DOT's Policies and Do Not Pay Portal Use Are Not Sufficient To Comply With the DNP Initiative

What We Looked AtTo prevent Government agencies from making improper payments, the Do Not Pay (DNP) Initiative (the Initiative) requires the agencies to verify recipients’ eligibility to receive payments in the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s (Treasury) Working System databases before the release of Federal funds. The Initiative is authorized and governed by the Payment Integrity Information Act (PIIA) of 2019 and an Office of Management and Budget (OMB) memorandum. As part of the Initiative, the Treasury’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service (BFS) developed the DNP Business Center, which provides agencies with a variety of ways to review recipients’ eligibility in the databases prior to award and payment. In fiscal year 2021, the Department of Transportation (DOT) made approximately $96 billion in payments to grant recipients, State and local governments, businesses, and individuals in support of DOT’s mission. While we have annually audited DOT’s compliance with PIIA, we have not assessed the Department’s compliance with the Initiative. Therefore, we initiated this audit to assess the Department’s internal controls for assuring compliance with the Initiative. What We FoundWe identified two internal control weaknesses that result in DOT’s lack of compliance with the Initiative. First, the Department lacks policies and procedures to ensure ineligible recipients do not receive payments. Also, DOT is not using the DNP portal for pre-payment checks as OMB guidance and PIIA require. Our RecommendationsWe made two recommendations to help strengthen the Department’s internal controls to comply with the Initiative. OST concurred with our recommendations. We consider the recommendations resolved but open pending completion of planned corrective actions.