RCED-96-7W Energy and Science
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United States General Accounting Office Resources, Community, and Economic GAO Development Division December 1995 Energy and Science: Five-Year Bibliography 1990-1994 GAO/RCED-96-7W Preface The General Accounting Office (GAO), an arm of the Congress, was established to provide independent oversight of federal programs and activities. GAO’s Energy and Science Issue Area examines the activities of such entities as the Department of Energy, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Tennessee Valley Authority, the National Science Foundation, the Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the Patent and Trademark Office. The Issue Area’s work generally focuses on examining the role and continued need for a federal presence in these areas, exposing incidences of waste and mismanagement, and promoting a smaller, more efficient, and cost-effective government. Organized by our four primary areas of responsibility, this 5-year bibliography lists the energy- and science-related products issued from January 1990 through December 1994. The products are listed chronologically, with the most recent reports first. To help you locate individual reports, a subject index is included in the back of this document. Questions can be directed to me at the U.S. General Accounting Office, Room 1842, 441 G Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20548. I can also be reached on (202) 512-3841 or on the Internet at [email protected]. Readers interested in ordering documents or in requesting bibliographic searches on a specific topic should call the Document Handling and Information Service at (202) 512-6000 or fax a request to (301) 258-4066. An order form and mailing list request form are included in the back of this document; single copies of the products are free of charge. Victor S. Rezendes Director, Energy and Science Issues Resources, Community, and Economic Development Division Page 1 GAO/RCED-96-7W Contents Preface 1 Management and 4 Missions of Energy and Science Agencies Consequences and 38 Implications of the Nuclear Age Competition and 121 Security in Energy Supplies Federal Role and 170 Investment in Science and Technology Special Publications 203 Subject Index 208 Mailing List Request 209 Form Abbreviations AFMD Accounting and Financial Management Division AIMD Accounting and Information Management Division ANS Alaskan North Slope APA Alaska Power Administration AVLIS atomic vapor laser isotope separation BCLLWC Boyd County Low-Level Waste Monitoring Committee BPA Bonneville Power Administration CDC Centers for Disease Control CNG compressed natural gas CRADA cooperative research and development agreements DOD Department of Defense DOE Department of Energy Page 2 GAO/RCED-96-7W Contents DOT Department of Transportation EIA Energy Information Administration EPA Environmental Protection Agency ERA Economic Regulatory Administration ERMC environmental restoration management contractor FERC Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ES&H environment, safety, and health FOCI foreign owned, controlled, or influenced FTC Federal Trade Commission FTS Federal Telecommunications System GAO General Accounting Office GGD General Government Division GOCO government-owned, contractor-operat Page 3 GAO/RCED-96-7W Management and Missions of Energy and Science Agencies Managing DOE: Further Review Needed of Suspensions of Security Clearances for Minority Employees (Letter Report, 12/08/94, GAO/RCED-95-15). ABSTRACT: From fiscal years 1989 through 1993, the Department of Energy (DOE) suspended 425 security clearances for contractor employees at its Albuquerque, Savannah River, and Oak Ridge Operations Offices. At each of these locations, GAO found that the clearances of African-Americans, Hispanics, or American Indians were suspended more often than would be statistically expected if the suspensions had been randomly distributed across racial/ethnic groups. DOE does not monitor suspensions of minority groups’ security clearances and was unaware of the statistical disparities. GAO believes that DOE needs to further evaluate why these disparities are occurring. Professional Audit Review Team: Performance Evaluation of the Energy Information Administration (Chapter Report, 12/94, GAO/PART-95-1). BACKGROUND: GAO reviewed the results of the Professional Audit Review Team’s (PART) evaluation of the Energy Information Administration (EIA) for the period October 1992 through June 1994. FINDINGS: GAO found that: (1) most recipients of EIA reports were confident in using the factual data in the reports and were satisfied with the reports’ content; (2) 83 percent of the recipients stated that the reports were useful as sources of basic facts and for maintaining trend information; (3) only 13 to 20 