Federal Reports

In collaboration with the American Samoa Territorial Audit Office, we audited the American Samoa Government (ASG) executive branch to determine whether it had effective internal controls to detect and prevent unauthorized use of government-owned and -leased vehicles. We determined that the executive branch did not have effective internal controls over its vehicles because the executive branch’s vehicle records were inaccurate and incomplete; the executive branch did not have a comprehensive, governmentwide policy to regulate and monitor the use of government-owned and -leased vehicles; and departments did not adhere to available guidance.We found the Office of Property Management’s vehicle records to be inaccurate and incomplete. Property management’s records for government-owned vehicles contained discrepancies and could not account for 143 out of 519 sampled government vehicles in the inventory records. Further, Property Management did not keep inventory records for government-leased vehicles.In addition, instead of developing comprehensive, governmentwide policy for vehicle control, the Governor’s Office issued GM No. 0003-13 as guidance. The memorandum directed the departments to develop their own individual policies for vehicle use, but did not did not establish timeframes, monitor progress, or impose remedial action for noncompliance.Finally, we found that the majority of departments sampled did not adhere to the general memorandum. These departments did not establish internal control policies to detect and prevent unauthorized use of vehicles, use vehicle-activity logs, follow guidance on the issuance of after-hours use permits, or monitor after-hours use of government vehicles. Only 1 of the 17 departments in our sample developed vehicle-use policies and actively used vehicle-activity logs; 2 departments either had vehicle-use policies or used vehicle-activity logs.Until the Governor’s Office addresses these issues, vehicles are at risk for being misused, misappropriated, lost, or stolen. We made 13 recommendations to address the weaknesses in the ASG’s policies and procedures to help it better account for and control inappropriate and unauthorized use of government-owned and -leased vehicles. Based on the ASG’s response and corrective action plan, we consider the recommendations resolved but not implemented and referred them to the Assistant Secretary for Insular and International Areas to track implementation.

We evaluated the policies and practices of the Office of Indian Services and the Office of Self Governance, two organizations within the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs (AS-IA) that manage aspects of distributing appropriated funds to American Indian and Alaska Native tribes. Our evaluation focused on whether funds from the Tiwahe Initiative, a pilot program that increases funding to all eligible tribes with the goal of funding social service and child welfare programs, was distributed accurately.The Office of Indian Services, the Office of Self Governance, and AS-IA each played a role in the process of distributing Tiwahe funds. The Office of Indian Services was tasked with selection of a funding criteria, methodology, and financial distribution to the Office of Self Governance, which is the recordkeeping entity and liaison for self-governance tribes (tribes that operate without direct Indian Affairs involvement). AS-IA oversaw the distribution and acted as a final arbiter in funding decisions.We found that many eligible tribes may not be receiving the funding they should be, and that this was due to:• The Office of Self Governance’s outdated tribal budget records, which were used in calculating the amounts of Tiwahe funding tribes would receive• The Office of Indian Services’ inconsistent application of the formula used to calculate the funding• Both offices’ failure to communicate with each other• The absence of policy at either office to manage major distributions like TiwaheWe estimate that tribes have been underfunded by at least $458,400 to date due to the use of outdated records. Because Tiwahe is a pilot program, its funding increases are supposed to be permanently added to the tribes’ budgets. Therefore, the effects of underfunding tribes may be felt long after Tiwahe ends. In addition, these inaccurate records could affect many future funding efforts, impacting the Department’s trust responsibility with the tribes.In our report, we make seven recommendations to AS-IA that will help correct issues with the Tiwahe distribution, manage the two offices, and improve the accuracy and efficiency of any future distributions affecting all eligible tribes. After reviewing a draft version of our report, AS-IA concurred with four of our recommendations, did not concur with two recommendations, and partially concurred with one.

We audited four agreements for law enforcement, tribal court, and the general assistance services, between the Blackfeet Tribe and the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) to determine whether: (1) the BIA oversaw the agreements in accordance with applicable Federal laws and regulations and BIA guidelines; (2) the costs were reasonable, supported, allowable, and allocable under Federal laws, regulations, and provisions of the contract; and (3) the Blackfeet Tribe complied with contract terms, Federal laws, and BIA guidance.We found that the BIA oversaw the law enforcement, tribal court and general assistance agreements with the Blackfeet Tribe. During our audit, we tested $2,271,160 in interim costs claimed by the Blackfeet Tribe from October 1, 2014, through June 30, 2017, and determined the costs claimed were reasonable, supported, allowable and allocable.We identified payroll errors and instances where tribal employees earned overtime during pay periods where paid leave was taken. These deficiencies occurred because the Tribe does not have an automated payroll system and has not developed a comprehensive overtime policy. As a result, we identified $50,366 in funds that can be put to a better use. In addition, we found that the Blackfeet Tribe complied with the agreements for the general assistance agreement but could improve compliance with its law enforcement and tribal court agreements.We make four recommendations to help the BIA oversee the Blackfeet Tribe’s compliance with its law enforcement and tribal court agreements. In response to our draft report, the BIA concurred with three of our recommendations and did not concur with one recommendation. Based on this response, we consider three recommendations resolved but not implemented and one recommendation unresolved.

