Federal Reports

What We Looked AtMoving international cargo across the United States-Mexico border, including via long-haul trucks, is essential to our economy. Pursuant to the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) Implementation Act, in August 2021, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) submitted a report to Congress on all existing grants of operating authority to, and pending applications for operating authority from, all Mexico-domiciled and Mexican-owned or -controlled motor property carriers with authority to operate beyond the United States-Mexico border commercial zones. The USMCA Statement of Administrative Action directed our office to review the Department’s actions to determine whether each motor carrier with any operating authority covered by FMCSA’s reporting requirement complies with applicable Federal motor carrier safety laws and regulations. Our objectives were to determine whether FMCSA (1) met requirements in authorizing Mexico-domiciled and Mexican-owned or -controlled motor carriers to conduct long-haul trucking operations beyond border commercial zones and (2) monitored those carriers to ensure they are operating safely. What We FoundFMCSA generally followed Federal regulations and its standard operating procedures and processes when provisionally authorizing and monitoring cross-border carriers’ long-haul operations in the United States. The Agency also has an adequate tracking system to determine when carriers are due for a review to ensure they are complying with these regulations. However, FMCSA did not always conduct timely compliance reviews of carriers operating under provisional authority, which hinders FMCSA’s ability to fully assess and mitigate carrier safety risks, resulting in increased risk that unsafe carriers may be operating on the Nation’s roadways. Our RecommendationsFMCSA concurred with our three recommendations to improve its adherence to requirements in authorizing and monitoring Mexico-domiciled and Mexican-owned or -controlled motor carriers. We consider these recommendations resolved but open pending completion of planned actions.

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 (DOJ) or a non-DOJ federal agency had fully implemented them. The list omits information that DOJ 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.

EAC OIG, through the independent public accounting firm of McBride, Lock & Associates, LLC, audited $15.2 million in funds received by the State of Alaska under the Help America Vote Act. The objectives of the audit were to determine whether the Office of the Lieutenant Governor of Alaska: 1) used funds for authorized purposes in accordance with Section 101 and Section 251 of HAVA and other applicable requirements; 2) properly accounted for and controlled property purchased with HAVA payments; and 3) used the funds in a manner consistent with the informational plans provided to EAC. The audit also determined if proper closeout procedures were followed for the CARES Act funds.