Summary: Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO evaluated the General Services Administration's (GSA) support to federal agencies in managing the cost of agencies' mail operations.
GAO found that: (1) while GSA has recently emphasized strategic planning to meet several of its other responsibilities, it lacks a comprehensive plan for its mail leadership responsibilities; (2) GSA mail management resource levels have not been adequate to sustain efforts begun in earlier years to reduce mail costs or to carry out an effective leadership role; (3) GSA officials said that mail operations were not reviewed; (4) the GSA claim that it prompted changes to agency mail programs was questionable; (5) GSA has stopped providing on-site technical assistance to support changes to agencies' mail operations; (6) despite statements that GSA would provide a mail management handbook to federal agencies in fiscal year 1981, it did not publish a book until April 1989; (7) GSA is not providing support that agencies believe would be of benefit; (8) GSA courses did not include adequate training on designing and implementing an effective mail management system; (9) there has been little planning, coordination, or interaction with major federal agencies by GSA to arrive at an integrated, focused approach to support agency mail systems; and (10) GSA has successfully reduced agency mailing costs through the actions of its Federal Supply Service (FSS).
