Federal Reports

The overall objective is to identify AbilityOne Program data generated or maintained by Central Nonprofit Agencies (CNA) and/or Nonprofit Agencies (NPA), that is not currently available to the Commission.  

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 Western Colorado Healthcare System in Grand Junction. 

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

The OIG issued eight recommendations for improvement in two domains:
  1.    Environment of care
   •    Toxic exposure screenings
   •    Fire extinguisher inspections
   •    Preventive maintenance inspections 
   •    Wheelchair disinfection, ceiling vent dust removal, and wall repair
   •    Equipment and supply access and storage 
   •    Video monitoring
   •    Veterans Integrated Service Network oversight of the environment of care program
  2.    Patient Safety
   •    Patient test result notification process

The OIG conducted this review to assess the merits of two hotline complaints—one in March 2024 and one in April 2024—alleging Omaha VA Medical Center leaders manipulated the clinically indicated date for consults, thereby limiting veterans’ access to community care. The OIG substantiated the allegations, determining that from March 7, 2024, through April 11, 2024, facility leaders implemented a prohibited 29-day default for the clinically indicated date field that applied to referrals for specialty care and for some primary and mental health care. The default was implemented because clinically indicated dates for many specialty care consults were, in the chief of staff’s and medical facility director’s opinion, sooner than the patient’s condition warranted.

Before implementing the default, both the medical facility director and the chief of staff were made aware that there should not be a default. After implementing, they were also notified by an Omaha VA Medical Center employee that the default was not allowed and should be removed, but facility leaders took 19 days to remove the default. Furthermore, the OIG found providers were not given training on clinically indicated dates. In early November 2024—more than six months after the default was removed—training was provided.

The OIG made four recommendations: to clarify that automatically prepopulating the clinically indicated date field is prohibited; to determine whether any administrative action should be taken; to direct the medical facility director to provide education and training on the consult process; and to assess the actions the medical facility has taken to review consults potentially affected by the default and ensure veterans received the care they needed.

This report presents the results of our audit of the Postal Automated Redirection System. 

The Postal Automated Redirection System (PARS) was deployed in 2007 to handle letter mail that cannot be delivered to the name and address on the mailpiece. Mail sorting equipment can automatically intercept mail with an active Change of Address (COA), and PARS sorting equipment can forward it to the new destination, reducing additional mail handling. If mail that is undeliverable as addressed is not intercepted during the automated process, a carrier at the delivery unit can identify it as either forwardable — with a valid COA — or as return to sender and send it back to the plant for further processing. With the average American moving 11.7 times in their lifetime, the Postal Service must effectively handle PARS mail to ensure timely delivery of essential communications, such as bills, checks, and court documents. 

Our objective was to assess the effectiveness of procedures for processing and handling PARS mail. To accomplish our objective, we conducted interviews with U.S. Postal Service Headquarters management, obtained and analyzed PARS related data for fiscal years (FY) 2023 and 2024, and determined avoidable costs incurred due to identified issues. 

This report presents the results of our audit of Efforts to Reduce Workhours in Mail Processing.

The U.S. Postal Service’s mail processing function involves the sortation and distribution of mail for dispatch and delivery. During fiscal year (FY) 2024, more than 107,000 employees worked in the mail processing function. Based on workhour plans, which the Postal Service develops as part of its annual budget process, the Postal Service planned to reduce mail processing workhours by more than 28 million hours between FYs 2022 and 2024.

Our objective was to assess the Postal Service’s efforts to reduce workhours in mail processing. We analyzed trends in mail processing workhours, volume, and productivity, and we compared actual workhours to workhour plans during FYs 2022 through 2024. Also, we interviewed headquarters personnel to gain an understanding of the workhour planning process and workhour reduction efforts. Further, we interviewed personnel at nine judgmentally selected mail processing plants, and 10 judgmentally selected processing divisions regarding mail processing workhour management.

