Federal Reports

The VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a preliminary result advisory memorandum to inform the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Under Secretary for Health of significant and recurring fire system and life safety deficiencies identified during a Healthcare Facility Inspection of the East Orange VA Medical Center in New Jersey, conducted in August 2025. These deficiencies pose ongoing risks to the safety of patients, staff, and visitors.

Key issues identified include a fire-extinguishing standpipe that had not been tested every five years, fire barrier doors that could not be closed, and incorrect exit signage. These findings mirror and, in some cases, repeat deficiencies previously cited in the facility’s fiscal years 2024 and 2025 Annual Workplace Evaluations (AWEs) and The Joint Commission’s 2024 inspection. Prior concerns also included untested fire-extinguishing systems in the canteen kitchen, uninspected fire-rated doors, and persistent signage errors.

The Interim Facility Director acknowledged the issues, and the Associate Director submitted a corrective action plan on September 17, 2025, with target completion dates extending through fiscal year 2028. Interim life safety measures have been implemented, but the OIG expressed concern about the protracted remediation timeline and the significant resources required to maintain safety during this period.

The Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) 2 Director was previously informed of these deficiencies as documented in earlier AWEs, and communicated them to the facility’s leadership. Despite this awareness, the recurrence of issues suggests a need for stronger oversight and more immediate corrective action.

The OIG is not taking further action at this time but requests the Under Secretary for Health evaluate the adequacy of current oversight and ensure timely implementation of all necessary measures to safeguard the facility’s environment.

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

Our Objective(s)To assess the Department of Transportation's (DOT) (1) progress implementing the Federal policy on return to in person work and (2) procedures for overseeing compliance with worksite requirements.
Why This AuditSenators Joni Ernst and Ted Cruz requested that our office review DOT's worksite practices in June 2024. We announced an audit shortly thereafter, but in January 2025, the Federal worksite landscape changed significantly. A Presidential Memorandum instructed all eligible Federal employees to return to full-time, in-person work as soon as practicable, essentially eliminating telework and remote work except in limited circumstances.
What We FoundDOT complied with current Federal return to in-person work requirements and guidance.

DOT previously expected telework-eligible staff to work in person 4 days per pay period but now requires full-time, in-person work with few exceptions.
DOT's data show its telework use substantially declined from approximately 38 percent of employees teleworking at least 1 day during a September/October 2024 pay period to just 8 percent by a March/April 2025 pay period.

DOT implemented procedures to oversee individual employee compliance with worksite requirements and began using a broader monitoring process.

DOT had worksite policies in place over the full period of our review that established roles and responsibilities for employees and supervisors participating in telework and remote work, including training requirements.
A few Operating Administrations identified limited instances of employee non-compliance with worksite policies and described corrective actions taken.
DOT began generating regular and recurring reports in June 2025 to review data in timekeeping and other systems to assess employee compliance with in-office requirements Departmentwide, but this process has not been documented.
DOT implemented a data accuracy review process to provide reasonable assurance that the Department's timekeeping and other worksite-related datasets are accurate.

RecommendationsWe made 1 recommendation to fully implement and document DOT's process for monitoring compliance with worksite requirements.

Why We Did This Report

The Office of Inspector General for the U.S. EPA, which also provides oversight for the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, or CSB, contracted with the independent accounting firm SB & Company LLC to initiate an audit of the CSB’s compliance with the Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2014, or FISMA. While conducting the audit of the CSB’s compliance with FISMA for fiscal year 2025, OIG Project No. OA-FY25-0042, SB & Company identified issues that may have a significant impact on the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the CSB’s information technology resources. The OIG decided to issue this management alert to inform the CSB of these security concerns because they could affect the CSB’s ability to fulfill its mission and carry out its obligations under FISMA and Office of Management and Budget Memorandum M-25-04. 
 

Summary of Findings

Issues were identified that may have significant impact on the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the agency’s IT resources. Improvements are needed related to managing privileged user access, availability of audit logs and maintaining an accurate inventory.

This Office of Inspector General (OIG) Healthcare Facility Inspection program report describes the results of a focused evaluation of the care provided at the South Texas Veterans Health Care System in San Antonio. 

This evaluation focused on five key content domains:
     •    Culture
     •    Environment of care
     •    Patient safety
     •    Primary care
     •    Veteran-centered safety net

The OIG issued two recommendations for VA to correct identified deficiencies in two domains:
   1.    Environment of care
     •    Patient care area cleanliness and clean storage areas free of dirty items and equipment
   2.    Patient safety
     •    Service-level workflows for the communication of test results

This Office of Inspector General (OIG) Healthcare Facility Inspection program report describes the results of a focused evaluation of the care provided at the VA Tampa Healthcare System in Florida. 

This evaluation focused on five key content domains:
     •    Culture
     •    Environment of care
     •    Patient safety
     •    Primary care
     •    Veteran-centered safety net

The OIG issued three recommendations for VA to correct identified deficiencies in two domains:
   1.    Environment of care
     •    Sinks and hand hygiene supplies
     •    Video laryngoscope supplies
   2.    Patient safety
     •    Service-level workflows for the communication of test results

This Office of Inspector General (OIG) Healthcare Facility Inspection program report describes the results of a focused evaluation of the care provided at the VA Sioux Falls Health Care System in South Dakota. 

This evaluation focused on five key content domains:
     •    Culture
     •    Environment of care
     •    Patient safety
     •    Primary care
     •    Veteran-centered safety net

The OIG issued five recommendations for VA to correct identified deficiencies in two domains:
   1.    Environment of care
     •    Safety risk assessment permits
     •    Construction Safety Committee chair
     •    Privacy curtains in exam rooms
     •    Handrails in Community Living Center hallway
   2.    Patient safety
     •    Communication of abnormal test results