Federal Reports

OIG data analytics identified all Orlo Vista Branch’s retail floor stock inventory counts in fiscal years (FY) 2019 and 2020, Quarter (Q) 1, to be outside of tolerance levels. In addition, the last two counts of retail floor stock resulted in overages and shortages in excess of $4,000 (absolute value). Accountability examinations include retail floor stamp stock (stamps sold on the retail floor), unit reserve stamp stock (stamps used to replenish those sold on the retail floor), cash credits (cash retained in drawers after daily deposit), and money orders. Inventory can be transferred between segments; therefore, all segments of inventory must be counted to ensure accuracy. ur fieldwork was completed before the President of the United States issued the national emergency declaration concerning the novel coronavirus disease outbreak (COVID-19) on March 13, 2020. The results of this audit do not reflect operational changes and/or service impacts that may have occurred at this facility as a result of the pandemic. Our objective was to determine whether internal controls over accountable paper and postal funds at the Orlo Vista Branch were managed effectively and whether voided PVI label refunds were properly supported and processed.

KPMG, LLC found the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) did not provide adequate guidance to the Virgin Islands Emergency Management Agency (VITEMA) and the Virgin Islands Housing Finance Agency (VIHFA) and that VITEMA and VIHFA did not adequately manage FEMA Public Assistance (PA) funds. Also, VITEMA and VIHFA did not always ensure the accuracy of project funding information or promptly notify FEMA about significant project cost overruns. This occurred because FEMA did not provide the necessary guidance to and oversight of VITEMA and VIHFA to properly manage PA funds. Because of these deficiencies, PA programs are at increased risk of mismanagement and expenditure of funds for unallowable activities. We made seven recommendations to improve VITEMA’s and VIHFA’s management of FEMA PA funds, ensuring they are expended according to Federal regulations and FEMA guidance. FEMA concurred with the recommendations.

KPMG, LLP found that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) did not always ensure Virgin Islands Territorial Emergency Management Agency (VITEMA) and the Virgin Islands Department of Education (VIDE) established and implemented policies, procedures, and practices to account for and expend Public Assistance (PA) grant funds according to Federal regulations and FEMA guidance. For example, VIDE did not have policies and procedures to address procurement-related conflicts of interest and related disciplinary actions. This occurred because FEMA did not adequately train VIDE personnel and did not review these policies and procedures. We made five recommendations that, when implemented, should improve management of FEMA PA grant funds, ensuring the funds are expended according to Federal regulations and FEMA guidance. FEMA concurred with the recommendations.

The DOI administers Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Programs under the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act and the Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration Act. The Secretary delegated administration of these Programs to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS).Requirements and restrictions for the use of funds to administer these Programs were established by the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Programs Improvement Act of 2000, which also requires independent biennial audits of program administration.This report is the required audit of expenditures and obligations reported by the FWS for fiscal years 2017 through 2018 in administration of the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Programs. Saint George Consulting Inc, an independent public accounting firm, prepared the report.Saint George Consulting identified deficiencies resulting from ineffective internal controls and noncompliance related to certain unallowable costs. Its report contains 10 recommendations that, if implemented, should resolve the findings.

We investigated allegations that a senior political employee of the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) violated a Federal ethics pledge by meeting with a former employer during the required 2-year recusal period following the senior employee’s resignation from that organization. We also investigated whether this senior employee’s attendance at events hosted by the organization violated the section of the standards of ethical conduct for executive branch employees that governs the receipt of gifts from outside sources.We found that the senior employee attended two events hosted by the organization, and we determined that this was permissible under Federal gift rules for executive branch employees. In addition, we obtained no evidence that official DOI matters were discussed with the senior employee at either of the events; therefore, the senior employee’s actions on these occasions did not implicate Federal ethics rules or the ethics pledge.We provided a report on our investigation to the Chief of Staff for the Office of the Secretary for any action deemed appropriate.

As the Nation continues to struggle with the opioid crisis, it is vital to gain a deeper understanding of those who are at risk of misuse or overdose. The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic makes the need to look at this population even more pressing. The National Institutes of Health recently issued a warning that individuals with opioid use disorder could be particularly hard hit by COVID-19, as it is a disease that attacks the lungs. Respiratory disease is known to increase the mortality risk among people taking opioids.