AFGE Local 918-FPS Blog

AFGE Local 918-FPS President David Wright was interviewed for a CNN news story about the plight of FPS.

Lawmaker: U.S. security agency faltering

Story Highlights
NEW: “Guards acted according to established mission guidelines,” director says

Federal Protective Service understaffed and underfunded, GAO says

Embarrassing incidents show vulnerability of government properties

Congresswoman compares agency to FEMA, blames Homeland Security

From Jeanne Meserve and Jim Spellman
CNN

WASHINGTON (CNN) — A series of embarrassing incidents on federal property across the country, including the theft of a trailer of surveillance equipment from an FBI parking deck, is being blamed on budget cuts at the agency charged with securing federal grounds.

“We’re seeing the near collapse of the Federal Protective Service,” said Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-District of Columbia, who leads the congressional subcommittee that oversees federal buildings.

The service’s budget and staff have been cut since it became part of the Department of Homeland Security in March 2003, according to the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office.

“I think that FPS is less able to do its job than … in the past, primarily because of budgetary restrictions that have occurred, and that has forced them to slash their workforce” GAO investigator Mark Goldstein said.

“There are 756 uniformed federal officers to oversee the 8,800 buildings” under the agency’s watch, he said.

A preliminary GAO report contained these findings:

• A man died at a vacant federal complex in Kansas City, Missouri, and his body was not found for three months.

• Twenty-two guns were stolen from a federal building in Atlanta, Georgia. A private security guard employed at the building was convicted of participating in the theft.

• A surveillance trailer with $400,000 worth of high-tech equipment was stolen from the parking garage of a federal building in Los Angeles, California.

CNN has learned the trailer was stolen from the Los Angeles FBI field office in May. Contract guards watched the theft on surveillance cameras but did nothing to intervene and did not report the incident for three days, according to an incident report confirmed by the FBI and Norton.

The trailer was recovered with some of the equipment intact. The FBI investigation is still open.

In Kansas City, Eric L. Howell, 27, who had been homeless from time to time, died in a vacant government building sometime in summer 2007. His body was found months later by a government real estate agent showing the property to a prospective buyer. The cause of death could not be determined.

FPS director Gary W. Schenkel defended his agency, telling CNN the incidents cited by the GAO were “taken out of context.”

“FPS does not refute that these incidents took place, but I do believe that additional background information shows that FPS and its contract guards acted according to the established mission guidelines and standards,” Schenkel said.

He said the trailer was taken by “a government contractor with frequent access to the parking deck” and blamed the FBI for taking “three days to notice and report that its own trailer was missing.”

In regards to the Kansas City case, Schenkel said the Government Services Administration building in question “was not on the GSA list,” and FPS wasn’t being paid to guard it.

But critics say that’s just the point — because of funding cuts since it was made a part of the Homeland Security Department five years ago and an unusual pay-for-service arrangement to compute its current budget, FPS is unable to adequate provide security for government properties.

Before the creation of the Homeland Security Department in 2003, the Federal Protective Service was part of the Government Services Administration, which manages thousands of federal properties across the country, functioning as landlord to hundreds of federal agencies.

While part of the Government Services Administration, the Federal Protective Service had a larger budget and more agents. But its workforce has been cut 20 percent since 2004, the year after the agency became part of Homeland Security. FPS is funded through a complex formula based on the square footage of the property that Government Services controls.

“Everyone was proud the day it was announced that Homeland Security was going to be formed, and there were talks that FPS was going to be absorbed. … It’s been downhill ever since,” said David Wright, president of Local 918 of the American Federation of Government Employees, the FPS union.

He said FPS has never been taken seriously within Homeland Security.

“We were at the bottom of the food chain, so there’s a real disregard for Federal Protective Service within our parent agency,” Wright said.

Last year, Congress required Homeland Security to add 150 officers to the service, but the department still will rely on about 15,000 contracted private security guards for the bulk of the policing at federal buildings, according to the GAO, Norton and the union.

Contract guards are generally less expensive than federal officers, but they lack the training of FPS officers, and in many jurisdictions, they have no power to arrest or detain suspects, Goldstein and Norton said.

