Federal Reports

The Office of Inspector General (OIG) completed a final action verification of all eight recommendations in our July 2015 report on the Audit 24601-0004-31, Food Safety and Inspection Service Ground Turkey Inspection and Safety Protocols. Final action verification (FAV) determines whether the final action documentation the agency provides to the Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO) supports the agency’s management decision reached with OIG. 1, 2 Our objective was to determine whether the documentation the Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) provided to OCFO was sufficient to close the recommendations made in Audit Report 24601-0004-31

The Office of the Inspector General audited the effectiveness of TVA’s phishing training provided to TVA users and determined that it was ineffective. In addition, we found TVA does not have formal procedures for conducting periodic phishing exercises, follow-up training for users who failed the periodic exercises, or consequences for users who fail to take the required phishing training. TVA management agreed with our findings and recommendations.

The OIG investigated allegations that Oglala Sioux Tribe Member Monica Tyon fraudulently obtained Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) general assistance funds. She reportedly received general assistance while she was employed by the Oglala Sioux Tribe. Tyon did not qualify for assistance because of the income from her tribal employment.We found that Tyon fraudulently received $4,775. Tyon admitted she applied for general assistance even though she knew she was not eligible.Tyon pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota, Western Division, to misdemeanor theft of Government funds. She will not serve prison or probation time, but was ordered to pay $4,775 in restitution.

Drug diversion, counterfeiting, and the importation of unapproved drugs may result in potentially dangerous drugs entering the drug supply chain, posing a threat to public health and safety. To enhance the security of this supply chain, the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) requires trading partners in the drug supply chain to create a record of each drug product transaction. FDA can use these records to investigate and identify potentially harmful drug products, prevent further distribution, and facilitate efficient recalls.

Weld County, Colorado did not always follow Federal procurement standards in awarding contracts for disaster work. As a result of our review, we identified and discussed with FEMA various areas where it should review and adjust for cost reasonableness the funding amounts that a project and program management contractor charged related to Weld County. FEMA agreed to review the costs for reasonableness, unless if FEMA disallowed all of the costs for procurement violations. We subsequently reviewed FEMA’s cost analysis documentation for Weld County project closeouts related to this disaster. We found that FEMA appropriately reduced final project amounts due to improper procurements and cost reasonableness concerns, including unreasonable contractor hourly rates. Consequently, made no recommendations.