Federal Reports

The Semiannual Report to Congress summarizes the results of VA OIG oversight, provides statistical information, and lists all 103 oversight reports and other products issued from October 1, 2024, to March 31, 2025. During this reporting period, VA OIG audits, evaluations, investigations, inspections, and other reviews identified nearly $3.3 billion in monetary impact for a return on investment of $28 for every dollar spent. The OIG hotline received and triaged almost 17,200 contacts in the past six months—to help identify wrongdoing and address concerns with VA activities. Also, during the past six months, special agents opened 256 investigations and closed 213, with efforts leading to 144 arrests. Collectively, the OIG’s work also resulted in 598 administrative sanctions and corrective actions during the six-month reporting period.

Our objective was to determine whether USDA’s password management practices effectively prevented the use of passwords that are commonly used, expected, or compromised.

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 Augusta Health Care System in Georgia. 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 improvement in three domains:
1.    Culture
•    The Under Secretary for Health evaluates facility leaders for appropriate supervisory behavior and professional communication, and takes actions as needed.
•    The Under Secretary for Health determines whether the Veterans Integrated Service Network Director and other leaders were aware of facility leaders’ unprofessional behavior and communication, and takes actions as needed.
2.    Environment of care
•    The Under Secretary for Health ensures the Veterans Integrated Service Network and facility directors oversee the inventory management system and resolve medical supply deficiencies, and monitor actions for sustained improvement.
3.    Patient Safety
•    Facility leaders develop action plans to ensure providers communicate test results to patients timely.
•    The Under Secretary for Health directs the national VHA Quality and Patient Safety Program staff to review the facility’s quality management program and determine whether actions by facility and Veterans Integrated Service Network leaders effectively addressed system issues affecting patient safety, including nursing leaders’ lack of access to safety reports, and missed opportunities for institutional disclosures, and takes action as needed.

We performed an audit of costs billed to the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) by Wright Brothers Contracting, Inc. (Wright Brothers) for site grading services and materials under Contract No. 16512.  The contract provided for TVA to compensate Wright Brothers for work on a fixed price basis for deliverables and materials and on a time and material (T&M) basis for performance of the work.  Our audit objectives were to determine (1) if costs were billed in accordance with the contract terms and (2) the reasonableness of TVA’s process for evaluating and awarding proposed fixed price tasks issued under the contract.  Our audit scope included approximately $28.7 million in costs paid by TVA between September 3, 2021, and May 31, 2024.  This included approximately $24.5 million for 17 fixed price tasks and $4.2 million for one T&M task.

In summary, we determined:

•    Wright Brothers billed TVA $1,401,563 in T&M billings for cost categories that were not included in the contract, Wright Brothers proposal, or TVA’s purchase order.  Additionally, the proposal and invoice documentation did not provide adequate detail for a field invoice approver to effectively review invoices. 
•    Wright Brothers billed TVA $49,355 in unsupported T&M costs, including (1) $43,860 in unsupported equipment costs and (2) $5,495 in unsupported labor costs.  (Note:  $11,320 of the $49,355 unsupported cost were also included in the $1,401,563 ineligible T&M billings.)
•    There were opportunities to strengthen TVA’s process for evaluating and awarding fixed price tasks.  Specifically, TVA did not always compete fixed price tasks as required by the contract.  In addition, when TVA received only one bid for a fixed price task, there were no policies or guidance for steps TVA should take to ensure the fairness of the fixed price amount. 

