Federal Reports

OIG audited the consolidated financial statements of FNS for fiscal years 2020 and 2019.

OIG audited the consolidated financial statements of Rural Development for fiscal years 2020 and 2019.

In this semiannual report, we discuss both the major accomplishments and activities of the OIG from April 1, 2020 through September 30, 2020, as well as its goals and future plans.

This project originated from our participation on a Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE) working group focused on inspecting the supplemental funding appropriated by the U.S. Congress in 2018 for necessary expenses related to the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season.We inspected the U.S. Department of the Interior’s (DOI’s) preparedness for and response to three storms that made landfall as major hurricanes in the United States in quick succession: Harvey, Irma, and Maria. Hurricane Harvey affected the Southern United States (Texas and Louisiana) and the Eastern United States, Irma affected the Caribbean and Southeastern United States, and Maria affected the Caribbean and the Mid-Atlantic States.We focused our inspection on the three DOI bureaus that received most of the supplemental funding from Congress—the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), National Park Service (NPS), and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)—as well as Departmentwide actions.Both the NPS and the FWS performed well in some ways, such as by inventorying supplies before the storm, evacuating people to safer conditions, identifying damaged property, and clearing debris after the storms. We found, however, areas where the DOI can improve its preparedness for responding to and recovering from the next natural disaster. Specifically, we found:1. The Office of Emergency Management’s Master Improvement Plan did not include required information and contained unrealistic milestones.2. The NPS and the FWS encountered problems with communication and purchase cards.3. Recovery obligations and expenditures of supplemental funds have been slow.4. Contracting officer training can improve overall preparedness.5. Awareness of interbureau resources could be improved.We make seven recommendations to help the DOI improve its ability to prepare for, respond to, and recover from future disasters. Based on the bureau responses to our draft report, we consider one recommendation to be resolved and implemented, five recommendations resolved but not implemented, and one recommendation unresolved.

We audited the costs claimed by the Kentucky Department Fish and Wildlife Resources (Department), under grants awarded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) through the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program. The audit included claims totaling $70.6 million on 51 grants that were open during the State fiscal years that ended June 30, 2018, and June 30, 2019. The audit also covered the Department’s compliance with applicable laws, regulations, and FWS guidelines, including those related to the collection and use of hunting and fishing license revenue and the reporting of program income.We found that the Department generally ensured that grant funds and hunting and fishing license revenue were used for allowable fish and wildlife activities and complied with applicable laws and regulations, FWS guidelines, and grant agreements. We noted, however, issues with ineligible subrecipient charges. We questioned costs totaling $116,620 ($87,465 Federal share) as ineligible. We also determined that the Department did not comply with Federal regulations when managing its subawards and did not accurately report program income.The FWS concurred with our 11 recommendations and will work with the Department to implement corrective actions.

In our September 30, 2016 evaluation report, Condition of Indian School Facilities, we made 21 recommendations designed to help the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) develop promising practices to ensure that Indian school facilities are operated and maintained properly for the students. We limited the scope of this review to the 17 recommendations reported closed by the Office of Financial Management (PFM). The PFM reported to us when these 17 recommendations were addressed and provided supporting documentation. Based on our review, we consider Recommendations 1 – 13, 15, and 21 resolved, implemented, and closed. We consider Recommendations 14 and 19 not implemented and not closed.