Federal Reports

In July 2024, VA informed Congress that the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) might need an additional $12 billion in funding in fiscal year (FY) 2025 to support medical care for the last three months of FY 2024 and all of FY 2025—primarily for community care, staffing, prosthetics, and pharmacy. In August, the OIG began reviewing the causes contributing to VHA’s subsequent request for additional funds, and in September, Congress passed legislation requiring the OIG to review the circumstances that led to VA’s announced funding shortfall.

The OIG found the FY 2024 President’s Budget, which included the advance appropriations for FY 2025, relied on outdated data and assumptions, including lower-than-actual costs for new medications and both direct and community care. Also, a legislative budget cap limited VHA’s ability to increase the FY 2025 advance appropriations, although leaders believed they could keep spending within funding limits by developing cost-saving options. The goals and options that emerged from a January 2024 financial sequester did not achieve the necessary cuts, such as reducing hiring and community care obligations. In August 2024, VA requested supplemental appropriations of $12 billion to cover medical care for the rest of FY 2024 and all of FY 2025. By November, VHA had revised this estimated shortfall to $6.6 billion for only the remainder of FY 2025. Congress passed a continuing resolution in mid-March 2025 to fund VA’s remaining FY 2025 medical care at $6 billion from the Toxic Exposures Fund.

VHA concurred with the OIG’s recommendations to review how VHA projects medical care budget needs (including staffing) and to develop an approach to form more accurate estimates; consider changes to allow program offices and other experts to weigh in on inputs for model projections; and conduct fiscal reviews at least quarterly to assess key cost drivers.

Why We Did This Report

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Inspector General is issuing this report addressing concerns regarding access to Superfund information identified in the EPA’s annual reports to Congress.

Summary of Findings

We discovered that more than half of federal facility and some nonfederal facility Five-Year Reviews, or FYRs, are not publicly available, despite the EPA stating in its annual Superfund FYR Reports to Congress that the FYRs can be found on its “Search for Superfund Five-Year Reviews” webpage.

After meeting with more than 140 individuals from DHS and other Federal agencies, we determined U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) cannot effectively monitor the location and status of all unaccompanied alien children (UACs) once released or transferred from Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) custody. From fiscal years 2019 to 2023, ICE transferred more than 448,000 UACs to HHS; most were released to sponsors. However, more than 31,000 of the 448,000 children’s release addresses were blank, undeliverable, or missing apartment numbers. ICE also was not always aware of the location for UACs who fled HHS’ custody.

The AmeriCorps Office of Inspector General investigated potential displacement of paid staff at Hawaii Community Assets (HCA), undisclosed dual employment by a program official at HCA and Aloha United Way (AUW), and improper charging of time by two Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) program officials at AUW.

A former AmeriCorps grantee staff member (“Complainant”) alleged that management at the grantee terminated the Complainant’s employment after the Complainant made a protected disclosure related to the Complainant’s concerns about the grantee’s financial management and stewardship. AmeriCorps OIG concluded that the evidence did not support the allegations of whistleblower retaliation. The grantee terminated the Complainant based on performance issues that predated any protected disclosure.

The Inspector General is pleased to present the Office of Inspector General (OIG) Oversight Plan for Calendar Year 2025. This risk-based plan intends to serve as a roadmap for the OIG’s independent and objective oversight of the U.S. AbilityOne Commission’s programs and operations through reviews, such as audits and evaluations, focused on preventing and detecting fraud, waste and abuse, and enhancing economies and efficiencies.

Throughout the oversight cycles, the OIG continues to focus on high-risk areas in the program and operations. The OIG's process to assess and prioritize the planned work included, among other factors, assessing the top management and performance challenges, congressional interests, key risks for which the Commission and other stakeholders expressed concern, and the results of our prior work. The OIG then used this information to inform the design of oversight reviews for usefulness to the Commission for its work and operations.