Federal Reports

At the request of the Tennessee Valley Authority's (TVA) Supply Chain, we examined the cost proposal submitted by a company for performance of nonnuclear modification and supplemental maintenance services. Our examination objective was to determine if the company's cost proposal was fairly stated for a planned 5-year, $579 million contract.In our opinion, the company's cost proposal was overstated. Specifically, we found the proposed markup rate for recovery of the company's workers' compensation and general liability costs exceeded the markup rate and application base provided for in TVA's request for proposal (RFP). We estimated TVA could avoid about $4.39 million over the planned $579 million contract by negotiating revised workers' compensation and general liability insurance markup rates and application base to comply with the RFP requirements.(Summary Only)

The EPA Office of Inspector General has observed that grantees and subrecipients may not be fully aware of key fraud prevention and enforcement measures.

We audited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Office of the Chief Procurement Officer’s use of its quality assurance surveillance plan (QASP) for its Atlanta Homeownership Center field service management (FSM) housing contracts. We initiated the audit to support HUD’s priority on increasing efficiency in procurement. An assessment of HUD’s use of its QASP, as part of its 3.10 FSM 5-year contract solicitation, could help HUD improve its overall effectiveness in contract administration. Our audit objective was to determine whether HUD effectively administered QASPs for its FSM contracts to assist in achieving HUD’s mission.HUD’s Atlanta Homeownership Center did not effectively develop and implement a QASP for the six FSM contracts reviewed. It did not (1) include all contract performance tasks requiring surveillance in its monitoring plans, (2) sufficiently review and accurately rate contractor performance, or (3) consistently document contractor performance in the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS). These conditions occurred because HUD lacked controls to ensure that the QASP was used for contractor performance monitoring. Instead, HUD implemented a field service manager contract monitoring plan to measure contractor performance in a freestanding database, which did not include all performance standard tasks required for monitoring and did not align with the contracts’ acceptable quality levels of performance measurement. As a result, HUD lacked the structure necessary to ensure that contractors were held accountable for their performance in accordance with contractual requirements.We recommend that HUD’s Chief Procurement Officer (1) direct the contracting officers to update the QASP to include all minimum performance requirements and oversee the implementation of the QASP with HUD’s FSM contracts, (2) require the contracting officers to timely complete CPARS reports and submissions to the governmentwide system for use by all Federal agencies, (3) require all staff involved in FSM contracts’ oversight to maintain required documentation to support the contracts, and (4) require the contracting officers to designate contracting officer representatives in a timely manner. We also recommend that the Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Single Family Housing ensure that contracting officer representatives (1) are involved with the development, implementation, and documentation of the FSM QASP to monitor contractor performance; (2) ensure that ratings are aligned with the contract; and (3) complete CPARS in a timely manner.

We audited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Public Housing Voucher Programs’ oversight of the Foster Youth to Independence Initiative (FYI). We audited the program early in its implementation to identify opportunities to improve the program’s design and effectiveness. Our audit objective was to determine the effectiveness of FYI.Opportunities exist to enhance oversight of the Foster Youth to Independence Initiative to improve program effectiveness. Specifically, HUD did not (1) implement strategies or provide guidance to maximize voucher utilization, (2) have assurance that youths were informed of supportive services or that the services were available for the duration of their participation, (3) include FYI in its annual risk assessment and did not have FYI program-specific risk assessment or monitoring policies and procedures, or (4) establish specific and measurable objectives for FYI or collect data that would allow it to assess the program’s overall effectiveness. These conditions occurred because the program was new, and HUD focused on providing housing vouchers to public housing agencies (PHA). Also, HUD was focused on the monitoring and use of CARES Act funds and relied on the PHAs and public child welfare agencies (PCWA) for program oversight of participant eligibility and supportive services. As a result, HUD lacked assurance that the $46.7 million allocated for FYI vouchers would be fully utilized to reach the vulnerable population it is intended to serve, improve the program participants’ self-sufficiency, and that the program was effective.We recommend that the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Housing Voucher Programs (1) develop and implement a plan to assist PHAs in improving voucher utilization, including providing additional guidance to PHAs to improve coordination between PHAs and PCWAs to improve voucher utilization and limit barriers to leasing; (2) require PHAs to document that they informed FYI participants at program entry of their eligibility for supportive services for the duration of the program; (3) For each youth referred, require PHAs to obtain PCWA certification that the PCWA will provide or secure access to supportive services.; (4) include FYI in its voucher risk assessment and develop and implement monitoring policies, procedures, and controls; and (5) establish and implement methods to regularly assess the effectiveness of the program in preventing and ending youth homelessness and improving participants self-sufficiency, which could include performance metrics and periodic studies performed by the Office of Policy Development and Research (PD&R).