Federal Reports

The Office of Inspector General examined NASA’s Orion Program and evaluated its adherence to cost, schedule, and performance goals in readying the crew vehicle for the Artemis I and Artemis II missions.

On March 26, 2020, the VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) published its first COVID-19-focused report, OIG Inspection of Veterans Health Administration’s COVID-19 Screening and Pandemic Readiness. In that report, the OIG evaluated how the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) was preparing facilities to meet anticipated rising demands. This report outlines VHA’s continued response to the pandemic and provides VHA leaders’ descriptions of the evolving challenges they faced in caring for veterans and potentially nonveteran patients as well. The OIG engaged leaders from 70 selected facilities in discussions about patient-care services provided from March 11, 2020, through June 15, 2020. The discussions covered the management of urgent and emergent care, the adequacy of equipment and supplies, testing capabilities, Community Living Center (nursing home) admissions and discharges, testing protocols, and the engagement of community healthcare partners. Discussions also detailed Veterans Integrated Service Network leaders’ involvement in, and overall support of, facility operations. Finally, the OIG provided VHA leaders the opportunity to comment on plans to manage anticipated COVID-19 surges. Overall, this report highlights a multitude of actions taken by VHA, VISN, and facility leaders to maintain operations during a national emergency. With the uncertainty of timing and magnitude of possible recurrent outbreaks, this review presented strategies that various facilities put into place over the past several months that will hopefully promote discussion and consideration of lessons learned and best practices among facility and community healthcare leaders.

According to the Securing Our Agriculture and Food Act (SAFA), the program should provide oversight, lead policy initiatives, and coordinate with DHS components and Federal agencies. However, the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office (CWMD) has not yet carried out a program to meet SAFA’s requirements. This occurred because CWMD believes it does not have clearly defined authority from the Secretary to carry out the requirements of the SAFA. In addition, since its establishment in December 2017, CWMD has not prioritized SAFA requirements but instead has focused its resources on other mission areas. As a result, CWMD has limited awareness of DHS’ ongoing efforts and cannot ensure it is adequately prepared to respond to a terrorist attack against the Nation’s food, agriculture, or veterinary systems. We made three recommendations to DHS’ CWMD to improve oversight, policy initiatives, and coordination of the Department’s efforts to protect the Nation’s food, agriculture, and veterinary systems.

We contracted this audit with Cotton & Company LLP, which found that FEMA did not ensure Lee County, Florida (the County) established and implemented policies, procedures, and practices to ensure it accounted for and expended PA program grant funds awarded to disaster areas in accordance with Federal regulations and FEMA guidance. Specifically, the County requested FEMA funding for $994,425 in unsupported force account labor, equipment, and materials; was unable to provide supporting documentation for $16,210 in costs incurred to operate an emergency shelter; did not maintain adequate documentation to support $267,452 in costs incurred for road repair services; did not include all required provisions in its contracts to obtain disaster recovery services related to Hurricane Irma; and had not evaluated the risk of subrecipients’ noncompliance with Federal requirements, obtained subrecipient audit reports, or developed plans for monitoring subrecipients. We made nine recommendations that, when implemented, should improve Lee County, Florida’s management of FEMA Public Assistance funds. FEMA concurred with all nine recommendations.