Federal Reports

On November 5, 2024, Senator Bill Hagerty requested that the OIG assess VA’s compliance with statutory transfer of funds limitations listed in relevant appropriations laws in effect during the continuing resolution. According to Senator Hagerty, the statutory transfer of funds authority and change of program requirements under the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 would continue to apply during the presidential transition and continuing resolution. The OIG limited its review to the eight sections of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 that Senator Hagerty listed in a letter to the previous VA Secretary. The OIG reviewed sections 202, 217, 218, 227, 230, 231, 245, 405, and this management advisory memorandum conveys the results of the review.

The OIG found no issues with six of the eight sections. For the four sections that included transfers, the team noted that there were no applicable transfers during the review period. Additionally, VA received advanced approval for the reprogramming of major construction project funds greater than $7 million as required in section 231. The team also analyzed conversions and did not identify any that qualified for the requirements under section 245; VA confirmed no qualifying conversions occurred. While the OIG found quarterly reports provided under section 217 were late, it is not requesting action because a recommendation from a previously published OIG report in this area remains open. Finally, under section 227, the team found, in some cases, VA did not notify Congress 15 days before organizational changes that resulted in the transfer of 25 or more full-time equivalents from one organizational unit of the department to another as required. The OIG requested that the Office of Management inform the OIG what action, if any, is taken to notify Congress 15 days before any organizational changes involving the transfer of 25 or more full-time equivalents.

The VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) Vet Center Inspection Program provides a focused evaluation of aspects of the quality of care delivered at vet centers. This inspection report evaluated four randomly selected vet centers throughout Midwest district 3 zone 1: Fort Wayne, Indiana; Detroit and Escanaba, Michigan; and Cincinnati, Ohio.

This OIG inspection focused on four review areas: suicide prevention; consultation, supervision, and training; outreach; and environment of care. The suicide prevention review evaluated vet center staff participation in VA medical facility mental health executive council meetings, resulting in one recommendation across three of the four inspected vet centers. The consultation, supervision, and training review evaluated external clinical consultation, monthly client record reviews, and completion of select trainings resulting in two recommendations related to external clinical consultation and training across all four inspected vet centers. The outreach review evaluated outreach plan completion, inclusion of strategic components, and tailoring of outreach activities to eligible individuals, which resulted in one recommendation across all four inspected vet centers. The environment of care review evaluated vet centers’ physical environment and general safety resulting in four recommendations across all four inspected vet centers and two recommendations to the Readjustment Counseling Service Chief Officer.

The OIG issued a total of 10 recommendations for improvement.

This report presents the results of our evaluation of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) handling of cash contributions and gifts. We found SBA generally complied with established guidance over the solicitation, acceptance, holding, and use of cash contributions and gifts totaling $520,000 during fiscal year 2024 from National Small Business Week cosponsors. However, we found SBA should improve its agency vetting form to show that each potential cosponsor was clear of conflicts of interest concerns before agency officials signed cosponsorship agreements.

As a result of our review, the SBA Office of Strategic Alliances took immediate actions to update the form used to vet conflicts of interest for cosponsors showing the Office of General Counsel’s review and clearance of potential conflicts of interest. Therefore, we did not make any recommendations in this report.

The VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) Vet Center Inspection Program provides a focused evaluation of aspects of the quality of care delivered at vet centers. This inspection report evaluated four randomly selected vet centers throughout Midwest district 3 zone 3: Des Moines and Sioux City, Iowa; Kansas City, Missouri; and Rapid City, South Dakota.

This OIG inspection focused on four review areas: suicide prevention; consultation, supervision, and training; outreach; and environment of care. The suicide prevention review evaluated vet center staff participation in VA medical facility mental health executive council meetings and all four inspected vet centers were compliant. The consultation, supervision, and training review evaluated external clinical consultation, monthly client record reviews, and completion of select trainings resulting in one recommendation related to training at one of the four inspected vet centers. The outreach review evaluated outreach plan completion, inclusion of strategic components, and tailoring of outreach activities to eligible individuals, which resulted in one recommendation at three of the inspected four vet centers. The environment of care review evaluated vet centers’ physical environment and general safety resulting in three recommendations across all four inspected vet centers.

The OIG issued a total of five recommendations for improvement.
 

NASA missions are dependent on infrastructure, including testing facilities, laboratories, and launch pads, that face the threat of extreme weather events. To address weather-related vulnerabilities of its infrastructure, NASA has integrated resilience efforts into existing processes across various Agency programs. However, this approach lacks clear communication and formal guidance, and the Agency is not effectively tracking or measuring the success of its efforts to address weather-related risks.