“Unless the government is prepared to have a private army or a public army of guards, which would be astronomically expensive, we’re going to have to find the right mix of private guards to do security in less risky areas and then have more highly trained guards perhaps in higher security areas,” Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said.

Norton compared the decline of the Federal Protective Service with the shortcomings of the Federal Emergency Management Agency revealed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

“Interestingly, both happened when they were transferred to the Department of Homeland Security,” Norton said.

“I can’t say honestly to anybody who asks that ‘Now that the Federal Protective Service is in the Homeland Security Department, you’re better off.’ You’re worse off.”

FPS Director Gary Schenkel released a message to FPS stakeholders regarding the recently enacted law requiring FPS to maintain a minimum of 1,200 personnel. Here is the statement:

Dear Stakeholders,

On February 8, 2008, the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management held a hearing on the Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) Review of the Federal Protective Service (FPS). FPS cannot refute what GAO stated, though some of the information and events presented were taken out of context. We especially do not contest GAO’s recognition that GSA never fully funded FPS and therefore did not provide adequate funding to DHS when it transferred FPS to ICE.

I responded to the media on Friday February 8, 2008, by addressing the many challenges that existed for FPS long before the organization was transferred to ICE and DHS. I also discussed FPS’ recent successes and accomplishments. During FY 2006, FPS significantly refined and improved its business practices by creating a Consolidated Contract Group and, in FY 2007, consolidating its invoice processing and payment operations. In addition, by August of 2007, FPS had paid all of its outstanding invoices – more than 2,000 invoices amounting to over $92.8 million. ICE has worked with FPS to implement a great number of business improvements over the last year to include establishing a new financial accounting process that has helped FPS tackle and overcome many of the fiscal accountability problems of the agency.

ICE/FPS is moving ahead to improve building security through transition to an Inspector-based permanent workforce, which was recognized and initiated under GSA. An enhanced Inspector workforce will provide better oversight for an extensive contract guard service that has been fully maintained and which provides the first line of security for the federal facilities protected by FPS.

As stated by Public Law 110-161, signed December 26, 2007, FPS was directed to increase its staffing to 1,200 personnel to protect and enforce laws at Federal buildings, including 900 law enforcement personnel. This requires FPS to hire an additional 150 law enforcement officers above its current staffing levels. You may have heard rumors regarding how this increase in staff will be funded. To comply with the law, FPS must increase its operating budget and will hire 150 new officers in FY 2008 to bring FPS’ total law enforcement officer staffing to 900.

Public Law 110-161 went on to direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to either collect fees or fund through other means. Subsequently, the Secretary has determined that increasing fees is the method chosen to financially support the increase in FPS Law Enforcement personnel.

Since FPS is entirely fee-funded, it must recoup these additional costs through a mid-year fee increase. The law directs that the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget adjust the fees to generate the necessary revenue to fund this increase in personnel. This unfunded congressional requirement requires us to raise the basic security fee level in FY 2008 and in FY 2009. We recognize that these increases are unbudgeted and must be absorbed within current resources.

As of November 28, 2007, FPS staffing was at 1,104 federal employees, with 70 percent in Inspector/Law Enforcement positions and 30 percent in mission support positions. While short of the target of 1,200 employees, FPS continues to work toward building funding and staffing.

With the addition of 150 new Inspectors, in FY 2008, who have law enforcement certification, FPS will have the necessary flexibility to allow FPS Regional Directors as well as District and Area Commanders to provide the imperative attention needed for our primary physical security core mission. Through proper scheduling, this will allow us to provide proactive patrol and appropriate response. The addition of RAMP, a National Countermeasures Program and an increase in our K-9 program will also provide FPS with additional flexibility.
FPS is finalizing efforts to establish a National Security Countermeasures Program that includes streamlined processes to purchase and maintain such countermeasures as closed circuit video systems, x-ray machines, and metal detectors. Countermeasures incorporated as part of a comprehensive risk mitigation strategy often include certified, armed contract security guards. As such, to truly integrate this effort, FPS has further trained and certified over 400 Inspectors as Contracting Office Technical Representatives (COTR) to properly monitor, maintain and make necessary adjustments to contract guards, their placement and maintenance of security measures.

