Federal Reports

This Semiannual Report to Congress summarizes the activities of our office for the 6-month period

The Office of the Inspector General audited the savings guaranteed to the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) by DeWolff, Boberg & Associates, Inc., (DBA) for work management improvement services. DBA guaranteed efficiency and productivity gains would result in minimum total cost savings to TVA of $17,971,760. Our objective was to determine if DBA complied with the terms of the contract and achieved the guaranteed cost savings. Although we did not find evidence of noncompliance with the contract, we could not determine if DBA achieved the guaranteed cost savings. We could not determine if the metrics used to measure improvements were valid, because TVA did not have management controls in place to ensure consistency. Accordingly, we could not determine the value TVA received from the $16.17 million it paid to DBA. Summary Only

There are ongoing debates regarding what role the Postal Service could and should play in meeting modern communications needs. These discussions often include Postal Service management, the postal regulator, postal employees and customers, members of Congress, and other stakeholders. Largely absent from the debate, however, has been the voice of the American public — the very people that the Postal Service exists to serve. To begin to understand America’s changing communications needs, the OIG commissioned a study to better understand how Americans view the Postal Service now, as well as what role it could play in their lives in the future. This paper provides the results of that survey and is intended to be the basis for more in-depth follow-up research into topics this initial survey identifies as important.