April 2, 1998 

Report on Inspection Regarding Small Business Contracting Statistics Reporting and Presentation

On September 11, 1995, the Office of Inspections, Office of Inspector General (OIG), Department of Energy (DOE), received an allegation regarding the accuracy of the Department’s small business contracting statistics in the Secretary of Energy’s Fiscal Year (FY) 1995 Performance Agreement with the President, entitled: “PERFORMANCE
AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES WILLIAM JEFFERSON CLINTON AND THE SECRETARY OF ENERGY HAZEL R. O’LEARY.” It was alleged that the FY 1995 Performance Agreement incorrectly communicated that the Department intended to increase small business contracting from 25 percent in
FY 1994 to more than 34 percent in FY 1995. We subsequently received additional allegations that the Office of Economic Impact and Diversity (ED) had not issued a required annual report to Congress on the Department’s small business program since 1992 as required by the Department of Energy Act of 1978--Civilian Applications, as amended by Public Law 96-470, and may have provided incorrect information for use in Secretarial presentations on the Department’s small business program.