Federal Reports

This our final report on fiscal year (FY) 2015 improper payment reporting. We conducted this review to comply with the requirements of the Improper Payments Information Act of 2002 (IPIA)--as amended by the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act of 2010 (!PERA) and the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Improvement Act of 2012 (IPERIA)--and Office of Management and Budget (0MB) Circular A-123, Appendix C, "Requirements for Effective Estimation and Remediation of Improper Payments," as amended. Our review focused on assessing whether the Department's improper payment reporting in its FY 2015 Agency Financial Report complied with all applicable reporting requirements. We also evaluated the accuracy and completeness of the Department's reporting, as well as its performance in reducing and recapturing improper payments.

A disappointed job competitor alleged that an individual selected for a senior (SES-equivalent) position overstated her qualifications and embellished her prior work experience and responsibilities, and that the hiring official (also SES-equivalent) failed to verify her prior employment. The complainant also alleged that the same official promoted another CNCS employee without competition.

EAC OIG issued this advisory to bring to the attention to questions regarding the nature of HAVA funds and the applicability of Federal laws, regulations, and Government-wide guidance to the payments made under HAVA.

The Office of Inspector General (OIG) must review the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) compliance with the Improper Payments Information Act of 2002 (IPIA; P.L. No. 107-300) as amended by the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act of 2010 (P.L. No. 111-204) and the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Improvement Act of 2012 (IPERIA; P.L. No. 112-248). Ernst & Young (EY), LLP, under its contract with the HHS OIG, audited the fiscal year 2015 HHS improper payment information reported in the Agency Financial Report (AFR) to determine compliance with IPIA and related guidance from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

Maintenance personnel at coal plants use firearms (i.e., shotguns) to remove boiler slag, which is the buildup of molten ash. The objective of this evaluation was to determine if firearms and ammunition at coal plants are properly accounted for and safeguarded. In summary, we determined TVA does not have standardized guidance related to the accountability of firearms and ammunition used at coal plants. Instead, each plant has implemented individualized accountability processes. Although three plants have written guidance related to accounting for and safeguarding firearms and ammunition, two plants did not. Our review of the written guidance and actual practices utilized at each plant found they were insufficient to account for and safeguard firearms and ammunition. Additionally, a firearm sent to Cumberland Fossil Plant by TVA Police & Emergency Management could not be located by plant personnel.

We found that the Department did not comply with the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act because its FY 2015 improper payment rate did not meet the reduction target for the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) program. The Department established an FY 2015 reduction target of 1.49 percent for the Direct Loan program; however the improper payment rate for the program was2.63 percent after the Department recalculated this rate to correct for the formula execution errors we identified during our audit. Similar to our previous IPERA audits, we found that the Department’s improper payment methodologies for the Federal Pell Grant and Direct Loanprograms were flawed, as its estimation methodologies did not include all program reviews that could identify improper payments. We also found the estimation methodology for the Pell program excluded sources of improper payments, such as the Free Application for Federal Student Aid/Internal Revenue Service Data Statistical Study, and fraud. Further, the estimation methodologies did not include all improper payments from ineligible programs or locations identified in program reviews. In addition, we found that Department’s reported improper payment estimates for both the Pell Grant and Direct Loan programs were inaccurate and unreliable because spreadsheet formulas used in the calculations were incorrect and the calculations deviated from the Office of Management and Budget-approved methodologies.

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The future of advertising mail—currently a critical product for the Postal Service’s bottom line—is uncertain. Key external factors impacting future advertising mail volumes are: the national economy, the growth of Internet advertising, and the degree to which Internet advertising displaces advertising mail. Despite the importance of external factors on advertising mail, the future of advertising mail is not predetermined.

This report provides a visual representation of data on the workload activities of Medicare benefit integrity contractors in calendar years 2012 and 2013. The report allows for a quick comparison of workload statistics across the 2 years, across contractors, and across Medicare programs and provides a baseline for reviewing contractors' quantitative results over time. The report provides descriptive information about the changes that occurred from 2012 to 2013 as well as the variation among contractors' workload statistics. However, the report does not examine the underlying causes of those changes or variations. The contractors include Program Safeguard Contractors, Zone Program Integrity Contractors, and the National Benefit Integrity Medicare Drug Integrity Contractor. Past OIG work has shown substantial variation among benefit integrity contractors with respect to the number of investigations they started and the number of cases that they referred to law enforcement. It has also shown that the contractors made limited use of proactive methods to identify potential fraud and abuse; and that they did not report workload statistics in a uniform manner. In addition, previous OIG work has identified anomalies in contractors' workload statistics, which may highlight issues with the CMS's oversight of these contractors. Although we have conducted previous studies on these individual contractor types, this is the first report to provide the results of benefit integrity activities across all of these contractors. Figure 1 provides a comparison of the results of benefit integrity contractors' activities between 2012 and 2013.

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The objective of this audit was to review the preparation and planning for the transfer of the Obama Administration’s records.

An audit was conducted to determine whether the Denali Commission's processes and procedures for inventory management and equipment acquisition are sufficient to ensure that federal assets and funds are being appropriately managed.

The Office of Inspector General examined NASA's efforts to partner with international space agencies to advance science and human exploration.

The Office of Inspector General examined NASA’s management of the $1.9 billion contract that provides Kennedy with a wide variety of services ranging from space flight engineering to laboratory and shop maintenance.

The OIG audited the payments TVA made to Seven States Power Corporation (Seven States) under Contract No. 544179 for a demand response pilot study in which Seven States was to demonstrate its capability to provide aggregated demand response (ADR) services. Under the ADR Proof of Concept (POC) program, Seven States serves in an administrative role, coordinating recruitment of customers, communication with TVA, and tracking of program performance. Participating customers are incentivized to reduce power usage at specific times when called on by TVA. Seven States aggregates the load reduction estimates submitted by participating customers each month and provides TVA with an overall estimate of the load reduction available for the ADR POC program as a whole. End-use customers are compensated through separate agreements. Our audit objectives were to (1) determine if the amounts invoiced by Seven States were in compliance with the contract terms and (2) assess the effectiveness and management of the ADR POC program. Our audit included $2.34 million in payments made to Seven States from August 1, 2013, through February 5, 2016. In summary, we found Seven States invoiced amounts to TVA in accordance with the contract terms and conditions. However, we also found (1) Seven States has not met capacity nominations, and (2) TVA's management of the ADR POC program needs improvement. Specifically, TVA management did not establish capacity nomination limits that reflected Seven States' actual load curtailment capability and penalties for underperformance until September 30, 2015, which resulted in TVA incurring approximately $1,028,000 in additional costs; has not performed a cost/benefit analysis of the six load curtailment events; and has not established criteria to measure the program's effectiveness.(Summary Only)

This report contains information about recommendations from the OIG’s audits, evaluations, and reviews that the OIG had not closed as of the specified date because it had not determined that the Department of Justice had fully implemented them. The information omits recommendations that the Department of Justice determined to be classified or sensitive, and therefore unsuitable for public release. The status of each recommendation was accurate as of the specified date and is subject to change. Specifically, a recommendation identified as not closed as of the specified date may subsequently have been closed.

FY 2016 annual improper payments report to OMB and Congress.

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The report summarizes the FTC OIG’s activities and accomplishments during the first half of the FY 2016 reporting period.