Federal Reports

We reviewed the Puerto Rico Department of Housing’s (PRDOH) Electrical Power System Enhancements and Improvements programs to provide (1) background and funding information, (2) an update on the status of the programs and their progress, and (3) other relevant program information for interested stakeholders including Congress and the public. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) provided its grantee, PRDOH, $1.93 billion in Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery funds for enhanced and improved electrical power systems in areas impacted by Hurricanes Irma and Maria. PRDOH budgeted most of its $1.93 billion disaster recovery funds for its two main electrical grid programs: (1) $500 million for the Energy Grid Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Cost Share Program (ER1), and (2) $1.3 billion for the Electrical Power Reliability and Resilience Program (ER2). PRDOH launched both the ER1 and ER2 electrical grid programs in 2023, and both programs are in their early implementation stages. As of July 12, 2024, PRDOH had spent less than 1 percent of its total budget for both programs ($179,760 of $1.93 billion). For ER1, PRDOH is working with its partners, Central Office for Recovery, Reconstruction, and Resilience (COR3) and the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA). For ER2, PRDOH opened and closed its competitive application process and expects to award funds by the end of 2024. In addition, on August 5, 2024, it announced 20 ER2 projects and expects to finalize the selection and award of the remaining strategic projects by the end of the first quarter of 2025. PRDOH requested from HUD an extension to use grant funds for both programs until May 2033, which is nearly 5 years after the original August 2028 deadline and 15 years after Congress appropriated funds for electrical grid needs in Puerto Rico. As part of our ongoing strategic planning, we will periodically evaluate the status of both the ER1 and ER2 programs to determine how far along they are with their respective timelines, any challenges encountered, and any significant risks that may warrant additional work by HUD OIG.

The report summarizes the OIG’s follow-up evaluation of the FTC’s progress on, and effectiveness of, changes that the agency implemented in its Redress Program following the OIG’s March 4, 2020, report Audit of Federal Trade Commission Redress Process Controls. We narrowed our audit objective to focus specifically on the Redress Program’s effectiveness of contractor oversight and program data management.

We performed this review to determine whether the Burlington Community School District (Burlington) expended Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) grant funds for allowable purposes in accordance with applicable requirements. We determined that all the ESSER expenditures we reviewed for Burlington were allowable and in accordance with applicable requirements. We also found that Burlington complied with key Federal procurement requirements, including those covering the procurement methods to be followed and contract cost, price, and provisions, when procuring the goods or services associated with each ESSER expenditure we reviewed. Because we identified no exceptions, our report does not include recommendations.

In January 2024, we conducted onsite, unannounced inspections atfour U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) facilities in the DelRio area, specifically three U.S. Border Patrol (Border Patrol)facilities and one Office of Field Operations (OFO) port of entry(POE).

We audited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Multifamily Housing Programs’ efforts to address multifamily mortgage application processing delays. When applications for these loans are delayed, it slows the production and availability of affordable multifamily housing units. During the COVID-19 pandemic, HUD took action to eliminate a backlog of over 500 applications waiting to be assigned to underwriters for review. We did this audit to assess HUD’s efforts for receiving and screening applications and assigning them to underwriters.HUD took steps to address delays in assigning applications to underwriters, but its methods and systems could be improved to help it manage applications and future challenges. HUD used several methods to address delays, including implementing (1) a nationwide queue, (2) an application completeness screening, (3) priority application processing, (4) use of contract underwriters, (5) workload sharing, and (6) an option to bypass initial feasibility reviews for certain applications (one-step processing). Although HUD eliminated the nationwide queue in November 2022, it was unable to transition successfully to a state-of-the-art processing platform. As a result, HUD still uses multiple systems, email, and other manual methods to process applications. We found this creates a future risk that HUD cannot process applications as quickly and effectively as possible. With a more integrated system and a plan for which methods will be used when applications exceed underwriter capacity, HUD can more easily identify, monitor, and address processing delays; evaluate its performance and processes; and manage future challenges, such as fluctuations in application volume. We recommend that HUD enhance its system for receiving, processing, and assigning applications in several important ways. These include tracking applications and capturing application intake, screening, and status, including key dates; capturing data on the type of underwriter used; developing a portal for receiving documents and communicating with lenders; and generating Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loan numbers. Further, we recommend that HUD update its policies and procedures to include methods that will be used when applications exceed underwriter capacity, align intake and screening processes, and explain when timeframes will be enforced. Last, we recommend that HUD issue an industry wide letter to reinforce how intake, screening, and enforcement of timeframes will be handled.