Federal Reports

The letter report addresses the requirements of the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act and presents the rationale for why the Act does not apply to NEA.

The objective of this review was to determine the status of Grant No. 12-6200-7033 and HRAC's current financial condition. The review was conducted in accordance with the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency's Quality Standards for Inspections and Evaluations, as applicable, and concluded that the Houma Regional Arts Council (HRAC) did not comply with financial management system requirements. HRAC could not account for funds received from NEA or provide supporting documentation for costs charged to the grant. In addition, HRAC did not submit the Final Descriptive Report or Federal Financial Report for the award. Further, HRAC did not maintain an active registration in the General Services Administration's System for Award Management.

In accordance with Section 3 (b) of Public Law 111-204, Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act of 20 IO (hereafter referred to as IPERA), this memorandum communicated the results of the OIG's determination of the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) compliance with applicable provisions of IPERA during the FTC's fiscal year 2014 activities.

The U.S. Postal Service spends more than $800 million each year to lease 23,000 buildings across the country. We took a closer look at the leases in the Eastern Area, one of seven postal areas. We found the Postal Service could potentially shave off $2.2 million out of $111 million in annual lease costs in that area by renegotiating 77 leases that are due to expire over the next 2 years.