GAO Says DOE & Hanford Bad at Stopping Contractor Fraud
The Government Accountability Office just released a report stating the Department of Energy is not stopping the risk of fraud from happening with the contractors it does business with. The report was made after many high profile cases of fraud were brought to light including two that happened at the Hanford site according to news reports. Senator Claire McCaskill, who requested the study, say's that "the most troubling part is that the agency seems unwilling to acknowledge this is a problem”. The problem is that the DOE did not identify fraud through their Risk Management and thinks that fraud could be widespread.
The DOE released a written statement that it agreed with the study "in principle" and would look at some of the recommendations for improvements. DOE officials say "unlike other federal agencies, DOE is not at the highest risk for fraud and improper payments and therefore cannot be expected to commit the resources necessary to independently identify, evaluate, adapt and implement private industry leading practices”. Senator McCaskill says that the "response to these recommendations is troubling" and asked DOE head Rick Perry to provide a detailed response by May 19 explaining how his agency will confront the issues detailed in the report.