The Department of Energy and the National Nuclear Security Administration need to improve how they use contractors’ past performance information when awarding new contracts, according to a DOE Inspector General’s report released yesterday. An audit conducted by the IG found that the Department could not demonstrate it had considered past performance information in 20 percent out of the 519 contracts and financial assistance awards reviewed. The IG also found that DOE had not always reviewed prospective contractors against the Government-wide Excluded Parties List System and that DOE had not completed post-awarded contractor performance evaluation in a timely manner. “Holding contractors accountable for past performance is an important tool for making sure that the federal government and the taxpayers that it represents receive good value from its contracts,” the IG report states, adding, “With literally billion of dollars in taxpayer provided funds in play for Department contracts, grants and financial assistance awards, procurement and program officials need all of the information they can gather to ensure that they make the best possible award decisions.”
The IG called on the Director of DOE’s Office of Management and the NNSA Administrator, in conjunction with the Under Secretaries of Energy and Science, to direct their Senior Procurement Executives “to require appropriate procurement offices to adopt best practices aimed at ensuring that federal requirements are met.” In sets of attached comments to the IG’s report, both the DOE Office of Management and the NNSA said they “generally” agree with the IG’s recommendations. “Even though we have always placed a high value on utilizing past performance as a source selection evaluation factor and have entered past performance evaluations in Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS), we understand further work can be done,” wrote NNSA Associate Administrator for Management and Budget Kenneth Powers. He added, “We will emphasize the importance of meeting regulatory requirements to our staff and reiterate management’s expectations that our procurement professionals adhere to procedures regarding g all aspects of past performance." To read the full IG report, please click here.
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