percent of the recipients stated that the reports were useful for conducting investment analysis; (4) 15 to 23 percent of the recipients believed that the reports were timely for investment analysis purposes; (5) a majority of the recipients believed that the reports would be more useful if they were available sooner; (6) EIA improved the quality of the data contained in its Underground Gas Storage Report by extending the data reporting date by 10 days; (7) the National Energy Modeling System has allowed EIA to enhance its ability to represent and analyze alternative energy policies; (8) EIA has provided training and technical information to its technical monitors; and (9) EIA could reduce its operating costs by $5.8 million by performing more of its support services inhouse. Page 4 GAO/RCED-96-7W Management and Missions of Energy and Science Agencies Managing DOE: The Department of Energy Is Making Efforts to Control Litigation Costs (Letter Report, 11/22/94, GAO/RCED-95-36). ABSTRACT: The Department of Energy (DOE) has not kept centralized data on the costs it reimburses contractors for outside litigation; however, available data indicate that DOE spent about $40 million in fiscal year 1992 on costs linked to the legal defense of current and former contractors. Most costs were for legal fees, travel and administrative expenses, and consultant fees incurred by outside law firms hired by the contractors. These costs, however, were poorly controlled because DOE lacked effective criteria spelling out what costs it would reimburse. As a result, DOE was being billed at higher rates than other federal agencies for professional legal fees, travel, word processing, and photocopying. Furthermore, legal bills were being reimbursed with little or no departmental oversight. DOE has begun to strengthen its control over these costs. In particular, DOE issued specific cost guidelines and instituted procedures for periodically reporting all litigation costs. DOE is also establishing an audit function to enable it to conduct a detailed review of the bills it receives for legal services. Finally, DOE is trying to consolidate cases involving multiple contractors and law firms to improve case management and cut costs. DOE Contractor’s Recreational Costs (Correspondence, 09/30/94, GAO/RCED-94-313R). BACKGROUND: Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the costs for recreational activities for contractor employees at the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Oak Ridge facilities for fiscal years 1992 through 1994. GAO noted that (1) the management and operating contractor continued to charge recreational costs to the government as allowed by its contract; (2) the contractor spent over $513,000 for recreational activities in fiscal years 1992 and 1993 and over $181,000 in the first 9 months of fiscal year 1994; (3) the contractor charged recreational costs to three separate accounts; (4) recreation expenses included balls, game officials, facility rentals, and prizes and awards; and (5) to reduce costs in fiscal year 1995, the contractor has eliminated one company-sponsored golf tournament and will require its volleyball and softball teams to pay for the costs of officials. Page 5 GAO/RCED-96-7W Management and Missions of Energy and Science Agencies Energy Management: Department of Energy’s Efforts to Manage Overtime Costs Have Been Limited (Letter Report, 09/27/94, GAO/RCED-94-282). ABSTRACT: The Department of Energy (DOE) direct overtime costs for federal employees almost doubled from $15.5 million to $30.4 million in 1992. DOE has paid overtime for everything from carpet installation to the transport and escort of special nuclear materials. DOE’s efforts to manage overtime and minimize costs have been minimal. First, written justifications for overtime are often vague and reviewed only by the employees’ immediate supervisors. Thus, some questionable overtime, such as driving DOE officials to the airport from their homes on weekends, continues without scrutiny to ensure that this work is essential or cost-effective. Second, although federal agencies may require that employees take compensatory time rather than receive pay for overtime, DOE does not require them to take compensatory time. Finally, contrary to DOE’s policy, employees’ annual leave is not always planned to minimize the use of overtime. In some cases, employees took annual leave, worked several regular hours, and then worked overtime after regular working hours. OMB’s High-Risk Program: Comments on the Status Reported in the President’s Fiscal Year 1995 Budget (Letter Report, 09/20/94, GAO/AIMD-94-136). ABSTRACT: GAO examined the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) update of its high-risk program, as presented in the President’s fiscal year 1995 budget submission. For the 1995 budget submission, OMB