Federal Reports

This report presents the results of our self-initiated audit of the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) Compensation and Benefits (Project Number 25-033). Our objective was to determine whether the PRC followed all applicable laws, regulations, and policies around employee compensation and benefits.

The PRC is an independent agency of the executive branch that has exercised regulatory oversight over the U.S. Postal Service since its creation by the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970. As of the end of calendar year (CY) 2024, the PRC was comprised of about 93 full-time employees. While the PRC maintains its own Human Resources department, the agency uses several Postal Service systems to administer benefits, such as pay and leave.

The PRC did not always carry out policy consistently regarding the disbursement of benefits, and we identified opportunities for the PRC to realign processes with agency policy and improve internal controls to verify benefits are provided in line with policy. Specifically, we found instances of the PRC not following its policy related to remote work. Additionally, the PRC used inconsistent processes regarding hiring incentives and locality pay. Further, we identified an internal control issue related to leave requests.

Final Management Letter: Potential Opportunity to Consolidate the SEC’s Disclosure Review Information Technology Systems

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has developed a dam safety program to protect lives and property by ensuring that structures within the program are designed, constructed, and maintained as safely and reliably as practicable.  This program applies to dams, dikes, impoundments, levees, water barrier components, pumping stations, and other appurtenant structures that are included in TVA’s Dam Safety Program inventory.  Due to the importance of maintenance and inspections to the reliable operation of assets, we performed an evaluation of TVA dams to determine if maintenance and inspections had been performed in accordance with established schedules.  TVA has generally performed maintenance but has not performed all inspections in accordance with established schedules for TVA dams.  We identified 43 inspections that were between 1 and 99 months late and 33 that were not performed.  We also determined that TVA had not taken actions to address 34 recommendations from inspections completed in fiscal years 2022 through 2024 or the most recent risk assessments.  Additionally, we identified some areas where governance could be improved related to inaccuracies in inspection manuals and inspections.

AmeriCorps OIG initiated this investigation after receiving a referral from OIG’s Office of Audits. The referral alleged that, in 2019, Delaware’s Governor's Commission on Community & Volunteer Service, an AmeriCorps State and National Program grantee also known as Volunteer Delaware, was not providing adequate oversight of its subrecipient, Delaware’s Division of Parks and Recreation (DPR). AmeriCorps OIG found that Volunteer Delaware did not provide adequate monitoring of DPR and that DPR falsely certified AmeriCorps members’ education awards even though service hours had not been performed, were outside the scope of the grant, were adjusted after service, or were otherwise questionable such as having duplicate entries or excessive hours in a day. The OIG also found that DPR shortened the terms of service for some members who exited the program before completing their original approved terms of service, which allowed those members to collect education awards to which they otherwise would not have been entitled. The case resulted in a disallowance of $111,369.