Federal Reports

Safety, health, and attrition issues may compromise NEIC’s ability to support the EPA’s civil and criminal enforcement efforts.

Correctional and detention facilities present unique challenges in preventing and controlling the spread of COVID-19. When compared to the general population, a disproportionate number of COVID-19 outbreaks and deaths occur in jails, prisons, and detention facilities across the country. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has noted that the confined nature of correctional and detention facilities, combined with their congregate environments, heightens the potential for COVID-19 to spread once introduced into a facility. Individuals typically eat, sleep, and participate in activities in close proximity to one another in these facilities, which can include custody, housing, healthcare, food service, education, recreation, and workplace components in a single physical setting. Considering the increased risk presented by these congregate settings, several Offices of Inspectors General published reports on how federal agencies handled the COVID-19 pandemic in correctional and detention environments. This insights reports summarizes the work completed by OIGs related to the steps federal agencies have taken to prevent the spread and mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on their staff and the individuals housed in federal correctional and detention facilities. Common issues identified include challenges of physical layout, capacity, staffing, guidance, consistency in mitigation efforts across facility types, and safe transport of inmates and detainees.

This report presents the results of the required audit of the Small Business Administration’s (SBA’s) compliance with the Payment Integrity Information Act of 2019. We contracted with the independent certified public accounting firm KPMG LLP to conduct a performance audit, as required by the Act. The objectives of the engagement were to review the payment integrity section of SBA’s Fiscal Year 2020 Agency Financial Report to determine whether the agency was in compliance with the Act. KPMG also evaluated the agency’s accuracy and completeness of reporting and performance in preventing and reducing improper payments.The independent auditors’ report presents KPMG’s findings on the agency’s improper payment reporting required under the Act. KPMG reported that SBA is compliant with four of the six reporting requirements in the Act. However, SBA is not compliant with the Act because the Disaster Direct Loan Program reported an improper payments rate that exceeded the 10 percent threshold for compliance and did not demonstrate improvements as evidenced by not meeting its planned FY 2020 improper payments target reduction. In addition, KPMG found the agency needs to improve the completeness and accuracy of improper payment reporting. The agency also needs to improve controls to prevent and reduce improper payments.