Department of Homeland Security's FY 2018 Compliance with the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act of 2010 and Executive Order 13520, Reducing Improper Payments

We determined that DHS did not comply with Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act of 2010 (IPERA) because it did not meet two of the six requirements. Specifically, the Department omitted the percent of recaptured amounts from the Other Information section in its Agency Financial Report and did not meet its annual reduction target established for one of eight programs deemed susceptible to significant improper payments. DHS also did not comply with Executive Order 13520, Reducing Improper Payments, because it did not make available to the public DHS’ Quarterly High-Dollar Overpayment report for the second quarter of FY 2018. In addition, the third-quarter report DHS posted on its website erroneously excluded information on actions the agency has taken to recover high-dollar overpayments. Additionally, we reviewed DHS’ processes and procedures for estimating its annual improper payment rates. Based on our review, we determined that DHS did not provide adequate oversight of the components’ improper payment testing and reporting. We made seven recommendations to DHS’ Risk Management and Assurance Division to follow the Office of Management and Budget’s requirements to comply with IPERA, and to strengthen its oversight and review procedures for IPERA risk assessments.