Federal Reports

The OIG investigated allegations that an enrolled member of a Native American tribe paid bribes or kickbacks to an elected member of a tribal business committee in exchange for preference on tribal construction contracts.We did not substantiate the allegations. A financial analysis revealed no evidence to suggest the enrolled member received construction contracts awarded by the tribe or that he owned or operated a construction company. We also found no evidence that the enrolled member paid bribes or kickbacks to tribal officials.

A supervisor based at Sunnyside Yard in New York City was terminated on February 18, 2021, following an administrative hearing. The former employee violated company policies by fraudulently claiming and accepting payment for regular pay, overtime pay, or both during hours when he was not working. In addition, company rail pass records showed that his pass was in use on days when he also claimed work hours, indicating that either he claimed labor hours while he was on personal travel or that he allowed others to use his rail pass privileges.

This report presents the results of the U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) product billing rates, Project No. A-20-005. We contracted with the Independent Public Accounting firm, KPMG LLP (KPMG), to conduct this review. The objective was to determine if GPO’s rate structure allows the agency to identify and recover total costs for products and services in accordance with 44 U.S.C. § 309(b)(1).

The VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted an inspection to assess an allegation that the Cardiac Catheterization Lab (CCL) was closed due to concerns of risk to patients at the Samuel S. Stratton VA Medical Center (facility) in Albany, New York. The OIG did not receive a response from Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) 2 staff following an inquiry and subsequently opened the healthcare inspection.The OIG substantiated that the CCL was closed due to concerns of risk to patients and determined the closure was in response to issues including use of improper clinical procedural techniques, personnel disputes, and a hostile work environment. A facility fact-finding review identified concerns with communication and team dynamics among staff and suspended CCL procedures. The OIG found that VISN and facility leaders acted promptly to obtain unbiased assessments when they arranged for an external review of the CCL by the National Cardiology Program Office (NCPO). The NCPO made recommendations addressing the clinical judgment and technical skills of the CCL cardiologists. Facility leaders convened an administrative investigation board and initiated management reviews. Clinicians independent of the facility and well versed in interventional cardiology assessed the CCL cardiologists’ clinical competence. VISN and facility leaders decided that the CCL should remain closed indefinitely.According to the NCPO, its role is typically confined to advising the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) and facilities on policy matters. In this instance, the offering of recommendations by NCPO extended beyond policy matters and addressed operations, including the safe resumption of interventional cardiology at the facility. The OIG made three recommendations: two recommendations to the Under Secretary for Health regarding the designation of a VHA specialty leader in interventional cardiology and one recommendation to the VISN Director to review the circumstances that led to the failure to respond to an OIG inquiry.

We evaluated the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Land Buy-Back Program for Tribal Nations. We found that the Bureau of Indian Affairs violated Federal regulations by delegating land title authority to its Acquisition Center. The delegation of land title authority resulted in confusion about roles and responsibilities, allegations of title document defects, breakdown in communication between offices, and the potential for litigation. In addition, the improper delegation of land title authority could result in claims that the Department breached its fiduciary trust responsibilities by mismanaging tribal trust funds and could potentially place all program actions at risk of being invalidated.The offices involved in the Land Buy-Back Program have been working to address the land title authority and title document defect issues. On February 24, 2020, and May 22, 2020, the Bureau, in coordination with the Office of the Solicitor, updated two policies regarding the delegation of land title authority issues. An Office of the Solicitor official told us that these policy changes resolved the issues and that no further policy changes were needed. On June 3, 2020, the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs signed a corrective action plan regarding the missing land title document identified by a 2019 document review project.We make three recommendations to help the Department’s leadership ensure that program land acquisitions are legally defensible and to minimize risks that the Department will face liability. The Department responded to our draft report on September 10, 2020, and based on the response, we consider Recommendations 1 and 2 resolved and implemented and Recommendation 3 resolved but not implemented. Throughout the course of our review, we communicated our findings to the Department, and the Department took corrective actions to implement two of our recommendations before issuance of our draft report. We will refer Recommendation 3 to the Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management and Budget to track implementation.