The VA OIG conducted this review to determine whether VA complied with the requirements of the Payment Integrity Information Act of 2019 (PIIA) for FY 2024. PIIA requires federal agencies to identify and review all programs and activities they administer that may be susceptible to significant improper payments based on OMB guidance. PIIA also requires each OIG to review its agency’s improper payment reports and issue an annual report. In FY 2024, VA reported improper and unknown payment estimates totaling $2.2 billion for seven programs. Of that amount, $1.1 billion (about 50 percent) represented a monetary loss, and the remaining $1.1 billion was considered either a nonmonetary loss that cannot be recovered or an unknown payment. These results represent a reduction of about $1 billion (32 percent) from FY 2023 results. VA satisfied five of the six requirements under PIIA. VA did not meet requirement 6 because it did not report an improper and unknown payment rate of less than 10 percent for two programs that had estimates in the materials accompanying their financial statements. VA met additional requirements for high-priority programs by providing quarterly updates to OMB that included plans to prevent and recover monetary losses from improper payments. The OIG recommended the under secretary for benefits reduce improper and unknown payments to below 10 percent for the Pension Program—a repeat recommendation from the previous two fiscal years’ reports—and the under secretary for health reduce improper and unknown payments to below 10 percent for the Purchased Long-Term Services and Supports Program—a repeat recommendation each year since the OIG’s first PIIA report for FY 2020.

Why We Did This Report

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Inspector General conducted this audit to examine locality pay for employees working in a telework and remote work status. The objective was to determine whether the EPA ensures employees are paid the correct locality pay in accordance with regulations and policy.

Summary of Findings

The EPA cannot ensure that employees are paid the correct locality pay because it does not have comprehensive or reliable data to verify employees’ worksite locations. Without a mechanism to verify an employee’s worksite location against his or her locality pay, the Agency remains at risk of overpaying or underpaying employees.

The VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted a healthcare inspection to assess allegations related to the care of a female patient who presented with “near constant” vaginal bleeding to the Martinsburg VA Medical Center (facility) Emergency Department. 

While no deficiencies were found in the care provided by emergency department physicians, the OIG identified multiple deficiencies in nursing care. The OIG also identified failures in leaders’ oversight to ensure deficiencies were sufficiently remediated.

The OIG determined that the emergency department was equipped to perform gynecologic exams. However, the gynecologic cart, which featured hinged foldable footrests used in extension with the emergency department bed, was not utilized by some providers due to concerns of discomfort for patients.

The OIG substantiated delays in the patient’s transfer to a higher level of care, with an avoidable delay by the facility fire department’s ambulance service. Facility fire department leaders attributed the delay to lack of available staff and inability to mandate overtime for transports. However, the OIG determined that the practice of prohibiting mandatory overtime for emergency transports was incongruent with facility policy and facility leaders’ expectations. The OIG also found that facility leaders failed to assess concerns about the transport delay identified during a factfinding. 

The OIG learned that while the facility initiated a formal review to address broader patient transport challenges in May 2023, more than a year later, recommended policy and protocols identified from the review had not yet been approved by facility leaders.

The OIG made 10 recommendations to the Facility Director related to emergency department communication, adherence to Veterans Health Administration and facility policies, review of implemented actions to ensure quality of care concerns are remediated, evaluation of emergency department equipment for gynecologic examinations, review of overtime practices for staff providing emergency transports, and review of transportation concerns.

This report details the Office of Inspector General's Spring 2025 - Semiannual Report to Congress. The following topics are included:

• Overview of the SBA and the OIG
• SBA's Top Management and Performance Challenges
• Summary of OIG Oversight Work
• Small Business Access to Capital
• Disaster Assistance Program
• Contracting and Counseling Programs
• Agency Management
• Other Significant OIG Activities
• OIG Hotline
• Organizational Overview
• Appendices

We are pleased to present our report for the period October 1, 2024, to March 31, 2025.  In this semiannual period, our audit, evaluation, and investigative activities identified more than $75.1 million in questioned costs; funds put to better use; restitutions, recoveries, fees, and fines; and opportunities for the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to improve its programs and operations.

TVA’s mission of service was set forth in the TVA Act of 1933.  While the mandate to provide affordable electricity, manage the river systems, and promote economic development in the Tennessee Valley has remained constant for 92 years, TVA has had to transform itself in areas such as methods of electricity generation, funding approaches, skills, technology, and more.  Some transformations came about by opportunities like innovation, while others came about in reaction to constraints.  Today, TVA finds itself in another stage of transformation as it addresses significant requirements to grow clean generation capacity.  Our office will stand with TVA as we fulfill our mission to provide independent and objective oversight that promotes effective and efficient operations and prevents and detects fraud, waste, and abuse.

