The Department Has Made Progress Meeting Its Responsibilities Under the Geospatial Data Act But Must Improve Controls to Ensure Full Compliance
For our audit of the U.S. Department of Commerce's (the Department’s) collection, production, acquisition, maintenance, distribution, use, and preservation of geospatial data, our objective was to assess the Department’s progress toward compliance with the 13 covered agency responsibilities under...
USPTO Should Improve Acquisition Planning and Vendor Performance Management to Prevent Schedule Delays and Unnecessary Costs Related to the SDI-NG Contract
For our audit of the U. S. Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO’s) Software Development and Integration–Next Generation (SDI-NG) contracts, our audit objective was to determine whether USPTO provided adequate oversight of SDI-NG contracts. To address this objective, we specifically assessed whether...
EDA Is Not Fully Complying with All Its Disaster Relief Award Policies
For our audit of the Economic Development Administration’s (EDA’s) disaster relief grants award administrative processes and oversight efforts, our objective was to determine whether EDA’s process for awarding disaster relief grants to applicants is adequate. Specifically, we focused on whether (1)...
Continued FirstNet Authority Management Attention is Needed to Address Control Environment Weaknesses
For our evaluation of the First Responder Network Authority’s (FirstNet Authority’s) actions following our August 2019 management alert, FirstNet Management Altered Contract Requirements Without Authorization -- which was a result of a hotline complaint -- our objective was to assess whether...
EDA Was Effective in Implementing the Requirements for Awarding Funds Under the CARES Act
This memorandum provides the results of our evaluation of the Economic Development Administration’s (EDA’s) plan for the implementation of Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act)1 funding. Our objective was to determine whether EDA implemented and followed the requirements of...
Semiannual Report to Congress, September 2020
This report summarizes work that we initiated and completed during this semiannual period on a number of critical Departmental activities. Over the past 6 months, our office issued 30 products related to our audit, evaluation, and inspection work. These products addressed programs and personnel...
Semiannual Report to Congress, March 2020
This report summarizes work that we initiated and completed during this semiannual period on a number of critical Departmental activities. Over the past 6 months, our office issued 20 products related to our audit, evaluation, and inspection work. These products addressed programs and personnel...
Evaluation of NOAA’s September 6, 2019, Statement About Hurricane Dorian Forecasts
On Friday, September 6, 2019—the day Hurricane Dorian made landfall in the United States as a Category 1 hurricane—the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) issued an unsigned statement (Statement) in response to a request by the White House then-acting Chief of Staff to the Office...
Deficiencies in USPTO’s Backup and Restoration Process Could Delay Recovery of Critical Applications in the Event of a System Failure and Adversely Affect Its Mission
For our audit of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO’s) Patent Capture and Application Processing System (PCAPS), our objective was to determine whether USPTO has adequate data recovery and contingency plans in place to ensure operational availability of PCAPS.We found that (1) USPTO has...