Although management reduced workhours in mail processing facilities by more than 17 million hours during FYs 2022 through 2024, there may be opportunities to further reduce workhours by stabilizing or improving productivity. The workhour reductions included a 5 percent decrease in overtime hours; however, mail processing facilities used 10.8 million more hours than planned, which resulted in at least $174.8 million in additional cost. While productivity slightly increased during FY 2024, some mail processing facilities still saw declines in productivity during that year. Opportunities exist for management to more effectively plan for workload shifts and operational challenges during initial workhour planning and to improve mail processing productivity. The Postal Service spent an additional $63.6 million in FY 2024 to cover the additional workhours.

A lead service attendant based in Chicago, Illinois, resigned from his position on April 10, 2025, as a result of our investigation. We found that the former employee violated company policies by consuming alcohol while staying in company-supplied lodging and allowing his girlfriend to stay in his hotel room. We also found that the former employee failed to disclose a conviction on his background questionnaire form during the company’s hiring process. The former employee is not eligible for rehire.

Our Objective(s)To determine (1) whether Bowman & Company, LLPs 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 Transportations (DOT) major programs, and (2) whether the Delaware River Port Authoritys reporting package complied with the reporting requirements of the Uniform Guidance.
Why This AuditDuring the fiscal year that ended on December 31, 2022, the Delaware River Port Authority expended approximately $32 million from DOT programs. Bowman & Company determined DOTs major programs were FTAs Federal Transit Cluster, FHWAs Highway Planning and Construction Cluster, and OSTs National Infrastructure Investments Discretionary Grant Program. We performed a quality control review on the single audit conducted by Bowman & Company to ensure compliance with all Federal laws and regulations.
What We FoundReview of Audit Work

Bowman & Company complied with the requirements of the Single Audit Act, the Office of Management and Budget's Uniform Guidance, and DOTs major programs.
We found nothing to indicate that Bowman & Companys opinion on DOT's major programs was inappropriate or unreliable.

Review of Reporting Package

We did not identify any deficiencies that required correction and resubmission of the Port Authoritys reporting package.

RatingWe assigned Bowman & Company an overall rating of Pass.

Our evaluation’s objective was to assess NTIA’s implementation of the Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund program. We determined the steps NTIA took to award and disburse program funds, the challenges NTIA faced while implementing the program, and the status of awards and disbursements. 

We found that although NTIA has taken steps to mitigate some challenges it faced when implementing the Innovation Fund program, it would benefit from developing a comprehensive strategic plan that would ensure the program’s success. We found that NTIA did not have a sufficient strategy for anticipating emerging industry challenges, had not fully developed program goals and strategic objectives that align with the program’s statutory objectives, and did not develop a comprehensive staffing plan before it began awarding grants. 

The lack of an adequate strategic plan limits NTIA’s ability to effectively measure the program’s performance and mitigate future challenges. With over $853 million in grant funds left to award, issues may continue to arise if NTIA does not improve its program planning.

Semiannual Report to Congress, April 1, 2022 through September 30, 2022

VA asked the OIG to conduct an audit of a contractor whose billing practices were concerning. The contractor, which provided eligible veterans with wheelchair van and other nonemergency transportation services to and from medical appointments in a certain VA healthcare system, invoiced VA about $11.17 million between January 1, 2019, and December 31, 2021, under this contract.

The OIG conducted an assertion-based attestation examination and found the company may not have complied with contract terms related to billing for veteran transportation, resulting in an estimated $1.81 million in potential overbillings between January 1, 2019, and December 31, 2021. Of this amount, $1.34 million was related to unclear contract terms and the company’s methodology for billing remote trips with multiple stops as though each drop-off was a separate trip.

The OIG also found that the company used mileage estimates instead of miles traveled and may have misclassified trips, with those errors resulting in potentially overbilling VA by an additional $470,537. According to the contractor, VA did not object or instruct the company to bill differently. VA issued a contract modification in April 2022, addressing billing of remote trips. The OIG found that the vendor complied with the billing terms of the modification for trips identified as remote. Subsequently, VA set a flat fee for each pickup and drop-off, removing the requirement to calculate billings by trip.

