[Final Audit Report on Department of the Interior Compliance With Limitations on Lobbying Activities (No. 95-I-457) ]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office, www.gpo.gov]

Report No. 95-I-457

Title: Final Audit Report on Department of the Interior Compliance
       With Limitations on Lobbying Activities (No. 95-I-457) 

Date:     February 10, 1995

******************************DISCLAIMER******************************


This file contains an ASCII representation of an OIG report.  No attempt
has been made to display graphic images or illustrations.  Some tables may be
included, but may not resemble those in the printed version

A printed copy of this report may be obtained by referring to the PDF file or by
calling the Office of Inspector General, Logistical Services Branch at (202) 219-3840.


***********************************************************************



United States Department of the Interior
      OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL
           Washington, D.C. 20240

March 14, 1995

MEMORANDUM

TO:                 The Secretary

FROM:               Acting Inspector General

SUBJECT SUMMARY:         Final Audit Report for Your Information - "Department of
                         the Interior Compliance With Limitations on Lobbying
                         Activities" (No. 95-I-457)

DISCUSSION: We concluded that the Department of the Interior was in substantial
compliance with the antilobbying provisions of Section 1352 of the United States Code
and that the Section's requirements as implemented by the Department were effective.
We also found that the Department complied with the Congressional reporting
requirements for lobbying activities in a timely manner.

/s/ Joyce N. Fleischman

Joyce N. Fleischman

Attachment




Prepared by:  Marvin Pierce
Extension: 208-4252

 
E-IN-MOA-023-94

United States Department of the Interior

OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL
   Headquarters Audits
   1550 Wilson Boulevard
     Suite 401

February 10, 1995

MEMORANDUM AUDIT REPORT


To:       Assistant Secretary - Policy, Management and Budget

From:     Acting Assistant Inspector General for Audits

Subject:  Final Audit Report on Department of the Interior Compliance With
          Limitations on Lobbying Activities (No. 95-I-457)

        INTRODUCTION

In accordance with Section 1352 of the United States Code (31 U.S.C. 1352 (d)(l)),
the Office of Inspector General has reviewed Department of the Interior compliance
with and the effectiveness of the requirements imposed by the Section and the
Department's antilobbying guidance. The objectives of the audit were to determine
whether the Department complied with Section 1352 and to evaluate the
effectiveness of the Section's requirements for certification and disclosure of lobbying
activities. We concluded that overall the Department has substantially complied with
the Section's requirements and that the requirements as implemented by the
Department were effective.

BACKGROUND

Section 319 of Public Law 101-121, enacted on October 23, 1989, amended Title 31
of the United States Code by adding Section 1352, "Limitation on Use of
Appropriated Funds to Influence Certain Federal Contracting and Financial
Transactions." Section 1352 prohibits the use of appropriated funds by the recipient
of a Federal contract, grant, cooperative agreement, or loan to pay any person for
influencing or attempting to influence an officer or employee of any agency, a
member of the Congress, an officer or employee of the Congress, or an employee
of a member of the Congress in connection with certain types of Federal
transactions. The Department of the Interior requires each person who requests or
receives a contract or a cooperative agreement exceeding $100,000 or a loan over
$150,000 from the Department to certify compliance with this antilobbying provision
with a signed certification, Form DI 1963, "Certification Regarding Lobbying."
Subpart 3.808 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (48 CFR 1) requires the
provision at 52.203-11, "Certification and Disclosure Regarding Payments to

 
Influence Certain Federal Transactions," to be included in all solicitations for
contracts expected to exceed $100,000 and clause 52.203-12, "Limitation on Payments
to Influence Certain Federal Transactions," to be included in all solicitations and
contracts expected to exceed $100,000.

Any person who requests or receives a Federal contract, grant, or cooperative
agreement exceeding $100,000 or loan exceeding $150,000 who uses nonappropriated
funds for lobbying activities is required to disclose those activities by filing Standard
Form LLL, "Disclosure of Lobbying Activities," with the Department. The
Department is required to collect and compile any information contained in Standard
Form LLL disclosing lobbying activities paid for by any nonappropriated funds
during the 6-month periods ending March 31 and September 30 of each year and to
report the information to the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of
Representatives on May 31 and November 30 for the applicable reporting periods.

Title 31, Section 1352(d)(1), of the United States Code requires that the Inspector
General submit to the Congress annually an evaluation of the Department's
compliance with and the effectiveness of the requirements imposed by Section 1352.

SCOPE OF AUDIT

To accomplish our audit, we reviewed 486 contracts, grants, and cooperative
agreements each totaling more than $100,000 that were awarded from April 1, 1993,
through March 31, 1994. We did not review loans over $150,000 because such
transactions occur infrequently within the Department and none of the audit sites
selected for review had recorded loan transactions that exceeded this amount.

