What to Report to the OIG Hotline
The below list highlights the largest agencies within USDA and some examples of their programs:
- Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) - National Organic Program; Packers & Stockyards; Quality Grading for meat, eggs, butter, fruits and vegetables
- Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) - Animal Welfare Act; Animal & Plant Imports, Exports, and Diseases; Veterinary Accreditation Program
- Farm Service Agency (FSA) -Disaster Assistance Programs including livestock and crops; Farm Operating Loans; Commodity Programs; Conservation Reserve Programs including Wetlands Reserves and Grasslands Reserves
- Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) – SNAP (aka: Food Stamps); WIC (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children); National School Lunch Program; Child and Adult Care Feeding Program; Summer Food Service Program
- Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) – Meat, Poultry, and Egg Inspection Services; Meat, Poultry, and Egg Imports and Exports; Siluriformes Fish (Catfish) Inspection Program
- Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) - Foreign Market Development Program (FMD); Market Access Program (MAP); Export Credit Guarantee Program (GSM-102); Food for Progress Program
- Forest Service (FS) – National Forest System; Forest fire prevention and forest firefighting
- National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) – Education, Extension, and Research Services at Universities
- National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) – Land, Water, and Soil conservation programs; conservation technical assistance programs
- Risk Management Agency (RMA) – Federal Crop Insurance Program funded through the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC); Approved Insurance Providers (AIP) sell and service federal crop insurance policies in every state
- Rural Development (RD) has three agencies:
- Rural Housing Service (RHS) – Single Family Housing Programs (including guaranteed and direct loans); Multi-Family Housing Programs (including guaranteed loans for lenders and direct loans for developers); Community Facilities Programs
- Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBCS) – Community Economic Development Programs; Energy Programs including Biofuel Payment Program and Biobased Product Manufacturing Assistance Programs and Renewable Energy Programs
- Rural Utilities Service (RUS) – Water and Environmental Programs (including wastewater); Electric Programs; Telecommunications Programs including Broadband Initiatives Programs
Report Violations Of Laws And Regulations Relating To United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Programs
- Criminal Activity, such as: Bribery, Smuggling, Theft, Fraud, Endangerment of Public Health or Safety
- Mismanagement / Waste of Funds
- Workplace Violence
- Employee Misconduct
- Conflict of Interest
Your information should include:
- Who committed the wrongdoing (USDA Agency, person, organization, description, etc.)?
- What exactly did the individual or entity do?
- Where did the alleged activity take place (address)?
- When did the alleged activity take place?
- How are the individuals involved and how were these individuals able to perform the alleged activity?
- Do you know why the person committed the wrongdoing?
- Witnesses, if any, who can verify the allegations?
Without sufficient information we may be unable to act on your allegation. Therefore, in order to investigate your concerns properly, please provide as much information as possible. We are very interested in the information you have to provide regarding the misconduct, fraud, waste, abuse, or mismanagement in our USDA programs.
If you need to provide any documents concerning your complaint, please fax to (202) 690-2474 or mail to USDA, OIG Hotline, P. O. Box 23399, Washington, D.C. 20026-3399. Please note on your documents that you submitted your complaint online.
If you are an employee of a contractor, subcontractor, grantee, or sub-grantee and you have reported one of the following items, to one of the following parties and you are now being reprised against, you may be entitled to whistleblower protection pursuant to 41 U.S.C. §4712(a)(1) and should make your report to the OIG hotline.
- Gross mismanagement of a contract or grant
- Gross waste of Federal funds
- Abuse of authority relating to a contract or grant
- Substantial and specific danger to public health or safety
- Violation of law, rule, or regulation related to contract or grant
Parties:
- Congress
- An OIG
- GAO
- Agency contract/grant oversight official
- DOJ/law enforcement
- Court or grand jury
- Manager or other employee of the contractor who can investigate misconduct
If you wish to report information involving classified information or report that you are being reprised against in the form of your supervisor taking an action affecting your eligibility for access to classified information, please make your complaint to one of the following numbers: 816-926-7937 or 202-720-9731. The complainant can be assured that the OIG representative with whom they communicate will have the appropriate clearance.
What Not to Report to the OIG Hotline
- Issues that do not pertain to USDA.
