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Government Agency Spends Hundreds of Thousands on Unused Mobile Devices

AP

The Department of Energy spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on cell phones and other mobile data devices that it never used, according to an inspector general report released on Tuesday.

More than 3,600 of DOE mobile devices, including cell phones and air cards, used less than a third of their data plan allowances, the IG found.

The department spent more than $325,000 on 1,021 devices that did not use any purchased data in fiscal year 2012, according to the report.

"The problems we identified occurred, in part, because the department had not always developed and/or implemented effective policies and procedures to govern the issuance, use, and monitoring of mobile computing devices and services," the IG wrote.

The report faulted "officials at several [DOE] sites" who did not adequately monitor data usage by their employees, and hence did not detect idle devices.

DOE also overpaid contractors for their data plans by reimbursing them for "more than the cost the government would have paid for a government-procured mobile device service plan."

Those reimbursements resulted in nearly half a million dollars in overpayments.

"Without improvements, the department may not realize costs savings of more than $2.3 million over the next 3 years at just the programs and sites reviewed," the IG warned.