Federal Reports

Seamless Acceptance automates the entry and verification of commercial mailings by leveraging electronic mailing documentation (eDoc). The eDoc contains detailed information on the mailing, and the Intelligent Mail barcode on pallets, trays, sacks, and mailpieces. Commercial mailings receive workshare discounts for types of mail preparation or mail processing activities (for example, presorting, prebarcoding, and transporting) normally performed by the Postal Service. Seamless Acceptance uses census and sampling verification to validate proper mail preparation for the discounts claimed and postage paid by mailers. The U.S. Postal Service regularly provides feedback to mailers on errors identified and assessments when errors exceed established thresholds. As of July 2021, there were 1,840 participants.Our objective was to evaluate the use of Seamless Acceptance to assess mail quality and mail errors.

This Office of Inspector General (OIG) Comprehensive Healthcare Inspection Program report provides a focused evaluation of the quality of care delivered in the inpatient and outpatient settings of the VA Connecticut Healthcare System. The inspection covered key clinical and administrative processes that are associated with promoting quality care. It focused on Leadership and Organizational Risks; COVID-19 Pandemic Readiness and Response; Quality, Safety, and Value; Registered Nurse Credentialing; Medication Management: Remdesivir Use in VHA; Mental Health: Emergency Department and Urgent Care Center Suicide Risk Screening and Evaluation; Care Coordination: Inter-facility Transfers; and High-Risk Processes: Management of Disruptive and Violent Behavior.The healthcare system’s executive leadership team appeared stable, with all positions permanently assigned. The leaders had worked together for nine months, although two of the leaders had served in their positions for several years. Employee survey data revealed that staff felt generally respected and discrimination was not tolerated. Patients were generally satisfied with the care provided. The OIG’s review of the medical center’s accreditation findings did not identify any organizational risks. However, the OIG identified concerns with the patient safety and risk management program related to identification of sentinel events and completion of institutional disclosures. Executive leaders were knowledgeable about selected data used in Strategic Analytics for Improvement and Learning models and should continue to take actions to sustain and improve performance.The OIG issued eight recommendations for improvement in four areas:(1) Quality, Safety, and Value• Surgical work group attendance(2) Mental Health• Suicide prevention training(3) Care Coordination• Patient transfer policy• Patient transfer monitoring and evaluation• Transfer form completion• Nurse-to-nurse communication(4) High-Risk Processes• Disruptive behavior committee attendance• Staff training

This is a publication by GAO's Office of Inspector General (OIG). The OIG contracted with the independent certified public accounting firm of Williams Adley to audit GAO's compliance with the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014 (DATA Act), and produce this report. This report addresses (1) the accuracy, completeness, timeliness, and quality of GAO's Fiscal Year (FY) 2020, fourth quarter financial and award data submitted for publication on USASpending.gov and (2) GAO's implementation and use of the Government-wide financial data standards established by the OMB and the Department of Treasury, as required by the DATA Act of 2014. The audit found that GAO's data submitted for the fourth quarter of FY 2020 was accurate, complete, timely, of excellent quality, and in accordance with data standards.

This report contains information about recommendations from the OIG's audits, evaluations, reviews, and other reports that the OIG had not closed as of the specified date because it had not determined that the Department of Justice had fully implemented them. The list omits information that the Department of Justice determined to be limited official use or classified, and therefore unsuitable for public release.The status of each recommendation was accurate as of the specified date and is subject to change. Specifically, a recommendation identified as not closed as of the specified date may subsequently have been closed.

Management Advisory on Controlling and Protecting Sensitive FTC Information

John Flores, a former Amtrak reservation sales agent based in Riverside, California, pleaded guilty on September 29, 2021 in U.S. District Court, Central District of California, to theft from programs receiving federal funds. Our investigation found that Flores stole hundreds of eVouchers valued at over $25,000 from customers’ accounts by exploiting the company’s computer system and resold them for his own personal gain. Flores previously resigned from the company on May 2, 2017.Flores will be sentenced at a future date.

Additional Steps Are Needed For the SEC To Implement a Well-Defined Enterprise Architecture, Report No. 568