Federal Reports

Spinal conditions account for two of VA’s top 10 service-connected disabilities, totaling some 1.5 million cases as of September 30, 2018. The VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted this review after determining disability claims related to conditions of the spine have a higher risk of processing errors, which can result in veterans not receiving the proper benefits. The OIG estimated the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) incorrectly processed more than half of the 62,500 claims decided in the first six months of 2018, accounting for at least $5.9 million in either over- or underpayments. Processing errors included improper evaluations, missed secondary conditions, and evaluations based on inadequate exams. The OIG found these incorrectly decided claims resulted from VBA’s inadequate process for ensuring accurate and complete evaluation. VBA’s primary means of evaluating disability contains minimal guidance and a procedure manual is too subjective in key areas, which can lead to an inconsistent evaluation for related conditions stemming from the primary disability. During the review, VBA acknowledged issues the OIG identified were problematic and that it has taken steps to update some of its tools and guidance. VBA has also initiated mandatory training to help employees who approve and review claims better understand medical opinions. The OIG recommended the under secretary for benefits instruct VBA to update its disability rating process to establish objective criteria for spine-related conditions and improve VBA’s internal controls to help ensure the accuracy and consistency of claims decisions for conditions of the spine.

The Gardena Post Office has 56 city delivery routes and one combination route delivered by 91 city carriers. We used geolocation data to identify units with stop-the-clock (STC) scans that occurred at the delivery unit property instead of the intended delivery address. These scans occurred on multiple routes and were intended for multiple delivery addresses throughout the timeframe. The unit had 29,602 STC scans at the delivery unit between April and June 2019. Our objective was to evaluate the package delivery scanning process on select routes at Gardena Post Office.

This management alert presents issues identified during our ongoing audit of U.S. Postal Service Transportation Network Operations and Cost Optimization Practices. The objective of this management alert was to provide Postal Service officials immediate notification of the issues identified during our ongoing audit. The issue outlined in this report requires immediate attention and remediation.

OIG reviewed FS’ controls over its use of 2018 supplemental disaster appropriations intended for FS-related activities to respond to and recover from natural disasters.

We evaluated the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement’s (BSEE’s) $316 million flight services contract in response to concerns regarding flight services in the Gulf of Mexico Region (GOMR).We found that contracting for helicopter flight services is the best mechanism to accomplish BSEE’s offshore inspections in GOMR. Although BSEE acted to reduce costs related to its helicopter flight services contract, we identified issues that should be addressed to reduce safety risks to personnel and reduce the risk of waste or abuse related to the contract. Specifically, we found that a helicopter company has denied access to refuel at its stations in GOMR. In addition, we found areas for improvement in BSEE’s internal controls regarding flight hours billed to the contract.We make five recommendations to help BSEE address issues related to its helicopter flight services contract. BSEE concurred with all five recommendations. We consider the recommendations resolved but not implemented.

What We Looked AtAccording to data from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), roughly 27,000 rail accidents and 29,000 highway-rail grade crossing incidents occurred between 2006 and 2018, causing 10,004 fatalities, 3,508 of which occurred at grade crossings. Crossing incidents are the second leading cause of rail-related deaths after trespassing, and the leading cause of all railroad accidents. Risk of incidents at grade crossings grows as highway and train traffic increase. Both FRA and Members of Congress have expressed concern about these numbers despite long-term focus on the area. Statutes such as the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 and the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act of 2015 require States to use data-driven action plans to improve crossing safety.In 2005, we reported that FRA investigated very few crossing incidents, and in 2007, we reported that the information on grade crossing incidents in FRA's national accident database did not always include accurate or timely information, with some incidents being reported up to 3 years late or not at all. Due to the number of grade crossing fatalities and need to update OIG's prior work on this topic, we initiated this audit. Our objectives were to assess FRA's (1) collection of grade crossing incident and investigation data and (2) use of these data to reduce grade crossing collisions.What We FoundFRA has effective procedures to determine whether grade crossing incident data are complete and accurate. We also found that FRA has not updated its accident prediction formula since 2013, and lacks a comprehensive compliance manual for grade crossing teams.RecommendationsWe made two recommendations to ensure FRA has the tools and guidance needed to effectively identify, inspect, and improve at-risk grade crossings. FRA concurred with both recommendations.