DOT’s Fiscal Year 2023 Payment Integrity Information Act Compliance Review

What We Looked At    The Payment Integrity Information Act of 2019 (PIIA) requires agencies to identify, report, and reduce improper payments in programs susceptible to significant improper payments. The act also requires agencies to publish applicable payment integrity information in the materials accompanying their annual financial statements. Moreover, PIIA requires inspectors general to report annually on their agencies’ compliance. Accordingly, our audit objective was to determine whether the Department of Transportation (DOT) complied in fiscal year 2023 with PIIA’s requirements as prescribed by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).    What We FoundDOT was in compliance with PIIA requirements for fiscal year 2023. DOT reported improper payment estimates for two programs identified as susceptible to significant improper payments. The payment integrity information in DOT’s fiscal year 2023 Agency Financial Report and data posted to the Payment Accuracy website were accurate and complete. DOT’s corrective action plans were adequately designed, focused on root causes, and effectively implemented. DOT also published improper and unknown payment amounts and estimated future improper and unknown payment rates on the Payment Accuracy website in the financial statement materials. The Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) Transit Infrastructure Grant COVID Relief Funds Program did not meet its reduction target of 1 percent and reported estimated improper payments of 2.07 percent ($506.40 million). While FTA did not establish a tolerable rate for the program, the Operating Administration demonstrated improvements to payment integrity per OMB guidance by expanding its sampling and estimation methodology for fiscal year 2023 reporting and its corrective action plan. Additionally, DOT developed a plan to meet the reduction target and reported an improper and unknown payment estimate of less than 10 percent for all programs reporting improper payments in fiscal year 2023. The Department has also taken steps to recapture overpayments.    Our RecommendationsWe are making no recommendations at this time.