Federal Reports

This report details KPMG’s audit of trust funds financial statements from the Bureau of Trust Funds Administration for fiscal years 2022 and 2021.

We investigated an allegation that an NPS supervisor improperly approved a request from a subordinate to receive pay after being suspended.

The Federal Managers’ Financial Integrity Act of 1982 (FMFIA), P.L. 97-255,as well as the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) Circular A-123, Management’sResponsibility for Enterprise Risk Management and Internal Control, M-16-17 establish specificrequirements for management control. Each executive agency must establish controls toreasonably ensure that: (1) obligations and costs are in compliance with applicable law; (2)funds, property, and other assets are safeguarded against waste, loss, unauthorized use, ormisappropriation; and (3) revenues and expenditures applicable to agency operations areproperly recorded and accounted for to permit the preparation of accounts and reliable financialand statistical reports and to maintain accountability over the assets.Based on the OIG’s review, the Agency’s management controls review process was conducted inaccordance with applicable guidance. As of this memorandum date, the independent auditors,Harper, Rains, Knight and Company (HRK) did not identify any material weaknesses resultingfrom their audit of EEOC’s Fiscal Year 2022 financial statements.

OIG audited FCIC/RMA financial statements for fiscal years 2022 and 2021.

KPMG LLP, an independent certified public accounting firm, was engaged to audit the financial statements of Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) as of September 30, 2022 and 2021, and for the fiscal years then ended; to provide a report on internal controls over financial reporting; to report on whether NRCS’ financial management system substantially complied with the requirements of the Federal Financial Management Improvement Act of 1996 (FFMIA); and to report any reportable noncompliance with laws, regulations, contracts, and grant agreements it tested.

OIG audited Rural Development’s consolidated financial statements for fiscal years 2022 and 2021.

KPMG LLP, an independent certified public accounting firm, was engaged to audit the financial statements of Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) as of September 30, 2022 and 2021, and for the fiscal years then ended; to provide a report on internal controls over financial reporting; to report on whether CCC’s financial management system substantially complied with the requirements of the Federal Financial Management Improvement Act of 1996 (FFMIA); and to report any reportable noncompliance with laws, regulations, contracts, and grant agreements it tested.

Based The Federal Managers’ Financial Integrity Act of 1982 (FMFIA), P.L. 97-255, as well as the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) Circular A-123, Management’s Responsibility for Enterprise Risk Management and Internal Control, M-16-17 establish specific requirements for management control. Each executive agency must establish controls to reasonably ensure that: (1) obligations and costs are in compliance with applicable law; (2) funds, property, and other assets are safeguarded against waste, loss, unauthorized use, or misappropriation; and (3) revenues and expenditures applicable to agency operations are properly recorded and accounted for to permit the preparation of accounts and reliable financial and statistical reports and to maintain accountability over the assets on the OIG’s review, the Agency’s management controls review process was conducted in accordance with applicable guidance.As of this memorandum date, the independent auditors, Harper, Rains, Knight and Company (HRK) did not identify any material weaknesses resulting from their audit of EEOC’s Fiscal Year 2022 financial statements.

An Amtrak Assistant Foreman based in New York, violated company policy when he engaged in outside employment while on a medical leave of absence. In addition, on April 5, 2022, he falsified a Railroad Retirement Board application for sickness benefits by stating he had no income. The employee was terminated after his disciplinary hearing on November 9, 2022.

As of September 30, 2022, there are 70 open recommendations, 10 of which were reported as implemented by management but remain open per OIG or Independent Public Accounting firm (IPA) determination, and none of the remaining 60 were considered “Overdue”. No new recommendations were added since the issuance of our third Quarterly Audit Recommendation Status Report, and one recommendation was closed.

We contracted with the independent public accounting firm RMA Associates, LLC (RMA) to conduct the Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2014 (FISMA) audit of the United States International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) for FY 2022 to evaluate the effectiveness of the DFC's information security program and practices, and determine what maturity level DFC achieved for each of the core metrics outlined in the FY 2022 Core Inspector General (IG) FISMA Metrics.

