Federal Reports

Section 26a of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Act requires TVA's approval prior to construction, operation, or maintenance of any dam, appurtenant works, or other obstruction affecting navigation, flood control, or public lands or reservations across, along, or in the Tennessee River and its tributaries. Title 18, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Part 1304.1 1304.412, Approval of Construction in the Tennessee River System and Regulation of Structures and Other Alterations (18 CFR §§ 1304.1 1304.412) contains regulations related to the application process and information on what is allowable under a Section 26a permit. Additionally, 18 CFR §§ 1310.1–1310.3, Administrative Cost Recovery requires applicants pay TVA fees for its review of Section 26a permit applications. TVA’s Natural Resources group has also established a series of stewardship guidelines to provide guidance for effective, consistent management of TVA reservoir land and natural resources that includes the Section 26a permit process. Due to a concern identified in public comments prior to a TVA Board of Directors meeting, as well as concerns reported to the Office of the Inspector General EmPowerline®, we performed an evaluation to determine if Section 26a permits were being effectively managed. We determined Section 26a permits were not being managed effectively by TVA. Specifically, we found: • TVA is not complying with requirements to recover all the associated cost of permits in accordance with 18 CFR § 1310.3. When costs associated with processing Section 26a permits are not recovered from applicants, TVA’s ratepayers are effectively subsidizing the Section 26a permitting process.• TVA’s oversight of the Section 26a permit process is inadequate. The oversight concerns are related to TVA: (1) performing minimal compliance oversight, (2) not providing oversight to ensure violations and encroachments are addressed in a timely or consistent manner, and (3) inconsistently documenting permit noncompliances as violations and encroachments. • Instances of noncompliance with 18 CFR §§ 1304.1–1304.412 related to permit application requirements and multiple instances of poor recordkeeping. TVA is responsible for managing the Tennessee River system. An important part of that responsibility is to ensure obstructions affecting navigation, flood control, or public lands across, along, or in the Tennessee River and its tributaries are built and maintained to protect the safety of all river users and the environment. TVA manages these responsibilities through the Section 26a permit process. However, based on the issues identified during our review, TVA’s oversight is not adequate to ensure the Section 26a permit process is effective.

The VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducts financial efficiency inspections to assess the VA healthcare systems’ oversight and stewardship of funds and to identify opportunities for achieving cost efficiencies. The OIG identified several opportunities for improvement in four areas: accrued expense oversight, purchase card use, inventory and supply chain management, and pharmacy operations.The team reviewed a sample of outstanding accrued expenses for goods or services ordered, obligated, and received but not paid for and due in the current accounting period. Following the review, the team projected that 57 percent of outstanding accruals amounting to an estimated $4.6 million were not supported by documentation such as an invoice and should have been used for other purposes to benefit veterans.Regarding purchase card use, the inspection team projected the healthcare system had noncompliance errors in at least 6,800 purchase card transactions, totaling at least $6.7 million. These errors frequently lead to improper payments.The team identified discrepancies in three inventory storage areas between what was reported in the inventory system and what was physically present. For items reviewed by the team, the system records were overstated by almost 38,800 items (about 99 percent) totaling over $2.1 million. Errors could diminish the healthcare system’s ability to effectively budget for the purchase of supplies to meet patient care needs.Finally, the team observed a growing gap between observed and expected drug costs. In FY 2020 observed drug costs were almost $2.8 million more than expected; in FY 2021, about $3.8 million; and in FY 2022, over $5 million. Anticipating drug costs and knowing when to restock helps a healthcare system maintain needed supplies and make the best use of appropriated funds.The team made nine recommendations to improve oversight.

The VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted a healthcare inspection to assess allegations of delays in the receipt of patients’ colorectal cancer screening tests at the Phoenix VA Health Care System (facility) in Arizona. The OIG substantiated that 406 patient fecal immunochemical tests (FITs) were held in a non-VA warehouse due to an unpaid postage bill by the facility. The delay resulted in laboratory staff’s inability to process 403 (99 percent) FITs because they were outside the specimens’ 15-day stability period.The OIG did not substantiate a delay in further evaluation and care for the patients whose FITs were outside of the stability period and could not be tested or that patients’ personally identifiable information was not protected. The OIG found that facility staff’s plan for follow-up and efforts to ensure the patients received further evaluation and care were timely and thorough. The OIG did not identify adverse clinical outcomes for the 31 patients reviewed.After finding that patients had not recorded the specimen collection date (required to determine stability) on 86 percent of the delayed FITs, the OIG reviewed and identified concerns with the facility’s FIT processes. The OIG found the facility’s pre-printed FIT label did not include a space for the patient to record the date of collection, the laboratory manager and staff lacked knowledge and clarity about FIT stability, and primary care staff were unaware of the importance of the collection date.The OIG determined that facility and service line leaders missed opportunities to evaluate and resolve identified FIT labeling issues that were indicative of broader laboratory FIT processing failures. The OIG made two recommendations to the VISN Director related to oversight of laboratory FIT processing and three recommendations to the Facility Director related to ensuring compliance with FIT processes and ensuring specimen stability.

Audit Report for the FEC's FY 23 Annual FS Audit

The Office of the Inspector General contracted with the independent certified public accounting firm Ernst & Young LLP to audit: (1) the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) consolidated financial statements as of September 30, 2023 and the related notes to the consolidated financial statements; (2) the sustainability financial statements, including the statements of social insurance as of January 1, 2023 and the related notes to the sustainability financial statements; and (3) the statements of changes in social insurance amounts for the periods January 1, 2022 to January 1, 2023. The OIG also contracted with Ernst & Young to provide an opinion on internal control over financial reporting and report on compliance with laws, regulations, contracts, grant agreements, and other matters and to report on whether SSA’s financial management systems did not comply substantially with the requirements of the Federal Financial Management Improvement Act of 1996 (FFMIA). The contract requires that the audit be conducted in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States; Government Auditing Standards issued by the Comptroller General of the United States; and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Bulletin No. 24-01, Audit Requirements for Federal Financial Statements. Those Standards and Bulletin require that Ernst & Young plan and perform the audits to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free from material misstatement and whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects.