Summary: In response to a congressional request, GAO examined the travel and procurement practices of the director of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) to determine the reasonableness of the director's extensive travel at government expense when HHS operations were facing major cutbacks.
GAO found that: (1) during fiscal years 1984 through 1986, the director made 83 domestic trips at a total cost of $49,640.94, and 7 international trips at a total cost of $14,159.35; (2) the director generally conformed with HHS regulations regarding blanket travel orders; (3) the director was not required to document the specific purposes of her domestic trips because she traveled under blanket orders and approved her own travel orders; (4) OCR staff could provide documentation for only 29 of the 46 domestic trips to conferences and meetings; (5) there was no independent review of whether the expenses the director claimed for domestic travel were justified or reasonable; and (6) the director did not adhere to HHS international travel requirements for advance approval, planning, and documentation of her seven international trips. GAO noted that it referred the director's authorization of the award of a $1,500 purchase order and possible falsification of travel vouchers to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for further review.