OIG FY 2023 Annual Plan for USNRC

OIG FY 2023 Annual Plan for DNFSB

What We Looked AtWe contracted with the independent public accounting firm Allmond & Company, LLC (Allmond), to audit the National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB) financial statements as of and for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2022; provide an opinion on those financial statements; and report on internal control over financial reporting, compliance with laws, and other matters. The contract required the audit to be performed in accordance with U.S. generally accepted Government auditing standards, Office of Management and Budget audit guidance, and the Government Accountability Office’s and Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency’s Financial Audit Manual. We performed a quality control review (QCR) of Allmond’s report dated November 6, 2022, and related documentation, and inquired of its representatives. What We FoundOur QCR disclosed no instances in which Allmond did not comply, in all material respects, with U.S. generally accepted Government auditing standards. Our RecommendationsAllmond made no recommendations.

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

Our objective for this report was to assess the effectiveness of the company’s practices for identifying and tracking its operational technology assets to facilitate its ability to protect them from cybersecurity threats.We identified opportunities for the company to improve its practices for identifying and tracking its OT assets for cybersecurity purposes and made four recommendations. Given the sensitive nature of the report’s information, we have summarized the results in this public version of the report.In commenting on a draft of this report, company executives agreed with our recommendations and identified actions that the company is taking to address them.THE TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADMININSTRATION AND THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION HAVE DETERMINED THAT THIS REPORT CONTAINS SENSITIVE SECUITY INFORMATION (SSI) that is controlled under 49 CFR parts 15 and 1520 to protect Sensitive Security Information exempt from public disclosure. For Amtrak OIG, public disclosure is governed by 5 U.S.C. § 552 and 49 CFR parts 15 and 1520. This public version of the report has been redacted.

On November 7, 2022, an Amtrak coach cleaner, based in Miami, Florida, signed a civil settlement agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Florida, and agreed to pay $21,999 in restitution and a $5,000 penalty. Our investigation found that the employee submitted an application that contained false statements and information to obtain a Payroll Protection Program loan for a business that did not exist, resulting in the receipt of funds to which he was not entitled.

We summarized what we have determined to be the most significant management and performance challenges facing the DOI for FY 2022.

We audited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Title VIII complaint intake data and jurisdictional determinations recorded in the HUD Enforcement Management System (HEMS).  We initiated this audit to assist HUD with identifying opportunities to improve its data collection and jurisdiction determination process.  Our audit objective was to assess HUD’s Title VIII fair housing complaint intake process for complaint inquiries that resulted in filed fair housing complaints and inquiries that were closed during the intake stage.  Specifically, we reviewed HEMS to assess the thoroughness and consistency of complaint inquiry data and jurisdictional determinations made during the intake process.A fair housing complaint inquiry is opened by HUD or a Fair Housing Assistance Program (FHAP) agency when a claimant provides information regarding an alleged discriminatory housing practice.  If HUD or the FHAP agency determines the complaint is within HUD’s jurisdiction to investigate, the matter is converted to a complaint.  If a complaint inquiry is not within HUD’s jurisdiction or HUD or an FHAP agency cannot make a jurisdictional determination, the inquiry is closed.We found that HUD and FHAP agencies adequately documented decisions to convert inquiries to complaints in HEMS, but that closed inquiries need to be documented more adequately and consistently.  Specifically, HEMS did not always include (1) adequate documentation supporting the recorded closure reason, (2) sufficient information supporting jurisdictional determinations made, and (3) letters properly notifying claimants when HUD lacked jurisdiction to pursue their allegations.  These conditions occurred due to inconsistent and outdated HUD policies and procedures. Further, HUD officials stated that HUD staff’s ability to enter all information into HEMS was negatively impacted by the large volume of inquiries received, some of which may not have been related to fair housing issues.  We also found that FHAP agencies did not enter complaint inquiries into HEMS when they decided not to investigate the allegations.  HUD does not require them to enter these inquiries in HEMS and does not provide grant funding for entering this information.  This gap renders HUD’s process for overseeing allegations closed during the inquiry stage incomplete.  HUD’s management needs more complete information in HEMS to oversee jurisdictional determinations and ensure that HUD and FHAP agencies’ staff are assessing allegations of housing discrimination properly.  As a result, HUD management does not have all the information it needs to ensure its FHAP agencies are performing as expected.We recommend that HUD’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for Enforcement update HUD Handbook 8024.01, REV-2, and regional intake policies and procedures as necessary and develop a process for overseeing allegations of housing discrimination that FHAP agencies close during the intake stage to ensure that closure and jurisdictional determinations are consistent the Fair Housing Act.

