The Department of Energy could improve its procedures to avoid awarding contracts to companies with tax delinquencies, according to a DOE Inspector General report released yesterday. Procedures in place rely on contractor self-certification, since contracting officers are not permitted to access Internal Revenue Service files. “We identified instances in which required offeror representations and certifications were either not completed or were not up-to-date at the time of contract award,” the audit report states. “In addition, important procurement documentation used in determining a bidder’s responsibility was not always included in the official contract files, as required by Department policies and procedures.”
Both DOE headquarters and the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Office of Acquisition Management in Albuquerque have made improvements as a result of the IG audit. “Headquarters Procurement has proposed an automated check and balance system within the Strategic Integrated Procurement Enterprise System (STRIPES) to ensure that documentation supporting a responsibility determination is included in the official contract file. Additionally, Albuquerque Procurement indicated that their Con Write system has been reprogrammed to return a fatal error when a contractor is on the federal debt or debarred list,” according to the IG report.