Federal Reports

According to a nuclear industry peer organization, ensuring the right spare and replacement items are available when they are needed to support critical plant equipment is essential to minimizing equipment unavailability and optimizing generation. Nuclear Power Group Standard Programs and Processes 09.18.8, Equipment Obsolescence Program, defines obsolete equipment as an item in plant service no longer manufactured or otherwise difficult to procure and qualify. It establishes methods for (1) identification of obsolete items, (2) prioritization of obsolescence issues, and (3) resolution of obsolescence issues critical to plant reliability. Based on a previous evaluation that identified obsolescence issues negatively impacting equipment at the Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA) nuclear sites, we performed an evaluation of TVA Nuclear obsolete equipment to determine if TVA Nuclear was effectively managing obsolete equipment. We determined TVA Nuclear’s management of obsolete equipment could be improved. Specifically, we found (1) some obsolescence issues were not being proactively resolved, (2) proactive analytics and vulnerability reviews were not being performed, and (3) there was a lack of ownership and engagement in the obsolescence program. We also identified an opportunity for improvement related to prioritization of obsolescence issues.

The audit objectives were to determine whether program funds were managed in accordance with the ARC and Federal grant requirements.

The audit objectives were to determine whether program funds were managed in accordance with the ARC and Federal grant requirements.

The audit objectives were to determine whether program funds were managed in accordance with the ARC and Federal grant requirements.

The audit objectives were to determine whether program funds were managed in accordance with the ARC and Federal grant requirements.

NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative was designed to provide rapid, affordable, and frequent payload deliveries to the Moon via commercial lunar landers. In this report, we assessed NASA’s management of the CLPS initiative.

An audit of the NLRB mail ballot election procedures and internal controls

The OIG conducted this inspection from June 2023 to January 2024 to assess the stewardship and oversight of funds by the VA North Texas Health Care System. This inspection assessed the following financial activities and administrative processes to determine whether appropriate controls and oversight were in place: managerial cost accounting information, open obligations oversight, purchase card use, and inventory and supply chain management.Though the healthcare system used managerial cost accounting information to compare budgeted amounts to actual results as VA policy requires, that information was not used to make effective economic choices.Further, the OIG found the healthcare system did not always perform monthly reviews and reconciliations of open obligations to release unneeded funds. As a result, an estimated $14 million in open obligations were invalid, of which $12.2 million could have been put to better use. The healthcare system also was using funds from future obligations to pay for current-year services, which may have violated law and regulations.Purchase card transactions at the healthcare system were not always processed as required. The team sampled 66 transactions totaling about $292,000 from May 1, 2022, through March 31, 2023, and found 20 did not comply. The OIG also found 12 sampled transactions where healthcare system officials could have considered using a contract.Finally, the healthcare system could benefit from improving the efficiency of inventory oversight by ensuring inventory values are recorded accurately. The OIG also found the healthcare system did not conduct thorough supply chain management oversight or establish and follow inventory procedures.The OIG made eight recommendations to the healthcare system director and one to the Veterans Integrated Service Network 17 director. The recommendations address issues that, if left unattended, may eventually interfere with financial efficiency practices and the stewardship of VA resources.

The U.S. Postal Service is the second largest employer in the United States with over 640,000 employees and $2.15 billion in bi-weekly salaries. To provide employees with convenient access to their payroll, benefits, and personnel data, the Postal Service uses the LiteBlue portal. This web-based portal contains several human resources (HR) applications, including PostalEASE, which allows employees to establish direct deposits, create or modify payroll allotments, and update retirement and health benefits information. In October 2022, some employees entered their login credentials into several fake LiteBlue websites, allowing bad actors to obtain their login credentials and fraudulently reroute employees’ payroll direct deposits and create payroll allotments to bank accounts they controlled.