Objective: To assess and summarize the most serious management and performance challenges facing the Social Security Administration (SSA).

On November 4, 2022, an Amtrak motor equipment operator, based in Miami, Florida, signed a civil settlement agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Florida, and agreed to pay $22,904 in restitution and a $6,000 penalty. Our investigation found that the employee submitted a fraudulent application to obtain a Payroll Protection Program loan for a business that did not exist, resulting in the receipt of funds to which he was not entitled.

The Office of Inspector General (OIG) contracted with the independent certified public accounting firm of Harper, Rains, Knight & Company, P.A. (HRK) to conduct a performance audit of EEOC’s information security program and practices in accordance with the Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2014 (FISMA) for Fiscal Year 2022. The objective of this performance audit was to assess the effectiveness of the EEOC’s information security program and practices for the period October 1, 2021, through September 30, 2022. HRK found that the EEOC has established and maintained a constantly implemented information security program and practices. HRK has identified in its report areas of improvement in the form of findings and recommendations. The OIG, along with HRK, will conduct a virtual exit conference regarding FISMA on November 16, 2022, at 2:00 pm via MS Teams where the auditors from HRK will discuss the results of the audit.

The OIG reviewed the Veterans Health Administration’s (VHA) progress in monitoring their follow-up of canceled appointments during the COVID-19 pandemic.In 2020, the OIG reported that VHA had not followed up on about 32 percent of canceled appointments. VHA then implemented the Cancelled Appointments and Consult Management Initiative and created a cancellation report to track follow-up conducted for appointments originally scheduled to occur after July 21, 2020. The report allowed tracking by types of care, by month, and cumulatively, but VHA did not use all the reporting features. VHA required facilities to meet a minimum 80 percent follow-up rate or develop corrective action plans.VHA had evidence of follow-up activity for about 87 percent of appointments originally scheduled to occur from January through July 2021. However, when the OIG team evaluated follow-up by types of care, the assessment revealed that more than one-third of specific types of care fell below 80 percent, and every facility had at least one type of care below 80 percent. The team also assessed data by month and identified seven facilities that dropped below 80 percent during June and July 2021 (not evident in cumulative reporting). Since the cancellation report’s implementation, VHA officials have not reevaluated the tracked types of activity used to determine if an appointment had been followed up.VHA implemented monitoring procedures for follow-up of canceled appointments during the pandemic, but it can strengthen its oversight by using the cancellation report to monitor follow-up by type of care and by month, as well as by reassessing the activities that determine what appointments are followed up. VHA concurred with the OIG’s two recommendations on monitoring follow-up rates and assisting facilities that fell below the established metrics, as well as reassessing what constitutes follow-up activities.

EAC OIG, through the independent public accounting firm of Brown & Company CPAs and Management Consultants, PLLC, audited EAC’s information security program for fiscal year 2022 in support of the Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2014 (FISMA). The objective was to determine whether EAC implemented selected security controls for certain information systems in support of FISMA.

