Federal Reports

This letter responds to a February 10, 2020, letter from Senator Schumer requesting information regarding retaliation against whistleblowers in EAC and EAC OIG.

To address the increased need for treatment services, the 21st Century Cures Act established the State Targeted Response to the Opioid Crisis grant program (STR grant program). Through this program, SAMHSA awarded almost $1 billion in grants to States over a 2-year grant period (May 2017 through April 2019). States were required to use these funds to expand access to evidence-based treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD), especially medication-assisted treatment (MAT); reduce unmet treatment needs; and reduce opioid overdose-related deaths through the provision of prevention, treatment, and recovery support services.

In 2016, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) updated its life safety and emergency preparedness regulations to improve protections for all Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, including those residing in long-term-care facilities (commonly referred to as nursing homes). Updates included requirements that nursing homes have expanded sprinkler systems and smoke detector coverage; an emergency preparedness plan that is reviewed, trained on, tested, and updated at least annually; and provisions for sheltering in place and evacuation.

A former Los Angeles-based Amtrak employee was sentenced in Los Angeles Municipal Court on March 13, 2020, to three years of probation, ordered to pay $34,030 in restitution to Amtrak, and to complete 90 days of community service. The former employee pleaded guilty to grand theft after our investigation revealed she stole money from the Employee Vending Commission Fund. She admitted to a portion of her total theft on December 4, 2018, during an interview with our agents, and immediately resigned from the company thereafter.

During our audit of controls over automatic indemnity claim payments, we found significant internal control weaknesses in the Postal Service’s claims system. From fiscal year (FY) 2014 to FY 2019, the Postal Service paid a total of about $194 million in connection to about 2.3 million domestic indemnity claims. During that period, the number and dollar value of domestic indemnity claim payments per year more than doubled.

The Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC or agency) Office of Inspector General has concluded its fiscal year (FY) 2019 review of the FTC’s compliance with the Improper Payments Information Act of 2002 (IPIA; Pub. L. 107-300), as amended by the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act of 2010 (IPERA; Pub. L. 111-204), the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Improvement Act of 2012 (IPERIA; Pub. L. 112-248), and the Federal Improper Payments Coordination Act of 2015 (Pub. L. 114-109). Our review was conducted in accordance with implementing guidance set forth in Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Memorandum M-18-20, Transmittal of Appendix C to OMB Circular A-123, Requirements for Payment Integrity Improvement, June 26, 2018 (OMB Memorandum M-18-20).

As a follow-up to the Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 Independent Auditors’ Report (No. 20-02), the GPO OIG Inspections Division reviewed Contingent Liabilities in order to:1) Understand the magnitude of settlements paid by GPO, and2) Identify any trends or remarkable issues that could be addressed in order to lower GPO’s liability.

This audit is part of a larger body of Congressionally directed work to conduct oversight of National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant programs and operations. OIG was directed to examine NIH's oversight of its grantees' compliance with NIH policies, including NIH efforts to ensure the integrity of its grant application and selection processes.