Except for the potential overbillings giving rise to the qualified opinion, the OIG team found the company’s assertion that it billed in accordance with the terms and conditions of the contract was fairly stated in all material respects. The OIG recommended—and VA agreed—that VA should confer with its Office of General Counsel on whether any funds could or should be recouped.

Our investigation determined that an Amtrak manager based in Philadelphia likely forged an employee’s signature on his final disciplinary waiver and a second disciplinary waiver for another employee in December 2022. On March 31, 2025, the manager was placed on administrative leave pending termination. He retired on April 8, 2025, and is no longer eligible for rehire.

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 an investigation so that it may consider measures for improvement regarding scientific integrity and ethical conduct.

Summary of Findings

The OIG has identified concerns regarding the EPA Office of Research and Development’s, or ORD’s, review and clearance process for manuscripts; its lack of oversight of published manuscripts, authorship designation, and lab visitors; and its failure to ensure that ORD staff uphold federal ethical standards and Agency policies regarding impartiality and scientific integrity in the workplace. These issues enabled an ORD researcher to collaborate with family members on EPA work products without obtaining the proper waivers to guard against conflicts of interest, to add the researcher’s underaged child as a coauthor to a manuscript that had already been cleared by EPA management, and to bring the researcher’s underaged children into an EPA lab despite established safety prohibitions. In addition, we are concerned that the OIG was not notified in a timely manner that the EPA had initiated its own internal investigation into these issues, which adversely affected the efficiency and effectiveness of our investigation.

To see our report, click on the link below

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 the National College of Business & Technology Company, Inc., doing business as NUC University (NUC University), reported verifiable data to IPEDS for the 2020–2021 reporting period. We found that NUC University did not always report verifiable data to IPEDS for the 2020–2021 reporting period. The total amount of grant or scholarship aid that NUC University students received for the 2020–2021 reporting period and the number of full-time undergraduate students who were enrolled in the fall of 2020 and seeking their first postsecondary certificate or degree that the school reported to IPEDS were not verifiable. In addition, the number of students who were full-time undergraduate students who began attending the school during academic year 2015–2016, were seeking their first postsecondary certificate or degree, and completed their program of study by the end of academic year 2020–2021 (150 percent of the normal time) that NUC University reported to IPEDS were not verifiable. While not all reported data were verifiable, the average tuition and fees, books and supplies, room and board, and other expenses charged to full-time undergraduate students who were seeking their first certificate or degree that the school reported to IPEDS for the 2020–2021 reporting period were verifiable. NUC University did not always report verifiable data to IPEDS because it did not design and implement procedures for collecting, consolidating, assessing the reliability of, and reporting data to IPEDS.

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 Bronx Healthcare System in New York.

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

The OIG issued no recommendations.

Underground storage tanks (USTs) are a critical part of the Veterans Health Administration’s healthcare facilities. The tanks store fuel for boilers and backup generators, which are essential to operations, especially during power failures. If the tanks are not properly installed and maintained, any chemicals they contain can be released into the environment, posing health and safety risks, such as cancer or adverse effects to reproductive, nervous, cardiovascular, and respiratory system health. The VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted this audit to determine whether VA is managing USTs according to federally established regulations to prevent corrosion, spillage and overfill, and releases of substances into the environment.

The OIG reviewed 44 regulated VA-owned and -operated USTs at eight selected medical facilities and found that seven facilities, which had 42 of the 44 USTs reviewed, failed to comply with relevant VA and federal requirements from October 1, 2022, through September 2023. Although there were no instances of chemical releases from the reviewed USTs found during the audit, the OIG identified inaccurate records of USTs or related monitoring equipment, prolonged responses to and correction of automatic tank gauge alarms, and inconsistent reporting of regulatory inspections and results. By addressing these concerns with increased oversight, VA can reduce the risk of potential releases that pose significant environmental and health risks to veterans and employees at its medical facilities.

The OIG made seven recommendations, including to provide guidance on correctly and consistently recording UST assets, as well as to ensure the oversight requirements in VHA directives and federal, state, and local codes, laws, and regulations are followed.

