Federal Reports

The Semiannual Report to Congress summarizes the results of OIG oversight, provides statistical information, and lists all reports issued October 1, 2019 – March 31, 2020. During this reporting period, OIG audits, investigations, inspections, evaluations, and other reviews identified nearly $866.8 million in monetary benefits for a return of $10 for every dollar invested in OIG oversight. Also during this reporting period, the OIG issued 154 reports and publications on VA programs and operations, made 777 recommendations, and conducted investigations that led to 142 arrests.

The In-Office Cost System (IOCS) is the primary probability sampling system the U.S. Postal Service uses to attribute the labor costs of clerks, mail handlers, city carriers, and supervisors related to handling the mail. Data collected from IOCS enables the Postal Service to allocate labor costs to each mail category. The accuracy of product cost allocation is vital because the Postal Service is mandated to ensure all products cover their costs.The IOCS is designed to supplement accounting system labor cost data by sampling mail handled by employees. Specifically, an IOCS reading is an observation that represents a snapshot of an employee’s work activities at selected points in time throughout the year. In fiscal year (FY) 2019, IOCS sampled readings cost the Postal Service over $14 million and included 214,789 in-person readings, 339,318 telephone readings, and 20,869 missing or cancelled readings.

The Department of Defense and Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Act, 2019 and Continuing Appropriations Act 2019, P.L. No. 115-245, directed OIG to examine the efforts of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to ensure the integrity of its grant application evaluation and recipient selection processes. This audit is part of OIG's response to this directive.

An Assistant Passenger Conductor based in Washington, D.C., was terminated from employment on May 27, 2020, after our investigation revealed that he had gained employment at the company by using fraudulent forms of identification. During his employment with the company, the employee was arrested and convicted for several felonies and misdemeanors. On several occasions, he inappropriately used leave granted under the Family Medical Leave Act, including one occasion while he was under home confinement wearing an ankle GPS tracker. He is currently serving a 10-month prison sentence for violating federal probation.