What We Looked AtAs required by law, we report annually on the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) most significant challenges to meeting its mission. We considered several criteria in identifying DOT’s top management challenges for fiscal year 2023, including their impact on safety, documented vulnerabilities, large dollar implications, and the ability of the Department to effect change. Recognizing the unique challenges of a changing environment, our report also discusses DOT’s implementation of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) as well as COVID-19 impacts within the management challenge areas we identified. What We FoundWe identified the following top management challenge areas for fiscal year 2023: Aviation safety. Key challenges: improving oversight of aircraft certification, and maintaining confidence in FAA’s ability to oversee air carrier operations and address long unresolved safety issues. Surface transportation safety. Key challenges: overcoming oversight challenges to help reduce surface transportation fatalities, and improving monitoring and enforcement of surface transportation safety programs. Air traffic control and airspace modernization. Key challenges: meeting staffing needs at the Nation’s most critical air traffic control facilities, ensuring air carriers provide fair and adequate service, and achieving NextGen benefits for airspace users and deploying controller automation tools to improve efficiency. Surface transportation infrastructure. Key challenges: managing risks to achieve goals; enhancing award, administration, and oversight processes over new and existing funded programs and projects; and executing Federal priorities related to the impact of climate change, advancing equity, and promoting resilience in infrastructure. Contract and grant fund stewardship. Key challenges: establishing sound pricing for contract and grant awards, and verifying contract and grant expenditures are supported and proper, including compliance with Made in America laws. Financial management. Key challenges: preventing and detecting increases in improper payments, and enhancing policies and procedures to monitor and report grantee spending. Information security. Key challenges: strengthening enforcement and implementation of DOT’s enterprisewide information security program to prevent cyberattacks, and addressing obstacles to moving towards a Zero Trust Architecture. Fraud prevention and detection. Key challenges: identifying and assessing fraud, and proactively managing fraud risks through oversight, outreach, and data analysis. Innovation and the future of transportation. Key challenges: implementing DOT’s innovation principles, advancing the safe integration of vehicle automation and electric vehicles on our Nation’s roads, and safely integrating new technologies into the National Airspace System. Evolving operations and workforce management. Key challenges: coordinating effectively to address DOT and stakeholder capacity challenges to successfully deliver IIJA programs, and maximizing the benefits of workforce flexibilities and the hybrid work environment to enhance efficiency, effectiveness, and engagement.

BackgroundThis report presents the results of our self-initiated audit of Efficiency of Operations at the Atlanta Processing and Distribution Center (P&DC) in Atlanta, GA. We conducted this audit to provide U.S. Postal Service management with timely information on operational risks at this P&DC. We judgmentally selected the Atlanta P&DC based on a review of clearance times; workhours, mail volume, and productivity; overall scanning performance; late, extra, and canceled trips; overtime and penalty overtime; and trailer utilization. The Atlanta P&DC is in the Southeast Division and processes letters, flats, and parcels. The Atlanta P&DC services multiple 3-digit ZIP Codes in urban and rural communities.

This interim report presents the results of our self-initiated audit of mail delivery, customer service, and property conditions at the McDonough Main Post Office (MPO), McDonough, GA. The McDonough MPO is in the Georgia District of the Southern Area and services ZIP Codes 30252 and 30253. These ZIP Codes serve about 91,063 people in a predominantly urban area. We judgmentally selected the McDonough MPO based on the number of Stop-the-Clock scans occurring at the delivery unit, rather than at the customer’s point of delivery, and indicators for undelivered mail.

This interim report presents the results of our self-initiated audit of mail delivery, customer service, and property conditions at the Old National Station in Atlanta, GA. The Old National Station is in the Georgia District of the Southern Area and services ZIP Codes 30337 and 30349. These ZIP Codes serve about 78,238 people in a predominantly urban area. We judgmentally selected the Old National Station based on the number of Stop-the-Clock scans occurring at the delivery unit, rather than at the customer’s point of delivery, and indicators for undelivered mail.

This interim report presents the results of our self-initiated audit of mail delivery, customer service, and property conditions at the Stockbridge Main Post Office (MPO) in Stockbridge, GA. The Stockbridge MPO is in the Georgia District of the Southern Area and services ZIP Codes 30273 and 30281. These ZIP Codes serve about 80,403 people in a predominantly urban area. We judgmentally selected the Stockbridge MPO based on the number of Stop-the-Clock scans occurring at the delivery unit, rather than at the customer’s point of delivery, and indicators for undelivered mail.

