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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Unauthorized commitments: an abuse of contracting authority in the Department of Energy

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:6473437
The Department of Energy relies heavily on contractors to help carry out its missions, reporting expenditures for contracted goods and services during fiscal year 1979 of about $9.2 billion. GAO's review disclosed that contractors perform work for DOE without a contract. This occurs because agency personnel, who do not have the authority to bind the Government to a contract, make unauthorized commitments to contractors. These commitments avoid competition and circumvent procurement regulations. Although GAO identified several reasons why unauthorized commitments occur, such commitments are never an appropriate method of obtaining goods or services. DOE's use of unauthorized commitments has violated Federal law and regulations. GAO recommends actions to help eliminate the use of unauthorized commitments in DOE.
Research Organization:
General Accounting Office, Washington, DC (USA)
OSTI ID:
6473437
Report Number(s):
EMD-81-12; ON: DE81903689
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English