Federal Reports

The Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office (LPO) provides debt financing in the form of loans and loan guarantees to support innovative clean energy, advanced transportation, and tribal energy projects in the United States. To help carry out its mission, the LPO utilizes contractors and third-party advisors to assist with loan application processing, which increases the risk for conflicts of interest.

Given the LPO’s reliance on contractors and third-party advisors, we initiated this audit to determine whether the LPO had an
effective framework in place for managing conflicts of interest for contractors providing support and advisory services to its Office.

We found that the LPO did not have an effective framework in place for managing conflicts of interest for contractors providing support to the LPO. Specifically, the LPO was not aware of all the relationships that could cause conflicts of interest. We also found that the LPO did not ensure adequate management of conflict of interest disclosures and waiver requests, and did not ensure its prime contractor fully implemented key aspects of its strategy for managing potential conflicts of interest.

These issues occurred because the LPO did not have controls in place to identify and manage conflicts of interest. Specifically, the LPO had not developed and implemented a formal, centralized tracking system or policies and procedures for managing conflicts of interest. Additionally, the LPO relied upon third-party advisors and other contractors to self-identify conflicts of interest and did not ensure adequate oversight of its prime contractor.

To address the issues identified in this report, we have made two recommendations that, if fully implemented, should help ensure that decisions about awarding and managing loans and loan guarantees are in the Government’s and the public’s best interest.

This report presents the results of our audit of Cardboard Mail Transport Equipment Recycling Program. 

The U.S. Postal Service uses significant quantities of cardboard mail transport equipment (MTE) for transportation of mail and packages. In its Delivering for America 2.0 strategic plan, the Postal Service aims to divert 75 percent of waste from landfills by fiscal year (FY) 2030. In FY 2024, the Postal Service diverted 66 percent of its total waste from landfills, with cardboard waste accounting for 31 percent of this diversion. This initiative helped the Postal Service avoid over $10.8 million in costs related to cardboard MTE trash services. Despite incurred costs of approximately $11.8 million, they generated about $6.5 million in revenue from recycled materials, yielding net savings of $5.5 million. Efficient recycling and reuse practices for materials such as cardboard MTE, reduce waste and support the Postal Service’s sustainability target.
 

Our objective was to assess the efficiency of the Postal Service’s purchasing and recycling of cardboard MTE. We conducted observations at 11 mail processing facilities and interviewed facility management. We also reviewed contracts and data for purchasing and recycling of cardboard MTE from FY 2022 through FY 2024.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) continues to evaluate and obtain critical technology needed to identify, assess, breach, and remediate cross-border tunnels and has made progress in its efforts since our 2021 audit on border technology.   The Department of Homeland Security in January 2020 and January 2024 approved testing by the Cross-Border Tunnel Threat program of two critical tunnel detection technologies to evaluate whether they are functional and viable solutions.  At the time of this audit, these technologies were being tested for effectiveness in operational conditions and eventual vendor selection.   Based on CBP’s progress, it was too early for us to audit the effectiveness of these technologies and therefore we made no recommendations.  We note, however, that once CBP selects its tunnel detection technology solutions, the program’s success will require adequate program resources and effective coordination between CBP offices. 

• For more than a decade, the Postal Service has needed new delivery vehicles to replace its iconic Long-Life Vehicles (LLVs) and Flex-Fuel Vehicles (FFVs).
   
• The process to select, acquire, and deploy a custom Next Generation Delivery Vehicle (NGDV) took around six years longer than planned.
   
• While the Postal Service’s commitment to acquiring a significant number of electric delivery vehicles aligns with decisions made by other delivery organizations, USPS must deal with a variety of factors such as organizational needs, vehicle operational capabilities, financial resources, and regulatory environments that similarly situated organizations do not.
   
• USPS’s experience with EV investments offers key lessons for future large procurement efforts, including setting clear goals and timelines that align with market dynamics, securing funding early, and considering commercially available solutions when feasible.
   
• The EV rollout also highlights the need for effective coordination with external stakeholders and the benefits of balancing process transparency and risk management with timely execution.