Why We Did This Report

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Inspector General conducted this audit to assess the EPA’s compliance with the fiscal year 2024 Inspector General Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2014 reporting metrics. The reporting metrics outline five security function areas and nine corresponding domains to help federal agencies manage cybersecurity risks.

Summary of Findings

We assessed the EPA’s information security program effectiveness against the Office of Management and Budget’s FY 2023–2024 Inspector General Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2014 (FISMA) Reporting Metrics at the maturity level of Level 4 (Managed and Measurable). The Agency achieved Level 4 ratings for 30, or 81 percent, of the 37 fiscal year 2024 metrics. Overall, we concluded that the EPA achieved a maturity level of Level 4 for the five security functions and nine domains outlined in the IG FISMA Reporting Metrics. This means that the EPA collects quantitative and qualitative measures on the effectiveness of policies, procedures, and strategies across the organization that are used to assess and make necessary changes. We identified that the EPA had deficiencies in the following areas:

• Complete and accurate inventory of EPA information systems.
• Software asset management data. We found that the Agency’s software management asset tool lacks complete and accurate data related to its software license inventory.

Our investigation determined that an Amtrak Trackman based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, violated company policies by failing to disclose three criminal convictions for theft—including two graded as felonies—in his employment application. The employee was terminated on April 2, 2025, and is no longer eligible for rehire.

This final report provides the results of our audit of the Puerto Rico Department of Agriculture’s (PR DOA’s) use of Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act of 2020 (CARES Act) and Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) of 2021 funds. Our objective was to determine whether PR DOA’s costs claimed through the CARES Act and CAA funds were allowable, allocable, and reasonable in accordance with federal cost principles.3 We conducted this audit as part of a response to a congressional request. This report provides answers to congressional questions related to CARES Act and CAA funds. To answer the audit objective and the congressional request, we ascertained the status of the award and funds expended and conducted limited testing of expenditures. We tested approximately $297,111 in costs claimed from the expended $2,508,354 CARES Act and CAA funds and found that PR DOA had documentation to support that costs claimed were allowable, allocable, and reasonable in accordance with federal cost principles.
For the 74 applications we reviewed, PR DOA maintained documentation that generally supported that applicants for aid were eligible to receive incentive payments of CARES Act and CAA funds. Specifically, we relied on the sworn statements provided and additional verification steps taken by PR DOA officials as support that applicants had incurred an economic loss greater than 35 percent. Based on the results of our review and the similar finding and recommendation in our report titled Puerto Rico’s Department of Natural and Environmental Resources Properly Disbursed Funds but Was Slow in Expending Fishery Disaster Assistance Funds, we did not make any recommendations in this report.

A lead service attendant based in Sacramento, California, resigned from her position on April 2, 2025, as a result of our investigation. We found that the former employee violated company policies by failing to remit cash payments to the company for purchases made by customers while she operated the café car concession. The former employee voided cash sales transactions and then failed to remit the cash at the completion of her route. She is not eligible for rehire.

The U.S. Postal Service’s mission is to provide timely, reliable, secure, and affordable mail and package delivery to more than 160 million residential and business addresses across the country. The U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General reviews delivery operations at facilities across the country and provides management with timely feedback in furtherance of this mission. 

The U.S. Postal Service’s mission is to provide timely, reliable, secure, and affordable mail and package delivery to more than 160 million residential and business addresses across the country. The U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General reviews delivery operations at facilities across the country and provides management with timely feedback in furtherance of this mission. 

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 Memphis Healthcare System in Tennessee. 

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 one domain:
  1.    Environment of care
   •    Crosswalk visibility and pedestrian safety
   •    Doorway and emergency exit safety
   •    Braille signs and auditory cues
   •    Toxic exposure screening completion

This is the third report of the fiscal year 2024 financial statement audits of the Smithsonian Institution performed by the independent accounting firm of KPMG LLP.
 

This letter to Congress reports on NCUA OIG's assessment of the NCUA's 2024 compliance under the Payment Integrity Information Act of 2019 (PIIA).

As required by the Inspector General Act of 1978 (as amended), this Semiannual Report summarizes the activities of the Office of Inspector General for the preceding 6-month period.

