Federal Reports

At the request of the Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA) Supply Chain, we examined the cost proposal submitted by a contractor for the New Caledonia Gas Plant.  Our examination objective was to determine if the cost proposal was fairly stated.  The contractor proposed a target cost estimate (TCE) of approximately $474.7 million for the construction of a potential simple cycle natural gas electricity generating plant at TVA’s New Caledonia site in Steens, Mississippi.

In our opinion, the cost proposal was overstated. Specifically, we found the proposal for the $474.7 million New Caledonia Gas Plant project included (1) overstated labor costs, (2) inflated subcontract costs, (3) overstated or unallowable other direct costs, (4) understated equipment costs, and (5) overstated (i.e., general and administrative, fee, and taxes).  We estimated TVA could avoid $63.7 million on the proposed $474.7 million New Caledonia Gas Plant project by negotiating appropriate reductions to the proposed TCE.  Additionally, we suggest TVA negotiate to revise the draft contract language and rate attachments to incorporate appropriate changes.

The proposal also included an alternative option to complete the project under a fixed price compensation method for a firm fixed price of approximately $506.4 million.  We analyzed the TCE proposal and alternative fixed price proposal and determined it would be more cost efficient for TVA to (1) negotiate appropriate reductions, including any necessary scope changes, and (2) utilize the TCE instead of agreeing to the fixed price proposal.

The Office of the Inspector General performed an audit of the Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA) cybersecurity vulnerability management program.  Our objective was to determine if TVA is compliant with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Binding Operational Directive (BOD) 22-01, Reducing the Significant Risk of Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEVs), and CISA BOD 19-02, Vulnerability Remediation Requirements for Internet-Accessible Systems. 

We determined TVA generally complied with CISA BOD 19-02 and CISA BOD 22-01; however, two requirements were not fully met. Specifically, TVA did not (1) update CISA with modifications to the inventory of internet-accessible internet protocol (IP) addresses within the five-day requirement or (2) meet the CISA required remediation timeline for 8 of 22 KEVs.

In compliance with the Act, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Inspector General conducts periodic audits, assessments, and reviews of the travel and purchase card programs at the EPA and the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board. In fiscal year 2024, however, the EPA OIG did not perform a purchase or travel card program audit, review, or assessment for the EPA or the CSB. Also, as of the date of this letter, there are no outstanding OIG recommendations related to the EPA or CSB travel and purchase card programs.

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) implemented its annual work 
plan to ensure its resources are effectively and efficiently utilized throughout the performance year.

Objective:  To determine whether the Social Security Administration correctly applied workers' compensation (WC) off-set for Disability Insurance beneficiaries who received WC payments from Colorado and Minnesota.

The Department of Homeland Security has taken steps to develop guidance and establish oversight for artificial intelligence (AI) use, but more action is needed to ensure DHS governs and manages AI use appropriately. DHS issued AI-specific guidance, appointed a Chief AI Officer, and established multiple working groups and its AI Task Force to help guide the Department’s AI efforts. However, more action is needed to ensure DHS has appropriate governance for responsible and secure use of AI.

We performed an audit of Carrington Mortgage’s compliance with Federal Housing Administration (FHA) requirements for foreclosures that started in 2022. Pursuant to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), as extended by the Secretary, from March 18, 2020, through July 31, 2021, there was a pause on new and ongoing foreclosures for FHA single‐family mortgages for homes that remained occupied. We selected Carrington because it was among the first servicers to resume initiating foreclosures after the moratorium ended with a foreclosure rate above 1 percent. Our audit objective was to determine whether Carrington complied with FHA’s requirements for loss mitigation before initiating and continuing foreclosure.

Carrington did not follow FHA’s requirements for more than 18 percent of its foreclosures in 2022. Based on a statistically valid sample drawn from a universe of 7,998 FHA‐insured loans totaling more than $907 million, Carrington did not complete the required loss mitigation activities before initiating or continuing foreclosure for an estimated 1,451 loans.

The VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted a healthcare inspection to assess confidential complaints alleging a veteran was going to be discharged from the Housing and Urban Development VA Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) program and “should not have been,” and that other veterans were discharged from HUD-VASH “for no reason.” The OIG also evaluated access to primary care for veterans enrolled in HUD-VASH who remain unhoused.

The OIG did not substantiate that the veteran, nor other veterans, were discharged from the HUD-VASH program “for no reason.” However, deficiencies existed with the veteran’s case management, including treatment plan and discharge documentation. The OIG determined similar deficiencies occurred in the case management of other veterans discharged from HUD-VASH. Additionally, the electronic health records of many unhoused HUD-VASH veterans, who did not have scheduled primary care appointments, demonstrated the absence of treatment plans and assignments to primary care teams.

Deficiencies in case management and failures in supervisory oversight resulted in missed opportunities for improved case management for HUD-VASH veterans. The OIG is concerned that the absence of treatment plans, as well as primary care assignments, could affect HUD-VASH case management staff’s ability to coordinate veteran-centered care and may contribute to deficient facilitation of clinical services for this vulnerable population.

The OIG made five recommendations to the Facility Director related to completion and oversight of HUD-VASH documentation, HUD-VASH discharges, and assignment to primary care teams for unhoused HUD-VASH veterans.

The VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) reviewed a hotline complaint from January 2023 alleging that the Atlanta VA medical center’s call center was not answering calls and scheduling appointments within the expected time frame due to staffing shortages.

The OIG substantiated the allegations that the call center did not meet Veterans Health Administration (VHA) abandonment rate and timeliness standards because the call center did not have enough staff answering calls during the review period, which can lead to delays in scheduling appointments, potentially increase wait times, and decrease access to care. During the review period, the call center did not meet VHA’s call center standards, with 30 percent (rather than 5 percent) of the callers abandoning their calls, and only 22 percent (rather than 80 percent) of answered calls picked up within 30 seconds. Based on VHA’s recommended call center staffing model, the OIG estimated the call center needed 53 staff to answer the 135,600 calls received during the review period; the call center averaged 29 staff.

Other factors contributed to the call center’s inability to meet the performance standards. Call center supervisors focused on reviewing daily performance reports and real-time data provided through the call center dashboard, but they did not review cumulative data that could improve staff monitoring to ensure adequate phone coverage throughout the day and help address substandard handle times. Call center staff raised concerns during the review about possible problems in the management of the specialty care clinic telephone lines and mental health queue, which may also need to be addressed by facility leaders.

The OIG made three recommendations to the Veterans Integrated Service Network director and one recommendation to the facility director to assess the staffing and operations of the contact center and specialty care queues at the facility.