) despite improved executive branch policies and procedures, many problems have persisted; (5) the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) and the General Services Administration's (GSA) corrective actions have not been fully responsive to GAO recommendations; (6) OMB has not effectively enforced compliance with the aircraft ownership and administrative travel requirements of Circulars A-76 and A-126; (7) in response to GAO reports and OMB directions, GSA implemented a governmentwide aircraft management information system, created a new aviation management group, and established an interagency committee on aviation policy to help explore improvements; and (8) GSA has still not provided its aviation management group the resources, staffing levels, or top management support needed to fulfill its oversight role.