Procurement Practices in DOE's Office of the Assistant Secretary for Conservation and Renewable Energy

Gao ID: RCED-83-234 September 15, 1983

In response to a congressional request, GAO addressed specific concerns regarding delays in processing procurement requests by the Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Conservation and Renewable Energy and about apparent discrepancies between the Assistant Secretary's procurement practices and applicable DOE guidelines.

GAO compared the procurement schedules of fiscal years (FY's) 1982 and 1983, and found that: (1) the Assistant Secretary has prepared financial plans covering the FY 1983 conservation and renewable energy programs, although they appear to be of questionable value as tools for directing and planning procurement; (2) program authorization rates have been consistently lower in FY 1983; (3) there has been little delegation of procurement review authority below the Assistant Secretary level; (4) in FY 1983, the review process has not resulted in a significant reduction in needless program funding; and (5) several research institutions have prematurely stopped research programs because programs have been canceled or funding was not timely.



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