This report presents the results of our audit of delivery operations and property conditions at the Boulder Hills Station in Phoenix, AZ.
 

This report presents the results of our audit of delivery operations and property conditions at the Scottsdale Airpark Station in Scottsdale, AZ.

This report presents the results of our audit of delivery operations and property conditions at the Avondale Goodyear Main Post Office in Goodyear, AZ.

The U.S. Postal Service needs effective and productive operations to fulfill its mission of providing prompt, reliable, and affordable mail service to the American public. It has a vast transportation network that moves mail and equipment among approximately 315 processing facilities and 31,200 post offices, stations, and branches. The Postal Service is transforming its processing and logistics networks to become more scalable, reliable, visible, efficient, automated, and digitally integrated. This includes modernizing operating plans and aligning the workforce; leveraging emerging technologies to provide world-class visibility and tracking of mail and packages in near real time; and optimizing the surface and air transportation network. The U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General (OIG) reviews the efficiency of mail processing operations at facilities across the country and provides management with timely feedback to further the Postal Service’s mission.

This report presents the results of our audit of the West Valley Processing and Distribution Center.

Audit of the Railroad Retirement Board's Interagency Agreements

Additional Oversight and Monitoring of the SEC’s CAT Usage Is Needed, Report No. 585

The U.S. Postal Service relies on pre‑career employees to supplement its regular workforce. Pre-career employees are temporary workers who do not receive the same employee benefits as career employees and are not always guaranteed a regular schedule. The Postal Service’s 10-year strategic plan identified “unacceptably high rates of pre‑career employee turnover” as a key challenge and created a goal of stabilizing and empowering the workforce, which included a reduction of pre‑career workforce turnover by 50 percent.

The U.S. Postal Service implemented the Contract Logistics Enterprise Acquisition Resource (CLEAR) system and the Transportation Management System (TMS) in April 2022 to enhance the efficiency and reliability of its transportation network. CLEAR was designed to improve the management of transportation contracts, streamline payment processing, and enhance performance tracking. The TMS provides scheduling details, monitors real-time trip activities, processes payments, and tracks vouchers. The TMS relies on rate information from the CLEAR system to generate accurate trip payments. From April 2022 through March 2024, the Postal Service spent approximately $2.3 billion on dedicated transportation services.

According to 20 U.S.C. § 44, each member of the Smithsonian Institution’s Board of Regents shall be paid for necessary travel and other actual expenses to attend meetings of the Board. The law also assigns the Board’s Executive Committee the responsibility of auditing these expenditures. Since 2008, at the request of the Executive Committee, the Smithsonian’s Office of the Inspector General has conducted audits of the Regents’ travel expenses. 

The objective of this audit was to determine whether Regents’ travel expense reimbursements for fiscal years 2023 and 2024 complied with the Travel Reimbursement Policy specified by the Office of the Regents.  

 

The OIG contracted with Sikich CPA LLC to conduct the Performance Audit of the NRC’s Implementation of the Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2014 for Fiscal Year 2024 Region III: Naperville, Illinois. The objective was to assess the effectiveness of the information security policies, procedures, and practices of the NRC Region III facility. The findings and conclusions presented in this report are the responsibility of Sikich. The OIG’s responsibility is to provide oversight of the contractor’s work in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards.
The agency’s staff indicated that they had no formal comments for inclusion in this report.
For the period March 2024 through November 2024, Sikich found that although the NRC generally implemented effective information security policies, procedures, and practices for Region III, the agency’s implementation of a subset of selected controls was not fully effective. There are weaknesses in Region III’s information security program and practices. As a result, one recommendation was made to assist Region III in strengthening its information security program.

The VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted a national review to evaluate the governance structure and responsibilities related to the Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) Chief Mental Health Officer (CMHO) role. 

The OIG found that VHA communicated inconsistent mandatory and discretionary VISN staffing requirements. Failure to provide consistent staffing requirements likely contributes to VISN leaders’ inadequate understanding of priority positions and lack of standardization.