This compliance and performance audit was conducted from July through November
1994 at various Departmental and bureau offices (see Appendix 1). The review was
made, as applicable, in accordance with the "Government Auditing Standards," issued
by the Comptroller General of the United States. Accordingly, we included such
tests of records and other auditing procedures that were considered necessary under
the circumstances. As a part of our review, we evaluated the Departmental system
of internal controls for certification and disclosure of lobbying activities. Although
we determined that the existing controls were adequate, we identified a few instances
where the bureaus did not adhere to prescribed procedures and Departmental
guidance.

We also reviewed the Department's Annual Statement and Report, required by the
Federal Managers' Financial Integrity Act, for fiscal year 1993 and noted that the
existence of incomplete and inaccurate data in the Interior Procurement Data System
was reported as a material internal control weakness. Because of this weakness, we
used additional sources, including the Federal Assistance Award Data System and
internal bureau procurement logs, to select our audit samples.

2

 
PRIOR AUDIT COVERAGE

Our prior report entitled "Department of the Interior Compliance With Limitations
on Lobbying Activities" (No. 94-I-474), issued on March 31, 1994, concluded that the
Department was not in compliance with Section 1352 of the United States Code
because (1) 22 percent of the contract, grant, and cooperative agreement files
reviewed did not contain the required antilobbying certifications and (2)
Congressional reporting requirements were not met in a timely manner. The three
recommendations in the report have been implemented.


RESULTS OF AUDIT

We concluded that the Department of the Interior was in substantial compliance with
the antilobbying provisions of Section 1352 of the United States Code and that the
Section's requirements as implemented by the Department were effective. We found
that the required certifications or contract clauses were included in 468 (96 percent)
of the 486 contract, grant, and cooperative agreement files we reviewed (see
Appendix 2). We also found that the Department complied with the Congressional
reporting requirements for lobbying activities in a timely manner.

Certification Requirements

We found that the bureaus had incorporated the required antilobbying provision
52.203.11 or clause 52.203-12 in 264 (96 percent) of the 274 contract files we
reviewed. We also found that 204 (96 percent) of the 212 grant and cooperative
agreement files contained the required Form DI 1963. This compliance rate
represents a substantial improvement since our last audit, which found that only 78
percent of the contracts, grants, and cooperative agreements reviewed were in
compliance.

Each of the offices where instances of noncompliance were identified had controls
and procedures for ensuring compliance with requirements concerning lobbying.
Most of the exceptions we noted were isolated instances except for those at the
National Park Service's National Capital Region, where 5 of 18 contracts were not
in compliance, and the Office of Territorial and International Affairs, where 3 of 15
grants were not in compliance. Officials at those two offices indicated that corrective
action would be taken to ensure future compliance with Section 1352 requirements.
In addition, the bureaus took action during the audit to obtain Forms DI 1963 or to
incorporate the required certifications for the 18 contracts, grants, and cooperative
agreements that were not in compliance (see Appendix 2).

3

 
Congressional Reporting Requirements

We found that the Department had complied with the Congressional reporting
requirements for lobbying activities in a timely manner.  Title 31, Section
1352(a)(6)(A), of the United States Code requires each agency to report information
concerning disclosures of lobbying activities paid for with nonappropriated funds by
May 31 and November 30 of each year for the 6-month reporting periods ending
March 31 and September 30, respectively. The required Departmental reports to the
Congress were dated May 26 and November 29, 1994, respectively.

Effectiveness of Section 1352

We believe that the primary mechanism for preventing the use of appropriated funds
for lobbying activities by recipients of Federal contracts, grants, cooperative
agreements, and loans is to adequately inform all recipients of the Federal
antilobbying provisions. As discussed in the Certification Requirements section of
this report, we found that the Department adequately provided such antilobbying
information in its contracts, grants, and cooperative agreements.  We also
determined that there were no HOTLINE allegations or referrals to the Office of
Inspector General concerning prohibited lobbying activities during our audit period.
In addition, we found that procurement personnel at the offices visited during our
audit were unaware of any circumstances regarding the use of Federal appropriated
funds for lobbying activities.

Based on our conclusion that the Department is in substantial compliance with
Section 1352 and our determination that no instances of noncompliance with the
Section's requirements were reported, we believe that the requirements of Section
1352 as implemented by the Department were effective.

Since this report does not contain any recommendations, no response to the report
is required.