NGA OIG Spring Semiannual Report to Congress, 1 October 2024 - 31 March 2025

Our Objective(s)To determine whether the Department of Transportation (DOT) complied with Payment Integrity Information Act of 2019 (PIIA) requirements as prescribed by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
Why This AuditPIIA requires agencies to identify, report, and reduce improper payments in programs susceptible to significant improper payments. The Act also requires agencies to publish applicable payment integrity information in the materials accompanying their annual financial statements. Moreover, PIIA requires inspectors general to report annually on their agencies' compliance.
What We FoundDOT was in compliance with PIIA requirements for fiscal year 2024.

DOT complied with all of PIIA's requirements for the two programs identified as susceptible to significant improper payments"the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) Highway Planning and Construction (HPC) program and the Federal Transit Administration's (FTA) Transit Infrastructure Grants (TIG) COVID Relief Funds program.
DOT met OMB reporting requirements by publishing payment integrity information with its annual financial statements and posting required information on the Payment Accuracy website. The Department also conducted an improper payment risk assessment, reported improper and unknown payment estimates of less than 10 percent, and took steps to recapture overpayments.
Overall, DOT reported total improper payment estimates of approximately $1.22 billion. Specifically, the FHWA HPC program estimated $1.07 billion (1.96 percent) in improper payments, including $1.06 billion in monetary loss improper payments. The FTA TIG COVID Relief Funds program estimated $151.61 million (1.56 percent) in improper payments, including $151.51 million in monetary loss improper payments. While neither program met its reduction target of 1 percent, both achieved compliance by demonstrating improvements to payment integrity.
FHWA and FTA developed enhanced corrective action plans to reduce improper payments in fiscal year 2025, such as providing guidance and training to address the identified root causes of improper payments.

RecommendationsDOT complied with PIIA's requirements for fiscal year 2024, so we are not making recommendations.

Our Objective(s)To evaluate single audit reports uploaded to the Federal Audit Clearinghouse between January 1, 2025 and March 31, 2025, and identify findings that affect directly awarded Department of Transportation (DOT) programs.
Why This AuditOIG performs oversight of independent, non-Federal auditors' single audit reports. Over the past 3 fiscal years, on average over 250 single audit reports were issued that included findings related to programs directly funded by DOT. We issue memoranda that summarize the single audit reports' significant findings and recommendations that require priority action by DOT. When warranted, we also recommend that DOT recover funds that were inappropriately expended by non-Federal entities.
What We FoundAuditors reported 26 findings that included significant noncompliance with Federal guidelines related to 13 grantees that require prompt actions from DOT's Operating Administrations..

Of the 26 findings, 8 were repeat findings related to 6 grantees.

Auditors identified questioned costs totaling $2,683,884 for five grantees.

Of this amount, $1,442,356 was related to the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, Nespelem, WA, and $613,075 was related to Fort Worth Transportation Authority, Fort Worth, TX.

We identified nonmonetary repeat findings that caused qualified opinions for two entities.
RecommendationsWe made three recommendations to OST to resolve and close the findings and recover questioned costs, if applicable.

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 North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health System. 

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

The OIG issued seven recommendations for improvement in two domains:
  1.    Environment of care
   •    Maintain, inspect, and test medical equipment
   •    Secure medications
   •    Store oxygen tanks
   •    Clean food storage areas
   •    Remove expired supplies
   •    Mark equipment for repair and remove dirty items from storage areas
  2.    Patient Safety
   •    Sustained compliance with Joint Commission accreditation standards

At the request of the Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA) Supply Chain, we examined the cost proposal submitted by a contractor for designing, fabricating, and delivering hydraulic turbine runners and components as specified by TVA.  Our examination objective was to determine if the contractor's cost proposal was fairly stated. 

In our opinion, the contractor’s cost proposal was overstated.  Specifically, we determined the contractor’s proposed (1) markup rates were overstated compared to recent actual costs and (2) fixed price project costs included excessive contingency costs and profit.  We estimated TVA could avoid about $14.1 million over the potential $75 million contract by (1) negotiating appropriate reductions to the markup rates, (2) removing excessive contingency costs from fixed price projects, and (3) reducing the profit on fixed price projects. 

