Government’s landlord scrutinized for its handling of sensitive contracting information

The General Services Administration is facing more scrutiny for the handling of controlled unclassified information, this time within the Public Buildings Service, according to an Office of the Inspector General report released Friday.

As the government’s landlord, PBS handles nearly 9,000 contracts valued at more than $14.6 billion, but does not “provide adequate oversight of its electronic contract files,” which includes missing documentation and not properly designating and marking CUI, the report said.

“Overall, these deficiencies occurred because PBS contracting personnel lack a clear understanding of CUI requirements,” the report said.

In a review conducted from February 2025 to March 2026 of 11 closed contracts, some documents were incorrectly or inconsistently marked as CUI or lacked proper CUI markings, it said. Documents with acquisition plans, contractor’s personnel security information and independent government estimates were not designated as CUI.

“PBS did not ensure that contract documents containing CUI were properly designated and marked, increasing the risk of unauthorized disclosure and mishandling of sensitive acquisition information,” the report said.

Also, despite requirements for complete recordkeeping, the OIG found PBS’s electronic contract files incomplete, and that required documentation was not consistently maintained in its official system, the Electronic Acquisition System integration.

“Maintaining complete and accurate contract files is important, because it reduces the risk of missing documentation, unauthorized disclosures, improper payments, procurement disputes, and noncompliance with federal regulations,” the report said.

PBS lost 49% of its acquisition personnel in the 2025 staffing reductions, and many “of these acquisition personnel left incomplete contract files, forcing PBS officials to search extensively for required documents in response to our audit inquiries,” the OIG said. 

PBS lacks a centralized review process, it said, as it relied on GSA’s Office of Government-wide Policy’s Procurement Management Review Division before the 2025 reorganization. Afterward, the division stopped doing contract file reviews.

The report said contracting personnel did not “consistently” use the service’s mandatory file checklist and contract review practices. 

“PBS contracting officers also stated that they did not consistently upload documents into EASi because they found network drives or GSA’s Google Drive easier to use for contract file storage,” it said.

Last month, GSA was in hot water with its OIG for “not effectively” protecting CUI in its Google Drive, exposing it to all GSA users and contractors.

Acting PBS Commissioner Michael Gelber concurred with the OIG and is “working on a plan” to address the four recommendations to strengthen PBS contract file management, evaluate EASi for improvement, strengthen oversight and provide training on CUI.