The Office of Inspector General (OIG) Care in the Community healthcare inspection program examines clinical and administrative processes associated with providing quality outpatient healthcare to veterans. This report provides a focused evaluation of Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) 15 and its oversight of the quality of care delivered in community-based outpatient clinics (CBOCs) and through its community care referrals to non-VA providers. Although it is difficult to measure the value of well-delivered and coordinated care between VA and non-VA providers, the findings in this report may help VISN leaders identify vulnerable areas of community care that, if properly addressed, should improve healthcare quality for veterans.The OIG reviewed care coordination: congestive heart failure management; primary care and mental health (diagnostic evaluations following positive screenings for depression or alcohol misuse); quality of care (home dialysis care); and women’s health (mammography care and communication of results). The OIG issued three recommendations for improvement in one area, quality of care:• Ensuring an end-stage renal disease provider sees patients in the home dialysis program at least monthly, as evidenced by a progress note in the medical record by the responsible independent renal practitioner• Performing initial and annual home visits for patients accepted into the VISN 15 home dialysis program• Monitoring the quality of home dialysis contracted clinical services for patients receiving non-VA home dialysis services

This report includes EAC OIG’s independent assessment of the top management challenges facing EAC in fiscal year 2023.

The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) awarded Alutiiq Logistics & Maintenance Services, LLC (ALMS) a firm-fixed-price indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract valued at $50,000,000, beginning in February 2020, to provide facility maintenance and support services at the Albuquerque Complex located in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The contract requires ALMS to comply with all applicable Federal, state, and local environment, safety, and health regulations and standards, in addition to specific Department directives and reporting requirements, as identified under each individual task order.On October 26, 2021, the Department’s Office of Inspector General received nine allegations that ALMS failed to comply with contractual obligations regarding safety and health issues for several years. We initiated this inspection to determine the facts and circumstances regarding the alleged safety concerns at the NNSA Albuquerque Complex.We substantiated eight of the nine allegations that ALMS failed to comply with contractual obligations regarding safety and health issues. Specifically, we substantiated that ALMS: (1) did not have adequate emergency management plans; (2) did not have a compliant quality control plan; (3) did not know how to properly use the computerized maintenance management system program; (4) closed out work orders without completing required work; (5) did not hire qualified tradesmen; (6) did not have a safety manager; (7) had staff retention issues due to low wages; and (8) did not correct noncompliances found during the September 2020 NNSA Office of Worker Safety and Health Services site assist review. We did not substantiate the allegation that (9) ALMS was not completing forklift inspections and was falsifying inspection documents.These issues occurred because ALMS did not effectively manage its contract with NNSA. Specifically, ALMS hired unqualified personnel, including managers; did not fill vacant positions; and had ineffective support from Alutiiq, LLC corporate. Additionally, NNSA did not always hold ALMS accountable for meeting contract requirements.Management fully concurred with our findings and recommendations and provided corrective actions that are responsive to our recommendations.

Depleted uranium hexafluoride (DUF6) is a byproduct of uranium enrichment at Department of Energy gaseous diffusion plants since World War II. Uranium enrichment, a process used to make fuel for nuclear power plants and for military applications, created a legacy of approximately 800,000 metric tons of DUF6 that was stored in about 67,000 steel cylinders at the Department’s gaseous diffusion plant sites Public Law 107-206, signed by the President in August 2002, requires that no later than 30 days after enactment, the Department must award a contract for the design, construction, and operation of DUF6 conversion facilities at the Paducah, Kentucky, and Portsmouth, Ohio, sites. Public Law 107-206 also stipulates that the contract require groundbreaking for construction to occur no later than July 31, 2004, at both sites. We initiated this audit to determine the Department’s progress in converting its DUF6 inventory.We found that the Department made limited progress in converting its DUF6 inventory into a more stable form for reuse, storage, or disposal. After encountering numerous problems with safely converting the DUF6 inventory, the Department revised its baseline in 2019 and estimated that it would then take an additional 18 years, until 2054, to convert the inventory. The Department revised its projected costs to convert the full inventory of DUF6 to around $11.7 billion, more than two and a half times its original estimate of $4.6 billion.In addition to COVID-19 impacts, delays in converting the DUF6 occurred, in part, due to inherent technical or mechanical flaws that resulted in numerous shutdowns of the plants. While the Department invested in plant modifications to address some of these flaws, it had not completed comprehensive studies of the plants’ inherent flaws and their realistic conversion capabilities.Management concurred with our finding and one recommendation, and its proposed corrective actions are consistent with our recommendation.

