State Department: Proposed Overseas Housing Standards not Justified.
Abstract
The methodology State used in developing the proposed standards was flawed because it did not include an appropriate means to support a key new element in the revision, namely using an employee's grade as significant factor in the authorized size of housing. Moreover, the data State used was old, incomplete, and inappropriate for the analysis. The U.S. government may have to pay millions of dollars more each year to house personnel abroad under the proposed standards than if the current standards were appropriately applied. For State Department employees alone, the proposed standards would authorize an additional 1.3 million square feet over the existing housing standards and would cost about $10.9 million more. If other agencies have similar increases in authorized space for their overseas employees, the added costs will be greater. The U.S. government is already incurring much of this cost because many employees have been allowed to live in housing that exceeds the current standards. We conclude that State should not implement the proposed revision because it has not been adequately supported. Rather, we believe that State should enforce the current standards until State can justify revising them. pg 3. JMD
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 1989
- Accession Number
- ADA291967
Entities
Organizations
- United States Government Accountability Office