As the Director of FPS, I want to assure you that the dedicated men and women of FPS will continue to use every resource available and continue our efforts to provide Secure Facilities, Safe Occupants.

Gary W Schenkel
Director, Federal Protective Service

The Department of Homeland security has decided to place the burden of hiring much needed additional law enforcement officers upon FPS stakeholders, federal agencies whom FPS is charged to protect. Rather than use discretionary appropriations within the DHS budget as was authorized under the new law, Homeland Security is requiring federal agencies to pay for the additional staffing through an increase in the security fees. Many FPS stakeholders have voiced their concerns about the increasing costs and reduced services FPS is providing. In fact, the Judiciary has asked Congress to examine the prospect of terminating FPS services for Federal courthouses due to the high costs and little return being provided due to the continued downsizing of FPS.

FPS Director Schenkel is obviously ill-informed about the agency or has deliberately misled FPS stakeholders and degraded the hard work of FPS employees. In his statement, Director Schenkel states that “some of the information and events presented were taken out of context” by GAO when it presented its preliminary observations to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management on February 8, 2008. It is hard to take out of context the fact that there are several problems with FPS’ continuing reliance and emphasis on an ill-trained contract security force and the elimination of FPS Police Officers. GAO cited numerous examples of why this is problematic. Director Schenkel should detail exactly what information and incidents were taken out of context. As a stakeholder, AFGE Local 918-FPS would like to know exactly what Director Schenkel believes was taken out of context. The GAO’s preliminary observations were just the tip of the iceberg. When the final report is released in May FPS stakeholders can see for themselves what is or is not being taken of context.

In his statement, Director Schenkel states: “ICE/FPS is moving ahead to improve building security through transition to an Inspector-based permanent workforce, which was recognized and initiated under GSA. An enhanced Inspector workforce will provide better oversight for an extensive contract guard service that has been fully maintained and which provides the first line of security for the federal facilities protected by FPS.”
There are two important issues that must be addressed with this statement. First, it is not true! The Inspector-based workforce concept was developed under Julie Myers and Gary Schenkel’s leadership within just the past couple of years. GSA had no involvement in this ill-conceived initiative and it is unlikely that GSA would support the elimination of FPS Police Officers and a significant reduction in uniformed law enforcement presence and response in Federal buildings under GSA control. Further, it is abhorrent that Director Schenkel would call contract security guards the “first line of security for federal facilities protected by FPS”. He fails to recognize the hard work of FPS law enforcement officers. AFGE Local 918-FPS would expect the Director of FPS would recognize the hard work and prominent role that FPS law enforcement officers provide in protecting federal buildings. FPS law enforcement officers are the first line – NOT contract security guards.

Director Schnekel is misleading stakeholders. Under the leadership of Julie Myers and Gary Schenkel, FPS has suffered enormously. They fail to grasp the fact that the Inspector-based workforce will not work and will leave federal buildings at greater risk. They place to much emphasis on ill-trained contract security guards. They tout their financial successes but in fact it was the employees of FPS who have and continue to suffer as a result. First, they cut retention allowances from FPS law enforcement officers resulting in an immediate 10% pay cut for these officers. Then they eliminated overtime which, with an ever shrinking workforce, resulted in a significant decrease in coverage and protection for federal buildings during the evening, nights and on weekends. Finally, after less than 9 months after cutting the pay of FPS law enforcement officers for in the name of “fiduciary responsibility”, FPS provided cash bonuses to senior managers and personnel of FPS. So much for the hard work of FPS employees who barely received any sort of bonus.

It is time for new leadership within FPS. FPS needs a leader with law enforcement experience and leadership ability to take this agency in the right direction. A former TSA manager with no law enforcement experience, who was fired from a civilian administrator position within the Chicago Police Department and who after more than a year continues to remain out of touch with the workforce and the stakeholders is not the type of leader that FPS needs. FPS needs a strong, experienced law enforcement manager to take the initiative and restore the capability of FPS to protect our Nation’s federal buildings and restore the stakeholder confidence in FPS. It is time for a new Director for the Federal Protective Service!