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

The Office of Inspector General is tasked with ensuring efficiency, accountability, and integrity in the U.S. Postal Service. We also have the distinct mission of helping to maintain confidence in the mail and postal system, as well as to improve the Postal Service's bottom line. We use audits and investigations to help protect the integrity of the Postal Service. Our Semiannual Report to Congress presents a snapshot of the work we did to fulfill our mission for the six-month period ending September 30, 2022. Our dynamic report format provides readers with easy access to facts and information, as well as succinct summaries of the work by area. Links are provided to the full reports featured in this report, as well as to the appendices.

October 2022 Semiannual Report to Congress

To view the report, please click on the link below.

This report was submitted to the Comptroller General in accordance with Section 5 of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) Act of 2008. The report summarizes the activities of GAO’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) for the six-month reporting period ending September 30, 2022. During the reporting period, the OIG initiated work on two performance audits and continued work on an additional performance audit. In addition, the OIG closed seven investigations and opened 22 new investigations. The OIG processed 75 substantive hotline complaints, many of which were referred to other OIGs for action because the matters involved were within their jurisdictions. The OIG remained active in the GAO and OIG communities by briefing new GAO employees on its audit and investigative missions, briefing GAO teams on the work of the GAO OIG, and participating in Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency committees and working groups, including those related to the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee.

The objective of our inspection was to determine the U.S. Department of Education’s (Department) compliance with Experimental Sites Initiative (ESI) reporting requirements.We found that the Department is not complying with ESI reporting requirements. The Department has not published a comprehensive ESI report since the 2010–2011 award year report. The Department published two ESI reports in 2020, but these reports did not satisfy the reporting requirements as they each covered only one experiment, not all recently completed and ongoing experiments. There are 15 ESI experiments that have been implemented by the Department since the issuance of the last comprehensive report that have not yet been reported on by the Department.

The VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) assessed VA’s compliance with requirements to report staffing and vacancy data on its public-facing website and the clarity of related explanations. VA is mandated to publicly release this information each quarter under the Maintaining Internal Systems and Strengthening Integrated Outside Networks (MISSION) Act of 2018 to promote transparency in personnel management. The MISSION Act also requires the OIG to review VA’s data-reporting website and make recommendations for improvement. After discussions with the review team, VA took action to correct its time-to-hire calculation starting with the June 2022 quarterly report to include every required step of the hiring process. VA also explained OIG-identified discrepancies in its June 2022 report after the review team discussed them with responsible officials. Consequently, the OIG did not make further recommendations on these issues. The review team found that VA could strengthen its explanation of vacant positions to show that the data were rounded and included part-time positions. VA agreed and included that information beginning with the April 2022 staffing and vacancy report. Additionally, the team observed that VA could increase the value of its reported information by summarizing and identifying trends in the expanded time-to-hire data, as done with the vacancy, onboarding, and gains and losses information published under the MISSION Act. In response, VA added summary tab information beginning in June 2022 that interpreted the new time to hire data requirements.The OIG made two recommendations: (1) request legislative relief from Congress on data it is unable to report or (2) ensure data limitations are clearly explained that preclude VA from reporting all elements of time-to-hire data under the Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act.

Inspector General Semiannual Report

Ever since Congress created the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP) under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (EESA), we have consistently delivered for American taxpayers. As an independent watchdog, SIGTARP has a proven record of identifying waste, abuse, ineffectiveness, inefficiency, and risk in EESA programs.As a law enforcement office, SIGTARP has a proven record of identifying and investigating fraud and other crimes. SIGTARP investigations have resulted in the recovery of more than $11.3 billion while coordinating with the Department of Justice (DOJ) and other law enforcement agencies to criminally prosecute 469 defendants - 318 of them sentenced to prison, including 74 bankers. Our investigations have also resulted in enforcement actions against 25 corporations/entities, including enforcement actions against many of the largest U.S. financial institutions.

