Audit: DOE-OIG-24-33

September 26, 2024

Opportunities Exist to Improve NNSA’s Contract Administration and Oversight of Skookum Educational Programs

The National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) Office of Secure Transportation is responsible for the safe and secure transport of Government-owned special nuclear materials in the contiguous U.S.  On June 27, 2022, the Office of Inspector General received a Hotline complaint alleging that Skookum Educational Programs, a contractor that performed vehicle and facility maintenance at an Office of Secure Transportation Command Center, engaged in billing practices that raised potential issues of fraud with clear examples of waste and abuse.

We performed this audit to: (1) determine the validity of the allegation that Skookum Educational Programs’ billing practices raised potential issues of fraud with clear examples of waste and abuse, and (2) identify and examine any related matters that came to our attention regarding contracts DE-NA0001745 and 89233119CNA000027.

We did not substantiate the allegations of fraud, waste, and abuse by Skookum Educational Programs.  However, we found that NNSA did not increase the contract ceiling value commensurate with the extended period of performance.  The concerns raised with the Hotline resulted from this inadequate contract ceiling value, coupled with poor contract management practices, such as the inclusion of ambiguous language in the contract and a loss of historical contract knowledge stemming from incomplete contract files.  We also questioned NNSA’s nonpayment of $270,781 for work performed and $81,875 for the use of contractor assets.

This report contains seven recommendations that, if fully implemented, should help ensure that NNSA properly manages contracts.  Management concurred with Recommendations 1, 2, 3, 4, and 7.  Management declined to respond to Recommendations 5 and 6 since they relate to issues that may be the subject of potential future claims under the Contract Disputes Act.