Federal Reports

NASA is developing a second mobile launcher (ML-2)—the ground structure used to assemble, transport, and launch the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion crew capsule—to support larger variants of the SLS beginning with the Artemis IV mission. ML-2’s cost and schedule are not sustainable despite NASA’s efforts to improve project performance.

The VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) Vet Center Inspection Program provides a focused evaluation of aspects of the quality of care delivered throughout Readjustment Counseling Service (RCS).This inspection evaluates four review areas within Continental District 4 including leadership stability, morbidity and mortality reviews, the high risk suicide flag (HRSF) SharePoint site, and safety plans.There were no findings in stability of leadership. Based on active policy at the time of the inspection, the OIG identified that district leaders did not complete timely morbidity and mortality reviews for clients who died by suicide. Inconsistent with requirements at the time, leaders also implemented a peer review process for all suicide attempts instead of the morbidity and mortality reviews. The OIG did not conduct the HRSF SharePoint site review due to concerns with data accuracy. In April 2024, the OIG made a recommendation to the RCS Chief Officer related to HRSF SharePoint site functionality. The recommendation remained open at the time of the inspection; therefore, the OIG will continue to monitor progress to closure and did not make a new recommendation. Vet center staff were noncompliant with completing and providing safety plans to clients.The OIG issued three recommendations for improvement to the District Director.

The VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) Vet Center Inspection Program provides a focused evaluation of aspects of the quality of care delivered at vet centers. The OIG inspected six randomly selected vet centers throughout Continental district 4 zone 1: Fort Collins, Colorado; Kalispell, Montana; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Abilene, Texas; Salt Lake City, Utah; and Cheyenne, Wyoming.The OIG inspection focused on four review areas: suicide prevention; consultation, supervision, and training; outreach; and environment of care. In the suicide prevention review, the OIG team evaluated vet center staff participation in VA medical facility mental health executive council meetings resulting in one recommendation across five of the six vet centers inspected. The consultation, supervision, and training review identified concerns with external clinical consultation, monthly client record reviews, and completion of select trainings resulting in three recommendations across all six vet centers inspected. The outreach review evaluated outreach plan completion, inclusion of strategic components, and tailoring of outreach activities to cultural background information identified in the plan which resulted in one recommendation across all six vet centers inspected. The environment of care review evaluated vet centers’ physical environment and general safety resulting in eight recommendations across five of the six vet centers inspected. The OIG issued a total of 13 recommendations for improvement.

CEO of Publicly Traded Company Arrested in Securities Fraud Scheme

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA’s) National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) provides access to global environmental data from satellites and other sources. Current NESDIS ground systems process data from NOAA and non-NOAA satellites and other observing systems. The computing architecture for many of NESDIS’ ground systems is currently located “on premises” rather than in the cloud and was developed with unique designs specific to each mission.NESDIS is transitioning some functionality from its current satellite ground systems to its cloud-based NESDIS Common Cloud Framework (NCCF). The NCCF is intended to provide greater flexibility, efficiency, cybersecurity, and cost effectiveness for the next generation of NESDIS missions.Our audit objective was to assess NESDIS’ progress implementing the NCCF. We found that (1) NESDIS’ effort to implement the NCCF lacks fundamental project management practices set forth in Department of Commerce policy, (2) NOAA is not reporting the NCCF’s financial, project, and performance data to the federal IT dashboard, (3) NESDIS’ penetration testing of the NCCF has been inadequate, and (4) the NCCF is built on a cloud platform that cannot support its security requirements.We made 11 recommendations to help NOAA ensure that the NCCF has appropriate management controls, complies with policy requirements, and meets security requirements.