Federal Reports

The Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act (VACAA) of 2014 and VA Choice and Quality Employment Act (VCQEA) of 2017 requires the VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) to determine, annually, a minimum of five clinical and five nonclinical Veterans Health Administration (VHA) occupations with the largest staffing shortages within each VHA medical center (facility). Pursuant to this requirement, the OIG conducted a review to identify those severe staffing shortages by occupation. The OIG also compared the number of severe occupational staffing shortages against the previous seven years’ reports to assess changes.

The OIG surveyed VHA-identified facility points of contact to determine severe occupational staffing shortages at each facility. Among the most significant findings in this year’s staffing report were the following:
•    In fiscal year (FY) 2025, VHA facilities reported a total of 4,434 severe occupational staffing shortages, a 50 percent increase from FY 2024 in which facilities reported 2,959 total shortage occupations.
•    Ninety-four percent of facilities reported severe occupational staffing shortages for Medical Officer occupations, and 79 percent of facilities reported severe shortages for Nurse occupations.
•    Psychology was the most frequently reported severe clinical occupational staffing shortage and also the most frequently reported Hybrid Title 38 severe shortage occupation, with 57 percent of facilities reporting it as a shortage.
•    Police was reported as a shortage by 58 percent of facilities, making it the most frequently reported severe nonclinical occupational staffing shortage and the most frequently reported of all occupations.
•    All 139 VHA facilities identified staffing shortages.

VACAA and VCQEA established authority for the VA Secretary to grant VHA the authority to waive veterans’ preference requirements for external applicants to Hybrid Title 38 occupations, expanding the candidate pool for these occupations based on severe shortages.

The OIG made no recommendations.

The U.S. Postal Service needs effective and productive operations to fulfill its mission of providing prompt, reliable, and affordable mail service to the American public. It has a vast transportation network that moves mail and equipment among approximately 315 processing facilities and 31,200 post offices, stations, and branches. The Postal Service is transforming its processing and logistics networks to become more scalable, reliable, visible, efficient, automated, and digitally integrated. This includes modernizing operating plans and aligning the workforce; leveraging emerging technologies to provide world-class visibility and tracking of mail and packages in near real time; and optimizing the surface and air transportation network. The U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General reviews the efficiency of mail processing operations at facilities across the country and provides management with timely feedback to further the Postal Service’s mission. 

This report presents the results of our audit of the efficiency of operations at the St. Louis Processing and Distribution Center in St. Louis, MO. We selected the St. Louis area based on congressional inquiries from U.S. senators and representatives from Missouri and Illinois to conduct an audit of post offices and distribution centers in the St. Louis metro area.

The U.S. Postal Service’s mission is to provide timely, reliable, secure, and affordable mail and package delivery to more than 160 million residential and business addresses across the country. The U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General reviews delivery operations at facilities across the country and provides management with timely feedback in furtherance of this mission. 

This interim report presents the results of our audit of delivery operations and property conditions at the Maryville Gardens Station in St. Louis, MO. We selected the St. Louis area based on a congressional inquiry issued April 1, 2025, from U.S. senators and representatives from Missouri to conduct an audit of post offices and distribution centers in the St. Louis metro area. The Maryville Gardens Station is in the Kansas-Missouri District of the Central Area and serves ZIP Codes 63104, 63111, and 63118. These ZIP Codes serve about 63,912 people in predominantly urban communities.