/s/ Judy Harrison for

Marvin Pierce

cc:  Assistant Secretary - Territorial and International Affairs
     Commissioner, Bureau of Reclamation
     Deputy to the Assistant Secretary - Operations,
       Bureau of Indian Affairs
     Director, Bureau of Land Management
     Director, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation
       and Enforcement
     Director, National Park Service

4

 
     Director, Minerals Management Service
     Director, U.S. Bureau of Mines
     Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
     Director, U.S. Geological Survey
     Director, Office of Acquisition and Property Management

5

 
APPENDIX 1
Page 1 of 2

OFFICES VISITED

Office                                                      Location

Bureau of Indian Affairs                

Procurement and Contracts Branch                            Sacramento, California

Bureau of Land Management

Washington Branch of Procurements                           Washington, D.C.
Denver Service Center,
  Branch of Procurement                                     Lakewood, Colorado
  Branch of Information Resource Acquisition                Lakewood, Colorado

Bureau of Reclamation

Acquisition and Assistance Division                         Sacramento, California
Administrative Service Center, Acquisition
  and Property Management Branch                            Lakewood, Colorado

Minerals Management Service

Procurement and Property Management Division                Herndon, Virginia
Western Administrative Service Center,
  Procurement and Contracts Branch                          Golden, Colorado

National Park Service

Contracting and Procurement Division                        Washington, D.C.
Harpers Ferry Center                                        Harpers Ferry, West Virginia
National Capital Regional Office                            Washington, D.C.
Mid-Atlantic Regional Office                                Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Denver Service Center,
  Contract Administration Division                          Lakewood, Colorado
Rocky Mountain Regional Office                              Lakewood, Colorado

6

 
APPENDIX 1
Page 2 of 2

Office of Policy, Management and Budget

Office of Acquisition and Property
  Management                                           Washington, D.C.
Office of Administrative Services,
Branch of Acquisition Services                              Washington, D.C.

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

Office of Acquisition and Property Management               Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Western Support Center,
Administrative Services Division                            Denver, Colorado
Program Support Division                                    Denver, Colorado

Office of Territorial and International Affairs

Division of Budget and Grants Management                    Washington, D.C.

U.S. Bureau of Mines

Branch of Procurement                                       Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Branch of Procurement                                       Lakewood, Colorado

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Division of Contracting and General Services                Arlington, Virginia
Division of Contracting and General Services,
  Region 6                                                  Lakewood, Colorado
Construction Contracting Office,
  Denver Service Center                                     Lakewood, Colorado

U.S. Geological Survey

Office of Procurement and Contracts                         Reston, Virginia
Procurement and Contracts Branch                            Lakewood, Colorado

7

 
APPENDIX 2



SUMMARY OF CONTRACTS, COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS,
AND GRANTS REVIEWED FOR COMPLIANCE WITH 
LIMITATIONS ON LOBBYING ACTIVITIES
                                                                                                                                                    
Cooperative
,                           Total Actions,            Contracts,            Agreements/Grants 
                                  Not in,                  Not in,                  Not in, 
Bureau,                            Reviewed, Compliance,         Reviewed, Compliance,         Reviewed,
Compliance
,,,,,,
Bureau of Indian Affairs,          6,        0,        0,        0,        6,        0
Bureau of Land Management,         23,       0,        23,       0,        0,        0
Bureau of Reclamation,             44,       1,        34,       0,        10,       1
Minerals Management Service,       40,       0,        25,       0,        15,       0
National Park Service,             158,           9,        76,       7,        82,       2
Office of Policy, Management
  and Budget,                 15,       1,        14,       1,        1,        0
Office of Surface Mining
  Reclamation and Enforcement,     26,       1,        15,       1,        11,       0
Office of Territorial and
  International Affairs,      15,       3,        0,        0,        15,       3
U.S. Bureau of Mines,              18,       0,        14,       0,        4,        0
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,    81,       3,        24,       1,        57,       2
U.S. Geological Survey,            60,            0,        49,            0,        11,       0
,,,,,,
          Total ,        486,           18,       274,           10,       212,           8


8

U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1995 301-126/00040


 
ILLEGAL OR WASTEFUL ACTIVITIES
   SHOULD BE REPORTED TO
THE OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL BY:



Sending written documents to:                          Calling:


                    Within the Continental United States


U.S. Department of the Interior              Our 24-hour
Office of Inspector General                  Telephone HOTLINE
P.O. Box 1593                                     1-800-424-5081 or
Arlington, Virginia 22210                         (703) 235-9399

                                                  TDD for the hearing impaired
                                                  (703) 235-9403 or
                                                  1-800-354-0996


                    Outside the Continental United States

                              Caribbean Area


U.S. Department of the Interior              (809) 774-8300
Office of Inspector General
Caribbean Region
Federal Building & Courthouse
Veterans Drive, Room 207
St. Thomas, Virgin Islands 00802


North Pacific Region

U.S. Department of the Interior              (700) 550-7279 or
Office of Inspector General                  COMM 9-011-671-472-7279
North Pacific Region
238 Archbishop F.C. Flores Street
Suite 807, PDN Building
Agana, Guam 96910

 
Toll Free Numbers
1-800-424-5081
TDD 1-800-354-0996
FTS/Commercial Numbers
703-235-9399
TDD 703-235-9403

HOTLINE

P.O. BOX 1593
Arlington, Virginia 22210