Federal Reports

In May 2016, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) initiated an investigation into an allegation that a high-level political appointee (Political Appointee) at an agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce (Agency) was using the Agency’s account with a local taxicab company (Cab Company) for personal trips that were notauthorized under Agency policy. OIG found that from September 2014 to May 2016, Political Appointee misused the Agency’s account with Cab Company by charging it for the cost of approximately 130 cab rides prohibited by Agency policy.

This Newsletter provides a bimonthly summary of selected investigative accomplishments.

U.S. Representative Kyrsten Sinema asked the OIG to evaluate the effectiveness of the Phoenix VA Health Care System’s (PVAHCS) management of its outpatient Medical Support Assistant (MSA) workforce. The OIG examined two allegations involving MSAs reported to the OIG but did not substantiate these allegations. The PVAHCS needs to ensure its outpatient MSA operations align with clinical operations. PVAHCS’s Health Administration Service (HAS) couldn’t account for the number and clinical location of almost 60 percent of its MSAs. The Office of Personnel Management’s hiring model allows agencies 80 days to fill a vacancy and VA’s metric allows 60 days to fill a vacancy. The OIG was not able to assess whether the PVAHCS filled MSA vacancies in accordance with these metrics because its Human Resources office did not maintain adequate documentation. Despite the inadequate documentation, the OIG concluded that the PVAHCS generally did not meet these metrics. HAS failed to place newly hired MSAs on performance plans within the required 60 days of starting their jobs. The PVAHCS did not use available employee survey data to improve MSA retention. HAS lacked effective processes to evaluate applicants and place MSAs on performance plans in a timely manner. The PVAHCS also did not implement processes to ensure MSA survey data was used to improve MSA retention. The OIG recommended the Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) 22 Director ensures the PVAHCS Director implements controls over its MSA resources, records accurate MSA hiring data, and uses incentives to hire human resources specialists. The OIG also recommended the PVAHCS Director implements practices to improve the timeliness of MSA selections, establishes controls to ensure MSAs receive timely performance plans, and evaluates the potential use of survey data. The VISN 22 Director concurred with these recommendations.

This management advisory is to alert the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) to an incident we discovered in which a DOI employee unnecessarily shared a spreadsheet containing the personally identifiable information (PII) of 182 employees from a number of DOI bureaus.During a recent investigation, we learned that the DOI employee created the spreadsheet for use in internal training and then emailed it to a group of from several DOI bureaus. Because the group members all got the same spreadsheet, they were able to access the PII of employees in DOI bureaus outside their own. We determined that the group members had no business- or training-related need for the PII of employees from other bureaus.The subject of our investigation attempted to send the list to his personal email account and intended to access it on his personal computer, which had software installed that made it vulnerable to outside access and control. Although the subject's attempt was blocked, the DOI employee's unnecessary transmittal of the spreadsheet to the entire group placed the PII of 182 employees at an increased risk of compromise. We encourage DOI to review its procedures for limiting access to PII only to those with a business need to know.

We audited costs claimed by the State of Connecticut’s Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) on Grant No. P13AF00113 with the National Park Service (NPS) to determine whether (1) they were reasonable, supported, allowable, and allocable and (2) the DECD complied with Federal regulations, State and NPS policies and procedures, and grant agreement terms and conditions. We also reviewed the use of grant funds for site survey work and determined that it was allowable under the governing legislation.We reviewed $5,002,392 in costs claimed between July 1, 2013, and March 31, 2017, and determined that $1,912 of the costs claimed by the DECD on the grant was unallowable, and that there was an undetermined amount of unallowable administrative costs under Federal regulations, State and NPS policies and procedures, and grant agreement terms and conditions. We also identified $244,978 in unallowable costs, but the DECD provided us with the required approval after we brought these costs to the DECD’s attention. In addition, we identified deficiencies in compliance. Specifically, the DECD:• Did not track administrative costs• Paid costs outside the period of performance without obtaining timely approval• Did not properly segregate Federal funds• Made an ineligible purchase of $1,912• Did not identify a computer in use as Federal Government property• Did not properly document subgrant monitoring• Did not properly complete the Federal Financial ReportsThese deficiencies occurred because the DECD misapplied or misunderstood the Federal regulations, State and NPS policies and procedures, and grant agreement terms and conditions. These deficiencies led to $1,912 in ineligible costs (for a computer charged to the grant but not used) and an undetermined amount of other questioned costs because the DECD did not properly track expenditures.In this audit report, we made nine recommendations to help the NPS develop policies and procedures to ensure the DECD’s compliance with Federal regulations, State and NPS policies and procedures, and grant agreement terms and conditions.

During an audit of the costs claimed by the State of Connecticut’s Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) on Grant No. P13AF00113 with the National Park Service (NPS), we found several issues with NPS oversight over the DECD’s performance. Specifically, the NPS did not:• Clearly define administrative costs when monitoring expenses• Properly review the Federal Financial Reports (SF-425s)• Document or communicate major funding changes to CongressIn this management advisory, we make three recommendations to the NPS to resolve these issues.

The Government Charge Card Abuse Prevention Act of 2012 (Public Law 112-194) requires Offices of Inspector General to, among other things, conduct periodic assessments of the government purchase card program to identify and analyze risks of illegal, improper, or erroneous purchases and payments. According to the Office of Management and Budget memorandum M-13-21, this risk assessment should be performed annually. The purpose of this special report is to fulfill the requirements of the Act and OMB guidance. Generally, we found that PBGC has policies and procedures in place to address the requirements in the Act, and has internal controls to assist in the monitoring of this program. Based on our review, we determined that the risk of illegal, improper, or erroneous purchases in PBGC’s Purchase Card program is low. We conclude that an OIG audit of this program is not warranted at this time.