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Postal Service: Conditions Leading to Problems in Some Major Purchases

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Report Type Reports and Testimonies
Report Date Jan. 18, 1996
Report No. GGD-96-59
Subject
Summary:

Congress has raised concerns that five purchases by the Postal Service did not reflect favorably on the Service's procurement policy or the wisdom of exempting the Service from many of the purchasing rules that apply to other federal agencies. The purchasing problems covered by this report focus on seven cases, ranging from ethics violations in an automation contract to the purchase of a site in Queens, New York, that is unusable because of toxic contamination. Given the circumstances of the seven purchases, GAO does not believe that the problems were due to causes that should be addressed through legislation. GAO attributes the problems to poor judgement and decisions to circumvent existing internal controls to meet perceived operational exigencies. Nevertheless, the Postal Service can improve its purchasing organization and methods to help safeguard against such future occurrences, and the Service has taken steps to do so.

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