The Department of Energy's Use of Support Service Contractors To Perform Basic Management Functions

GAO reviewed the Department of Energy's (DOE) use of contractors to perform work involving basic governmental management functions. Previous GAO reports have indicated that some DOE contracts were written so that contractors could be performing these types of functions; however, GAO could not determine if contractors were, in fact, performing basic management functions. The problem of contractors performing basic management functions for Federal agencies is not new. GAO has published several reports concerning this issue during the past 20 years, particularly in the area of consultant contracts. In an effort to respond to this problem, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is requiring additional management controls to assure that Government contractors do not perform basic management functions.