Summary

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Department of Energy's (DOE) operating contractors' use of systems contracting to determine whether DOE ensures that systems contracting is in the government's best interest.

GAO found that: (1) although DOE has cited the Sandia National Laboratory's positive experience with systems contracting as a basis for encouraging its other operating contractors to consider systems contracting, it has not shown that systems contracting is in the government's best interest; (2) DOE has not independently evaluated the costs and benefits of systems contracting, verified Sandia's claimed savings and other benefits, or compared contractor procurement costs with the cost of procuring supplies from the General Services Administration (GSA); and (3) DOE has not required Sandia to establish adequate internal controls over purchases under a systems contract.