Energy Department screw up costs taxpayers $56 million

The Washington Examiner has the story on an Energy Department screw up that will cost taxpayers at least $56 million:

The U.S. Department of Energy has lost more than $56 million due to poor coordination during implementation of a new telephone system, according to the DoE inspector general.

The telephone system — known as Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP — enables “the transmission of voice communications primarily over the Internet.”

But transitioning to the new Internet-based communications system across more than 14 department offices, as well as getting parts of it such as “hardware, support services and licensing costs” coordinated, hasn’t gone smoothly, the inspector general said.