Federal Reports

We issued this management alert to notify the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) of potential risks identified during an ongoing evaluation that could affect NTIA’s broadband programs, primarily the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program. Specifically, we asked industry stakeholders to identify challenges they are facing with broadband programmatic deployment to unserved and underserved locations. Stakeholders indicated that their top challenges include requirements and exclusions in applicable program provisions that prefer fiber over non-fiber technologies, lengthy permitting processes, and workforce shortages. These challenges could delay broadband deployment, decrease competition for grants, encourage overbuilding and wasteful spending in locations with existing broadband access, and increase deployment costs. We provided three proposed actions for NTIA to consider to address the potential impacts of the identified challenges.

MEMORANDUM FOR DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE LEAD INSPECTOR GENERAL

This Office of Inspector General (OIG) Comprehensive Healthcare Inspection Program report describes the results of a focused evaluation of the quality of care delivered in the outpatient settings of the Aleda E. Lutz VA Medical Center, which includes multiple outpatient clinics in Michigan. This evaluation focused on five key operational areas:• Leadership and organizational risks• Quality, safety, and value• Medical staff privileging• Environment of care• Mental health (suicide prevention initiatives)The OIG issued four recommendations for improvement in three areas:1. Quality, safety, and value• Root cause analyses2. Medical staff privileging• Ongoing Professional Practice Evaluation data• Equivalent specialized training and similar privileges3. Mental health• Comprehensive Suicide Risk Evaluation completion

The U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO), Office of the Inspector General (OIG), completed an investigation into a fraudulent Facebook account bearing the name and image of GPO Director Hugh Halpern.

The objective of the audit is to determine the effectiveness of the Commission’s information security program and practices.