Federal Reports

Department of Homeland Security component collaboration on law enforcement virtual training simulators is limited. Specifically, components are not always aware of other DHS components’ research, purchases, capabilities, or availability of law enforcement virtual training simulators.

The Office of the Inspector General included an audit of the Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA) Back to Business Credit Program (Program) in our annual audit plan due to reputational and financial risks associated with the Program. Our audit objective was to determine if adequate controls were in place to ensure Back to Business credits were provided to businesses in compliance with Program guidelines. Our audit scope was all $13.1 million in credits issued during the life of the Program (April 2020 through September 2021).We found controls were adequate to ensure the Program credits were accurately calculated in accordance with Program guidance. However, we found some credits were not passed from the local power company to the customer. We also determined the Program did not have controls needed to more appropriately achieve the stated objective. Specifically, the Program did not include controls needed to (1) verify the reduced on-peak demand was due to a reduced level of operations as a result of COVID-19 and (2) specify how/when customers were considered back to prepandemic operating conditions.

For this report, we assessed the adequacy of the U.S. Census Bureau’s (the Bureau's) quality control processes to ensure the data collected during the 2020 Decennial Census (2020 Census) was complete and accurate. This report discusses lessons learned during the nonresponse followup (NRFU) operations for the 2020 Census: I. Students were likely undercounted at off-campus addresses despite outreach efforts; II. A significant number of NRFU enumerations were completed using a proxy; and III. The Bureau’s improper execution of its 2020 Census Quality Assurance Plan may have adversely affected data quality. While the 2020 Census operations have concluded, we suggest proposed actions for change from these lessons learned to inform the research and planning efforts for the 2030 Census.