Prize Drawing by General Services Administration's Public Buildings, B-286536, November 17, 2000

B-286536 Nov 17, 2000 Jump To VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights The General Services Administration (GSA) requested an advance decision on whether it may use appropriated funds to pay for a prize drawing that could increase the response rates to its customer satisfaction survey. GAO held that since GSA has determined that the information from the surveys would be necessary to carry out its statutory responsibilities, GAO had no objection to the use of federal funding to pay for these prizes. However, since the drawing may constitute a prohibited lottery, GAO suggested that GSA consult with the Department of Justice before implementing its proposal. View Decision Matter of: Prize Drawing by General Services Administration's Public Buildings Service File: B-286536 Date: November 17, 2000 DIGESTS 1) The General Services Administration's (GSA) Public Buildings Service (PBS) distributes customer surveys to employees of tenant-agencies in GSA-managed buildings in order to develop customer satisfaction information. To enhance the response rate to the surveys, PBS proposes to use the Federal Buildings Fund to provide work-related prizes to survey recipients whose names PBS chooses in a drawing connected to the survey. Since GSA has established that customer satisfaction information is useful in carrying out its statutory mission to operate, maintain and protect federally owned and leased buildings, and since the survey recipients have no statutory, regulatory or employment-related duty to reply to the survey, we have no objection to GSA's use of the Federal Buildings Fund for this purpose. 2) Because an award of prizes in a drawing accompanying a survey might be construed to contain elements of a lottery prohibited by certain federal criminal statutes and regulations, see 18 U.S.C. Secs. 1301--1304, GSA should consult with the Department of Justice to ensure that its proposal is not a prohibited lottery before spending appropriated funds as proposed. DECISION By letter of October 11, 2000, the General Services Administration (GSA) requested an advance decision on whether the Public Buildings Service (PBS) may use appropriated funds to pay for prizes in a drawing held in connection with customer satisfaction surveys. PBS proposes to conduct the drawing and award prizes in order to increase the response rate to customer satisfaction surveys and achieve a statistically valid representation of the satisfaction level of its customers. We conclude that PBS may use appropriated funds to pay for prizes in a drawing held in connection with customer satisfaction surveys to the extent discussed below. /1/ BACKGROUND Pursuant to section 210(a) of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949, as amended (codified as 40 U.S.C. Sec. 490), the Administrator, General Services, is responsible for the operation, maintenance, and protection of all government owned and leased buildings under GSA control. According to GSA, its inventory comprises approximately 40% of all federal office space. Pursuant to the Public Buildings Act of 1959 (codified as 40 U.S.C. Secs. 601-619), the Administrator also is responsible for the construction and alteration of public buildings. The Act requires the Administrator to make a continuing investigation and survey of the public building needs of the federal government in order to remain informed regarding the building needs of all federal agencies. 40 U.S.C. Sec. 611(a)-(b). The Administrator has delegated these responsibilities to GSA's Public Buildings Service. The Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA) requires federal agencies to set goals, measure performance, and report on their accomplishments. Pub. L. No. 103-62, 107 Stat. 285. The Act requires agencies to develop strategic plans that include comprehensive mission statements based on the agency's statutory requirements, a set of strategic goals, and a description of how the agency intends to achieve these goals. In its submission to us, GSA explained that its mission, as articulated in its strategic plan, is to provide policy leadership and expert solutions in services, space and products, at the best value, to enable federal employees to accomplish their missions. One approach PBS has chosen to advance its statutory mission is to collect information on its customers' satisfaction with PBS's services through the use of customer satisfaction surveys. The survey requests that federal employees /2/ of tenants in GSA-controlled buildings rate their level of satisfaction with their building and office environment, the services provided by the building management staff, and safety and security issues in the building. The goal of the survey is to measure performance as well as to identify long and short term program improvements.