Federal Reports

We received a hotline complaint in April 2024 from an individual asking the Office of Inspector General (OIG) to investigate why their conditional offer of employment with the U. S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) was withdrawn. Based on what we learned during our initial investigation, we broadened our investigation to include a review of the CPSC’s compliance with
laws and regulations regarding all prescreen waivers accomplished during the time period defined below. 

This investigation covers events that occurred between July 2021 and June 2024. These events included the withdrawal of Complainant’s conditional offer of employment in October 2023.

The objective of our audit was to determine whether the U.S. Department of Education (Department) Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE) implemented processes to provide reasonable assurance that it awarded School-Based Mental Health (SBMH) Grant Program grants in accordance with grant requirements and Department policy and monitored grantee performance. Our audit covered OESE’s processes for awarding grants during the fiscal year 2022 SBMH Grant Program competition and for monitoring the performance of the seven grantees included in the fiscal years 2020 and 2021 cohorts. We found that OESE generally implemented processes that provided reasonable assurance that it awarded SBMH Grant Program grants in accordance with grant requirements and Department policy. It completed processes for peer review in accordance with Department policy; however, OESE did not screen grant applications to ensure that they met all application requirements before entering them into the peer review process. Additionally, OESE assessed applicant risk before awarding grants; however, it did not retain all risk assessment records that Department policy requires. In addition, we found that OESE did not always implement post-award activities as designed. Specifically, OESE did not design, finalize, and implement SBMH Grant Program monitoring plans. Additionally, its reviews of grantees’ annual performance reports (APR) were limited to ensuring that the APRs included information in each section. Finally, while OESE designed risk mitigation strategies for fiscal year 2020 grantees with elevated risk, it did not keep records showing that it implemented the strategies as designed.

We performed this review to determine whether Douglas County School District (Nevada) expended Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) grant funds for allowable purposes in accordance with applicable requirements. We determined that of the 16 expenditures that we reviewed, 12 were allowable and in accordance with applicable requirements. Four expenditures totaling $5,416 were unallowable because they were for advertising and public relations costs prohibited under the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (2 Code of Federal Regulations part 200). 

Additionally, we found that the Douglas County School District complied with key Federal procurement requirements, including those covering the procurement methods to be followed and contract cost, price, and provisions, when procuring the goods or services associated with each ARP ESSER expenditure we reviewed.

We performed this review to determine whether Lincoln County School District (Lincoln) expended ESSER grant funds for allowable purposes in accordance with applicable requirements. We determined that all the ESSER expenditures we reviewed for Lincoln were allowable and in accordance with applicable requirements. We also found that Lincoln complied with key Federal procurement requirements, including those covering the procurement methods to be followed and contract cost, price, and provisions, when procuring the goods or services associated with each ARP ESSER expenditure we reviewed. Because we identified no exceptions for the ARP ESSER expenditures that we reviewed, our report does not include recommendations. 

We performed this review to determine whether Clark County School District (Clark) ESSER grant funds for allowable purposes in accordance with applicable requirements. We determined that all the ESSER expenditures we reviewed for Clark were allowable and in accordance with applicable requirements. We also found that Clark complied with key Federal procurement requirements, including those covering the procurement methods to be followed and contract cost, price, and provisions, when procuring the goods or services associated with each ARP ESSER expenditure we reviewed. Because we identified no exceptions for the ARP ESSER expenditures that we reviewed, our report does not include recommendations. 

We performed this review to determine whether Nye County School District (Nye) expended ESSER grant funds for allowable purposes in accordance with applicable requirements. We determined that all the ESSER expenditures we reviewed for Nye were allowable and in accordance with applicable requirements. We also found that Nye complied with key Federal procurement requirements, including those covering the procurement methods to be followed and contract cost, price, and provisions, when procuring the goods or services associated with each ARP ESSER expenditure we reviewed. Because we identified no exceptions for the ARP ESSER expenditures that we reviewed, our report does not include recommendations. 

To determine whether all the unexpended obligations of HUD are valid and meet funding guidelines, the Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO) coordinates annually an Open Obligation Review (OOR) of all program and administrative funds. This review determines which funds are still needed and certifies to Treasury that the funds remaining in its obligation balance at the end of the fiscal year represent future obligations for the department. Historically, HUD OIG has audited the OOR as part of the annual financial statement audit. We have not reported findings in this area as part of the financial statement audit for the last six years because the amounts identified for deobligation have remained below the materiality set for audit.

We conducted our review to identify HUD’s open obligations marked for deobligation during the fiscal year 2024 OOR that had not been deobligated as of February 28, 2025. We found 835 administrative obligations totaling $38.5 million ($38,525,837) and 101 program obligations totaling just under $2 million ($1,967,991) were identified for deobligation but had not been deobligated.   

A careful review of open obligations strengthens HUD’s internal controls by removing balances from the accounting system that are no longer required for future payments, identifies funds that could be used for current requirements, and supports HUD’s formal year‐end certification to the Department of Treasury. While HUD has completed that careful review, the objective is not met if obligations that are no longer needed are not timely deobligated. While these amounts represent a small percentage of HUD’s total open obligations, it is important that all funds identified as no longer needed are promptly deobligated so they can be used to meet other HUD requirements or returned to Treasury for other needs.  We recommended HUD deobligate the 835 administrative obligations and the 101 program obligations identified for deobligation during the fiscal year 2024 OOR that had not been deobligated as of February 28, 2025.

This report updates Congress on progress made by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) on the 39 open pandemic-related recommendations referenced in Office of Inspector General (OIG) Report 23-09, COVID-19 Pandemic EIDL and PPP Loan Fraud Landscape.

Over the course of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, SBA disbursed approximately $1.2 trillion of COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan and Paycheck Protection Program funds. The economic assistance was intended to help eligible small business owners and entrepreneurs adversely affected by the crisis.

In Report 23-09, we estimated SBA disbursed more than $200 billion in potentially fraudulent loans through its COVID-19 relief programs. To establish this estimate, OIG used investigative casework, prior OIG reporting, and advanced data analytics to identify multiple schemes used by fraudsters to steal from the American taxpayer and exploit programs meant to help those in need.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic was declared a national emergency in March 2020 through the issuance of OIG’s fraud landscape report in June 2023, OIG issued 77 pandemic-related recommendations to SBA. Of the 77 recommendations, the agency had taken corrective actions to close 38 of them and 39 recommendations remained open as of June 2023. SBA has been working on implementing the corrective actions necessary to close the open recommendations.

To see our report, click on the link below