We found that DOI complied with applicable PIIA reporting requirements for FY 2024 and implemented one prior recommendation.

National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) Semiannual Report to the NCUA Board and the Congress highlighting our accomplishments and ongoing work for the 6-month period ending March 31, 2025.

Investigative Summary 24-0008

The objectives of this audit were to determine whether the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC or Commission) has effective controls over space utilization in its leased space for the period May 2, 2022, to June 2, 2023, and assess CPSC compliance with relevant laws and regulations regarding space utilization. We conducted this audit in accordance with Government Auditing Standards.

U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) Semiannual Report to Congress for the reporting period of October 1, 2024 - March 31, 2025, in accordance with the Inspector General Act of 1978, as amended (IG Act).

The investigation objectives were to determine whether an ARC grantee falsified certain application and reporting requirements and to determine whether program funds were managed in accordance with ARC and federal grant requirements.

This independent auditors’ report on the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) improper payment reporting is required by the Payment Integrity Information Act of 2019. We contracted with the independent certified public accounting firm KPMG LLP to conduct a performance audit of SBA’s fiscal year (FY) 2024 compliance with the Act. The auditor was engaged to review the payment integrity section of SBA’s Agency Financial Report Fiscal Year 2024 and accompanying materials to determine whether the agency complied with the reporting requirements under the Act.

In the report, KPMG auditors found SBA was not compliant with reporting requirements under the Act and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidance. Specifically, SBA is not compliant with the Act because it did not:

• Publish improper and unknown payment estimates within the FY 2024 Agency Financial Report and accompanying materials for the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant and the payments for covered loans in the 7(a) and 504 loan guaranty programs under the Debt Relief Program (Section 1112 Payments).
• Design and implement adequate review procedures to produce reliable sample results that were used to develop and publish accurate improper and unknown payment estimates for the 7(a) loan guaranty purchases, disaster assistance loans, Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan forgiveness, and PPP loan guaranty purchases programs.
• Publish effective corrective action plans for the PPP loan forgiveness and PPP loan guaranty purchases and did not publish corrective action plans for the Section 1112 payment programs and activities. Also, the reduction targets were not published for the Section 1112 payments. Moreover, SBA did not appropriately disclose the root causes of improper payments for the disaster assistance loans program in the accompanying materials.
• Improve payment integrity for the 7(a) loan guaranty approvals and 504 Certified Development Company loan approvals programs and activities as demonstrated by the increase in improper payment estimates between FYs 2023 and 2024.
• Achieve an improper and unknown payment estimate of less than 10 percent for the PPP loan forgiveness, PPP loan guaranty purchases, and Restaurant Revitalization Fund programs and activities.

SBA concurred with the recommendations and indicated that it is committed to reducing the dollar amount of improper payments, ensuring program integrity, and continuing to implement effective risk management procedures in accordance with improper payment legislation, as well as guidance prescribed in OMB Memorandum M-21-19, Appendix C to OMB Circular A-123, Requirements for Payment Integrity Improvement.

Package theft is a significant challenge for the entire parcel delivery industry, impacting consumers, retailers, and delivery providers alike. With at least 58 million packages stolen in 2024, theft creates substantial financial burdens and operational disruptions across the delivery and ecommerce ecosystems. The prevalence of theft may also erode consumer trust in ecommerce merchants, postal operators, and private delivery providers, particularly as these entities strategically navigate the rapid growth of ecommerce and its associated demands.

OIG determined that the Forest Service’s acquisition process adequately identified firefighting equipment needs and issued Incident Blanket Purchase Agreements (I-BPA) to meet those needs in fiscal year 2023.

