Elizabeth Harrington‘s latest effort to sift through the federal government’s vast supply of wasteful programs turns up an interesting report involving the Department of Homeland Security. Harrington offers details for the Washington Free Beacon.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) cannot effectively manage its warehouse space, in part due to “confusion” about what the definition of a warehouse is, according to a new audit.
The Office of Inspector General (OIG) found that the agency could save at least $1 million per year on leases for warehouses that are half empty or full of broken furniture.
“Although DHS has taken steps to assess its warehouses, it cannot effectively manage its warehouse needs because some of the components misclassify many of their warehouses,” according to the audit. “We found buildings that should not have been on the Department’s warehouse inventory. Conversely, we found buildings that should have been classified as warehouses, but were not.”
“Because the warehouse inventories are inaccurate, DHS cannot manage warehouses or demonstrate compliance with requirements to limit the size of real property inventories and reduce costs,” the OIG said.
Part of the problem is confusion over the agency’s broad definition of warehouse.
“[T]here was confusion among the components concerning the definition of warehouses,” the OIG said. “DHS adopted the Federal Real Property Council’s (FRPC) definition of a warehouse, which includes a diverse variety of buildings.”