We audited the interim costs incurred by the Crow Tribe under two contracts (Contract Nos. R11AV60120 and R12AV60002) with the Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) to fund various improvements to tribal water systems. For this audit, we reviewed $13,835,511 of the $20,999,510 in costs the Tribe claimed between October 1, 2014, and March 31, 2017.We found that the Tribe did not track and report its use of Federal funds in accordance with contract terms, applicable Federal laws and regulations, and USBR guidelines. We also found that the USBR did not oversee the contracts in accordance with applicable Federal laws and regulations and USBR guidelines. These issues caused us to question $12,808,434 in costs claimed under the contracts.We made 12 recommendations to help the USBR resolve the questioned costs and improve its oversight of the Tribe’s contracts. In its response to our draft report, the USBR concurred or partially concurred with all of our recommendations.

We reviewed six recommendations (Recommendations 3 and 5 – 9) presented in our September 2015 evaluation report titled Operation and Management of the Brinkerhoff Lodge at Grand Teton National Park, to verify that the National Park Service has implemented them.We confirmed that all six recommendations have been resolved and implemented.

We reviewed three recommendations (Recommendations 2 – 4) presented in our December 2011 evaluation report titled U.S. Department of the Interior’s Video Teleconferencing Usage, to verify that the Department and its bureaus have implemented them.We confirmed that all three recommendations have been resolved and implemented.

Postal Service International Service Centers (ISC) distribute and dispatch international mail to foreign countries. To assist in the enforcement of the export laws and regulations, the Postal Service and U.S. Postal Inspection Service use electronically generated customs declaration information to identify potential violations and determine whether a mailpiece should be entered into the mailstream or returned to sender. Our objective was to determine whether the export controls monitoring program mailpiece screening controls at the ISCs were adequate, effective, and followed to ensure international mailpieces mailed and destined for foreign countries are compliant with applicable regulations.

This OIG final report on the results of the audit of the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) acquisition planning activities. Objective: To determine if the FTC properly plans and awards contracts in accordance with applicable laws, regulations, and policies.

The VA Office of the Inspector General (OIG) reviewed VA’s Fiduciary Program to determine whether Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) staff finalized proposed incompetency determinations timely. The OIG found VBA delays in completing final competency determinations completed from March 1 through August 31, 2017, for beneficiaries who received proposals of incompetency. Delays in completing final competency determinations can result in “incompetent” beneficiaries receiving ongoing benefits payments for extended periods without the protection of a VA-appointed fiduciary, putting these benefits at risk. The OIG estimated 13,600 unprotected beneficiaries received $62.4 million in monthly ongoing benefits payments.Also, delays in final competency determinations resulted in both competent and incompetent beneficiaries waiting longer for withheld retroactive benefits. The OIG estimated that about 12,400 beneficiaries had nearly $77.5 million in VA retroactive benefits payments withheld while awaiting final competency determinations.The OIG identified several causes for delays, including non-integrated information technology systems, the lack of prioritization of final competency determinations, National Work Queue routing rules not following VBA policy, and limited staff access to the Legacy Content Manager.The OIG made six recommendations related to entering cases requiring final competency determinations into the Beneficiary Fiduciary Field System, reminding VBA staff of their responsibility to notify Fiduciary Hubs when waivers are received, ensuring Fiduciary Hub staff have access to documents in the Legacy Content Manager, prioritizing processing of final competency determinations, meeting VBA’s established timeliness standard, and distributing final competency determinations according to VBA policy.

The VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted this audit to determine VA’s compliance with the West Los Angeles Leasing Act of 2016 (Act). This Act requires that all real property leases and land sharing agreements involving the West Los Angeles (WLA) campus—part of the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System (GLAHS) in California—principally benefit veterans and their families. Specifically, the OIG assessed whether such leases and other land use agreements were used for purposes allowed under the Act, comply with other federal laws, are veteran-focused and consistent with VA’s objective to revitalize its WLA campus, and were managed effectively. The OIG reviewed 40 land use agreements and determined that 11 did not comply with the WLA Leasing Act, other applicable federal laws, or the Draft Master Plan (DMP). Also, 14 non-VA entities were operating on campus with either an expired or no documented agreement. The OIG determined these noncompliant arrangements resulted from insufficient veteran input on land use, unclear VA policies on what constituted appropriate use of “out leases” and revocable licenses, and incomplete capital asset inventory land use agreement records maintained by GLAHS.Further, although WLA is making progress to implement the DMP, is not on track to meet its revised milestone to provide 484 permanent supportive housing units by September 2020. The OIG recommended VA implement a plan that puts the WLA campus in compliance with the Act, the DMP, and other federal laws. VA should also ensure all agreements are compliant with the Act, create a process to obtain input from the veteran community advisory board on campus land use, update policies and procedures, and ensure the capital asset inventory reflects all agreements.