The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation Office of Inspector General (OIG) contracted with the independent public accounting firm RMA Associates, LLC (RMA) to conduct a review of DFC’s compliance with Payment Integrity Information Act of 2019 (PIIA) for fiscal year (FY) ending September 30, 2024. The review was conducted in accordance with 1) the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Memorandum M-21-19, Transmittal of Appendix C to OMB Circular A-123, Requirements for Payment Integrity Improvement and 2) OMB Circular A-136, Financial Reporting Requirements, May 30, 2024. Our review period was from February through April 2025. RMA also reviewed DFC’s risk assessment process and efforts in preventing and reducing improper payments (IPs) and unknown payments (UPs). Our objective was to determine if DFC complied with PIIA for fiscal year 2024.

The Office of the Inspector General performed an audit to determine if the Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA’s) corporate deployment of Microsoft 365® was configured to require and enforce the use of multi-factor authentication (MFA) for all accounts.  Our scope was limited to MFA managed through Microsoft Entra® ID.  We determined TVA has required and enforced the use of MFA for all accounts with limited exclusions for service accounts. Additionally, we reviewed a sample of service accounts and determined they were approved and documented in accordance with the applicable tech standard.  However, we identified internal control deficiencies related to MFA enforcement access policies and MFA applicability to enterprise applications. Specifically, we found (1) an MFA enforcement access policy applicable to 26 of 2,448 enterprise applications was not fully implemented in accordance with the applicable TVA tech standard and identified best practices, and (2) 1,802 of 2,448 enterprise applications were not covered by an MFA enforcement access policy.

This report specifically identifies Microsoft, a nongovernmental organization/business entity. Pursuant to the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023, Pub. L. No. 117-263 §5274, any such organization may submit a written response to the report within 30 days, clarifying or providing additional context for each instance within the report in which the organization is specifically identified.  Any response provided for that purpose will be appended to the final, published report. If you have any questions about this process, please contact Jeffrey McKenzie at (865) 633-7374 or jtmckenzie@tvaoig.gov within 30 days of publication.

Final Management Letter: Audit of the SEC’s Efforts to Recruit and Retain a Highly Skilled Workforce and Address Related Challenges

The objective of our audit was to assess the NRC’s compliance with the Payment Integrity Information Act of 2019 for fiscal year 2024 in accordance with Office of Management and Budget Memorandum M-21-19, Appendix C to OMB Circular No. A-123, Requirements for Payment Integrity Improvement, dated March 5, 2021.  The OIG found that the NRC complied with the requirements of the Payment Integrity Information Act of 2019 for Fiscal Year 2024.

The objective of our performance audit was to assess the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board’s (DNFSB) compliance with the Payment Integrity Information Act of 2019 for Fiscal Year 2024, in accordance with Office of Management and Budget Memorandum M-21-19, Appendix C to OMB Circular A-123, Requirements for Payment Integrity Improvement, dated March 5, 2021.  The OIG found that the DNFSB complied with the requirements of the Payment Integrity Information Act of 2019 for Fiscal Year 2024.

Our Objective(s)To evaluate the Federal Railroad Administration's (FRA) oversight of railroads' implementation of the Roadway Worker Protection (RWP) regulation. Specifically, we assessed (1) RWP oversight activities conducted by FRA safety inspectors, (2) FRA's on-track safety program reviews, and (3) pursuit of civil penalties for RWP violations.
Why This AuditGiven the continuing occurrence of RWP-related accidents and the substantial increase in funding for rail projects through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, we initiated this audit to evaluate FRA's oversight of railroads' implementation of the RWP regulation.
What We FoundFRA is performing fewer RWP-related inspections, and available data are not effectively used to inform RWP oversight or planning.

In 2022, safety inspectors completed 10 percent fewer inspection reports overall, but 17 percent fewer RWP-related inspection reports.
FRA created new RWP-related inspection activity codes but reporting errors and missing inspection details limit FRA's oversight.
FRA does not use injury data for RWP oversight or inspection planning because it is difficult to identify injuries caused by non-compliance.
FRA lacks a documented data quality assurance process for its new inspection data system.

FRA monitors railroads' compliance with some on-track safety program (OTSP) requirements but does not document comprehensive reviews.

