Federal Reports

We conducted a limited review of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Office of the Chief Procurement Officer’s (OCPO) administration of five procurement activities under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). The CARES Act and related Office of Management and Budget memorandums gave HUD flexibility in modifying existing contracts and required rapid delivery of CARES Act funds. Our objective was to determine what HUD had done to accommodate contractors’ pandemic-related issues while ensuring that HUD met its business objectives. In addition, our objective included determining what challenges HUD encountered in procuring and administering its contracts during the pandemic. Based upon a limited review of five COVID-19-related contract transactions and our understanding of the prepandemic controls and policies that HUD had in place, HUD was adequately prepared before the pandemic to accommodate contractors’ pandemic-related issues while ensuring that HUD met its business objectives. Because HUD was adequately prepared, it did not encounter substantial challenges in procuring and administering its contracts. HUD used its existing policies, procedures, and systems to modify contracts to allow contractor accommodations. We did not make any recommendations to HUD.

We conducted a performance audit of a National Endowment for the Arts (Arts Endowment) award issued to the Kansas Department of Commerce (KDC). Based on our review, we determined KDC generally met the financial and compliance requirements set forth in the award documents. However, we identified the following areas requiring improvement. For instance, KDC: did not report actual costs on its Federal Financial Report; did not document its methodology for recording and reporting allocated payroll costs for Arts Endowment awards; and did not have written policies and procedures in place to ensure that contractors are not debarred or suspended prior to the award of Federal funds. Thus, we are questioning overstated costs totaling $950. We have made two recommendations for KDC to improve these areas, and one recommendation to the Arts Endowment regarding the questioned costs.

In this audit, we evaluated NASA’s management of cooperative agreements it had with Universities Space Research Association, specifically management and oversight of 21 active cooperative agreements valued at approximately $476 million.

What We Looked AtThe primary mission of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is to reduce crashes, injuries, and fatalities involving large trucks and buses. To that end, FMCSA regulates commercial driver’s license (CDL) holders involved in interstate commerce and the transportation of hazardous materials. In the last 5 years, fatalities in crashes involving large trucks or buses increased by 12.4 percent, from 4,505 in 2014 to 5,064 in 2019. Federal regulations describe the minimum standards States must meet to comply with the Federal CDL program and permits FMCSA to review each State CDL program to determine compliance. Accordingly, the objective for this self-initiated audit was to assess FMCSA’s oversight of States’ actions to disqualify commercial drivers when warranted. What We FoundStates did not timely transmit electronic conviction notifications 17 percent of the time. Specifically, we estimate that States of Conviction did not timely transmit 18 percent of 2,182 major offenses and 17 percent of 23,628 serious traffic violations in our universe. We also estimate that 11 percent of 2,182 major offenses were not timely posted and 2 percent of 23,628 serious traffic violations in our universe were not posted to driver records at all. While States did take action to disqualify CDLs when appropriate, with exceptions, FMCSA’s evaluation of paper conviction notifications is limited by States’ processes for recording and tracking convictions sent by mail. Furthermore, FMCSA's Annual Program Review process lacks adequate quality control measures for verifying that State CDL programs meet Federal requirements. Finally, State noncompliance with Federal CDL disqualification requirements and other State actions pose challenges for FMCSA’s oversight. For example, some States offered administrative appeals to out-of-State drivers, overturned disqualifications, and backdated CDL disqualification periods. As a result, some drivers served shorter disqualification time periods than Federal law requires. Our RecommendationsWe made seven recommendations to strengthen FMCSA’s oversight of States’ actions to comply with Federal CDL disqualification requirements. FMCSA concurred with all seven recommendations, which we consider resolved but open pending completion of the planned actions.

The unclassified version of the SAR covers the period from October 1, 2020 through March 31, 2021, and reflects what the NSA OIG could release publicly about its work for that SAR Report Cover reporting period. The OIG issued 16 oversight products during the period, making 256 recommendations that we believe will be impactful in improving the economy, efficiency, and effectiveness of this critical Agency's operations. NSA's management agreed with all OIG recommendations that were made during the reporting period. The Director of the NSA and Congress previously received the classified version of the SAR in accordance with the IG Act.

To see our report, click on the link below