Federal Reports

Why We Did This ReportThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Inspector General conducted this audit to determine whether the EPA complied with the Payment Integrity Information Act of 2019 for fiscal year 2023 reporting and to evaluate the EPA’s corrective action plans and efforts to prevent and reduce improper payments from prior audit recommendations. Summary of FindingsThe EPA complied with the requirements of the Payment Integrity Information Act of 2019, or PIIA, and the applicable Office of Management and Budget guidance for its fiscal year 2023 reporting. The EPA has made progress in resolving corrective action plans and efforts to prevent and reduce improper payments from prior audit recommendations, but Agency corrective actions are still in process. The Agency satisfied these requirements for PIIA compliance for FY 2023 but has an opportunity to improve internal controls to provide better oversight of its payment integrity activities.

What We Looked At    The Payment Integrity Information Act of 2019 (PIIA) requires agencies to identify, report, and reduce improper payments in programs susceptible to significant improper payments. The act also requires agencies to publish applicable payment integrity information in the materials accompanying their annual financial statements. Moreover, PIIA requires inspectors general to report annually on their agencies’ compliance. Accordingly, our audit objective was to determine whether the Department of Transportation (DOT) complied in fiscal year 2023 with PIIA’s requirements as prescribed by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).    What We FoundDOT was in compliance with PIIA requirements for fiscal year 2023. DOT reported improper payment estimates for two programs identified as susceptible to significant improper payments. The payment integrity information in DOT’s fiscal year 2023 Agency Financial Report and data posted to the Payment Accuracy website were accurate and complete. DOT’s corrective action plans were adequately designed, focused on root causes, and effectively implemented. DOT also published improper and unknown payment amounts and estimated future improper and unknown payment rates on the Payment Accuracy website in the financial statement materials. The Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) Transit Infrastructure Grant COVID Relief Funds Program did not meet its reduction target of 1 percent and reported estimated improper payments of 2.07 percent ($506.40 million). While FTA did not establish a tolerable rate for the program, the Operating Administration demonstrated improvements to payment integrity per OMB guidance by expanding its sampling and estimation methodology for fiscal year 2023 reporting and its corrective action plan. Additionally, DOT developed a plan to meet the reduction target and reported an improper and unknown payment estimate of less than 10 percent for all programs reporting improper payments in fiscal year 2023. The Department has also taken steps to recapture overpayments.    Our RecommendationsWe are making no recommendations at this time. 

The Office of Inspector General is tasked with ensuring efficiency, accountability, and integrity in the U.S. Postal Service. We also have the distinct mission of helping to maintain confidence in the mail and postal system, as well as to improve the Postal Service's bottom line. We use audits and investigations to help protect the integrity of the Postal Service. Our Semiannual Report to Congress presents a snapshot of the work we did to fulfill our mission for the six-month period ending March 31, 2024. Our dynamic report format provides readers with easy access to facts and information, as well as succinct summaries of the work by area. Links are provided to the full reports featured in this report, as well as to the appendices.