FRA does not consistently document OTSP reviews. This is due to a lack of centralized recordkeeping and staff turnover.
FRA improved its OTSP notification process by providing railroads an email reporting option. FRA also developed an internal webpage to centralize documentation and guidance for officials and inspectors.

FRA took RWP enforcement actions but published incorrect closed case data in recent Annual Enforcement Reports (AERs).

FRA assessed $1.3 million in monetary penalties for 472 RWP violations from fiscal years 2018 through 2023.
Incorrect RWP data reported in FRA's AERs resulted from a system issue in FRA's Railroad Compliance System we identified in a previous audit.

RecommendationsWe are making 13 recommendations to improve FRA's oversight of railroads' compliance with the RWP regulation.

Our Objective(s)To determine (1) whether Crowe PR PSC's work complied with the Single Audit Act of 1984, as amended, and the Office of Management and Budget's Uniform Guidance, and the extent to which we could rely on the auditor's work on the U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) major programs, and (2) whether the Puerto Rico Highways and Transportation Authority's (Authority) reporting package complied with the reporting requirements of the Uniform Guidance.
Why This ReportDuring the fiscal year that ended on June 30, 2023, the Authority expended approximately $189 million from DOT programs. Crowe PR determined DOT's major programs were FHWA's Highway Planning and Construction and FTA's Formula Grants for Rural Areas and Tribal Transit Program. We performed a quality control review on the single audit conducted by Crowe PR to verify compliance with all Federal laws and regulations.
What We FoundReview of Audit Work

Crowe PR complied with the requirements of the Single Audit Act, the Office of Management and Budget's Uniform Guidance, and DOT's major programs.
We found nothing to indicate that Crowe PR's opinion on DOT's major programs were inappropriate or unreliable.
We identified an unreported noncompliance in Crowe PR's audit work that is required to be reported in a reissued single audit report.

Review of Reporting Package

We did not identify any deficiencies in the Authority's reporting package that required correction and resubmission.

RatingWe assigned Crowe PR an overall rating of Pass with deficiencies.

Why We Did This Report

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Inspector General conducted this audit to assess the EPA’s oversight of state subrecipient monitoring in the Clean Water State Revolving Fund Program, including the monitoring of subrecipients of Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funds.

Summary of Findings

While the annual review procedures for nondiscrimination laws, suspension and debarment, and single audit requirements follow statutory requirements, we found opportunities for the EPA to improve its oversight practices in the annual review steps devoted to subrecipient monitoring activities in these areas. The EPA provided CWSRF Program guidance that supported the three states that we reviewed in monitoring the subrecipients in their state CWSRF programs. The EPA could further support the states in their subrecipient monitoring activities by providing a guide of best practices for subrecipient monitoring and a best practices guide for helping equivalency subrecipients compliance.

We also made observations outside of our audit objective. The CWSRF capitalization grant terms and conditions could include a requirement that recipients and subrecipients must report violations of federal criminal law involving fraud, bribery, or gratuity violations to the OIG. The EPA could also encourage states to include a provision in their CWSRF loan agreements consistent with 2 C.F.R. § 200.113.

The objective of this evaluation was to determine whether the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) was in compliance with the Payment Integrity Information Act of 2019 (PIIA) for the fiscal year (FY) ended September 30, 2024. The Office of Inspector General retained the services of KPMG, an independent public accounting firm, to evaluate the CPSC’s FY 2024 PIIA compliance. This evaluation was performed in accordance with the Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency’s Quality Standards for Inspection and Evaluation.

HUD did not comply with PIIA because it did not report compliant improper and unknown payment estimates for the Office of Public and Indian Housing’s Tenant-Based Rental Assistance (PIH-TBRA) program and the Office of Multifamily Housing Programs’ Project-Based Rental Assistance (MF-PBRA) program.   These were HUD’s two largest program expenditures, totaling more than $50 billion in fiscal year 2024.  This noncompliance is significant because this is the eighth consecutive year in which HUD has been unable to produce PIH-TBRA and MF-PBRA improper and unknown payment estimates, and that deficiency has contributed to HUD’s noncompliance with improper payment laws for 12 consecutive years.  

