Federal Reports

What OIG Evaluated

The Office of Inspector General (OIG) performed this evaluation to (1) determine the nature and extent to which the Department funds and participates in international organizations, and (2) evaluate the Department’s use of oversight provisions for the funds it contributes to them.  

What OIG Found

OIG found that of the $9.3 billion provided to international organizations in FY 2024, $3.6 billion was assessed contributions levied by international organizations as requirements of membership. The remaining $5.7 billion was voluntary contributions, or discretionary financial assistance, designated for specific organizations and programs. According to Department officials, treaty obligations limited the Department’s ability to oversee or apply conditions to its $3.6 billion of assessed contributions. OIG found United Nations (UN) policies and legal requirements, including UN diplomatic privileges and immunities, the UN’s single audit principle, and the UN’s practice of commingling funding presented barriers to the Department’s ability to obtain detailed information about its contributions. Despite these limitations, the Department participated in international organizations’ executive boards, reviewed international organizations’ audit reports, and coordinated with other donors to strengthen oversight and reform.  The Department had greater flexibility to include oversight provisions for its $5.7 billion in voluntary contributions. However, it did not consistently include such provisions in its contribution agreements.

Specifically, OIG found that the Department inconsistently applied oversight provisions to its agreements, with provisions varying by Department bureau and type of mechanism used to provide the funds. In contrast, OIG found that other donors to international organizations, such as the European Commission and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), included more stringent requirements in their own standard funding agreement provisions. The inconsistent oversight provisions created a barrier to the Department and State OIG’s ability to thoroughly oversee funds voluntarily contributed to international organizations. To enhance accountability for IO contributions, Congress included a requirement in the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 for the Department and USAID to seek to enter into written agreements with each international organization receiving U.S. funding. These agreements were to grant timely access to financial data and to other information relevant to the Inspectors General of the Department and USAID, and to the Comptroller General of the United States. OIG found that the Department had taken limited action to implement the statutory requirement and, 16 months after the enactment of the law, had not made any request to any international organization to enter into an overarching written agreement to provide the two OIGs and Government Accountability Office (GAO) with access to financial data and other information related to U.S. contributions.  

What OIG Recommends

OIG made five recommendations to improve the Department’s oversight of voluntary contributions and strengthen its implementation of Section 7048(h). 

In this year’s report, we identified five key challenges for NASA—returning humans to the Moon, sustaining a human presence in low Earth orbit, improving management of major programs and projects, managing cybersecurity risks and emerging technology, and sustaining mission critical capabilities.

Due to the importance of security measures required to protect the Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA) information and operations from cybersecurity threats, the OIG performed a penetration test of TVA’s network, systems, and applications.  Our objective was to determine if vulnerabilities and other cybersecurity weaknesses in TVA’s network, systems, and applications were present and exploitable. Specifics are being withheld from public release due to their sensitive nature in relation to TVA’s cybersecurity. We made five recommendations to TVA management.

Our Semiannual Report to Congress covering the period April 1 to September 30, 2025, highlights the OIG’s audit and investigative accomplishments during the past 6 months.

The Office of Inspector General is issuing this report to assess the U.S. Small Business Administration’s initial response to severe storms in Missouri and Kentucky, including staffing, customer service response, outreach, volume of loan applications, and timeliness of loan approvals.

We found that staffing levels were adequate, customers were satisfied with the customer service provided on-site, outreach was conducted promptly and in accordance with internal policy, and disaster loan applications were processed timely.

This report does not contain any recommendations, and the agency did not provide any comments.

USDA OIG'S objective was to evaluate aspects of the Plan of Action and Milestones process used to reduce
identified vulnerabilities.

Why We Did This Report

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Inspector General conducted this evaluation to determine the U.S. Virgin Islands’ capacity to manage and use Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funds for clean water and drinking water infrastructure improvements.
 

Summary of Findings

The U.S. Virgin Islands, or USVI, has the financial capacity to manage and use its Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, or IIJA, funds. However, the USVI faces human capital-, organizational-, and stakeholder-related challenges that limit its capacity to manage and use its IIJA funds for clean water and drinking water construction grants.