NASHVILLE, TN—United States Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN), a member of the Senate Appropriations and Foreign Relations Committees, today sent a letter to Administrator of the General Services Administration Robin Carnahan and Commissioner of the Federal Acquisition Service Sonny Hashmi, imploring them to take immediate action to review and implement procedures to prevent the procurement of prohibited telecommunications items that put American national security at risk.
“[T]he General Services Administration (GSA) allowed the sale of prohibited telecommunications items in violation of Federal law and the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), putting our national security at risk,” Hagerty wrote.
“GSA has a responsibility to ensure that federal contractors comply with relevant federal laws and FAR provisions relating to the procurement of telecommunications items. In light of the recent Office of Inspector General (OIG) report, I am deeply concerned that GSA has not adequately fulfilled its role in ensuring compliance with the prohibitions on procuring certain foreign telecommunications products. This is especially troubling given that the report comes at a time when the United States is under a constant threat of surveillance by foreign adversaries,” Hagerty continued.
Hagerty requested responses to the following questions no later than July 28, 2023:
- Has GSA or FAS taken any steps to implement recommendations from the General Services Administration Office of Inspector General report?
- Are there any recommendations included in the report that GSA does not plan to implement?
- If yes, why?
A copy of the letter can be found here and below.
Dear Administrator Carnahan and Commissioner Hashmi,
On July 10, 2023, the General Services Administration Office of Inspector General issued a report titled “Multiple Award Schedule Contracts Offered Prohibited Items, Putting Customers at Risk of Unauthorized Surveillance by Foreign Adversaries.” The report revealed that the General Services Administration (GSA) allowed the sale of prohibited telecommunications items in violation of Federal law and the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), putting our national security at risk.
As you know, in the 2018 and 2019 National Defense Authorization Acts, Congress barred federal agencies from procuring telecommunications and surveillance equipment and services from certain foreign companies, including Russian cybersecurity software company, Kaspersky Lab, and numerous Chinese companies, including Huawei Technologies Co., ZTE Corp., Hytera Communications Corp., Dahua Technology Co., and Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co.
GSA has a responsibility to ensure that federal contractors comply with relevant federal laws and FAR provisions relating to the procurement of telecommunications items. In light of the recent Office of Inspector General (OIG) report, I am deeply concerned that GSA has not adequately fulfilled its role in ensuring compliance with the prohibitions on procuring certain foreign telecommunications products. This is especially troubling given that the report comes at a time when the United States is under a constant threat of surveillance by foreign adversaries.
The report produced by OIG found that the two primary processes in place to prohibit the procurement of telecom items that foreign adversaries could use for unauthorized surveillance are inadequate. In specific, “the self-certifications are inadequate and the Robomod process is insufficient to prevent contractors from including prohibited telecom items on their MAS contract price lists.”
The OIG report also disturbingly revealed that “FAS [Federal Acquisition Service] has not taken adequate actions against contractors that repeatedly violate the FAR [Federal Acquisition Regulation] restrictions on providing or using prohibited telecom items.”
In order to promote future compliance with federal law and ensure that continued failed action by the FAS and GSA does not put American citizens at risk, I respectfully request responses to the following questions no later than July 28, 2023:
- Has GSA or FAS taken any steps to implement recommendations from the General Services Administration Office of Inspector General report?
- Are there any recommendations included in the report that GSA does not plan to implement?
- If yes, why?
Thank you, and I look forward to your prompt reply.
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