Calendar Year 2020

The Congress, independent task forces, and advisory groups have pointed out the need for the
Department to improve its integration of research and development (R&D) projects. In the
past, R&D management was carried out by different program offices with the research being
performed both internally and externally to the Department. We conducted this audit to
determine whether the Department had a system in place to integrate R&D projects.}

The Office of Inspector General audited the Department's Consolidated Statement of
Financial Position as of September 30, 1997, and the related Consolidated Statement of
Operations and Changes in Net Position for the year then ended. In the opinion of the
Office of Inspector General, these financial statements present fairly, in all material
respects, the financial position of the Department as of September 30, 1997, and the
results of operations and changes in net position for the year then ended, in conformance
with the basis of accounting described in Note 1 of the financial statements.

Departmental policy prohibits the use of subcontracts awarded by management and operating
contractors to provide direct support to Headquarters program offices. When support is
necessary, program offices are required to use the Headquarters procurement organization,
not the management and operating contractors.

The Department of Energy (Department) is responsible for protecting human
health and the environment by providing an effective and efficient system that treats,
stores, and disposes of Departmental waste. The Department disposes of some of its
waste at Envirocare of Utah, Inc., (Envirocare) a commercial treatment and disposal
facility in Clive, Utah. The audit objective was to determine whether the Department and
its contractors were using the most favorable rates available for the disposal of waste at
Envirocare.

The Department of Energy (Department) has spent at least $76 million annually for field contractor employee support in Headquarters and other Federal agencies. The employees were to provide technical expertise and experience critical to Department operations and programs. Overall, the audit was performed to determine if the Department was managing the use of field contractor
employees assigned to Headquarters and other Federal agencies. Specifically, it was to determine whether the Department reviews and evaluates the costs for the use of contractor employees, is reimbursed for contractors working at other Federal agencies, and had implemented corrective actions proposed as the result of a prior audit report on this subject.