Summary

GAO discussed management issues relating to the University of California's operation of three Department of Energy (DOE) laboratories. GAO noted that: (1) weaknesses in the University of California's operation of two DOE laboratories included inadequate controls for managing properties, protecting classified documents, and ensuring that subcontractors were not subject to foreign influence; (2) laboratories had weak property accountability controls, resulting in serious inventory losses, and management lacks a system of accountability controls; (3) two laboratories did not comply with DOE regulations and procedures for determining whether contractors were owned, controlled, or influenced by foreign entities, increasing the potential for compromising national security; (4) DOE did not ensure that procedures regarding foreign interests or document classification were in place to protect the government's interest, and DOE headquarters and field offices did not adequately review on-site contractor operations; (5) there were concerns as to whether DOE had adequate resources to carry out its oversight responsibilities; (6) DOE could not effectively manage the contracts for the university-operated laboratories, because the contracts included clauses that provided DOE with less authority than the government regulations; (7) the DOE inspector general noted a number of weaknesses in DOE oversight and management practices of university-operated laboratories; and (8) DOE recognized the management weaknesses and has taken action to improve overall contract management.