Federal Reports

The objective of this statutory audit was to determine whether the Department complied with the Payment Integrity Information Act of 2019 (PIIA) for FY 2022. We found that the Department did not comply with the PIIA because it did not meet one of the six compliance requirements. Specifically, the Department reported improper payment and unknown payment estimates for the Title I, Special Education, and Education Stabilization Fund programs that exceeded 10 percent. We also determined that the Department’s improper payment and unknown payment estimates for five programs (Title I, Special Education, Education Stabilization Fund, Pell, and Direct Loan) were not reliable. Specifically, for the Title I and Special Education programs, the improper payment and unknown payment estimates were based on inaccurate sampling populations. For the Title I, Special Education, and Education Stabilization Fund programs, the Department’s testing results were inaccurate; and the improper payment sampling and estimation plan for the Pell and Direct Loan programs included nonrandom student-level sampling from some of the compliance audits FSA used to calculate the estimates, which affected the appropriateness of the confidence intervals used in the calculation of the improper payment and unknown payment estimates.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) did not consistently implement effective access controls to restrict access to its network and information technology (IT) systems. Although ICE took a multi-layered approach to managing access for personnel who change positions or leave the component altogether, we determined that ICE did not consistently manage or remove access when personnel separated or changed positions.

Although the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) worked with its strategic partners to deliver critical medical supplies and equipment in response to COVID-19, FEMA did not effectively manage the distribution process. Specifically, FEMA did not use the Logistics Supply Chain Management System (LSCMS), its system of record for managing the distribution process, to track about 30 percent of the critical medical resources shipped, as required.

The OIG has concerns that immediate public notifications are not being made for drinking-water lead-action-level exceedances that may pose a significant risk to public health.

The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) uses staffing data to assess whether medical facilities have the necessary resources to manage community care needs. Accurate staffing data are critical for decision-making and funding allocation to support veterans’ access to community care. The VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) assessed whether medical facility leaders identified, authorized, recruited, and retained nurses and medical support assistants (MSAs) to meet increased demand for community care. The OIG found that VHA does not have reliable data or sufficient tools to assess community care staffing levels and needs at the network or national level. Facility leaders do not use consistent organizational codes to identify community care staff across VA medical facilities. Additionally, VA’s staffing assessment tool relies on self-reported data that are not effectively verified. Due to data entry errors and a lack of consistent validation or quality review, VHA included inaccurate information in congressionally mandated reports. Despite these limitations, facility community care leaders generally identified local staffing needs, and their resource management committees authorized the requested staff. Although most facilities could adequately recruit and retain community care nurses, many could not recruit and retain MSAs. To compensate for the lack of MSAs, some facilities used innovative strategies such as hiring incentives or consolidated community care units to help process community care referrals. The under secretary for health concurred or concurred in principle with the OIG’s five recommendations to improve the reliability of community care staffing data and recruitment and retention of MSAs.