VISN leaders did not consistently utilize the standardized organizational chart and used a variety of titles to represent the CMHO role; the OIG identified inaccuracies within VISN-provided organizational charts. The absence of consistent information regarding organizational governance structure and staffing may result in inequities in resources and oversight of VISN and facility mental health staff and services.

The OIG determined that Office of Mental Health leaders established multiple avenues to facilitate communication with CMHOs. 

The OIG found that CMHO functional statements varied in format and content and did not consistently align with performance plan elements. While flexibility based on unique VISN needs is important, the OIG would expect the inclusion of critical responsibilities to be identified consistently in both CMHO functional statements and performance plans.

All CMHOs reported providing oversight of specific mental health programs and services; however, half of the CMHOs described lack of authority as a major barrier to effectively overseeing and implementing actions for facility-level mental health services. Office of Mental Health and Office of Suicide Prevention leaders suggested that standardization of the CMHO position description would be helpful in increasing the effectiveness of the role. 

The OIG made five recommendations to the Under Secretary for Health related to VISN staffing requirements, the use of the VISN organizational chart, alignment of CMHO functional statements and performance plans, and CMHO role authority.

This review determined that the Peace Corps complied with the Payment Integrity Information Act for FY 2024. The agency provided payment integrity information through the Office of Management and Budget’s FY 2024 annual data call; published its improper payment information in the Agency Financial Report for FY 2024; and posted that report on the Peace Corps’ website.

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.

OIG issued this report to consolidate its unresolved investigations-derived recommendations into a single resource for FCC, and to inform critical stakeholders of the threats to program integrity identified by FCC OIG’s investigative work. 

The Smithsonian Institution Office of Inspector General reviewed the system of quality control for the audit organization of the National Credit Union Administration Office of the Inspector General (NCUA OIG) in effect for the year ending September 30, 2024. A system of quality control encompasses NCUA OIG’s organizational structure and the policies adopted and procedures established to provide reasonable assurance of conforming in all material respects with Government Auditing Standards and applicable legal and regulatory requirements. The elements of quality control are described in Government Auditing
Standards. The Smithsonian Institution OIG opined that the system of quality control for the audit organization of NCUA OIG in effect for the year ending September 30, 2024, has been suitably designed to provide NCUA OIG with reasonable assurance of performing and reporting in conformity with applicable professional standards and applicable legal and regulatory requirements in all material respects. Audit organizations can receive a rating of pass, pass with deficiencies, or fail. NCUA OIG has received an External Peer Review rating of pass.

To see our report, click on the link below

The Office of Inspector General completed a final action verification of all 143 recommendations in 12 audit reports on the Food and Nutrition Service’s Summer Food Service Program. 

The overall objectives are to review and summarize the Commission’s open recommendations, identify any challenges to closing recommendations, and consider alternate actions for recommendations that may no longer be relevant due to changes in the Commission’s policies and procedures.  

We conducted an evaluation of Guyana's (hereafter referred to as "the post") programs, operations, and activities from October 1, 2021, to May 3, 2024. The purpose of the evaluation was to assess the agency’s effectiveness in meeting its objectives related to Volunteer health and safety, project activities, Volunteer training and support, and post leadership.

This report presents the results of our audit of Network Changes: Local Transportation Optimization in the Wisconsin region.

Zero trust architecture (ZTA) is a cybersecurity approach based on continual verification of each user, device, application, and transaction to protect critical systems and data. NASA has made progress implementing ZTA across its corporate systems (managed by the Office of the Chief Information Officer). However, by delaying ZTA implementation of non-corporate (mission and Jet Propulsion Laboratory) systems, the Agency is missing an opportunity to address enterprise-wide issues that will impact ZTA adoption within the non-corporate environment.

The Office of Inspector General (OIG) is responsible for the oversight of non-Federal audits covering Department program funds. The OIG reviews reporting packages, and in some cases the supporting audit documentation, and notifies the relevant parties of any quality deficiencies identified.  This report provides non-Federal audit stakeholders with information on the OIG’s non-Federal audit oversight activities in 2024.