These programs present payment integrity challenges because they entail thousands of program administrators outside of HUD processing large volumes of payments using nonstandarized processes, and supporting documentation needed for testing is not maintained at HUD.  The lack of a detailed approach to resolve these systemic challenges, including coordination by leadership, has prevented HUD from making the progress needed to achieve compliance.  

 We also determined that HUD did not comply with the Do Not Pay Initiative (DNP) as required by the Payment Integrity Information Act of 2019 because it did not consistently use DNP for prepayment verification.  This occurred in large part because the computer matching agreement between HUD and Treasury, related to DNP, expired in 2019 and has still not been renewed.  Additionally, we found HUD’s governance of DNP implementation to be weak.  Without this computer matching process in place and because of weak governance around DNP implementation, HUD’s risk of improper payments increased.  At least $212 million of HUD funds were technically improper payments since the funds were paid to at least 11 entities that did not have an active registration on SAM.gov. 

Section 487(a)(17) of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA), requires postsecondary schools participating in Title IV programs to annually report data, including data relevant to students’ cost of attendance and financial aid and the schools’ graduation rates, to the U.S. Department of Education’s (Department) Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) to the satisfaction of the Secretary. The objective of our inspection was to determine whether Spring Hill College (Alabama) reported verifiable data to IPEDS for the 2021–2022 reporting period. We determined that Spring Hill College reported verifiable data to the Department’s IPEDS for the 2021–2022 reporting period. Specifically, all data elements that we selected and reviewed that the school reported through the Graduation Rates, Institutional Characteristics, and Student Financial Aid surveys for the 2021–2022 reporting period were supported by datasets, information system reports, or other records. Because all the data sets that we reviewed were verifiable, we do not make any recommendations in this report. However, our results are limited to the data sets we reviewed, and it is critical that Spring Hill College continue to report verifiable data to IPEDS. 

OIG evaluated the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights’ efforts to ensure compliance and accountability among USDA agencies and staff, in accordance with applicable civil rights laws and regulations.

Why We Did This Report

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Inspector General is issuing this report to Notify the Agency of concerns identified during a review of Inflation Reduction Act grants. The concerns relate to an EPA policy that applies to all Agency subawards, not just to Inflation Reduction Act subawards.

Summary of Findings

The OIG has identified concerns regarding the terms and conditions listed within the revised EPA Subaward Policy, commonly referred to as the Subaward Policy, Amended Grants Policy Issuance (GPI) 16-01, effective October 1, 2024. The Subaward Policy’s statements regarding subrecipient access to information about mandatory disclosure requirements and whistleblower protections and regarding the OIG’s right to access records are inconsistent, incomplete, and not easily navigable.

The Payment Integrity Information Act was enacted to improve efforts to identify and reduce federal improper payments—payments the federal government should not have made or made in an incorrect amount under statutory, contractual, administrative, or other legally applicable requirements. NASA complied with the Act during fiscal year 2024, but there were several reporting errors that resulted in overpayments collected being overstated by an immaterial amount.

The Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2012 (WPEA) was signed into law on November 27, 2012 (Public Law 112-199). The law strengthens protections for Federal employees who disclose evidence of waste, fraud, or abuse. The anti-gag provision, codified in the WPEA, requires all Federal agency nondisclosure policies, forms, or agreements to include an explicit statement notifying employees of their rights to report wrongdoing and make protected disclosures to an Inspector General, Office of Special Counsel, and to Congress. Our objective was to determine whether the Department includes the anti-gag provision statement, as required by the WPEA, in nondisclosure policies, forms, or agreements. We found that the Department did not include the anti-gag provision statement, required by the WPEA, in all applicable nondisclosure agreements and forms. Specifically, we identified 6 agreements or forms developed by or currently being used by 3 of the Department’s 17 principal offices that did not contain the required statement. This occurred because the Department does not have documented policies and procedures relating to the development of nondisclosure forms or agreements and has not developed a process to ensure that the anti-gag provision statement is included, when required, in nondisclosure policies, forms, and agreements.