Federal Reports

In reviewing 16 contract files, we found files that did not have relevant Federal tax information, were missing information on the contractor’s past performance evaluations, and contained incomplete and inconsistent documentation. We attribute these deficiencies to FEMA not providing guidance on procedures for implementing Federal regulations to contracting personnel, and the Department of Homeland Security removing guidance from its acquisition manual that is used by component personnel. As a result of inadequate guidance, FEMA personnel awarded contracts without making fully informed determinations as to whether prospective contractors could meet contract demands. If contractors cannot meet demands, FEMA may have to cancel contracts it has awarded, which has happened in the past and continues. In fact, between March and May 2020, FEMA awarded and canceled at least 22 contracts, valued at $184 million, for crucial supplies in response to the national COVID-19 pandemic. By awarding contracts without ensuring prospective contractors can meet contract demands, FEMA will continue wasting taxpayer dollars and future critical disaster and pandemic assistance will continue to be delayed. We made one recommendation that, when implemented, should help strengthen FEMA’s responsibility determination process. The Department concurred with our recommendation.

Henry Abdelnoor, a former Lead Services Attendant based in New York, was sentenced in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Burlington County, on July 7, 2021, to three years of probation for stalking. The criminal charge resulted from Abdelnoor’s conduct prior to a company disciplinary hearing for posting inappropriate comments on Facebook. Prior to the hearing, Abdelnoor attempted to influence a victim’s complaint against him by allegedly offering the victim a $5,000 payment in exchange for recanting her statement in court. Abdelnoor previously pleaded guilty to the criminal charge on May 26, 2021. He resigned from the company on March 4, 2021, and is ineligible for rehire.

What We Looked AtIn response to a request from the Maritime Administration (MARAD), the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) reviewed MARAD’s core functions, including its role within the Department of Transportation and its contributions to the Nation. NAPA’s 2017 report included 27 recommendations to address weaknesses it identified in MARAD’s ability to articulate and meet its mission. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 directed our office to audit MARAD’s actions to address 16 of NAPA’s 27 recommendations—related to the Agency’s program alignment, training mission, and other issues. Accordingly, the objective of this audit was to assess MARAD’s actions to address the 16 recommendations from NAPA’s 2017 report specified by Congress. What We FoundMARAD took action on 15 of the 16 recommendations we reviewed. It completed 5 of 10 recommendations related to overarching issues impacting its effectiveness, and 2 of 6 recommendations that focused on its ability to provide adequate qualified merchant mariners to meet commercial and national security needs. Nine recommendations had not been completed at the time of our audit. MARAD partially completed eight and decided not to take action on the ninth—determining that the costs outweighed the benefits. Five recommendations were partially completed because they were dependent on coordination with MARAD’s stakeholders. The other three were partially completed for a variety of reasons, including MARAD’s need to finalize policies and procedures. MARAD has indicated that it plans to take action on all of the partially completed recommendations. However, the Agency lacks updated milestones for completion or an ongoing process for tracking implementation that will place it in a better position to fulfill its mission and meet the Nation’s commercial and security needs. Our RecommendationsWe made two recommendations to facilitate MARAD’s further progress in addressing the NAPA recommendations. MARAD concurred with both recommendations and proposed appropriate actions and completion dates. Accordingly, we consider both recommendations as resolved but open pending completion of the planned actions.

For our final report on the evaluation of the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO’s) Patent Term Adjustment (PTA) and Patent Term Extension (PTE) processes, our objectives were to determine whether USPTO (1) calculates and awards PTA and PTE in compliance with relevant statutes, regulations, and case law; (2) has adequate internal controls to ensure the proper calculation and award of PTA and PTE; and (3) uses valid and reliable data to calculate PTA and PTE.We contracted with The MITRE Corporation (MITRE)—an independent firm—to perform this evaluation. Our office oversaw the progress of this evaluation to ensure that MITRE performed the evaluation in accordance with the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency’s Quality Standards for Inspection and Evaluation (December 2020) and contract terms. However, MITRE is solely responsible for the attached report and conclusions expressed in it.