DNFSB-23-A-01 Inspector General’s Assessment of the Most Serious Management and Performance Challenges Facing the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board in Fiscal Year 2023, dated October 28, 2022

The Reports Consolidation Act of 2000 requires each inspector general to prepare an annual statement summarizing what the inspector general considers to be “the most serious management and performance challenges facing the agency” and to briefly assess the agency’s progress in addressing those challenges.We identified eight top management challenges for the EPA for fiscal year 2023:1. Mitigating the Causes and Adapting to the Impacts of Climate Change. The EPA must take a leadership role in addressing climate change and mitigating its effect on human health and the environment.2. Integrating and Leading Environmental Justice Across the Agency and Government. The EPA must identify and address disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental effects on environmental justice communities.3. Providing for the Safe Use of Chemicals. The public must be able to depend on the EPA’s ability to conduct credible and timely assessments of the risks posed by pesticides, toxic chemicals, and other environmental chemicals.4. Safeguarding Scientific Integrity Principles. The EPA must ground science-based decisions in principles of scientific integrity to ensure that human health and the environment are protected by using the best-available science.5. Ensuring Agency Systems and Other Critical Infrastructure Are Protected Against Cyberthreats. Information technology is a fundamental and essential resource for the EPA to carry out its mission, and the Agency must ensure its systems and our nation’s critical infrastructure are protected against cyberthreats.6. Managing Business Operations and Resources. The EPA must have effective business operations to achieve its mission and safeguard taxpayer dollars.7. Enforcing Compliance with Environmental Laws and Regulations. Through enforcement, the EPA ensures that regulated entities are following environmental laws and will continue to do so, as enforcement actions effectively deter future noncompliance.8. Managing Increased Investment in Infrastructure. The EPA must ensure that its infrastructure projects, which constitute the Agency’s largest investment, use Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act appropriations effectively.

This report presents a summary of the results of our self-initiated audits assessing the efficiency of selected processes at three selected retail units in the Virginia District. These retail units include Bon Air Branch, Southside Station, and Montrose Heights Station in the Virginia District of the Atlantic Area. We previously issued interim reports to district management for each of these retail units regarding the conditions we identified.

OIG-23-A-01 Inspector General’s Assessment of the Most Serious Management and Performance Challenges Facing the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in Fiscal Year 2023, dated October 28, 2022

This report was issued in conjunction with the Office of Inspector General for the Railroad Retirement Board's Semiannual Report to the Congress. It was incorporated by reference in the corresponding Semiannual Report, which is available at the link below.

The Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted a review to evaluate VA’s implementation of the Referral Coordination Initiative (RCI), a program designed to improve veterans’ timely access to care, empower patients to make informed care decisions, reduce providers’ administrative burden and increase their time on patient care, and enhance access to community care for veterans eligible under the MISSION Act of 2018. In 2019, the Veterans Health Administration began implementing the RCI at 139 VA medical facilities, with expected completion across all facilities and all specialty services by June 30, 2021.The OIG team conducted 75 interviews with leaders at VA and other offices and performed site visits at four facilities. VHA staff generally agreed the RCI had the potential to achieve its stated goals. However, facilities struggled with implementation for several reasons, including insufficient staffing and resources, unreliable data (such as a lack of accurate wait times for community care), and a lack of required training. The RCI describes two implementation models, centralized and decentralized, but facility staff were sometimes confused which model to apply and noted slow responses to questions. The Office of Integrated Veteran Care predecessor, the program office responsible for overseeing the RCI, also lacked the ability to monitor progress due to insufficient data. Because of these deficiencies, no VA facility had fully implemented the RCI almost a full year after VA’s own June 2021 deadline.The under secretary for health concurred with the OIG’s seven recommendations to improve RCI implementation by better assigning responsibilities and roles, improving training, establishing local procedures for sharing community care data for informing patients, sharing best practices among all facilities, ensuring accurate tracking of RCI consults, and developing ways to measure how well facilities meet the initiative’s requirements.