Federal Reports

The VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted a review in response to a Hotline complaint alleging that the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) Office of Transition, Employment, and Economic Impact (OTEEI) authorized printing services that were out of scope, resulting in an unauthorized commitment. The complainant also alleged that OTEEI misused the General Operating Expense (GOE) Appropriation to develop and maintain a dashboard and purchase Information Technology (IT) equipment and software. The OIG substantiated the allegation that VBA’s Chief of Transition executed an unauthorized commitment when he notified CALIBRE to print Transition Assistance Program training materials. As a result, OTEEI inappropriately obligated and spent approximately $2.1 million. The OIG also substantiated the allegation that OTEEI inappropriately obligated and spent approximately $9.6 million of its GOE Appropriation, rather than the IT Systems Appropriation, to develop and maintain a dashboard and purchase IT equipment and software. As a result, OTEEI committed statutory violations totaling about $11.7 million, resulting in improper payments. OTEEI also committed a Purpose Statute violation and may have violated the Antideficiency Act, pending the adjustments to its appropriation accounts. The OIG made three recommendations to include taking action to remedy the unauthorized commitment, obtaining appropriate funding for all future IT costs, and making account adjustments to debit the IT account and credit the GOE account.

The AbilityOne Central Nonprofit Agencies (CNAs) oversight audit plan aligns with the Fiscal Years (FY) 2018-2019 OIG Audit Plan, and the Top Management and Performance Challenges Report facing the Commission.

The objective of this audit is to determine whether voided Postage Validation Imprinter (PVI) label refunds and Customer Metered Mail Postage refunds were properly issued, supported, and processed at the Secaucus Main Office. The PVI is a printing device attached to a point-of-sale terminal that produces a postage label for payment of postage and fees. The OIG Field Financial Risk Model identified Secaucus, NJ, Main Post Office Refund & Void dollars increased 822 percent from April 1 to September 30, 2017, compared to the same period in fiscal year (FY) 2016. Voided PVI label activity increased from $2,073 to $5,877, and refunds for customer metered mail postage increased from $749 to $26,121 for the same comparison period.

In accordance with our Fiscal Year 2018 Annual Plan, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted an analysis of the United States Capitol Police (USCP or the Department) compensatory (comp) time. The objectives of our analysis were to (1) evaluate the financial impact of comp time on the Department's overtime budget and (2) assess the effectiveness of the Department's policies and procedures. Our scope included comp time for Calendar Years (CYs) 2014 through 2017.