Testimony by the Inspector General

Testimony by the Inspector General

Testimony on issues associated with the FY 2005 and 2006 Audits of the Department of Energy's Financial Statements. Over the years, the Office of Inspector General has conducted and overseen a number of reviews of the accounting and financial operations of the Department. Our reviews related to the audits of the year-end financial statements have covered accounting information system issues, financial statement reporting, and actions to remediate financial accounting and reporting weaknesses. Prior to discussing
these subjects, I would like to provide some background information on the Department's financial information management system.
Testimony on cyber security issues at the Department of Energy.
The Department of Energy, which spends over $2 billion each year on information technology (IT), has a current inventory of approximately 800 information systems, including up to 115,000 personal computers; many powerful supercomputers; numerous servers; and, a broad array of related peripheral equipment. These systems process operational, financial, and highly classified national security data. The need to protect this data and the related systems is of paramount concern to the Department and to the Office of Inspector General (OIG).
Testify regarding recent allegations of misconduct involving documents associated with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Yucca Mountain Project.
Disposal of the Nation’s high-level nuclear waste and spent nuclear fuel is one of the most sensitive and complex challenges facing the U.S. Government. Under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act, as amended in 1987, the Yucca Mountain site in the State of Nevada is the only site in the United States to be evaluated for this purpose. The Act established a
formal, step-by-step methodology for making this evaluation. For the State of Nevada and all other interested parties, the process to evaluate Yucca Mountain as the potential repository has enormous implications. Paramount among concerns expressed is that the consideration and evaluation be objective, and based on sound scientific analysis. Public
confidence in the evaluation and licensing process must also be assured.